This is a portrait of the Parish of Rock, created by the people who lived there in the year 2000. The Parish, a cluster of seven separate communities in the north west corner of Worcestershire is, in many respects, typical of much of rural England at the end of the Millennium. After centuries of slow, rural change it has, in the past 50 years, been transformed by a huge increase in population and by a dramatic change in the age, wealth and lifestyle of the new villagers.

At the same time all but one of the village schools have closed, most of the shops have gone; once "local" pubs have become restaurants attracting customers from nearby towns. But if all of this is merely a reflection of national trends towards smaller families, increased mobility, the drift from urban to rural areas – then in other ways Rock is utterly distinct.

To begin with it may well have been the place in which St. Augustine began his campaign to convert pagan Britain to Christianity in the Seventh century. If so, Rock deserves a special place in any Millennium celebrations. The Parish also includes some of the best preserved, ancient oak woodland in Britain – in the Wyre Forest – as well as the rare flora and fauna that live in it and around it. But something else makes this Parish special – the individuals who live in it. It is to their unique character, attitudes and outlook that this book is designed to pay tribute and record for the future.