London Fire Brigade earlier declared a major incident with blazes in at least 10 locations; a fire on a farm in Nottingham has also been declared a major incident and there have been blazes in Leeds, Norfolk and other parts of the country. They've urged people not to barbeque in parks or open spaces, not to leave broken bottles or glass on the ground, and asked people to dispose of cigarettes safely. Forget the tired rogues’ gallery of lords and ladies, forget the tall ships and haywains. These images cut to the heart of England’s psychic landscapes to portray an Albion unhinged, where magic and rebellion and destruction are the horses to which the country is hitched. On these fabled shores we are all castaways, whether our family has lived here for four thousand years or for four. Then, when researching the images I realised there was something that hadn’t been done. There have been so many books in the last ten years about English art, but they’re all exactly the same. They all contain great artists, but there doesn’t seem to be anything that moves beyond that. The strand in English art and culture that I think is represented by the more subversive and radical elements, hasn’t been represented in any visual book other than those by individual artists. SE: I didn’t know Mat previously. It was very fortuitous, he was recommended by the publisher. I was adamant that I didn’t want to do the text. Partly because I was committed to other things and I thought this was just picture research. The other publisher, Repeater books, who published Mat’s novel The Ruin, their editor Fiona suggested Mat as someone who’d be really good to do the words. I had some conversations with him and realised he was perfect for it. He got what England on Fire was about and we had lots of long phone conversations about things. I’m thrilled with his text. It’s the perfect compliment for the images.

The hottest day in history in Britain has seen major wildfires spring up across the land, with homes, buildings, fields and wildlife engulfed in infernos accelerated by the intense heat. TM: Many of the images clearly have an esoteric meaning behind them – are you someone who looks into decoding those things?

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SE: I am really interested in the pictures of supernatural events in general. I’m fascinated with stone circles, there’s a lot of that in the book. Things around folklore. I’d love to do a book based on the collection of The Museum of Rural Life. It’s a place near the University of Reading that has the most bizarre stuff. I think it explains quite a lot about the psychology of English people, English rather than British. Journey to Avebury 1973 Derek Jarman (1942–94) S8mm film Ultimately, the themes here allow us to do what these artists have done for themselves: define our own ways forward. The same essential elements — stones, pathways, water — that guide these artworks remind us that any pathway by definition leads us, that is, coerces us to follow the feet of those that have gone trudging before us. Indeed, there is no wrong way to read this book, only your way. A major blaze in the village of Wennington in east London ripped through fields and homes, with the full extent of the damage - and any casualties - yet to be determined We are providing vehicle support to transport firefighters to and from incidents to ensure fire engines can stay where they are needed most. We will continue to work closely with our partners to provide whatever further support we can. Over 34 locations exceeded the UK's previous temperature record of 38.7C from 2019, according to the Met Office

As the country struggles with its highest temperatures ever recorded, multiple homes have been destroyed by flames after a huge blaze spread to an east London village.Riminta saw the devastation unfold on the TV, watching images shot from a helicopter. She says their neighbours' homes have burnt down, but it appears their home is saved. I haven't even seen the exceptional category being used in the times I've looked at the Wildfire Index before," Kathryn Brown, The Wildlife Trust's director for climate action, told PA news agency. Two more people were confirmed to have died after getting into difficulty in water in separate incidents, bringing the total in recent days to five. Four were teenage boys and a fifth was a man aged 20

One of the great things about art, as with many things in life, is the discovery of the new. Finding a picture or photograph that may have been thought lost to the ravages of time that stirs something inside, whether it a strange sense of dread or an uplifting rush of joy. Please take care during the heatwave as all emergency services are facing unprecedented challenges.” A firefighter at the scene, asked what conditions were like, replied: “absolute hell”, while those affected by the blaze said it had been spreading “fast”. According to the Met Office, most of England is at "exceptional" risk of wildfires, aside from the South West and patches of the North. Today the UK officially reached 40C – something the Met Office said was "virtually impossible" in an undisrupted climate.

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Osman, in reference to his homeland, offers the affectionate demarcation “Albion unhinged”. You may agree or disagree, but one thing is certain: England On Fire will change the way you see England, not for showing anything new, but for showing you what has been there all along. TM: What do you hope people take from the book? I guess one reason must be bringing some of these images to the fore and also keeping them alive … One of my favourite modern artists who embodies this and does it in a really clever way is George Shaw. There’s a couple of things by him in the book. Most of his paintings are based around the estate he grew up in Coventry. So a 40s/50s council housing estate. He paints using Humbrol model paint because when he was a child he was embarrassed about wanting to be an artist. So, what was acceptable was for him to go and buy Humbrol paint, as it was to do Airfix models.

TM: We’re currently living through interesting times – do you see this being reflected in contemporary English art? Certainly with the things that have been going on in the last few years, like Brexit, the divisive nature of that and the sense that people are alienated from what’s going on, I thought it was really important to emphasise ,not just the continuity of the radical strands in it, but also that this is a weird place. There’s also another whole load of books, TV programmes and documentaries about old, weird Albion stuff. I didn’t think anyone needed to see another still from The Witchfinder General or Blood on Satan’s Claw, that has been done. I wanted it to be quite angry and polemical, but also to have a sense of possibility and hope at the end of it. The Crystal Palace from the Great Exhibition, installed at Sydenham: sculptures of prehistoric creatures in the foreground c.1864. George Baxter (1814–67) Colour Baxter-process printWe sat down with Stephen to talk about the idea behind England On Fire, what his research process looks like, the esoteric meaning behind the images and why this little old island is so drenched in folklore. Some have gone to a rescue centre set up in the nearby Premier Inn, including Riminta Maceikaite, 38, and her 13-year-old son Nikas.