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What about the three piece suit (Jacket, trousers & waistcoat)? Would that be an 'English' icon. Probably most people would not think it was as it has now been adopted over most of the world, but originally it was 'English' dress. I suspect that as with the suit, LotR is not seen as particularly English by many readers from other countries because so many aspects of English culture & values have been absorbed into other cultures across the English-speaking world to such a degree that they are no longer recognisably English.
As Tolkien would have pointed out a language is not simply a neutral means of communicating information, but reflects a particular way of seeing, & thinking about, the world, a mentality & value system. If you don't think of LotR as particularly English that probably means that your cultural background is pretty 'English' anyway (whether you llke the idea or not!).
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