Portal:England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea 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 Paleolithic 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 is upland and mountainous terrain in the north (for example, the Lake District and 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, prior to Brexit, the European Union. England's population of 56.3 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. (Full article...)
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Navenby /ˈneɪvənbi/ is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England. Lying 8 miles (13 km) south from the county town of Lincoln and 9 miles (14 km) north-northwest from Sleaford, Navenby had a population of 2,128 at the time of the 2011 census and is a dormitory village for Lincoln. It forms part of the North Kesteven local government district and, in March 2011, it was named as the 'Best Value Village' in England following a national survey.
A Bronze Age cemetery and the remains of an Iron Age settlement have been discovered in the village. Historians also believe Navenby was a significant staging point on the Roman Ermine Street, as the Romans are reported to have maintained a small base or garrison in the village. Navenby became a market town after receiving a charter from Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. The charter was later renewed by William Rufus, Edward III and Richard II. When the market fell into disuse in the early 19th century, Navenby returned to being a village. (Full article...)Selected article -
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English general and statesman who, first as a subordinate and latterly as Commander-in-Chief, led armies of the Parliament of England against King Charles I during the English Civil War, subsequently ruling the British Isles as Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658. He acted simultaneously as head of state and head of government of the new republican commonwealth.
Cromwell was born into the middle gentry to a family descended from the sister of Henry VIII's minister Thomas Cromwell. Little is known of the first 40 years of his life, as only four of his personal letters survive along with a summary of a speech that he delivered in 1628. He became an Independent Puritan after undergoing a religious conversion in the 1630s, taking a generally tolerant view towards the many Protestant sects of the time; an intensely religious man, Cromwell fervently believed in God guiding him to victory. Cromwell was elected Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1628, and for Cambridge in the Short (1640) and Long (1640–1649) Parliaments. He entered the English Civil Wars on the side of the "Roundheads", or Parliamentarians, and gained the nickname "Old Ironsides". Cromwell demonstrated his ability as a commander and was quickly promoted from leading a single cavalry troop to being one of the principal commanders of the New Model Army, playing an important role under General Sir Thomas Fairfax in the defeat of the Royalist ("Cavalier") forces. (Full article...)General images
Brighton, The Palace Pier.
The Billingsgate Fish Market in London in the early 19th century
Chester, c. 1880
Victorian
The hall of Christ Church, Oxford, Oxford University.
The Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral
View of the ramparts of the developed hillfort of Maiden Castle, Dorset, as they look today
Silver brooch imitating a coin of Edward the Elder, c. 920, found in Rome, Italy. British Museum
First English Civil War at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644
Robin Hood and Maid Marian.
First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world.
King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649
The Procession Picture, c. 1600, showing Elizabeth I borne along by her courtiers
Beef Wellington
Bodiam Castle, East Sussex
Stowe Park, Buckinghamshire
Melton Mowbray pork pie
John Bettes the Younger's portrait of Elizabeth I; c. 1585
One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library
National performing arts are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as The Proms during the summer.
Stinking Bishop cheese
Glastonbury Tor landscape, home to many folklores.
The landscape garden at Stourhead. Inspired by the great landscape artists of the seventeenth century, the landscape garden was described as a 'living work of art' when first opened in 1750s.
Cornish pasty
Victory in Europe Day celebrations in London, 8 May 1945
Folio 27r from the 8th-century Lindisfarne Gospels contains the incipit from the Gospel of Matthew.
Portrait of Edward VI, c. 1550
Apple pie originated in England and English apple pie recipes go back to the time of Chaucer.
England in 878
The Hay Wain by John Constable is an archetypal English painting.
Yorkshire Parkin is traditionally eaten on Guy Fawkes Night.
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.
Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers.
Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (green) during the English Civil War (1642–1645)
Pope Gregory I seeing Anglo-Saxon children in a slave market in Rome. He sent Augustine as a missionary to England in 596.
The rune stone U 344 was raised in memory of a Viking who went to England three times.
Family-sized meat pie made by Sweeney & Todd of Reading
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."
A Punch and Judy booth at Swanage, Dorset. The anarchic Mr. Punch has been an influential figure in British comedy and political cartoons.
Celebrations at Trafalgar Square after England's 2003 Rugby World Cup victory.
King Henry VIII
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588, (unknown, 16th-century, English School)
Bridge of Sighs, St John's College, Cambridge University.
Kingdoms and tribes in Britain, c.600 AD
Astley's Amphitheatre, London circa 1808. Astley performed stunts in a 42 ft diameter ring; the standard size used by circuses ever since.
Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill
Fish and chips
Stonehenge, erected in several stages from c.3000-1500BC
Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday.
A pint of real ale
The Roman Baths in Bath; a temple was constructed on the site between 60-70CE in the first few decades of Roman Britain. It is a lasting monument from Roman Britain.
Regency
Landing of the Romans on the Coast of Kent (Cassell's History of England, Vol. I – anonymous author and artists, 1909)
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
Countries where English has official status or is widely spoken
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)
Sir Francis Drake's voyage 1585–86
Sir Isaac Newton, 1689. Regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution.
Jacobean
Roman Empire, 3rd century.
The first general laws against child labour, the Factory Acts, were passed in Britain in the first half of the 19th century. Children younger than nine were not allowed to work and the work day of youth under the age of 18 was limited to twelve hours.
Caesar's first invasion of Britain
Georgian
The Great Fire London, 1666.
Francis Bacon in a portrait by Pourbus the Younger, (1617).
Depiction of the Battle of Hastings (1066) on the Bayeux Tapestry
Durham Cathedral, above the River Wear.
Elizabethan theatre costumes
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SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship, which was advanced for her time. She was the longest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in the time of 14 days.
The ship is 322 ft (98 m) in length and has a 3,400-ton displacement. She was powered by two inclined 2 cylinder engines of the direct-acting type, with twin high pressure cylinders (diameter uncertain) and twin low pressure cylinders 88 in (220 cm) bore, all of 6-foot (1.8 m) stroke cylinders. She was also provided with secondary masts for sail power. The four decks provided accommodation for a crew of 120, plus 360 passengers who were provided with cabins, and dining and promenade saloons. (Full article...)Did you know?
- ...that the Rev. Arthur Wagner, the first curate of the Church of St. Paul, Brighton, England, commissioned stained glass windows of his mother, father and aunt for the church?
- ...that Scots' Dike was constructed by the English and the Scots in 1552 to mark the division of the Debatable Lands and thereby settle the exact boundary between the kingdoms of Scotland and England?
- ...that the famed message "England expects that every man will do his duty" is misquoted on Nelson's Column in London?
In the news
- 24 January 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic
- Serbia reports their first case of the B.1.1.7 variant in a person who travelled from London and later began experiencing mild symptoms. (N1)
- 23 January 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic
- A teen in London, Ontario, dies from COVID-19, making him the youngest person in the area to die from the disease. (CBC)
- 21 January 2021 – Events affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- COVID-19 pandemic in England
- 11 January 2021 – Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
- Bill Belichick, the head coach of the New England Patriots, declines the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump, citing the storming of the United States Capitol. He had been scheduled to receive it on Thursday. (CNN)
- 8 January 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in England, COVID-19 pandemic in London
- London mayor Sadiq Khan declares a "major incident" in the capital due to a rise in the number of cases that threatens to overwhelm hospitals. (Sky News)
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| “ | Do not be misled by memories of your youth when, on the Continent, wanting to describe someone as exceptionally dull, you remarked: 'He is the type who would discuss the weather with you.' In England this is an ever-interesting, even thrilling topic, and you must be good at discussing the weather. | ” |
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