Portal:England

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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its name from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law – the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world – developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation.

England's terrain is chiefly low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north (for example, the mountainous Lake District, and the Pennines) and in the west (for example, Dartmoor and the Shropshire Hills). The capital is London, which has the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. England's population of over 55 million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London, the South East, and conurbations in the Midlands, the North West, the North East, and Yorkshire, which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century.

The Kingdom of England – which after 1535 included Wales – ceased being a separate sovereign state on 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union put into effect the terms agreed in the Treaty of Union the previous year, resulting in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland (through another Act of Union) to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Read more...

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The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663, making it the oldest London theatre.^[1] For its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theatre"^[2] and thus one of the most important theatres in the English-speaking world. Through most of that time, it was one of a small handful of patent theatres that were granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" (meaning spoken plays, rather than opera, dance, concerts, or plays with music)^[3] drama in London.

The first theatre on the location was built at the behest of Thomas Killigrew in the early years of the English Restoration. Actors appearing at this "Theatre Royal in Bridges Street" included Nell Gwyn and Charles Hart. It was destroyed by fire in 1672. Killigrew built a larger theatre in the same spot, designed by Christopher Wren; renamed the "Theatre Royal in Drury Lane," it opened in 1674.

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The England rugby union team during their victory parade after winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup
The Cenotaph, Whitehall, is a memorial to members of the British Armed Forces who died during the two World Wars
The English Restoration restored the monarchy under King Charles II and peace after the English Civil War
Ridley Scott was among a group of English filmmakers, including Tony Scott, Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson and Adrian Lyne, who emerged from making 1970s UK television commercials.
The Proms are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall during the summer
Cotton mills in Manchester, the world's "first industrial city", circa 1820.
Engraving of the English pirate Blackbeard from the 1724 book A General History of the Pyrates. The book is the prime source for many famous pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy.
David Bowie's mural in his hometown of Brixton features his character Aladdin Sane. It became a shrine to Bowie after his death.
The Metropolitan Railway, now part of the London Underground was the first underground railway in the world
The World Cup Sculpture featuring captain Bobby Moore with the 1966 World Cup trophy, on the shoulders of Geoff Hurst and Ray Wilson, together with Martin Peters
"Pimm's O'Clock implies lazy, happy days sitting in the sun with nothing to do and no need to worry about time." Urban Dictionary
Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of the Primate of All England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior bishop of the Church of England (it was the property of the Roman Catholic Church before the English Reformation)
Centre Court at Wimbledon. First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world.
Westminster Abbey, London, is an example of English Gothic architecture
The Queen presents the 1966 World Cup to England Captain, Bobby Moore. (7936243534).jpgnail

Queen Elizabeth II presenting the World Cup trophy to 1966 World Cup winning England captain Bobby Moore
Alfred Hitchcock is often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker. He was described as "a straightforward middle-class Englishman who just happened to be an artistic genius."
Boudica led an uprising against the Roman Empire
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, an NHS hospital, has the largest single floor critical care unit in the world
Saint George is the patron saint of England
The Hay Wain by John Constable is an archetypal English painting.
Stonehenge, a Neolithic monument
The metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, colour-coded to show population
The Tudor rose, England's national floral emblem
Terrain of Dartmoor, Devon
The Examination and Trial of Father Christmas (1686), published after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England
The Royal Arms of England
Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex
The City of London is the financial capital of United Kingdom
Countries where English has official status or is widely spoken
English-speaking world
Majority native language
Official, but not majority language
Note: English is also an official language of the EU
Robin Hood illustrated in 1912 wearing Lincoln green
The frontage of Warwick School, one of the oldest independent schools in England
Wembley Stadium, home of the England football team, has a 90,000 capacity. It is the biggest stadium in the UK
Skiddaw massif, seen from Walla Crag in the Lake District
Family-sized meat pie made by Sweeney & Todd of Reading
Astley's Amphitheatre, London circa 1808. Astley performed stunts in a 42 ft diameter ring; the standard size used by circuses ever since.
Westminster Abbey is a notable example of English Gothic architecture. The coronation of the British monarch traditionally takes place at the Abbey
A red telephone box in front of St Paul's Cathedral, one of the most important buildings of the English Baroque period
Fish and chips is a very popular dish in England
A full English breakfast with fried egg, sausage, white and black pudding, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans, hash browns, toast, and half a tomato
Statue of a tripod from The War of the Worlds in Woking, hometown of science fiction author H. G. Wells. The book is a seminal depiction of a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race.
The Christmas Pantomime 1890, UK. Pantomime plays a prominent role in British culture during the Christmas and New Year season.
Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author, poet and philosopher, best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative The Canterbury Tales
Former Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell driving at Silverstone in 1990. The circuit hosted the first ever Formula One race in 1950
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, is a model mill town from the Industrial Revolution, and a World Heritage Site
A Voluptuary under the horrors of Digestion (1792)
King Henry VIII became Supreme Head of the Church of England
A pub in Battersea; pubs are widely accepted as an integral part of English culture
Chatsworth House, a famous example of an English country house surrounded by an English garden
Mo Farah is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, winning the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at two Olympic Games
William Hogarth's depiction of a scene from Shakespeare's The Tempest is an example of how English literature influenced English painting in the 18th century
Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill
The Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, London is the seat of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal
England playing Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground in the 2009 Ashes series
First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world.
The Natural History Museum in London
The Royal Courts of Justice
Christopher Lee (as Dracula in 1958) starred in numerous British horror films produced by Hammer. Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960) was the first "slasher" film.
King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt, fought on Saint Crispin's Day and concluded with an English victory against a larger French army in the Hundred Years' War
The "three lions", the second Great Seal of King Richard the Lionheart (1198)
Sir Isaac Newton is one of the most influential figures in the history of science
Celebrations at Trafalgar Square after England's 2003 Rugby World Cup victory.
In the 1850s, Englishman Joseph Fry invented the world’s first solid chocolate.
Apple pie has been consumed in England since the Middle Ages
Canterbury Cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Robin Hood illustrated in 1912 wearing Lincoln green
Fish and chips
Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers.
The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse in the Pre-Raphaelite style
Replica of the 7th-century ceremonial Sutton Hoo helmet from the Kingdom of East Anglia
Changing of the Queen's Guard at the royal residence, Buckingham Palace
Population of England and Wales by administrative areas. Their size is approximately in proportion to their population. Colours by quints (1/5th) of number of districts classified by population density with division of extreme quints
The Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Morris dancing is one of the more visible English folk traditions, with many differing regional variations.
Somerville College, University of Oxford
A Punch and Judy booth at Swanage, Dorset. The anarchic Mr. Punch has been an influential figure in British comedy and political cartoons.
Heathrow Airport has more international passenger traffic than any other airport in the world.
The Bentley Mulsanne. Bentley is a well-known English car company
English Heritage blue plaque commemorating Sir Alfred Hitchcock at 153 Cromwell Road, London
2009 estimates of ethnic groups in England
The Beatles are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in popular music.
Life expectancy at birth in England and Wales 2012 to 2014. Lighter colours indicate longer life expectancy.

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Selected biography

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623 two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

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Did you know?

...that the 1952 Farnborough Airshow DH.110 crash is the last time spectators were killed in an accident at a British air show?
...that William the Conqueror's transport of over 2000 horses across the English Channel during the Norman invasion of England is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry?
...that the Premier League's proposal to play some matches outside England has been condemned by the Football Supporters' Federation as "outrageous desecration of the national game"?

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In the news

14 August 2018 – 2018 Westminster attack: A man in his twenties is arrested near the Palace of Westminster in London after a Ford Fiesta hit pedestrians, cyclists and a barrier. (The Daily Telegraph)
10 August 2018 – Terrorism in the United Kingdom: Lewis Ludlow pleads guilty to financing and planning a terrorist van attack in London, England. (BBC)
1 August 2018 – Grenfell Tower fire: England announces that the Ministry of Housing will manage Grenfell Tower in London once the investigation into the fire that gutted the building and killed 72 people is complete. (BBC)
24 July 2018 – 2018 in paleontology: Researchers at the Imperial College London report the discovery of the Lingwulong genus, a subgroup of Sauropods that lived in China about 174 million years ago, which is 15 million years earlier than any previously-known member of the group. (BBC) (ABC News)
22 July 2018 – 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens – Men's tournament: New Zealand defeats England 33–12 in the final to win the 2018 men's Rugby World Cup Sevens. (Radio New Zealand)

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Selected quotes

“

An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.

”

— George Mikes

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Related WikiProjects

England • Bedfordshire • Brighton • Cheshire • Cornwall • Derbyshire • Greater Manchester • Hampshire • Lincolnshire • London • Merseyside • Northamptonshire • North East England • Sheffield • Surrey. Warwickshire • West Midlands • Worcestershire • Yorkshire

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Topics

Cities and major towns: Blackpool • Birmingham • Bristol • Chelmsford • Leeds • Liverpool • London • Manchester • Newcastle • Nottingham • Oxford • Portsmouth • Sheffield • Southampton • Stoke-on-Trent

Culture: The Football Association • Rugby Football Union • England and Wales Cricket Board • English inventions and discoveries

Geography: Geology • Climate • Mountains and hills • Islands • Rivers

Economy: Bank of England • London Stock Exchange • Chancellor of the Exchequer • Monetary Policy Committee • HM Treasury

History: Timeline of English history • Prehistoric Britain • Roman Britain • Anglo-Saxon England • Norman England • Plantagenet England • House of Lancaster • House of York • House of Tudor • House of Stuart

Governance: Kingdom of England • Prime Minister of the United Kingdom • Parliament of the United Kingdom • Home Secretary • Local Government Boundary Commission for England • Administrative divisions of England • English law

Symbols: Flags • Flag of England • St George's Cross • Tudor rose • Coat of arms of England

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Things you can do

Please visit the English Wikipedians' notice board and help to write new England-related articles, and expand and improve existing ones.
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Help nominate and select new content for the England portal.
Requested articles: Charterhouse Lane • Renewable energy in England • Ealing Village
Expand: Dorothy Boyd • David Troughton