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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers approximately 62%, and over 100 smaller adjacent islands. It has land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, and is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, the Celtic Sea to the south-west, and the Irish Sea to the west. Continental Europe lies to the south-east, and Ireland to the west. At the 2021 census, the population was 56,490,048. London is both the largest city and the capital.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic. It takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The Kingdom of England, which included Wales after 1535, ceased to be a separate sovereign state on 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union brought into effect a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland that created the Kingdom of Great Britain.

England is the origin of the English language, the English legal system (which served as the basis for the common law systems of many other countries), association football, and the Anglican branch of Christianity; its 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 is home to the two oldest universities in the English-speaking world: the University of Oxford, founded in 1096, and the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209. Both universities are ranked among the most prestigious in the world.

England's terrain chiefly consists of low hills and plains, especially in the centre and south. Upland and mountainous terrain is mostly found in the north and west, including Dartmoor, the Lake District, the Pennines, and the Shropshire Hills. The country's capital is London, the metropolitan area of which has a population of 14.2 million as of 2021, representing the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan area. 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. (Full article...)

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Portrait by Godfrey Kneller, 1690

Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, King William III and II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. She was also Princess of Orange following her marriage on 4 November 1677. Her joint reign with William over Britain is known as that of William and Mary.

Mary was born during the reign of her uncle King Charles II. She was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York (the future James II of England), and his first wife, Anne Hyde. Mary and her sister Anne were raised as Anglicans at the behest of Charles II, although their parents both converted to Roman Catholicism. Charles lacked legitimate children, making Mary second in the line of succession. At the age of 15, she married her cousin William of Orange, a Protestant. Charles died in 1685 and James became king, making Mary heir presumptive. James's attempts at rule by decree and the birth of his son from a second marriage, James Francis Edward (later known as "the Old Pretender"), led to his deposition in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the adoption of the English Bill of Rights. (Full article...)

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Kennet and Avon Canal Manchester Chew Valley Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Baden-Powell House The Beatles John Lennon The Kinks Great Fire of London Dorset Liverpool F.C. W. S. Gilbert Emery Molyneux Kennet and Avon Canal Stretford Wife selling (English custom) Nancy Mitford The Boat Races 2016 Charles II of England Charles I of England Edward VI of England Elizabeth I of England Paul McCartney William III of England 1877 Wimbledon Championship Bobby Robson Mary Shelley William Shakespeare Bristol John, King of England Bath, Somerset Premier League Charles Darwin Ernest Shackleton David Bowie William Wilberforce Guy Fawkes Elizabeth Raffald Eliza Acton East End of London Wormshill Tunnel Railway Navenby Albert Bridge, London Edward III of England George Fox James VI and I Exmoor Scout Moor Wind Farm Battle of Bosworth Field Sheerness Battle of Barnet Oldham Gropecunt Lane Isle of Portland Buildings and architecture of Bristol Radcliffe, Greater Manchester Altrincham Gilwell Park Blakeney Chapel

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British Island Airways (BIA) was the legal successor to British United Island Airways (BUIA). It commenced operations under that name in mid-1970. Ten years later it merged with Air Anglia, Air Wales and Air Westward to form Air UK, at the time the United Kingdom's biggest regional airline and its third-largest scheduled operator. The first British Island Airways had its head office at Congreve House (1970–1972) and Berkeley House (1973–1979), which are respectively located in Station Road and on the high street in Redhill, Surrey.

In 1982 British Island Airways was reconstituted by splitting off the charter operation Air UK had inherited from BIA at the time of its creation into a separate company. (Full article...)

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London congestion charge Everton F.C. Wembley Stadium Natasha Bedingfield Liverpool West Midlands (county) Henry IV of England City of Bradford Cambridge Kent City of Carlisle Derby Chelmsford Newcastle upon Tyne Oxford Nottingham Football in England Lincoln Castle National parks of England and Wales Stonehenge Cornwall Dover Hastings Leeds Yorkshire Gatwick Airport Heathrow Airport Gracie Fields Jimmy Page Historic counties of England Lady Ottoline Morrell Church of England Oxford Canal Lostock Hall River Thames W. G. Grace Ah! Sun-flower Simon Forman Elizabethan era Winston Churchill English Football League Isambard Kingdom Brunel Oliver Cromwell The Protectorate James Cook Michael Crawford Michael Faraday Stephen Hawking William Tyndale Florence Nightingale London Underground National Railway Museum Victoria and Albert Museum Natural History Museum, London British Museum Fitzwilliam Museum Ricky Gervais Jonathan Wild COVID-19 pandemic in England English Heritage June Brown

General images

The following are images from various England-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Durham Cathedral. The Norman cathedral was built 1093–1133 (from History of England)
Image 2Interior of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford (from Culture of England)
Image 3Stinking Bishop cheese (from Culture of England)
Image 4The Procession Picture, c. 1600, showing Elizabeth I borne along by her courtiers (from History of England)
Image 5Portrait of Edward VI, c. 1550 (from History of England)
Image 6Portrait of the Royal Tudors. At left, Henry VII, with Prince Arthur behind him, then Prince Henry (later Henry VIII), and Prince Edmund, who did not survive early childhood. To the right is Elizabeth of York, with Princess Margaret, then Princess Elizabeth who didn't survive childhood, Princess Mary, and Princess Katherine, who died shortly after her birth. (from History of England)
Image 7Canterbury Cathedral nave, 1377 (from History of England)
Image 8Francis Bacon led the advancement of both natural philosophy and the scientific method and his works remained deeply influential in the Scientific Revolution. (from Culture of England)
Image 9Canterbury 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.) (from Culture of England)
Image 10Christopher Lee (seen here as Dracula in 1958) starred in many of Hammer's British horror films. (from Culture of England)
Image 11Sir Francis Drake's voyage 1585–86 (from History of England)
Image 12King Charles II, a patron of the arts and sciences, supported the Royal Society, a scientific group whose early members included Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle and Sir Isaac Newton. (from Culture of England)
Image 13Remains of Hadrian's Wall (from History of England)
Image 14William 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. (from Culture of England)
Image 15King Henry VIII (from History of England)
Image 16National performing arts are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as The Proms during the summer. (from Culture of England)
Image 17The Alfred Jewel, late 9th century (from History of England)
Image 18The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found^[update]. It consists of almost 4,600 items and metal fragments. (from Culture of England)
Image 19The Roman Baths in Bath; a temple was constructed on the site between 60–70CE in the first few decades of Roman Britain. (from Culture of England)
Image 20King James I of England (from History of England)
Image 21Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (green) during the English Civil War (1642–1645) (from History of England)
Image 22The White Tower of the Tower of London, built in 1078 (from History of England)
Image 23Countries where English is natively spoken or has official status (from Culture of England)
Image 24The Mob Quad of Merton College, University of Oxford, 13th–14th century (from History of England)
Image 25The Billingsgate Fish Market in London in the early 19th century (from History of England)
Image 26Elizabeth I (from History of England)
Image 27The epic poem Beowulf, set in 6th century Scandinavia, composed c. 700–1000 AD. (from History of England)
Image 28King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 (from History of England)
Image 29England playing Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground in the 2009 Ashes series. After winning the 2019 Cricket World Cup, England became the first country to win the World Cups in football, rugby union and cricket. (from Culture of England)
Image 30Remains of the Roman baths at Bath, England. (from History of England)
Image 31The Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of England)
Image 32The wizard Merlin features as a character in many works of fiction, including the BBC series Merlin. (from Culture of England)
Image 33King Charles II (from History of England)
Image 34Dover Castle, 12th–13th century (from History of England)
Image 35Silbury Hill, c. 2400 BC (from History of England)
Image 36Frontispiece of Bede's Life of St Cuthbert, showing King Æthelstan presenting a copy of the book to the saint himself. c. 930 (from History of England)
Image 37A pint of real ale (from Culture of England)
Image 38First English Civil War at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 (from History of England)
Image 39The Ruthwell Cross, 8th century AD (from History of England)
Image 40King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom. (from Culture of England)
Image 41A traditional Punch and Judy booth, at Swanage, Dorset, England (from Culture of England)
Image 42Procession of characters from Shakespeare's plays (from Culture of England)
Image 43England in 878 (from History of England)
Image 44Sir Isaac Newton is regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution. (from Culture of England)
Image 45Jack In the Green, a traditional English folk custom being celebrated in Hastings Old Town, known for its many pre-Victorian buildings. (from Culture of England)
Image 46One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library (from History of England)
Image 47Chester, c. 1880 (from History of England)
Image 48View of the ramparts of the hillfort of Maiden Castle (450 BC), as they look today (from History of England)
Image 49The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588, (unknown, 16th-century, English School) (from History of England)
Image 50Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers. (from Culture of England)
Image 51Kingdoms and tribes in Britain, c. AD 600 (from History of England)
Image 52Londinium (Roman London), c. 120 AD (from History of England)
Image 53Bronze coins of Cunobelin, called "King of the Britons" by Suetonius. 1–42 AD. (from History of England)
Image 54Stonehenge, erected in several stages from c.3000–2500 BC (from History of England)
Image 55Morris dancing (from Culture of England)
Image 56Gold torc from Snettisham, 70 BC (from History of England)
Image 57The Great Fire London, 1666. (from History of England)
Image 58Anglo-Saxon king with his Witan. Biblical scene in the Old English Hexateuch (11th century) (from History of England)
Image 59Victory in Europe Day celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 (from History of England)
Image 60Anglo-Saxon helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship burial, 625 AD (replica) (from History of England)
Image 61First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. (from Culture of England)
Image 62Artefacts from Bush Barrow at Stonehenge. Wessex culture, Early Bronze Age, c. 1900 BC (from History of England)
Image 63Durham Cathedral, dating from 1093 (from Culture of England)
Image 64The Battersea Shield (detail), 350 BC. (from History of England)
Image 65Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill. (from Culture of England)
Image 66Flatford Mill ('Scene on a Navigable River') by John Constable, c. 1816 (from Culture of England)
Image 67The Royal College of Music is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, established by royal charter in 1882. (from Culture of England)
Image 68Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1340s–1400, author of The Canterbury Tales (from History of England)
Image 69Whitehall by Francis Dodd (1920) displaying the Palace of Westminster (from Culture of England)
Image 70The English landscape garden at Stourhead, described as a 'living work of art' when first opened in the 1750s (from Culture of England)
Image 71Tomb of Richard I of England and Isabella of Angoulême (from History of England)
Image 72Shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 625 AD (from History of England)
Image 73Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 720 AD (from History of England)
Image 74Alfred Hitchcock is often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, and was described as "a straightforward middle-class Englishman who just happened to be an artistic genius." (from Culture of England)
Image 75Depiction of the Battle of Hastings (1066) on the Bayeux Tapestry (from History of England)
Image 76The Lindisfarne Gospels (from Culture of England)
Image 77King's College in Cambridge is regarded as one of the greatest examples of late English Gothic architecture. It has the world's largest fan vault, while the chapel's stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. (from Culture of England)
Image 78The 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. (from History of England)

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The folly castle

Blaise Castle is a folly built in 1766 near Henbury in Bristol, England. The castle sits within the Blaise Castle Estate, which also includes Blaise Castle House, a Grade II* listed 18th-century mansion house. The folly castle is also Grade II* listed and ancillary buildings including the orangery and dairy also have listings. Along with Blaise Hamlet, a group of nine small cottages around a green built in 1811 for retired employees, and various subsidiary buildings, the parkland is listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.

The site has signs of occupation during the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman periods. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the site was sold. In 1766 Thomas Farr commissioned Robert Mylne to build the sham castle in Gothic Revival style. After Farr's bankruptcy, the estate was sold several times until purchased by John Scandrett Harford, who demolished the previous dwelling in 1789 and built the Neoclassical Blaise Castle House. His son, also named John Scandrett Harford, continued with the development of the buildings and estate, which his family occupied until 1926, when it was bought by Bristol City Council. The park was laid out by Humphry Repton in the early 19th century. The estate is now owned by Bristol City Council. The house is run as a museum by the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery and holds a variety of collections. The Picture Room, added in the 1830s, is hung with paintings, mostly of the 19th century. There are selections on display from Bristol Museum's 10,000 items of historic costume, and of toys from the 18th century to the 1980s. (Full article...)

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Herdwick Birmingham English Reformation Henry VIII of England Buildings and architecture of Bath City of Salford Iron Maiden Edward I of England Birmingham City F.C. Exchequer of Pleas South West Coast Path 2017 FA Community Shield Cheddar Gorge Cheddar, Somerset Bristol Harbour Led Zeppelin Berkhamsted Castle Mick Jagger Hugh Grant Sam Cowan Trespass in English law The Cure Yeovil London Crawley Runcorn Caludon Castle Wellington, Somerset Smithfield, London The Rolling Stones Roderigo Lopez Clevedon Pier Bullfrog Productions Severn Estuary Criminal damage in English law English invasion of Scotland (1385) English invasion of Scotland (1400) Food in England English Water Spaniel Insanity in English law Loveday, 1458 Old St Paul's Cathedral Neil Barrett (footballer) Pipe rolls Canterbury English cuisine Isaac Newton Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson Alan Turing National Gallery Roman Baths (Bath) SS Great Britain The Experienced English Housekeeper Pétrus (restaurant)

Did you know?

The tower of St. Paul's Church, in Brighton

...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?

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In the news

18 July 2024 –: The Southwark Crown Court sentences five Just Stop Oil activists, including co-founder Roger Hallam, to prison terms ranging from four to five years for organizing protests that blocked the M25 motorway in London, England, United Kingdom, in 2022. (CNN)
15 July 2024 – Clifton Suspension Bridge human remains discovery: Colombian Yostin Andres Mosquera is charged with the murders of two gay men and remanded in custody by Wimbledon Magistrates Court in London, United Kingdom. (The Guardian)
14 July 2024 – UEFA Euro 2024: In association football, Spain defeat England 2–1 in the final match to win their fourth UEFA European Championship title, having previously won in 1964, 2008, and 2012, the most by any team. (Al Jazeera)
12 July 2024 –: The Metropolitan Police seeks a 24-year-old suspect after human remains of two men are found in two suitcases in Bristol and more remains today in Shepherd's Bush, West London, United Kingdom. (Evening Standard)
10 July 2024 – Killings of Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt: Louise's ex-boyfriend Kyle Clifford, wanted for the crossbow attack in Bushey, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, is arrested in Enfield, London. (USA Today)
2 July 2024 –: Serial killer Lucy Letby is convicted of an attempted murder in a retrial at Manchester Crown Court in Manchester, England. (BBC News)

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— Napoleon

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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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