As a country within the United Kingdom, the official anthem of England is God Save the Queen. However, like the other constituent countries in the UK, there is often a need for a unique English anthem with a separate identity from the anthem of the UK as a whole, one that is used in some situations, and currently enjoys popular support, is And did those feet in ancient time.
First appearing as a poem by William Blake in the early 19th century, it is based on a tale that Jesus visited what is now England as a youth. The "dark Satanic mills" phrase is a reference to the factories and mills of the Industrial Revolution then just beginning, forever changing the landscape and society.
The poem did not garner much attention until the First World War over a century later, when it was included in a patriotic anthology of poems, and was seen as expressing what England was fighting for at the time. Hubert Parry was then requested to put the poem to music, which was completed in 1916. A performance in 1922 prompted King George V to say that he preferred "Jerusalem" over "God Save the King".
And did those feet in ancient time is more and more gaining favour in England and is becoming the most popular Anglican hymn. It has been used as the English national anthem before rugby and cricket matches, is sung in churches on St. George's Day and often leads popular opinion polls when the question of a unique English hymns is asked.
+++
