WINCHESTER's claim to being the heartland of England may have dwindled over the last millennium, but the cause was handed a boost on Monday as its university launched a new centre for national identity.

All aspects of Englishness will be studied by Winchester University students under a programme combining politics, history, law and even ICT under the flag of St George.

Led by former cabinet minister and Southampton MP John Denham, the Centre for English Identity and Politics hopes to harness rising public belief in England and the opportunities presented by local devolution.

The project was launched on Monday with a lecture by Robert Tombs, professor of history at Cambridge University.

Addressing an audience of around 100 students, academics and constitutional campaigners, he highlighted the "contradictory characteristics" that formed England, from the Protestant Reformation to the summer of love.

Arguing for a devolved state rejecting "declinist, resentful" feeling, he said: "Our multicultural character is as much a part of our past as thatched cottages and cream teas."

Hampshire Chronicle:

Professor Tombs (right) with John Denham

The centre, the first of its kind, will engage with local schools and communities to "understand the forces shaping England," said the university's vice-chancellor, Joy Carter, adding that the project will feed into numerous degrees.

Performing arts students will produce works exploring Englishness, while events management students will organise a planned 'English Week' on campus. Digital communications students will design the website.

A series of talks and seminars are being planned, with the next taking place on Tuesday.

Robert Salisbury, Marquess of Salisbury and former Tory leader in the House of Lords, will tackle England's relationship with the union at The Stripe off Sparkford Road at 6pm for 6.30pm.