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History of the British Isles
By chronology
* Prehistoric Britain
* Early Ireland
* Ancient Britain: Iron Age, Roman
* Sub-Roman Britain
* Early-Christian Ireland
* Early-Medieval Ireland
* Medieval Britain
* Medieval Ireland: Gaelic, Norman
* Early-modern: Britain, Ireland
* Modern:
o Britain
o Ireland: 1691–1801, –1922, –1937
By nation
* England
* Ireland
o Northern Ireland
o Republic of Ireland
* Isle of Man
* Scotland
* Wales
* See also:
o Guernsey
o Jersey
o Orkney Islands
By topic
* Constitutional history: Britain, Ireland
* Economic history: Britain, Ireland
* Military history of the United Kingdom
* History of British society
* Maritime history of Britain
Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia. Prior to their invasion, Iron Age Britain already had cultural and economic links with Continental Europe, but the invaders introduced new developments in agriculture, urbanization, industry and architecture, leaving a legacy that is still apparent today.
Historical records beyond the initial invasion are sparse, although many Roman historians mention the province in passing. Much of our knowledge of the period stems from archaeological investigations and especially epigraphic evidence.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Chronological history
o 1.1 Early contact
o 1.2 The Roman invasion
o 1.3 Roman rule is established
o 1.4 Occupation and retreat from southern Scotland
o 1.5 The third century
o 1.6 The fourth century
o 1.7 The end of Roman rule
o 1.8 Sub-Roman Britain
* 2 Themes
o 2.1 Trade and industry
o 2.2 Provincial government
+ 2.2.1 Provincial subdivisions
o 2.3 Town and country
o 2.4 Religion
* 3 The legacy
* 4 References
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
[edit] Chronological history
Principal sites in Roman Britain
Principal sites in Roman Britain
[edit] Early contact
Main article: Caesar's invasions of Britain
Britain was not unknown in the Classical world. As early as the 4th century BC the Greeks and Carthaginians traded for British tin:[1] the British Isles were known to the Greeks as the Cassiterides or "tin islands".[2] The Carthaginian sailor Himilco is said to have visited the island in the 5th century BC. But it was regarded as a place of mystery, with some writers even refusing to believe it existed.[3]
The first direct Roman contact came when the Roman general and future dictator, Julius Caesar, made two expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC as an offshoot of his conquest of Gaul, believing the Britons had been helping the Gallic resistance. The first expedition, more a reconnaissance than a full invasion, gained a foothold on the coast of Kent but, undermined by storm damage to the ships and a lack of cavalry, was unable to advance further. The expedition was a military failure, but a political success: the Roman Senate declared a 20-day public holiday in Rome in honour of this unprecedented achievement.[4]
In his second invasion Caesar took with him a substantially larger force and proceeded to coerce or invite many of the native tribes to pay tribute and give hostages in return for peace. A friendly local king, Mandubracius, was installed, and his rival, Cassivellaunus, was brought to terms. Hostages were taken, but historians disagree over whether the tribute agreed was paid by the Britons after Caesar's return to Gaul.[5]
Caesar had conquered no territory, but had established clients on the island and brought Britain into Rome's sphere of political influence. Augustus planned invasions in 34, 27 and 25 BC, but circumstances were never favourable,[6] and the relationship between Britain and Rome settled into one of diplomacy and trade. Strabo, writing late in Augustus's reign, claims that taxes on trade brought in more annual revenue than any conquest could.[7] Likewise, archaeology shows an increase in imported luxury goods in south-eastern Britain.[8] Strabo also mentions British kings who sent embassies to Augustus, and Augustus' own Res Gestae refers to two British kings whom he received as refugees.[9] When some of Tiberius's ships were carried to Britain in a storm during his campaigns in Germany in AD 16, they were sent back safe and sound by local rulers, telling tall tales of monsters.[10]
Rome appears to have encouraged a balance of power in southern Britain, supporting two powerful kingdoms: the Catuvellauni, ruled by the descendants of Tasciovanus, and the Atrebates, ruled by the descendants of Commius.[11] This policy was followed until AD 39 or 40, when Caligula received an exiled member of the Catuvellaunian dynasty and staged an invasion of Britain that collapsed in farcical circumstances before it left Gaul.[12] When Claudius successfully invaded in 43, it was in aid of another fugitive British ruler, this time Verica of the Atrebates.
[edit] The Roman invasion
Main article: Roman conquest of Britain
The invasion force in 43 was led by Aulus Plautius and probably consisted of four legions, although the number is not stated in any historical source, plus a similar number of auxiliaries.[13] Only one legion, the II Augusta, commanded by Vespasian, is directly attested to have taken part.[14] The IX Hispana,[15] the XIV Gemina (later styled Martia Victrix) and the XX (later styled Valeria Victrix)[16] are attested in 60/61 during the Boudican Revolt, and are likely to have been there since the initial invasion. However, the Roman Army was flexible, with units being used and moved whenever necessary, so this is not certain. Evidence from inscriptions suggests that all or part of VIII Augusta and some of the Praetorian Guard were involved.[citation needed]
The invasion was delayed by a mutiny of the troops, who were eventually persuaded by an imperial freedman to overcome their fear of crossing the Ocean and campaigning beyond the limits of the known world. They sailed in three divisions, and probably landed at Richborough in Kent, although some suggest that at least part of the invasion force landed on the south coast, in the Fishbourne area of West Sussex.[17]
The Romans defeated the Catuvellauni and their allies in two battles: the first, assuming a Richborough landing, on the river Medway, the second on the Thames. One of the Catuvellaunian leaders, Togodumnus, was killed, but his brother Caratacus survived to continue resistance elsewhere. Plautius halted at the Thames and sent for Claudius, who arrived with reinforcements, including artillery and elephants, for the final march to the Catuvellaunian capital, Camulodunum (Colchester). The future emperor Vespasian subdued the south-west,[18] Cogidubnus was set up as a friendly king of several territories,[19] and treaties were made with tribes outside the area under direct Roman control.
[edit] Roman rule is established
See also: Romano-British
After capturing the south of the island, the Romans turned their attention to what is now Wales. The Silures, Ordovices and Deceangli remained implacably opposed to the invaders, and for the first few decades were the focus of Roman military attention, despite occasional minor revolts among Roman allies like the Brigantes and the Iceni. The Silures were now led by Caratacus, and he carried out an effective guerrilla campaign against the governor Publius Ostorius Scapula. Finally, in 51, Ostorius lured Caratacus into a set-piece battle and defeated him. The British leader sought refuge among the Brigantes, but their queen, Cartimandua, proved her loyalty by surrendering him to the Romans. He was brought as a captive to Rome, where a dignified speech he made during Claudius's triumph persuaded the emperor to spare his life. However, the Silures were still not pacified, and Cartimandua's ex-husband Venutius stepped into Caratacus's shoes as the most prominent leader of British resistance.[20]
In 60-61, while governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was campaigning in Wales, the south-east of Britain rose in revolt under Boudica, widow of the recently-deceased king of the Iceni, Prasutagus, provoked by the seizure of the tribe's lands and the brutal treatment of the queen and her daughters. Prasutagus had left a will leaving half his kingdom to Nero in the hope that the rest would be left untouched. He was wrong. The Iceni, joined by the Trinovantes, destroyed the Roman colony at Camulodunum and routed the part of the IX legion that was sent to relieve it. Suetonius Paulinus rode to London, the rebels' next target, but concluded it could not be defended. Abandoned, it was destroyed, as was Verulamium (St Albans). Between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed in the three cities. But Suetonius regrouped with two of the three legions still available to him, chose a battlefield, and, despite being heavily outnumbered, defeated the rebels in the Battle of Watling Street. Boudica died not long afterwards, by self-administered poison or by illness.[21] The revolt had almost persuaded the emperor Nero to withdraw from Britain altogether.[22]
There was further turmoil in 69, the "year of four emperors". As civil war raged in Rome, weak governors were unable to control the legions in Britain, and Venutius of the Brigantes seized his chance. The Romans had previously always defended Cartimandua against him, but this time were unable to. Cartimandua was evacuated, and Venutius was left in control of the north of the country. After Vespasian secured the empire, his first two appointments as governor, Quintus Petillius Cerialis and Sextus Julius Frontinus, took on the task of subduing the Brigantes and Silures respectively.[23]
The Lunt Fort near Coventry, a reconstructed Roman fort
The Lunt Fort near Coventry, a reconstructed Roman fort
In the following years, the Romans conquered more of the island, increasing the size of Roman Britain. The governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola, father-in-law to the historian Tacitus, conquered the Ordovices in 78. With XX Valeria Victrix, Agricola defeated the Caledonians in 84 at the Battle of Mons Graupius, in what is today northern Scotland.[24] This marked the high tide mark of Roman territory in Britain; shortly after his victory, Agricola was recalled from Britain back to Rome, and the Romans retired to a more defensible line along the Forth-Clyde isthmus, freeing soldiers badly needed along other frontiers.
For much of the history of Roman Britain, a large number of soldiers were garrisoned on the island. This required that the emperor station a trusted senior man as governor of the province. As a side-effect of this, a number of future emperors served as governors or legates in this province, including Vespasian, Pertinax, and Gordian I.
[edit] Occupation and retreat from southern Scotland
There is no historical source describing the decades that followed Agricola's recall. Even the name of his replacement is unknown. Archaeology has shown that some Roman forts south of the Forth-Clyde isthmus were rebuilt and enlarged, although others appear to have been abandoned. Roman coins and pottery are found circulating at native settlement sites in what are now the Scottish Lowlands in the years before 100, indicating growing Romanisation. One of the most important sources of this era are the writing tablets from the fort at Vindolanda in Northumberland, mostly dating to AD 90-110. These tablets provide vivid evidence for the operation of a Roman fort at the edge of Empire, where officers' wives maintained polite society while merchants, hauliers and military personnel kept the fort operational and supplied.
Around 105, however, a serious setback appears to have happened at the hands of the tribes of Scotland; several Roman forts were destroyed by fire at this time with human remains and damaged armour at Trimontium (Newstead, Scottish Borders) indicating hostilities at least at that site. There is also circumstantial evidence that auxiliary reinforcements were sent from Germany and an unnamed British war from the period is mentioned on the gravestone of a tribune on Cyrene. However, Trajan's Dacian Wars may have led to troop reductions in the area or even total withdrawal followed by slighting of the forts by the natives rather than an unrecorded military defeat. The Romans were also in the habit of destroying their own forts during an orderly withdrawal, in order to deny resources to an enemy. In either case, the frontier probably moved south to the line of the Stanegate at the Solway-Tyne isthmus around this time.
A new crisis occurred at the beginning of Hadrian's reign (117), a rising in the north which was suppressed by Quintus Pompeius Falco. When Hadrian reached Britannia on his famous tour of the Roman provinces around 120, he directed an extensive defensive wall, known to posterity as Hadrian's Wall, to be built close to the line of the Stanegate frontier. Hadrian appointed Aulus Platorius Nepos as governor to undertake this work who brought VI Victrix with him from Lower Germany. Legio VI replaced the famous IX Hispana, whose disappearance has been much discussed. Archaeology indicates considerable instability in Scotland during the first half of the second century, and the shifting frontier at this time should be seen in this context.
In the reign of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) the Hadrianic border was briefly extended north to the Forth-Clyde isthmus, where the Antonine Wall was built around 142 following the military re-occupation of the Scottish lowlands by a new governor, Quintus Lollius Urbicus. This northward extension of the empire was probably the result of attacks, maybe by the Selgovae of south-west Scotland, on the Roman buffer state of the Votadini who lived north of the Hadrianic frontier.
The first Antonine occupation of Scotland ended as a result of a further crisis in 155-157, when the Brigantes revolted. With limited options to despatch reinforcements, the Romans moved their troops south and this rising was suppressed by the governor Cnaeus Julius Verus. Within a year the Antonine Wall was re-occupied, but by 163 or 164 it was abandoned. The second occupation was probably connected with Antonius' undertakings to protect the Votadini or his pride in enlarging the empire as the retreat to the Hadrianic frontier occurred not long after his death when a more objective strategic assessment of the benefits of the Antonine Wall could be made. The Romans did not entirely withdraw from Scotland at this time however, as the large fort at Newstead was maintained along with seven smaller outposts until at least c. 180.
During the twenty year period following the reversion of the frontier to Hadrian's Wall, Rome was concerned with continental issues primarily problems in the Danube provinces. Increasing numbers of hoards of buried coins in Britain at this time indicate that peace was not entirely achieved. Sufficient Roman silver appears in Scotland to suggest more than ordinary trade and it is likely that the Romans were boosting treaty agreements with cash payments, a situation with comparators elsewhere in the empire at the time.
In 175 a large force of Sarmatian cavalry, consisting of 5,500 men, arrived in Britannia, probably to reinforce troops fighting unrecorded uprisings. Certainly, in 180 Hadrian's Wall was breached and barbarians had killed the commanding officer or governor there in what Dio Cassius described as the most serious war of the reign of Commodus. Ulpius Marcellus was sent as replacement governor and by 184 he had won a new peace only to be faced with a mutiny from his own troops. Unhappy with Marcellus' strictness, they tried to elect a legate named Priscus as usurper emperor, he refused but Marcellus himself was lucky to leave the province alive. The Roman army in Britannia continued its insubordination, they sent a delegation of 1,500 to Rome to demand the execution of Tigidius Perrenis, a Praetorian Prefect whom they felt had earlier wronged them by posting lowly equites to legate ranks in Britannia. Commodus met the party outside Rome and agreed to have Perrenis killed, but this only made them feel more secure in their mutiny.
The future emperor, Pertinax was sent to Britannia to restore order and was initially successful in regaining control. A riot broke out amongst the troops however, in which Pertinax was attacked and left for dead, and he asked to be recalled to Rome, briefly succeeding Commodus in 192.
[edit] The third century
The death of Commodus put into motion a series of events which eventually led to civil war. Following the short reign of Pertinax, several rivals for the throne emerged, including Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus. The latter was the new governor of Britain, and had seemingly won the natives over after their earlier rebellions; he also controlled three legions, making him a potentially significant claimant to the purple. His sometime rival Severus promised him the title of Caesar in return for Albinus' support against Pescennius Niger in the east. Once Niger was neutralised however, Severus turned on his ally in Britain—though it is likely that Albinus saw that he would be the next target, and was already preparing for war.
Albinus crossed to Gaul in 195 where the provinces were also sympathetic to him and set up at Lugdunum. Severus arrived in February 196 and the ensuing battle was decisive. Although Albinus came close to victory, Severus' reinforcements won the day, and the British governor found it expedient to commit suicide. Severus soon purged Albinus' sympathisers, perhaps as well confiscating large tracts of land in Britain in punishment.
Albinus demonstrated the two major political problems posed by Roman Britain. First, in order to maintain its security it had three legions stationed there. These would provide an ambitious man with weak loyalties a powerful base for rebellion, as it had for Albinus. Second, deploying the legions elsewhere would strip the island of its garrison, with the result that Britain was defenceless to invaders.
Traditionally, the view has been that northern Britain descended into anarchy during Albinus' absence. Certainly Cassius Dio records that the new governor, Virius Lupus was obliged to buy peace from the fractious northern tribe known as the Maeatae, however more recent work suggests that it is more likely that he left a reasonable force behind to protect the frontier and that the level of chaos was not as great as earlier thought. Even so, a succession of militarily distinguished governors were appointed to the province and Lucius Alfenus Senecio's report back to Rome in 207 described barbarians "rebelling, over-running the land, taking booty and creating destruction". Alfenus requested either reinforcements or an Imperial expedition and Severus chose the latter option, despite now being 62 years old. Archaeological evidence shows that Alfenus had been rebuilding the defences of Hadrian's Wall and the forts beyond it and Severus' arrival in Britain prompted the rebellious tribes to immediately sue for peace. The emperor had not come all that way to leave without a victory however and it is likely that he wished to provide his teenage sons Caracalla and Geta with first hand experience of controlling and administering a barbarian province.
An expedition led by Severus and probably numbering around 20,000 troops, moved north in 208 or 209, crossing the wall and passing through eastern Scotland in a route similar to that used by Agricola. Harried by guerrilla raids by the natives and slowed by an unforgiving terrain, Severus was unable to meet the Caledonians on a battlefield. The campaign pushed northwards as far as the River Tay and peace treaties were signed with the Caledonians who seem to have suffered similar losses to the Romans. By 210, Severus had returned to York with the frontier set at Hadrian's Wall and assumed the title Britannicus. Almost immediately another northern tribe, the Maeatae rebelled. Caracella left with a punitive expedition but by the next year his ailing father had died and he and his brother left the province to press their claim for the throne.
As one of his last acts, Septimius Severus tried to solve the problem of powerful and rebellious governors in Britain by dividing the existing province into Upper Britain and Lower Britain. Although this kept the potential for rebellion in check for almost a century, it was not permanent. Historical sources provide little information on the following decades, a period often called the Long Peace. Even so the number of hoards found in the period rises, suggesting unrest and a string of forts were built along the coast of southern Britain to control piracy, over the next hundred years they expanded in number, becoming the Saxon Shore Forts.
During the middle of the third century the Roman empire was convulsed by barbarian invasions, rebellions and new imperial pretenders. Britannia apparently avoided these troubles, although increasing inflation had its economic effect. In 259, a so-called Gallic Empire was established when Postumus rebelled against Gallienus. Britannia was part of this until 274 when Aurelian reunited the empire.
In the late 270s a half-Brythonic usurper named Bononus rebelled to avoid the repercussions of letting his fleet be burnt by barbarians at Cologne. He was quickly crushed by Probus, but soon afterwards an unnamed governor in Britannia also attempted an uprising. Irregular troops of Vandals and Burgundians were sent across the Channel by Probus to put down the uprising, perhaps in 278.
The last of the string of rebellions to affect Britannia was that of Carausius and his successor Allectus. Carausius was a naval commander, probably in the English Channel. He was accused of keeping pirate booty for himself, and his execution was ordered by the Emperor Maximian. He then in 286 set himself up as emperor in Britain and northern Gaul, and remained in power whilst Maximian dealt with uprisings elsewhere. In 288, an invasion failed to unseat the usurper. An uneasy peace ensued, during which Carausius issued coins proclaiming his legitimacy and inviting official recognition.
In 293 Constantius Chlorus launched a second offensive, besieging the rebel's port at Boulogne and cutting it off from naval assistance. After the town fell, Constantius tackled Carausius' Frankish allies. Subsequently the usurper was murdered by his treasurer, Allectus. Allectus' brief reign was brought to an end when Asclepiodotus landed near Southampton and defeated him in a land battle.[25]
Constantius himself arrived in London to receive the victory and chose to divide the province further, into four provinces:
* Maxima Caesariensis (based on London): from Upper Britannia
* Britannia Prima: from Upper Britannia
* Flavia Caesariensis: from Lower Britannia
* Britannia Secunda: from Lower Britannia
These four provinces were part of Diocletian's Tetrarchy reform in 293: Britannia became one of the four dioceses—governed by a vicarius—of the prætorian prefecture Galliae ('the Gauls', also comprising the provinces of Gaul, Germania and Hispania), after the abolition of the imperial tetrarchs under the Western Emperor (in Rome itself, later Ravenna).
[edit] The fourth century
Constantius Chlorus returned to Britain in 306, aiming to invade northern Britain. The province's defences had been rebuilt in the preceding years and, although his health was poor, Constantius wished to penetrate far into enemy territory and win a further victory. Little is known of his campaigns and there is little archaeological evidence for them. From fragmentary historical sources it seems he reached the far north of Britain and won a great battle in early summer of that year before returning south to York.
Constantius remained in Britain for the rest of the time he was part of the Tetrarchy, dying on 25th July 306. His son, Constantine I had managed to be by his side at that moment, and assumed his duties in Britain. Unlike the earlier usurper Albinus, he was able to successfully use his base in Britain as a starting point on his march to the imperial throne.
For a few years, the British provinces were loyal to the usurper Magnentius, who succeeded Constans following his death. Following his defeat and death in the Battle of Mons Seleucus in 353, Constantius II dispatched his chief imperial notary Paul "Catena" to Britain to hunt down Magnentius' supporters. Paul's investigations deteriorated into a witch hunt, which forced the vicarius Flavius Martinus to intervene. When Paul instead suspected Martinus of treason, the vicarius found himself forced to physically attack Paul with a sword with the aim of assassinating him, but at the end committed suicide.
In the 4th century, Britain also saw increasing attacks from the Saxons in the east, and the Irish in the west. A series of forts was built, starting around 280, to defend the coasts, but these preparations were not enough when a general assault of Saxons, Irish and Attacotti, combined with apparent dissension in the garrison on Hadrian's Wall, left Roman Britain prostrate in 367. This crisis, sometimes called the Great Conspiracy, was settled by Count Theodosius with a string of military and civil reforms.
Another usurper, Magnus Maximus, raised the standard of revolt in Segontium in 383, and crossed the Channel. Maximus held much of the western empire, and fought a successful campaign against the Picts and Scots around 384. His continental exploits required troops from Britain, and it appears that forts at Chester and elsewhere were abandoned at this period, triggering raids and settlement in north Wales by the Irish. His rule was ended in 388, but not all of the British troops may have returned: the Empire's military resources were struggling after the catastrophic Battle of Adrianople in 378. Around 396, there were increasing barbarian incursions in Britain, and an expedition, possibly led by Stilicho, brought naval action against the raiders. It seems peace was restored by 399, although it is likely that no further garrisoning was ordered, and indeed by 401 more troops were withdrawn to assist in the war against Alaric I.
[edit] The end of Roman rule
Main article: Roman departure from Britain
Roman Britain in the year 410
Roman Britain in the year 410
The traditional view of historians, informed by the work of Michael Rostovtzeff, was of a widespread economic decline at this time. However, consistent archaeological evidence has told another story, and the accepted view is undergoing re-evaluation. The destruction of many sites is now believed to be much later than had formerly been thought. Many buildings changed use, but were not destroyed. There were growing barbarian attacks, but these were focused on vulnerable rural settlements rather than towns. Some villas such as Great Casterton in Rutland and Hucclecote in Gloucestershire had new mosaic floors laid around this time, suggesting that economic problems may have been limited and patchy, although many suffered some decay before being abandoned in the fifth century; the story of Saint Patrick indicates that villas were still occupied until at least 430. New buildings were still going up in this period in Verulamium and Cirencester. Some urban centres, for example Canterbury, Cirencester, Wroxeter, Winchester and Gloucester, remained active during the fifth and sixth centuries, surrounded by large farming estates.
Urban life had generally grown less intense by the fourth quarter of the fourth century, and coins minted between 378 and 388 are very rare, indicating a likely combination of economic decline, diminishing numbers of troops, and problems with the payment of soldiers and officials. Coinage circulation increased during the 390s, although it never attained the levels of earlier decades. Copper coins are very rare after 402, although minted silver and gold coins from hoards indicate they were still present in the province even if they were not being spent. By 407 there were no new Roman coins going into circulation and by 430 it is likely that coinage as a medium of exchange had been abandoned. Pottery mass production probably ended a decade or two previously; the rich continued to use metal and glass vessels, while the poor probably adopted leather or wooden ones.
[edit] Sub-Roman Britain
Main article: Sub-Roman Britain
Britain came under increasing pressure from barbarian attack on all sides towards the end of the 4th century, and troops were too few to mount an effective defence. The army rebelled and, after elevating two disappointing usurpers, chose a soldier, Constantine III, to become Emperor in 407. He soon crossed to Gaul with an army, to be defeated by Honorius; it is unclear how many troops remained or ever returned, nor whether a commander-in-chief in Britain was ever reappointed. A Saxon incursion in 408 was apparently repelled by the Britons themselves, and in 409 Zosimus records that the natives expelled the Roman civilian administration (although Zosimus may be referring to the Bacaudic rebellion of the Breton inhabitants of Armorica since he describes how, in the aftermath of the revolt, all of Armorica and the rest of Gaul followed the example of the Brettaniai). A later appeal for help by the British communities was rejected by the emperor Honorius in 410. This apparent contradiction has been explained by EA Thompson as a peasant revolt against the landowning classes, with the latter group asking for Roman help; an uprising certainly occurred in Gaul at the time. With the higher levels of the military and civil government gone, administration and justice fell to municipal authorities, and small warlords gradually emerged all over Britain, still aspiring to Roman ideals and conventions.
By tradition, the pagan Saxons were invited by Vortigern to assist in fighting the Picts and Irish, though archaeology has suggested some official settlement as landed mercenaries as early as the third century. Germanic migration into Roman Britannia may well have begun much earlier even than that. There is recorded evidence, for example, of Germanic auxiliaries being brought to Britain in the first and second centuries to support the legions. The new arrivals rebelled, plunging the country into a series of wars that eventually led to the Saxon occupation of Lowland Britain by 600. Around this time many Britons fled to Brittany (hence its name). Similar orders were sent out in the 490s but met with no response. A significant date in sub-Roman Britain is the famous Groans of the Britons, an unanswered appeal to Aëtius, leading general of the western Empire, for assistance against Saxon invasion in 446; another is the Battle of Dyrham in 577, after which the significant cities of Bath, Cirencester and Gloucester fell and the Saxons reached the western sea.
Most scholars reject the historicity of the later legends of King Arthur, which seem to be set in this period, but some such as John Morris see it as evidence behind which may lie a plausible grain of truth.
[edit] Themes
[edit] Trade and industry
For a history of mining during Roman times, see Mining in Roman Britain
By the time of the Roman occupation, Britain's tin exports to the Mediterranean had been largely eclipsed by the more convenient supply from Iberia. Gold, iron, lead, silver, jet, marble and pearls however were all exploited by the Romans in Britain along with more everyday commodities such as hunting dogs, animal skins, timber, wool and slaves. Foreign investment created a vigorous domestic market and imports were often of exotic Continental items such as fine pottery, olive oil, lavastone querns, glassware, garum and fruit.
Mineral extraction sites such as the Dolaucothi gold mine, the Wealden ironworking zone and the lead and silver mines of the Mendip Hills seem to have been private enterprises leased from the government for a fee. Although mining had long been practised in Britain, the Romans introduced new technical knowledge and large-scale industrial production to revolutionise the industry. Many prospecting areas were in dangerous, upland country, and, although mineral exploitation was presumably one of the main reasons for the Roman invasion, it had to wait until these areas were subdued.
Although Roman designs were most popular, rural craftsmen still produced items derived from the Iron Age La Tène artistic traditions. Local pottery rarely attained the standards of the Gaulish industries although the Castor ware of the Nene Valley was able to withstand comparison with the imports. Most native pottery was unsophisticated however and intended only for local markets.
By the third century, Britain's economy was diverse and well-established, with commerce extending into the non-Romanised north. The design of Hadrian's Wall especially catered to the need for customs inspections of merchants' goods.
[edit] Provincial government
Under the Roman Empire, administration of peaceful provinces was ultimately the remit of the Senate but those like Britain that required permanent garrisons of troops were placed under the Emperor's control. On the ground however imperial provinces were run by resident governors who were former senators who had held the consulship. These men were carefully selected often having strong records of military success and administrative ability. In Britain, a governor's role was primarily military but numerous other tasks were also his responsibility such as maintaining diplomatic relations with local client kings, building roads, ensuring the public courier system functioned, supervising the civitates and acting as a judge in important legal cases. When not campaigning he would travel the province hearing complaints and recruiting new troops.
To assist him in legal matters he had an adviser, the legatus iuridicus, and those in Britain appear to have been distinguished lawyers perhaps because of the challenge of incorporating tribes into the imperial system and devising a workable method of taxing them. Financial administration was dealt with by a procurator with junior posts for each tax-raising power. Each legion in Britain had a commander who answered to the governor and in time of war probably directly ruled troublesome districts. Each of these commands carried a tour of duty of two to three years in different provinces. Below these posts was a network of administrative managers covering intelligence gathering, sending reports to Rome, organising military supplies and dealing with prisoners. A staff of seconded soldiers provided clerical services.
Colchester was probably the earliest capital of Roman Britain but it was soon eclipsed by London with its strong mercantile connections.
[edit] Provincial subdivisions
Britannia
43-early 3rd c.
Capital Camulodunum
(43-c.65),
then London
Britannia Inferior,
Early 3rd c. - 293,
capital at Eboracum
Britannia Superior
Early 3rd c. - 293,
capital at Londinium
Flavia Caesariensis,
293-410,
capital Lincoln
Britannia Secunda,
293-410,
capital Eboracum
Maxima Caesariensis,
293-410,
capital Londinium
Britannia Prima,
293-410,
capital Cirencester
[edit] Town and country
During their occupation of Britain the Romans founded a number of important settlements, many of which still survive.
Cities and towns which have Roman origins, or were extensively developed by them, include: (with their Latin names in brackets)
* Alcester - (Aluana)
* Bath - (Aquae Sulis)
* Caerleon - (Isca Augusta)
* Caerwent - (Venta Silurum)
* Canterbury - (Durovernum Cantiacorum)
* Carmarthen - (Moridunum)
* Colchester - (Camulodunum)
* Corbridge - (Coria)
* Chichester - (Noviomagus Regnorum. Noviomagus means New Market and is also the Roman place name of a town in the Netherlands, now called Nijmegen)
* Chester - (Deva Victrix)
* Cirencester - (Corinium)
* Dover - (Portus Dubris)
* Dorchester - (Durnovaria)
* Exeter - (Isca Dumnoniorum)
* Gloucester - (Glevum)
* Leicester - (Ratae Corieltauvorum)
* London - (Londinium)
* Lincoln - (Lindum Colonia)
* Manchester - (Mamucium)
* Northwich - (Condate)
* St Albans - (Verulamium)
* Towcester - (Lactodorum)
* Whitchurch - (Mediolanum)
* Winchester - (Venta Belgarum)
* York - (Eboracum)
For a larger list, see list of Roman place names in Britain.
[edit] Religion
The druids, the Celtic priestly caste who were believed to originate in Britain,[26] were outlawed by Claudius,[27] and in 61 we find them vainly defending their sacred groves from destruction by the Romans on the island of Mona (Anglesey).[28] However, under Roman rule the Britons continued to worship native Celtic deities, such as Ancasta, but often conflated with their Roman equivalents, like Mars Rigonemetos at Nettleham.
The degree to which earlier native beliefs survived is difficult to gauge precisely. Certain northern European ritual traits such as the significance of the number 3, the importance of the head and of water sources such as springs remain in the archaeological record but the differences in the votive offerings made at Bath before and after the Roman conquest suggest that continuity was only partial. Worship of the emperor himself is widely recorded, especially at military sites. The founding of a temple to Claudius at Camulodunum was one of the impositions that led to the revolt of Boudica.
It is not clear when Christianity came to Britain, or how. The earliest written evidence for Christianity in Britain is a statement by Tertullian, ca. 200, that "all the limits of the Spains, and the diverse nations of the Gauls, and the haunts of the Britons, inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ".[29] Archaeological evidence for Christian communities begins to appear in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Small timber churches are suggested at Lincoln and Silchester and fonts have been found at Icklingham and the Saxon Shore Fort at Richborough. The Water Newton Treasure is a hoard of Christian silver church plate from the early fourth century and the Roman villas at Lullingstone and Hinton St Mary contained Christian wall paintings and mosaics respectively. A large 4th century cemetery at Poundbury with its east-west oriented burials and lack of grave goods has been interpreted as an early Christian burial ground, although such burial rites were also becoming increasingly common in pagan contexts during the period. Saint Alban, the first British Christian martyr, is believed to have died in the early 4th century (although some date him in the mid-3rd), followed by Saints Aaron and Julius of Isca Augusta.
Christianity was legalised in the Roman Empire by Constantine I in 313. The Church in Britain seems to have developed the customary diocesan system as evidenced from the records of the Council of Arles in Gaul in 314. Represented at the Council were bishops from thirty-five sees from Europe and North Africa, including three bishops from Britain: Eborius of York, Restitutus of London, and Adelphius. A letter found in Bath, datable to ca. 363, written in Wroxeter by a Christian man called Vinisius, warns a Christian women called Nigra of the arrival of Bilonicus, describing him as a canem Arii, an "Arian dog", indicating that the struggle between orthodoxy and heresy was present in Britain as elsewhere in the empire.[30] One heresy, Pelagianism, originated in Britain. Theodosius I made Christianity the state religion of the Empire in 391, and by the 5th century it was well-established.
Oriental cults such as Mithraism also grew in popularity towards the end of the occupation. The Temple of Mithras is one example of the popularity of mystery religions amongst the rich urban classes.
[edit] The legacy
During their occupation of Britain, the Romans built an extensive network of roads, many of whose routes are still followed today. The Romans also built water and sewage systems.
The prestige of the empire influenced Britons' views of themselves for generations to come.
Britain is also noteworthy as having the largest European region of the former Roman Empire that currently speaks neither (as a majority language):
* A Romance language (for example, Romania, where territory was under Roman control about half as long as Britain), nor
* A language descended from the pre-Roman inhabitants (such as Greek), though Welsh exists as a minority language, with many borrowings from Latin, such as llaeth ("milk"), ffenestr ("window"). The Cornish language also survived into the early modern period and is currently undergoing some revival.
Significant Germanic migration to Britain seems to have taken place only after the coming of the Romans. The Germanic speakers came originally as auxiliary troops to support the Romans in their conquest of the Celts. For what is known of the process that introduced English, a Germanic, not Celtic language, to much of this former Roman province, see the article Anglo-Saxons.
[edit] References
1. ^ George Patrick Welsh (1963), Britannia: the Roman Conquest and Occupation of Britain pp. 27-31
2. ^ Herodotus, Histories 3.115
3. ^ Plutarch, Life of Caesar 23.2
4. ^ Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 4.20-36
5. ^ Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.8-23
6. ^ Dio Cassius, Roman History 49.38, 53.22, 53.25
7. ^ Strabo, Geography 4.5
8. ^ Keith Branigan (1987), The Catuvellauni
9. ^ Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti 32
10. ^ Tacitus, Annals 2.24
11. ^ John Creighton (2000), Coins and power in Late Iron Age Britain, Cambridge University Press
12. ^ Suetonius, Caligula 44-46; Dio Cassius, Roman History 59.25
13. ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History 60.19-22
14. ^ Tacitus, Histories 3.44
15. ^ Tacitus, Annals 14.32
16. ^ Tacitus, Annals 14.34
17. ^ For example, John Manley, AD 43: The Roman Invasion of Britain: a Reassessment, 2002.
18. ^ Suetonius, Vespasian 4
19. ^ Tacitus, Agricola 14
20. ^ Tacitus, Annals 12:31-38
21. ^ Tacitus, Agricola 14-17, Annals 14.29-39; Dio Cassius, Roman History 62.1-12
22. ^ Suetonius, Nero 18
23. ^ Tacitus, Agricola 16-17; Histories 1.60, 3.45
24. ^ Tacitus, Agricola 18-38
25. ^ Panegyrici Latini 8, 10; Aurelius Victor, Book of Caesars 39; Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History 21-22; Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the Pagans 7.25
26. ^ Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 6.13
27. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 12.5
28. ^ Tacitus, Annals 14.30
29. ^ Tertullian, Adversus Judaeos 7.4
30. ^ Tomlin, R. S. O. (1994). "Vinisius to Nigra: Evidence from Oxford of Christianity in Roman Britain" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 100: 93-108. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label England. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label England. Tampilkan semua postingan
Jumat, 14 September 2007
London Wall
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Military of ancient Rome (Portal)
800 BC–AD 476
Structural history
Roman army (unit types and ranks,
legions, auxiliaries, generals)
Roman navy (fleets, admirals)
Campaign history
Lists of Wars and Battles
Decorations and Punishments
Technological history
Military engineering (castra,
siege engines, arches, roads)
Personal equipment
Political history
Strategy and tactics
Infantry tactics
Frontiers and fortifications (Limes,
Hadrian's Wall)
Statue of Trajan in front of a section of the Roman wall, Tower Hill
Statue of Trajan in front of a section of the Roman wall, Tower Hill
13th-century bastion on the London Wall, Barbican Estate
13th-century bastion on the London Wall, Barbican Estate
London Wall was the defensive wall built by the Romans around Londinium, their strategically important port town on the River Thames in England. The name London Wall, as explained below, may also be used to refer to a road related to this wall.
The wall had a number of gates around the outside that led to important Roman roads, leading to other towns in the country. The original list of gates on the wall going clockwise from Ludgate in the west to Aldgate in the east were: Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. Moorgate, between Cripplegate and Bishopsgate, was built later - in the medieval period - and brings the number of gates up to the canonical seven, commemorated in London tradition and literature. Some of the gates, though now long gone, are remembered by the areas or roads where the gates stood being named after them. Due to the rapid growth of the city, the number of gates was increased to cope with the extra traffic in the medieval period, and the walls were also strengthened and built upon.
Today all that remains of the wall are a few (albeit substantial) fragments, some of which can be seen in the grounds of the Museum of London, in the Barbican Estate and around Tower Hill. Part of the route originally taken by the northern wall is commemorated by the road also named London Wall on which the museum is located. The modern road starts in the west with a roundabout with Aldersgate then passes east past Moorgate, and eventually becomes Wormwood Street before it reaches Bishopsgate. One of the largest and most readily accessed fragments of the wall stands just outside Tower Hill tube station, with a replica statue of the Emperor Trajan standing in front of it.
The wall was constructed largely from Kentish ragstone brought by water from Maidstone. It enclosed an area of about 330 acres (1.3 km²), was 6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 m) wide and about 18 feet (5 m) high, with a ditch or fossa in front of the outer wall, measuring some 6 feet (2 m) deep by between 9 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m) wide. It included a number of bastions (at least twenty) spaced about 70 yards (64 m) apart; the best-preserved of these can be seen at the Barbican Estate, next to the church of St Giles-without-Cripplegate. The wall appears to have been built in the late 2nd century (around 80 years after the construction of the city's fort in 120, whose walls were thickened and doubled in height to match the new city wall) and continued to be developed until at least the end of the 4th century, making it among the last major building projects undertaken by the Romans before their withdrawal from Britain in 410.
The wall remained in active use as a fortification for over 1,000 years afterwards. It was used to defend London against raiding Saxons in 457, and was redeveloped in the medieval period with the addition of crenellations, more gates and further bastions. It was not until as late as the 18th and 19th centuries that the wall underwent substantial demolition, though even then large portions of it survived by being incorporated into other structures. Amid the devastation of the Blitz, some of the tallest ruins in the bomb-damaged City were remnants of the Roman wall.
The wall's moat has also left its mark on London; it forms the line of the street of Houndsditch. This was once London's main rubbish disposal site and was notorious for its appalling odour; its name, according to the 16th century historian John Stow, was derived "from that in old time, when the same lay open, much filth (conveyed forth of the City) especially dead dogges were there laid or cast." The moat was finally covered over and filled in at the end of the 16th century, becoming the present street.
[edit] See also
* London
* Roman London
* Fortifications of London
* Walbrook
* List of fortifications
* London Stone
* List of walls
* List of cities with defensive walls
* Roman Britain
* Roman invasion of Britain
* Roman sites in the United Kingdom
• Interested in contributing to Wikipedia? •
Jump to: navigation, search
rmn-military-header.png
This article is part of the series on:
Military of ancient Rome (Portal)
800 BC–AD 476
Structural history
Roman army (unit types and ranks,
legions, auxiliaries, generals)
Roman navy (fleets, admirals)
Campaign history
Lists of Wars and Battles
Decorations and Punishments
Technological history
Military engineering (castra,
siege engines, arches, roads)
Personal equipment
Political history
Strategy and tactics
Infantry tactics
Frontiers and fortifications (Limes,
Hadrian's Wall)
Statue of Trajan in front of a section of the Roman wall, Tower Hill
Statue of Trajan in front of a section of the Roman wall, Tower Hill
13th-century bastion on the London Wall, Barbican Estate
13th-century bastion on the London Wall, Barbican Estate
London Wall was the defensive wall built by the Romans around Londinium, their strategically important port town on the River Thames in England. The name London Wall, as explained below, may also be used to refer to a road related to this wall.
The wall had a number of gates around the outside that led to important Roman roads, leading to other towns in the country. The original list of gates on the wall going clockwise from Ludgate in the west to Aldgate in the east were: Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. Moorgate, between Cripplegate and Bishopsgate, was built later - in the medieval period - and brings the number of gates up to the canonical seven, commemorated in London tradition and literature. Some of the gates, though now long gone, are remembered by the areas or roads where the gates stood being named after them. Due to the rapid growth of the city, the number of gates was increased to cope with the extra traffic in the medieval period, and the walls were also strengthened and built upon.
Today all that remains of the wall are a few (albeit substantial) fragments, some of which can be seen in the grounds of the Museum of London, in the Barbican Estate and around Tower Hill. Part of the route originally taken by the northern wall is commemorated by the road also named London Wall on which the museum is located. The modern road starts in the west with a roundabout with Aldersgate then passes east past Moorgate, and eventually becomes Wormwood Street before it reaches Bishopsgate. One of the largest and most readily accessed fragments of the wall stands just outside Tower Hill tube station, with a replica statue of the Emperor Trajan standing in front of it.
The wall was constructed largely from Kentish ragstone brought by water from Maidstone. It enclosed an area of about 330 acres (1.3 km²), was 6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 m) wide and about 18 feet (5 m) high, with a ditch or fossa in front of the outer wall, measuring some 6 feet (2 m) deep by between 9 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m) wide. It included a number of bastions (at least twenty) spaced about 70 yards (64 m) apart; the best-preserved of these can be seen at the Barbican Estate, next to the church of St Giles-without-Cripplegate. The wall appears to have been built in the late 2nd century (around 80 years after the construction of the city's fort in 120, whose walls were thickened and doubled in height to match the new city wall) and continued to be developed until at least the end of the 4th century, making it among the last major building projects undertaken by the Romans before their withdrawal from Britain in 410.
The wall remained in active use as a fortification for over 1,000 years afterwards. It was used to defend London against raiding Saxons in 457, and was redeveloped in the medieval period with the addition of crenellations, more gates and further bastions. It was not until as late as the 18th and 19th centuries that the wall underwent substantial demolition, though even then large portions of it survived by being incorporated into other structures. Amid the devastation of the Blitz, some of the tallest ruins in the bomb-damaged City were remnants of the Roman wall.
The wall's moat has also left its mark on London; it forms the line of the street of Houndsditch. This was once London's main rubbish disposal site and was notorious for its appalling odour; its name, according to the 16th century historian John Stow, was derived "from that in old time, when the same lay open, much filth (conveyed forth of the City) especially dead dogges were there laid or cast." The moat was finally covered over and filled in at the end of the 16th century, becoming the present street.
[edit] See also
* London
* Roman London
* Fortifications of London
* Walbrook
* List of fortifications
* London Stone
* List of walls
* List of cities with defensive walls
* Roman Britain
* Roman invasion of Britain
* Roman sites in the United Kingdom
Stonehenge
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This article/section is missing citations and/or needs footnotes.
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This article has been tagged since February 2007.
For other uses, see Stonehenge (disambiguation).
Stonehenge, Avebury,
and Associated Sites*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Stonehenge in 2004
State Party United Kingdom
Type most likely Religion
Criteria i, ii, iii
Reference 373
Region† List of World Heritage Sites in Europe
Inscription History
Inscription 1986 (10th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.
Stonehenge (United Kingdom)
Stonehenge
Map showing the location of Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. Archaeologists believe the standing stones were erected around 2200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury henge monument, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge itself is owned by the State and managed by English Heritage while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.
Christopher Chippindale's Stonehenge Complete gives the derivation of the name Stonehenge as coming from the Old English words "stān" meaning "stone", and either "hencg" meaning "hinge" (because the stone lintels hinge on the upright stones) or "hen(c)en" meaning "hang" or "gallows" or "instrument of torture". Medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, resembling Stonehenge's trilithons, rather than looking like the inverted L-shape more familiar today.
The "henge" portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges. Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch. As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian usage, and Stonehenge cannot in fact be truly classified as a henge site as its bank is inside its ditch. Despite being contemporary with true Neolithic henges and stone circles, Stonehenge is in many ways atypical. For example, its extant trilithons make it unique. Stonehenge is only distantly related to the other stones circles in the British Isles, such as the Ring of Brodgar.[citation needed]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Development of Stonehenge
o 1.1 Before the monument (8000 BC forward)
o 1.2 Stonehenge 1 (ca. 3100 BC)
o 1.3 Stonehenge 2 (ca. 3000 BC)
o 1.4 Stonehenge 3 I (ca. 2600 BC)
o 1.5 Stonehenge 3 II (2450 BC to 2100 BC)
o 1.6 Stonehenge 3 III
o 1.7 Stonehenge 3 IV (2280 BC to 1930 BC)
o 1.8 Stonehenge 3 V (2280 BC to 1930 BC)
o 1.9 After the monument (1600 BC on)
* 2 Theories about Stonehenge
* 3 Myths and legends
o 3.1 “Friar’s Heel” or the “Sunday Stone”
o 3.2 Arthurian legend
* 4 Recent history
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Bibliography
* 8 External links
[edit] Development of Stonehenge
Plan of Stonehenge today. After Cleal et al. and Pitts.
Plan of Stonehenge today. After Cleal et al. and Pitts.
The Stonehenge complex was built in several construction phases spanning at least 3,000 years, although there is evidence for activity both before and afterwards on the site, perhaps extending its time frame to 6500 years.
Dating and understanding the various phases of activity at Stonehenge is not a simple task; it is complicated by poorly-kept early excavation records, surprisingly few accurate scientific dates and the disturbance of the natural chalk by periglacial effects and animal burrowing. The modern phasing most generally agreed by archaeologists is detailed below. Features mentioned in the text are numbered and shown on the plan, right, which illustrates the site as of 2004. The plan omits the trilithon lintels for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles and stones visible today are shown coloured.
[edit] Before the monument (8000 BC forward)
Some archaeologists have found four (or possibly five, although one may have been a natural tree throw) large Mesolithic postholes which date to around 8000 BC nearby, beneath the modern tourist car-park. These held pine posts around 0.75 m (2.4ft) in diameter which were erected and left to rot in situ. Three of the posts (and possibly four) were in an east-west alignment and may have had ritual significance; no parallels are known from Britain at the time but similar sites have been found in Scandinavia. At this time, Salisbury Plain was still wooded but four thousand years later, during the earlier Neolithic, a cursus monument was built 600 m north of the site as the first farmers began to clear the forest and exploit the area. Several other early Neolithic sites, a causewayed enclosure at Robin Hood's Ball and long barrow tombs were built in the surrounding landscape.
[edit] Stonehenge 1 (ca. 3100 BC)
Stonehenge 1. After Cleal et al.
Stonehenge 1. After Cleal et al.
The first monument consisted of a circular bank and ditch enclosure made of Late Cretaceous (Santonian Age) Seaford Chalk, (7 and 8) measuring around 110 m (360 feet) in diameter with a large entrance to the north east and a smaller one to the south (14). It stood in open grassland on a slightly sloping but not especially remarkable spot. The builders placed the bones of deer and oxen in the bottom of the ditch as well as some worked flint tools. The bones were considerably older than the antler picks used to dig the ditch and the people who buried them had looked after them for some time prior to burial. The ditch itself was continuous but had been dug in sections, like the ditches of the earlier causewayed enclosures in the area. The chalk dug from the ditch was piled up to form the bank. This first stage is dated to around 3100 BC after which the ditch began to silt up naturally and was not cleared out by the builders. Within the outer edge of the enclosed area was dug a circle of 56 pits, each around 1 m in diameter (13), known as the Aubrey holes after John Aubrey, the seventeenth century antiquarian who was thought to have first identified them. The pits may have contained standing timbers, creating a timber circle although there is no excavated evidence of them. A small outer bank beyond the ditch could also date to this period (9).
[edit] Stonehenge 2 (ca. 3000 BC)
Evidence of the second phase is no longer visible. It appears from the number of postholes dating to this period that some form of timber structure was built within the enclosure during the early 3rd millennium BC. Further standing timbers were placed at the northeast entrance and a parallel alignment of posts ran inwards from the southern entrance. The postholes are smaller than the Aubrey Holes, being only around 0.4 m in diameter and are much less regularly spaced. The bank was purposely reduced in height and the ditch continued to silt up. At least twenty-five of the Aubrey Holes are known to have contained later, intrusive, cremation burials dating to the two centuries after the monument's inception. It seems that whatever the holes' initial function, it changed to become a funerary one during Phase 2. Thirty further cremations were placed in the enclosure's ditch and at other points within the monument, mostly in the eastern half. Stonehenge is therefore interpreted as functioning as an enclosed cremation cemetery at this time, the earliest known cremation cemetery in the British Isles. Fragments of unburnt human bone have also been found in the ditch fill. Late Neolithic grooved ware pottery has been found in connection with the features from this phase providing dating evidence.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 I (ca. 2600 BC)
Archaeological excavation has indicated that around 2600 BC, timber was abandoned in favour of stone and two concentric crescents of holes (called the Q and R Holes) were dug in the centre of the site. Again, there is little firm dating evidence for this phase. The holes held up to 80 standing stones (shown blue on the plan) 43 of which, the bluestones, were derived from the Preseli Hills, 250 km away in modern day Pembrokeshire in Wales. Other standing stones may well have been small sarsens, used later as lintels. The far-travelled stones, which weighed about four tons, consisted mostly of spotted Ordovician dolerite but included examples of rhyolite, tuff and volcanic and calcareous ash. Each measures around 2 m in height, between 1 m and 1.5 m wide and around 0.8 m thick. What was to become known as the Altar Stone (1), a six-ton specimen of green micaceous Silurian-Devonian sandstone, twice the height of the bluestones, is derived from either South Pembrokeshire or the Brecon Beacons and may have stood as a single large monolith.
The north eastern entrance was also widened at this time with the result that it precisely matched the direction of the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset of the period. This phase of the monument was abandoned unfinished however, the small standing stones were apparently removed and the Q and R holes purposefully backfilled. Even so, the monument appears to have eclipsed the site at Avebury in importance towards the end of this phase and the Amesbury Archer, found in 2002 three miles (5 km) to the south, would have seen the site in this state.
The Heelstone (5), a Tertiary sandstone, may also have been erected outside the north eastern entrance during this period although it cannot be securely dated and may have been installed at any time in phase 3. At first, a second stone, now no longer visible, joined it. Two, or possibly three, large portal stones were set up just inside the north eastern entrance of which only one, the fallen Slaughter Stone (4), 16 ft (4.9 m) long, now remains. Other features loosely dated to phase 3 include the four Station Stones (6), two of which stood atop mounds (2 and 3). The mounds are known as 'barrows' although they do not contain burials. The Avenue, (10), a parallel pair of ditches and banks leading 3 km to the River Avon was also added. Two ditches similar to Heelstone Ditch circling the Heelstone, which was by then reduced to a single monolith, were later dug around the Station Stones.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 II (2450 BC to 2100 BC)
The next major phase of activity at the tail end of the 3rd millennium BC saw 30 enormous Oligocene-Miocene sarsen stones (shown grey on the plan) brought from a quarry around 24 miles (40 km) north to the site on the Marlborough Downs. The stones were dressed and fashioned with mortise and tenon joints before 30 were erected as a 33 m (108 ft) diameter circle of standing stones with a 'lintel' of 30 stones resting on top. The lintels were joined to one another using another woodworking method, the tongue in groove joint. Each standing stone was around 4.1 m (13.5 feet) high, 2.1 m (7.5 feet) wide and weighed around 25 tons. Each had clearly been worked with the final effect in mind; the orthostats widen slightly towards the top in order that their perspective remains constant as they rise up from the ground while the lintel stones curve slightly to continue the circular appearance of the earlier monument. The sides of the stones that face inwards are smoother and more finely worked than the sides that face outwards. The average thickness of these stones is 1.1 m (3.75 feet) and the average distance between them is 1 m (3.5 feet). A total of 74 stones would have been needed to complete the circle and unless some of the sarsens were removed from the site, it would seem that the ring was left incomplete. Of the lintel stones, they are each around 3.2 m long (10.5 feet), 1 m (3.5 feet) wide and 0.8 m (2.75 feet) thick. The tops of the lintels are 4.9 m (16 feet) above the ground.
Within this circle stood five trilithons of dressed sarsen stone arranged in a horseshoe shape 13.7 m (45 feet) across with its open end facing north east. These huge stones, ten uprights and five lintels, weigh up to 50 tons each and were again linked using complex jointings. They are arranged symmetrically; the smallest pair of trilithons were around 6 m (20 feet) tall, the next pair a little higher and the largest, single trilithon in the south west corner would have been 7.3 m (24 feet) tall. Only one upright from the Great Trilithon still stands; 6.7 m (22 ft) is visible and a further 2.4 m (8 feet) is below ground.
The images of a 'dagger' and 14 'axe-heads' have been recorded carved on one of the sarsens, known as stone 53. Further axe-head carvings have been seen on the outer faces of stones known as numbers 3, 4, and 5. They are difficult to date but are morphologically similar to later Bronze Age weapons; recent laser scanning work on the carvings supports this interpretation. The pair of trilithons in north east are smallest, measuring around 6 m (20 feet) in height and the largest is the trilithon in the south west of the horseshoe is almost 7.5 m (24 feet) tall.
This ambitious phase is radiocarbon dated to between 2440 and 2100 BC.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 III
Later in the Bronze Age, the bluestones appear to have been re-erected for the first time, although the exact details of this period are still unclear. They were placed within the outer sarsen circle and at this time may have been trimmed in some way. A few have timber working-style cuts in them like the sarsens themselves, suggesting they may have been linked with lintels and part of a larger structure during this phase.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 IV (2280 BC to 1930 BC)
This phase saw further rearrangement of the bluestones as they were placed in a circle between the two settings of sarsens and in an oval in the very centre. Some archaeologists argue that some of the bluestones in this period were part of a second group brought from Wales. All the stones were well-spaced uprights without any of the linking lintels inferred in Stonehenge 3 III. The Altar Stone may have been moved within the oval and stood vertically. Although this would seem the most impressive phase of work, Stonehenge 3 IV was rather shabbily built compared to its immediate predecessors, the newly re-installed bluestones were not at all well founded and began to fall over. However, only minor changes were made after this phase. Stonehenge 3 IV dates from 2280 to 1930 BC.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 V (2280 BC to 1930 BC)
Soon afterwards, the north eastern section of the Phase 3 IV Bluestone circle was removed, creating a horseshoe-shaped setting termed the Bluestone Horseshoe. This mirrored the shape of the central sarsen Trilithons and dates from 2270 to 1930 BC. This phase is contemporary with the famous Seahenge site in Norfolk.
[edit] After the monument (1600 BC on)
Even though the last known construction of Stonehenge was about 1600 BC, and the last known usage of it was during the Iron Age (if not as late as the 7th century), where Roman coins, prehistoric pottery, an unusual bone point and a skeleton of a young male (780-410 cal BC) were found, we have no idea if Stonehenge was in continuous use or exactly how it was used. Notable is the late 7th-6th century BC large arcing Scroll Trench which deepens E-NE towards Heelstone, and the burial of a decapitated Saxon man excavated from Stonehenge dated to the 7th century. The site was known by scholars during the Middle Ages and since then it has been studied and adopted by numerous different groups.
[edit] Theories about Stonehenge
Main article: Theories about Stonehenge
[edit] Myths and legends
The Heelstone
The Heelstone
[edit] “Friar’s Heel” or the “Sunday Stone”
The Heel Stone was once known as “Friar’s Heel”. A folk tale, which cannot be dated earlier than the seventeenth century, relates the origin of the name of this stone:
The Devil bought the stones from a woman in Ireland, wrapped them up, and brought them to Salisbury plain. One of the stones fell into the Avon, the rest were carried to the plain. The Devil then cried out, “No-one will ever find out how these stones came here!” A friar replied, “That’s what you think!,” whereupon the Devil threw one of the stones at him and struck him on the heel. The stone stuck in the ground and is still there.
Some claim “Friar’s Heel” is a corruption of “Freyja’s He-ol” or “Freyja Sul”, from the Nordic goddess Freyja and (allegedly) the Welsh words for “way” and “Friday” respectively.
[edit] Arthurian legend
A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. From a manuscript of the Brut by Wace in the British Library (Egerton 3028). This is the oldest known depiction of Stonehenge.
A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. From a manuscript of the Brut by Wace in the British Library (Egerton 3028). This is the oldest known depiction of Stonehenge.
Stonehenge is also mentioned within Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth said that Merlin the wizard directed its removal from Ireland, where it had been constructed on Mount Killaraus by Giants, who brought the stones from Africa. After it had been rebuilt near Amesbury, Geoffrey further narrates how first Ambrosius Aurelianus, then Uther Pendragon, and finally Constantine III, were buried inside the ring of stones. In many places in his Historia Regum Britanniae Geoffrey mixes British legend and his own imagination; it is intriguing that he connects Ambrosius Aurelianus with this prehistoric monument, seeing how there is place-name evidence to connect Ambrosius with nearby Amesbury.
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the rocks of Stonehenge were healing rocks which Giants brought from Africa to Ireland for their healing properties. Aurelius Ambrosias (5th Century), wishing to erect a memorial to the nobles (3000) who had died in battle with the Saxons and were buried at Salisbury, chose (at Merlin's advice) Stonehenge to be their monument. So the King sent Merlin, Uther Pendragon (Arthur's father), and 15,000 knights to Ireland to retrieve the rocks. They slew 7,000 Irish. As the knights tried to move the rocks with ropes and force, they failed. Then Merlin, using "gear" and skill, easily dismantled the stones and sent them over to Britain, where Stonehenge was dedicated. Shortly after, Aurelius died and was buried within the Stonehenge monument, or "The Giants' Ring of Stonehenge".
[edit] Recent history
Photograph of Stonehenge taken July 1877
Photograph of Stonehenge taken July 1877
The sun rising over Stonehenge on the summer solstice on 21 June 2005
The sun rising over Stonehenge on the summer solstice on 21 June 2005
Main article: Recent history of Stonehenge
By the beginning of the 20th century a number of the stones had fallen or were leaning precariously, probably due to the increase in curious visitors clambering on them during the nineteenth century. Three phases of conservation work were undertaken which righted some unstable or fallen stones and carefully replaced them in their original positions using information from antiquarian drawings.
In 1915 Cecil Chubb bought Stonehenge, through Knight Frank & Rutley estate agents, for £6,000 as a present for his wife. She gave it to the nation three years later. The item was listed in the catalogue as "Lot 15. Stonehenge with about 30 acres, 2 rods, 37 perches of adjoining downland."[1]
Stonehenge is a place of pilgrimage for neo-druids and those following pagan or neo-pagan beliefs. The midsummer sunrise began attracting modern visitors in the 1870s, with the first record of recreated Druidic practices dating to 1905 when the Ancient Order of Druids enacted a ceremony. Despite efforts by archaeologists and historians to stress the differences between the Iron Age Druidic religion and the much older monument, Stonehenge has become increasingly, almost inextricably, associated with British Druidism, Neo Paganism and New Age philosophy. After the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985 this use of the site was stopped for several years, and currently ritual use of Stonehenge is carefully controlled.
In more recent years, the setting of the monument has been affected by the proximity of the A303 road between Amesbury and Winterbourne Stoke, and the A344. In early 2003, the Department for Transport announced that the A303 would be upgraded, including the construction of the Stonehenge road tunnel. The controversial plans have not yet been finalised by the government.
[edit] See also
* Avebury
* Battle of the Beanfield
* Durrington Walls
* European Megalithic Culture
* Excavations at Stonehenge
* Goloring
* Goseck circle
* Stonehenge replicas and derivatives
* Stone circle
* Stonehenge Historic Landscape
* Cultural depictions of Stonehenge
* Stonehenge road tunnel
* Stonehenge Riverside Project
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Stonehenge, Avebury,
and Associated Sites*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Stonehenge in 2004
State Party United Kingdom
Type most likely Religion
Criteria i, ii, iii
Reference 373
Region† List of World Heritage Sites in Europe
Inscription History
Inscription 1986 (10th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.
Stonehenge (United Kingdom)
Stonehenge
Map showing the location of Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. Archaeologists believe the standing stones were erected around 2200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury henge monument, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge itself is owned by the State and managed by English Heritage while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.
Christopher Chippindale's Stonehenge Complete gives the derivation of the name Stonehenge as coming from the Old English words "stān" meaning "stone", and either "hencg" meaning "hinge" (because the stone lintels hinge on the upright stones) or "hen(c)en" meaning "hang" or "gallows" or "instrument of torture". Medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, resembling Stonehenge's trilithons, rather than looking like the inverted L-shape more familiar today.
The "henge" portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges. Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch. As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian usage, and Stonehenge cannot in fact be truly classified as a henge site as its bank is inside its ditch. Despite being contemporary with true Neolithic henges and stone circles, Stonehenge is in many ways atypical. For example, its extant trilithons make it unique. Stonehenge is only distantly related to the other stones circles in the British Isles, such as the Ring of Brodgar.[citation needed]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Development of Stonehenge
o 1.1 Before the monument (8000 BC forward)
o 1.2 Stonehenge 1 (ca. 3100 BC)
o 1.3 Stonehenge 2 (ca. 3000 BC)
o 1.4 Stonehenge 3 I (ca. 2600 BC)
o 1.5 Stonehenge 3 II (2450 BC to 2100 BC)
o 1.6 Stonehenge 3 III
o 1.7 Stonehenge 3 IV (2280 BC to 1930 BC)
o 1.8 Stonehenge 3 V (2280 BC to 1930 BC)
o 1.9 After the monument (1600 BC on)
* 2 Theories about Stonehenge
* 3 Myths and legends
o 3.1 “Friar’s Heel” or the “Sunday Stone”
o 3.2 Arthurian legend
* 4 Recent history
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Bibliography
* 8 External links
[edit] Development of Stonehenge
Plan of Stonehenge today. After Cleal et al. and Pitts.
Plan of Stonehenge today. After Cleal et al. and Pitts.
The Stonehenge complex was built in several construction phases spanning at least 3,000 years, although there is evidence for activity both before and afterwards on the site, perhaps extending its time frame to 6500 years.
Dating and understanding the various phases of activity at Stonehenge is not a simple task; it is complicated by poorly-kept early excavation records, surprisingly few accurate scientific dates and the disturbance of the natural chalk by periglacial effects and animal burrowing. The modern phasing most generally agreed by archaeologists is detailed below. Features mentioned in the text are numbered and shown on the plan, right, which illustrates the site as of 2004. The plan omits the trilithon lintels for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles and stones visible today are shown coloured.
[edit] Before the monument (8000 BC forward)
Some archaeologists have found four (or possibly five, although one may have been a natural tree throw) large Mesolithic postholes which date to around 8000 BC nearby, beneath the modern tourist car-park. These held pine posts around 0.75 m (2.4ft) in diameter which were erected and left to rot in situ. Three of the posts (and possibly four) were in an east-west alignment and may have had ritual significance; no parallels are known from Britain at the time but similar sites have been found in Scandinavia. At this time, Salisbury Plain was still wooded but four thousand years later, during the earlier Neolithic, a cursus monument was built 600 m north of the site as the first farmers began to clear the forest and exploit the area. Several other early Neolithic sites, a causewayed enclosure at Robin Hood's Ball and long barrow tombs were built in the surrounding landscape.
[edit] Stonehenge 1 (ca. 3100 BC)
Stonehenge 1. After Cleal et al.
Stonehenge 1. After Cleal et al.
The first monument consisted of a circular bank and ditch enclosure made of Late Cretaceous (Santonian Age) Seaford Chalk, (7 and 8) measuring around 110 m (360 feet) in diameter with a large entrance to the north east and a smaller one to the south (14). It stood in open grassland on a slightly sloping but not especially remarkable spot. The builders placed the bones of deer and oxen in the bottom of the ditch as well as some worked flint tools. The bones were considerably older than the antler picks used to dig the ditch and the people who buried them had looked after them for some time prior to burial. The ditch itself was continuous but had been dug in sections, like the ditches of the earlier causewayed enclosures in the area. The chalk dug from the ditch was piled up to form the bank. This first stage is dated to around 3100 BC after which the ditch began to silt up naturally and was not cleared out by the builders. Within the outer edge of the enclosed area was dug a circle of 56 pits, each around 1 m in diameter (13), known as the Aubrey holes after John Aubrey, the seventeenth century antiquarian who was thought to have first identified them. The pits may have contained standing timbers, creating a timber circle although there is no excavated evidence of them. A small outer bank beyond the ditch could also date to this period (9).
[edit] Stonehenge 2 (ca. 3000 BC)
Evidence of the second phase is no longer visible. It appears from the number of postholes dating to this period that some form of timber structure was built within the enclosure during the early 3rd millennium BC. Further standing timbers were placed at the northeast entrance and a parallel alignment of posts ran inwards from the southern entrance. The postholes are smaller than the Aubrey Holes, being only around 0.4 m in diameter and are much less regularly spaced. The bank was purposely reduced in height and the ditch continued to silt up. At least twenty-five of the Aubrey Holes are known to have contained later, intrusive, cremation burials dating to the two centuries after the monument's inception. It seems that whatever the holes' initial function, it changed to become a funerary one during Phase 2. Thirty further cremations were placed in the enclosure's ditch and at other points within the monument, mostly in the eastern half. Stonehenge is therefore interpreted as functioning as an enclosed cremation cemetery at this time, the earliest known cremation cemetery in the British Isles. Fragments of unburnt human bone have also been found in the ditch fill. Late Neolithic grooved ware pottery has been found in connection with the features from this phase providing dating evidence.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 I (ca. 2600 BC)
Archaeological excavation has indicated that around 2600 BC, timber was abandoned in favour of stone and two concentric crescents of holes (called the Q and R Holes) were dug in the centre of the site. Again, there is little firm dating evidence for this phase. The holes held up to 80 standing stones (shown blue on the plan) 43 of which, the bluestones, were derived from the Preseli Hills, 250 km away in modern day Pembrokeshire in Wales. Other standing stones may well have been small sarsens, used later as lintels. The far-travelled stones, which weighed about four tons, consisted mostly of spotted Ordovician dolerite but included examples of rhyolite, tuff and volcanic and calcareous ash. Each measures around 2 m in height, between 1 m and 1.5 m wide and around 0.8 m thick. What was to become known as the Altar Stone (1), a six-ton specimen of green micaceous Silurian-Devonian sandstone, twice the height of the bluestones, is derived from either South Pembrokeshire or the Brecon Beacons and may have stood as a single large monolith.
The north eastern entrance was also widened at this time with the result that it precisely matched the direction of the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset of the period. This phase of the monument was abandoned unfinished however, the small standing stones were apparently removed and the Q and R holes purposefully backfilled. Even so, the monument appears to have eclipsed the site at Avebury in importance towards the end of this phase and the Amesbury Archer, found in 2002 three miles (5 km) to the south, would have seen the site in this state.
The Heelstone (5), a Tertiary sandstone, may also have been erected outside the north eastern entrance during this period although it cannot be securely dated and may have been installed at any time in phase 3. At first, a second stone, now no longer visible, joined it. Two, or possibly three, large portal stones were set up just inside the north eastern entrance of which only one, the fallen Slaughter Stone (4), 16 ft (4.9 m) long, now remains. Other features loosely dated to phase 3 include the four Station Stones (6), two of which stood atop mounds (2 and 3). The mounds are known as 'barrows' although they do not contain burials. The Avenue, (10), a parallel pair of ditches and banks leading 3 km to the River Avon was also added. Two ditches similar to Heelstone Ditch circling the Heelstone, which was by then reduced to a single monolith, were later dug around the Station Stones.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 II (2450 BC to 2100 BC)
The next major phase of activity at the tail end of the 3rd millennium BC saw 30 enormous Oligocene-Miocene sarsen stones (shown grey on the plan) brought from a quarry around 24 miles (40 km) north to the site on the Marlborough Downs. The stones were dressed and fashioned with mortise and tenon joints before 30 were erected as a 33 m (108 ft) diameter circle of standing stones with a 'lintel' of 30 stones resting on top. The lintels were joined to one another using another woodworking method, the tongue in groove joint. Each standing stone was around 4.1 m (13.5 feet) high, 2.1 m (7.5 feet) wide and weighed around 25 tons. Each had clearly been worked with the final effect in mind; the orthostats widen slightly towards the top in order that their perspective remains constant as they rise up from the ground while the lintel stones curve slightly to continue the circular appearance of the earlier monument. The sides of the stones that face inwards are smoother and more finely worked than the sides that face outwards. The average thickness of these stones is 1.1 m (3.75 feet) and the average distance between them is 1 m (3.5 feet). A total of 74 stones would have been needed to complete the circle and unless some of the sarsens were removed from the site, it would seem that the ring was left incomplete. Of the lintel stones, they are each around 3.2 m long (10.5 feet), 1 m (3.5 feet) wide and 0.8 m (2.75 feet) thick. The tops of the lintels are 4.9 m (16 feet) above the ground.
Within this circle stood five trilithons of dressed sarsen stone arranged in a horseshoe shape 13.7 m (45 feet) across with its open end facing north east. These huge stones, ten uprights and five lintels, weigh up to 50 tons each and were again linked using complex jointings. They are arranged symmetrically; the smallest pair of trilithons were around 6 m (20 feet) tall, the next pair a little higher and the largest, single trilithon in the south west corner would have been 7.3 m (24 feet) tall. Only one upright from the Great Trilithon still stands; 6.7 m (22 ft) is visible and a further 2.4 m (8 feet) is below ground.
The images of a 'dagger' and 14 'axe-heads' have been recorded carved on one of the sarsens, known as stone 53. Further axe-head carvings have been seen on the outer faces of stones known as numbers 3, 4, and 5. They are difficult to date but are morphologically similar to later Bronze Age weapons; recent laser scanning work on the carvings supports this interpretation. The pair of trilithons in north east are smallest, measuring around 6 m (20 feet) in height and the largest is the trilithon in the south west of the horseshoe is almost 7.5 m (24 feet) tall.
This ambitious phase is radiocarbon dated to between 2440 and 2100 BC.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 III
Later in the Bronze Age, the bluestones appear to have been re-erected for the first time, although the exact details of this period are still unclear. They were placed within the outer sarsen circle and at this time may have been trimmed in some way. A few have timber working-style cuts in them like the sarsens themselves, suggesting they may have been linked with lintels and part of a larger structure during this phase.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 IV (2280 BC to 1930 BC)
This phase saw further rearrangement of the bluestones as they were placed in a circle between the two settings of sarsens and in an oval in the very centre. Some archaeologists argue that some of the bluestones in this period were part of a second group brought from Wales. All the stones were well-spaced uprights without any of the linking lintels inferred in Stonehenge 3 III. The Altar Stone may have been moved within the oval and stood vertically. Although this would seem the most impressive phase of work, Stonehenge 3 IV was rather shabbily built compared to its immediate predecessors, the newly re-installed bluestones were not at all well founded and began to fall over. However, only minor changes were made after this phase. Stonehenge 3 IV dates from 2280 to 1930 BC.
[edit] Stonehenge 3 V (2280 BC to 1930 BC)
Soon afterwards, the north eastern section of the Phase 3 IV Bluestone circle was removed, creating a horseshoe-shaped setting termed the Bluestone Horseshoe. This mirrored the shape of the central sarsen Trilithons and dates from 2270 to 1930 BC. This phase is contemporary with the famous Seahenge site in Norfolk.
[edit] After the monument (1600 BC on)
Even though the last known construction of Stonehenge was about 1600 BC, and the last known usage of it was during the Iron Age (if not as late as the 7th century), where Roman coins, prehistoric pottery, an unusual bone point and a skeleton of a young male (780-410 cal BC) were found, we have no idea if Stonehenge was in continuous use or exactly how it was used. Notable is the late 7th-6th century BC large arcing Scroll Trench which deepens E-NE towards Heelstone, and the burial of a decapitated Saxon man excavated from Stonehenge dated to the 7th century. The site was known by scholars during the Middle Ages and since then it has been studied and adopted by numerous different groups.
[edit] Theories about Stonehenge
Main article: Theories about Stonehenge
[edit] Myths and legends
The Heelstone
The Heelstone
[edit] “Friar’s Heel” or the “Sunday Stone”
The Heel Stone was once known as “Friar’s Heel”. A folk tale, which cannot be dated earlier than the seventeenth century, relates the origin of the name of this stone:
The Devil bought the stones from a woman in Ireland, wrapped them up, and brought them to Salisbury plain. One of the stones fell into the Avon, the rest were carried to the plain. The Devil then cried out, “No-one will ever find out how these stones came here!” A friar replied, “That’s what you think!,” whereupon the Devil threw one of the stones at him and struck him on the heel. The stone stuck in the ground and is still there.
Some claim “Friar’s Heel” is a corruption of “Freyja’s He-ol” or “Freyja Sul”, from the Nordic goddess Freyja and (allegedly) the Welsh words for “way” and “Friday” respectively.
[edit] Arthurian legend
A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. From a manuscript of the Brut by Wace in the British Library (Egerton 3028). This is the oldest known depiction of Stonehenge.
A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. From a manuscript of the Brut by Wace in the British Library (Egerton 3028). This is the oldest known depiction of Stonehenge.
Stonehenge is also mentioned within Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth said that Merlin the wizard directed its removal from Ireland, where it had been constructed on Mount Killaraus by Giants, who brought the stones from Africa. After it had been rebuilt near Amesbury, Geoffrey further narrates how first Ambrosius Aurelianus, then Uther Pendragon, and finally Constantine III, were buried inside the ring of stones. In many places in his Historia Regum Britanniae Geoffrey mixes British legend and his own imagination; it is intriguing that he connects Ambrosius Aurelianus with this prehistoric monument, seeing how there is place-name evidence to connect Ambrosius with nearby Amesbury.
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the rocks of Stonehenge were healing rocks which Giants brought from Africa to Ireland for their healing properties. Aurelius Ambrosias (5th Century), wishing to erect a memorial to the nobles (3000) who had died in battle with the Saxons and were buried at Salisbury, chose (at Merlin's advice) Stonehenge to be their monument. So the King sent Merlin, Uther Pendragon (Arthur's father), and 15,000 knights to Ireland to retrieve the rocks. They slew 7,000 Irish. As the knights tried to move the rocks with ropes and force, they failed. Then Merlin, using "gear" and skill, easily dismantled the stones and sent them over to Britain, where Stonehenge was dedicated. Shortly after, Aurelius died and was buried within the Stonehenge monument, or "The Giants' Ring of Stonehenge".
[edit] Recent history
Photograph of Stonehenge taken July 1877
Photograph of Stonehenge taken July 1877
The sun rising over Stonehenge on the summer solstice on 21 June 2005
The sun rising over Stonehenge on the summer solstice on 21 June 2005
Main article: Recent history of Stonehenge
By the beginning of the 20th century a number of the stones had fallen or were leaning precariously, probably due to the increase in curious visitors clambering on them during the nineteenth century. Three phases of conservation work were undertaken which righted some unstable or fallen stones and carefully replaced them in their original positions using information from antiquarian drawings.
In 1915 Cecil Chubb bought Stonehenge, through Knight Frank & Rutley estate agents, for £6,000 as a present for his wife. She gave it to the nation three years later. The item was listed in the catalogue as "Lot 15. Stonehenge with about 30 acres, 2 rods, 37 perches of adjoining downland."[1]
Stonehenge is a place of pilgrimage for neo-druids and those following pagan or neo-pagan beliefs. The midsummer sunrise began attracting modern visitors in the 1870s, with the first record of recreated Druidic practices dating to 1905 when the Ancient Order of Druids enacted a ceremony. Despite efforts by archaeologists and historians to stress the differences between the Iron Age Druidic religion and the much older monument, Stonehenge has become increasingly, almost inextricably, associated with British Druidism, Neo Paganism and New Age philosophy. After the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985 this use of the site was stopped for several years, and currently ritual use of Stonehenge is carefully controlled.
In more recent years, the setting of the monument has been affected by the proximity of the A303 road between Amesbury and Winterbourne Stoke, and the A344. In early 2003, the Department for Transport announced that the A303 would be upgraded, including the construction of the Stonehenge road tunnel. The controversial plans have not yet been finalised by the government.
[edit] See also
* Avebury
* Battle of the Beanfield
* Durrington Walls
* European Megalithic Culture
* Excavations at Stonehenge
* Goloring
* Goseck circle
* Stonehenge replicas and derivatives
* Stone circle
* Stonehenge Historic Landscape
* Cultural depictions of Stonehenge
* Stonehenge road tunnel
* Stonehenge Riverside Project
Tower of London
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For other uses, see Tower of London (disambiguation)
Tower of London*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Tower of London, seen from the River Thames, with a view of the water gate called "Traitors' Gate!"
State Party United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iv
Reference 488
Region† Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription 1988 (12th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress The Tower of London, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically simply as The Tower), is an historic monument in central London, England on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the Tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.
The Tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, a mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 Menagerie
o 1.2 Ravens
o 1.3 Prisoners in the Tower
o 1.4 Torture
o 1.5 Executions
o 1.6 Recent history
o 1.7 Administration
* 2 Description
* 3 Crown Jewels
* 4 Ghosts
* 5 Location
* 6 In fiction
* 7 See also
* 8 Notes
* 9 References
* 10 External links
[edit] History
The 15th century Tower in a manuscript of poems by Charles, Duke of Orléans (1391-1465) commemorating his imprisonment there (British Library).
The 15th century Tower in a manuscript of poems by Charles, Duke of Orléans (1391-1465) commemorating his imprisonment there (British Library).
The Tower of London was founded in 1078 when William the Conqueror ordered the White Tower to be built inside the SE angle of the City walls, adjacent to the Thames. [1] This was as much to protect the Normans from the people of the City of London as to protect London from outside invaders. William ordered the Tower to be built of Caen stone, which he had specially imported from France, and appointed Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester as the architect.
Some writers, such as Shakespeare in his play Richard III, have ascribed an earlier origin to the Tower of London and have stated that it was built by Julius Caesar. This supposed Roman origin is a myth, however, as is the story that the mortar used in its construction was tempered by the blood of beasts.
In the 12th century, King Richard the Lionheart enclosed the White Tower with a curtain wall and had a moat dug around it filled with water from the Thames. The moat was not successful until Henry III, in the 13th century, employed a Dutch moat-building technique. This king greatly strengthened the curtain wall, breaking down the city wall to the east, to extend the circuit, despite the protests of the citizens of London and even supernatural warnings (if the contemporary monastic chronicler Matthew Paris is to be believed). Henry III transformed the Tower into a major royal residence and had palatial buildings constructed within the Inner Bailey.
The fortification was completed between 1275 and 1285 by Edward I who built the outer curtain wall, completely enclosing the inner wall and thus creating a concentric double defence. He filled in the pre-existing moat and built a new moat around the new outer wall.
The Tower remained a royal residence until the time of Oliver Cromwell, who demolished the old palatial buildings.
[edit] Menagerie
A Royal Menagerie was established at the Tower in the 13th century, possibly as early as 1204 during the reign of King John, and probably stocked with animals from an earlier menagerie started in 1125 by Henry I at his palace in Woodstock, near Oxford; William of Malmesbury reported the latter king had lions, leopards, lynxes and camels among other animals there.[2] Its year of origin is often stated as 1235, when Henry III received a wedding gift of three leopards (so recorded, although they may have been lions) from Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1264, they were moved to the Bulwark, which was duly renamed the Lion Tower, near the main western entrance. It was opened as an occasional public spectacle in the reign of Elizabeth I. A lion skull was radiocarbon dated to between 1280 and 1385, making it the earliest medieval big cat known in Britain.[3]
The menagerie was open to the public by the 18th century, admission was a sum of three half-pence or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions.[4] This was where William Blake saw the tiger which may have inspired his poem The Tyger. The menagerie's last director, Alfred Cops, who took over in 1822, found the collection in a dismal state, but restocked it and issued an illustrated scientific catalogue. The menagerie was not to last because the new London Zoo was due to open in Regent's Park. Partly for commercial reasons and partly for animal welfare, the animals were moved to the London Zoo. The last of the animals left in 1835, and most of the Lion Tower was demolished soon after, although Lion Gate remains.
[edit] Ravens
A Tower raven
A Tower raven
It had been thought that there have been at least six ravens in residence at the Tower for centuries. It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer.[5]. However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the Monarchy, and the entire Kingdom would fall. Charles, following the time of the English Civil War, superstition or not, was not prepared to take the chance, and instead had the observatory moved to Greenwich.
Though recent research by Geoff Parnell, the official historian for the Tower, has found that the earliest record of ravens at the Tower was in 1895, nobody knows when the ravens were first resident in the Tower or when the legend began. Wild ravens, which were once abundant in London, and often seen around meat markets (such as nearby Eastcheap) feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the Tower in earlier times. [6]
No one can remember the Tower without Ravens, though during the Second World War most of them perished through shock during bombing raids - the sole survivor being a bird called 'Grip'.[7] However, before the Tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure that a new set of ravens was in place.[8]
There are eight ravens, whose wings are now clipped to prevent them from flying away, and they are cared for by the Ravenmaster, a duty given to one of the Yeomen Warders.
The ravens' names/gender/age are (as of November 2006):[9]
* Gwylum (M/18 yrs)
* Thor (M/15)
* Hugin (F/11)
* Munin (F/11)
* Branwen (F/3 yrs)
* Bran (M/3)
* Gundulf (M/1)
* Baldrick (M/1).
The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow, who died at the age of 44.[10]
In 2006, ahead of the H5N1 avian flu scare, the ravens were moved indoors; as of July 2006, they are once again free to roam about the grounds within the Tower complex.
[edit] Prisoners in the Tower
The Tower as seen from the River Thames. At water-level is Traitors Gate, so-called because it provided a discreet means of conveying important prisoners, often accused of treason, to the Tower.
The Tower as seen from the River Thames. At water-level is Traitors Gate, so-called because it provided a discreet means of conveying important prisoners, often accused of treason, to the Tower.
The Tower of London was used as a prison for those of high rank and for religious dissidents.
The first prisoner was Ranulf Flambard in 1100 who, as Bishop of Durham, was found guilty of extortion. Ironically he had himself been responsible for various improvements to the design of the Tower after the first architect Gundulf moved back to Rochester. He escaped from the White Tower by climbing down a rope, which had been smuggled into his cell in a wine casket.
Other prisoners include:
* John Balliol King of Scotland
* David II King of Scotland
* John II King of France
* Charles I de Valois, Duke of Orléans was one of the many French noblemen wounded in the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415. Captured and taken to England as a hostage, he would remain in captivity for the next twenty-five years, at various places including Wallingford Castle. Charles is now remembered as an accomplished poet owing to the more than five hundred extant poems he produced, most written when a prisoner.
* Henry VI of England was imprisoned in the Tower, where he was murdered on the 21 of May 1471. Popular legend has accused Richard, Duke of Gloucester of his murder. Each year on the anniversary of Henry VI's death, the Provosts of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, lay roses and lilies on the altar which now stands where he died.
* Margaret of Anjou, wife of the above
* Sir William de la Pole. A distant relative of King Henry VIII, he was incarcerated at the Tower for 37 years (1502-1539) for allegedly plotting against Henry VII thus becoming the longest serving prisoner here.
* Queen Elizabeth I, imprisoned for two months in 1554 for her alleged involvement in Wyatt's Rebellion.
* John Gerard, S.J. (1564-1637) an English Jesuit priest, operating undercover during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when Catholics were being persecuted. He was captured and tortured and incarcerated in the Salt Tower before making a daring escape by rope across the moat.
* Sir Walter Raleigh spent thirteen years (1603-1616) imprisoned at the Tower but was able to live in relative comfort in the Bloody Tower with his wife and two children. For some of the time he even grew tobacco on Tower Green, just outside his apartment. Here he wrote The History of the World.
* Nicolas Woodcock. He was a sailor that had worked for the Muscovy Company on voyages of exploration and exploitation (walruses and whales) in the early 17th century. He spent sixteen months (1612-13) in the "gatehouse and tower" for leading a ship of San Sebastian on a whaling voyage to Spitsbergen in 1612.
* Niall Garve O'Donnell Irish nobleman, ironically a one-time ally of the English against his cousin, Red Hugh O'Donnell.
* Guy Fawkes, famous for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, was brought to the Tower to be interrogated by a council of the King's Ministers. However, he was not executed here. When he confessed he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered in the Old Palace Yard at Westminster, however he escaped his fate by jumping off the scaffold at the gallows which in turn broke his neck - killing him.
* Johan Anders Jägerhorn, a Swedish officer from Finland, Lord Edward FitzGeralds friend, participating in the Irish independence movement. Spent two years in the Tower 1799-1801, but was released because of Russian interests.
* Lord George Gordon, instigator of the Gordon Riots in 1780, spent 6 months in the Tower while awaiting trial on the charge of High Treason.
* Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of the German Nazi Party, the last state prisoner to be held in the tower, in May 1941.
* The Kray twins, the last prisoners to be held, for a few days in 1952, for failing to report for national service.
[edit] Torture
Inside the torture chambers of the tower various implements of torture were used such as the Scavenger’s daughter, a kind of compression device, and the Rack, also known as the Duke of Exeter's Daughter.[11][12]
Anne Askew is the only woman on record to have been tortured in the tower, after being taken there in 1546 on a charge of heresy. Sir Anthony Kingston, the Constable of the Tower of London, was ordered to torture Anne in an attempt to force her to name other Protestants. Anne was put on the Rack. Kingston was so impressed with the way Anne behaved that he refused to carry on torturing her, and Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor had to take over.
[edit] Executions
The Tower in 1597.
The Tower in 1597.
Lower-class criminals were usually executed by hanging at one of the public execution sites outside the Tower. High-profile convicts, such as Thomas More, were publicly beheaded on Tower Hill. Seven nobles (five of them ladies) were beheaded privately on Tower Green, inside the complex, and then buried in the "Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula" (Latin for "in chains," making him an appropriate patron saint for prisoners) next to the Green. Some of the nobles who were executed outside the Tower are also buried in that chapel. (External link to Chapel webpage) The names of the seven beheaded on Tower Green for treason are:
* William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1483)
* Anne Boleyn (1536)
* Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541)
* Catherine Howard (1542)
* Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (1542)
* Lady Jane Grey (1554)
* Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1601)
The Traitors' Gate
The Traitors' Gate
George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was executed for treason in the Tower in February 1478, but not by beheading (and probably not by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, despite what Shakespeare wrote). When Edward IV died, he left two young sons behind: the Princes in the Tower. His brother Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, was made regent until the older of his two sons, Edward V, should come of age. According to Thomas More's History of Richard III Richard hired men to kill them, and, one night, the two princes were smothered with their pillows. Many years later bones were found buried at the foot of a stairway in the Tower, which are thought to be those of the Princes. Richard was crowned King Richard III of England. The last execution at the Tower was that of German spy Josef Jakobs on the 14 August 1941 by firing squad formed from the Scots Guards.
[edit] Recent history
The military use of the Tower as a fortification, like that of other such castles, became obsolete with the introduction of artillery, and the moat was drained in 1830. However the Tower did serve as the headquarters of the Board of Ordnance until 1855, and the Tower was still occasionally used as a prison, even through both World Wars. In 1780, the Tower held its only American prisoner, former President of the Continental Congress, Henry Laurens. In World War I, eleven German spies were shot in the Tower. Irish rebel Roger Casement was imprisoned in the Tower during his trial on treason charges in 1916. The last execution, of German spy Josef Jakobs, took place during World War II.
Reconstruction of the interior of the Bloody Tower
Reconstruction of the interior of the Bloody Tower
In the following year, Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, was imprisoned in the tower for four days. During this time, RAF Wing Commander George Salaman was placed in the same cell undercover, impersonating a Luftwaffe officer, to spy on Hess. Although acting in a covert manner and not held as a true inmate, Salaman remains the last Englishman to be locked in the Tower of London. The tower was used as a prison for German prisoners of war throughout the conflict.
Waterloo Barracks, the location of the Crown Jewels, remained in use as a base for the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) into the 1950s; during 1952, the Kray twins were briefly held there for failing to report for national service, making them among the last prisoners of the Tower;[citation needed] the last British citizen held for any length of time was the traitorous Army officer Norman Baillie-Stewart from 1933 to 1937.
A sentry posted outside the Jewel House
A sentry posted outside the Jewel House
Although it is no longer a royal residence, the Tower officially remains a royal palace, and as such, maintains a permanent Guard: this is found by the unit forming the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. Two sentries are maintained during the hours that the Tower is open, with one stationed outside the Jewel House and one outside the Queen's House.
In 1974, there was a bomb explosion in the Mortar Room in the White tower leaving one person dead and 41 injured. No one claimed responsibility for the blast, however the police were investigating suspicions that the IRA was behind it [13].
In 2007 Moira Cameron became the first female Beefeater in history to go on duty at the Tower of London. Cameron, 42, beat five men to the £20,000 per-year job as a Yeomen Warder.
[edit] Administration
The Tower of London and its surrounding area has always had a separate administration from the adjacent City of London. It was, anciently, under the jurisdiction of Constable of the Tower who also held authority over the Tower liberties until 1894. In addition the Constable was ex-officio Lord Lieutenant of the Tower division of Middlesex until 1889, and head of the Tower Hamlets Militia until 1871.
[edit] Description
The Middle Tower (centre) guards the outer perimeter entrance across the (now) dry moat
The Middle Tower (centre) guards the outer perimeter entrance across the (now) dry moat
The White Tower and courtyard
The White Tower and courtyard
The Battlements, as seen from Tower Bridge approach
The Battlements, as seen from Tower Bridge approach
The Spanish Armory exhibition in the Courtyard of the Tower of London.
The Spanish Armory exhibition in the Courtyard of the Tower of London.
At the centre of the Tower of London stands the Norman White Tower. It is 90 feet high and is of massive construction, the walls varying from 15 feet thickness at the base to almost 11 feet in the upper parts. Above the battlements rise four turrets; three of them are square, but the one on the north-east is circular. This turret once contained the first royal observatory. Henry III (1216-72) had the exterior of the building whitewashed in 1240, which is how the tower got its name.
The White Tower is situated in the Inner Ward, defended by a massive curtain wall, which has thirteen towers:
* Bloody Tower (or the Garden Tower), so named after a legend that the Princes in the Tower were murdered here. Allegedly also haunted by the latter.
* Bell Tower
* Beauchamp Tower (pronounced 'Beecham')
* Deveraux Tower
* Flint Tower
* Bowyer Tower
* Brick Tower
* Martin Tower
* Constable Tower
* Broad Arrow Tower
* Salt Tower
* Lanthorn Tower
* Wakefield Tower
The entrance to the Inner Ward is on the south side under the Bloody Tower. Outside of this is the Outer Ward, defended by a second massive curtain wall, flanked by five towers on the river face:
* Byward Tower
* St Thomas's Tower, built between 1275-1279 by Edward I to provide additional royal accommodation for the King.
* Cradle Tower
* Develin Tower
* Middle Tower
* Well Tower
On the north face of the outer wall are three semicircular bastions. A Ditch or Moat, now dry, encircles the whole, crossed at the south-western angle by a stone bridge, leading to the Byward Tower from the Middle Tower - a gateway which had formerly an outwork, called the Lion Tower (which housed the menagerie - see above).
The water entrance to the Tower is often referred to as Traitor's Gate, as a number of prisoners accused of treason such as Queen Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More passed through it. Traitor's Gate cuts through St Thomas's Tower and replaced Henry III's watergate in the Bloody Tower behind it. Behind Traitors Gate in the pool was an engine used to raise water to a cistern located on the roof of the White Tower. The engine was originally powered by the force of the tide or by horsepower and eventually by steampower; this was adapted around 1724-6 to drive machinery for boring gun barrels. It was removed in the 1860s. The Tudor Timber Framing seen above the great arch of Traitor's Gate dates from 1532-3, and was much restored in the 19th century.
The Tower today is principally a tourist attraction. Besides the buildings themselves, the British Crown Jewels, a fine armour collection from the Royal Armouries, and a remnant of the wall of the Roman fortress are on display.
The tower is manned by the Yeomen Warders (known as Beefeaters), who act as tour guides, provide security, and are a tourist attraction in their own right. Every evening, the warders participate in the Ceremony of the Keys, as the Tower is secured for the night.
[edit] Crown Jewels
Main article: Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
The Crown Jewels have been kept at the Tower of London since 1303, after they were stolen from Westminster Abbey. It is thought that most, if not all, were recovered shortly afterwards. After the coronation of Charles II, they were locked away and shown for a viewing fee paid to a custodian. However, this arrangement ended when Colonel Thomas Blood stole the Crown Jewels after having bound and gagged the custodian. Thereafter, the Crown Jewels were kept in a part of the Tower known as Jewel House, where armed guards defended them. They were temporarily taken out of the Tower during World War II, and reportedly were secretly kept in the basement vaults of the Sun Life Insurance company in Montreal, Canada, along with the gold bullion of the Bank of England; however, it has also been said that they were kept in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle, or the Fort Knox Bullion Depository, in the United States. However the Windsor Castle option is the most likely, as the Crown Jewels are not supposed to leave the country.
[edit] Ghosts
The Tower of London is reputedly the most haunted building in England. The ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536 for treason against King Henry VIII, is said to have been seen walking around the tower carrying her head under her arm. Other ghosts include Henry VI and the Princes in the Tower[14]
[edit] Location
The Tower viewed from the Swiss Re Tower
The Tower viewed from the Swiss Re Tower
The Tower is located at the eastern boundary of the City of London financial district, adjacent to the River Thames and Tower Bridge. Between the river and the Tower is Tower Wharf, a freely accessible walkway with excellent views of the river, tower and bridge, together with HMS Belfast and London City Hall on the opposite bank.
The nearest public transport locations are:
* Tower Hill tube station (London Underground District and Circle lines);
* Tower Gateway DLR station (Docklands Light Railway);
* Fenchurch Street railway station (National Rail);
* Tower Millennium Pier (river cruise boats);
* St Katherine's Dock (Thames Clipper commuter boats).
[edit] In fiction
* The Tower of London, as a place of death, darkness and treachery, is most famously evoked in William Shakespeare's play, Richard III, where it forms the backdrop of a tyrant's rise to power and the scene of the notorious murder of the Princes in the Tower, amongst other victims (see above).
* This horror is reprised in the novel The Tower of London (1840) by William Harrison Ainsworth. Though written in fictional form, Ainsworth's tale contrives to give a detailed account of the history and architecture of the Tower. Much of the later - especially in relation to tunnels and dungeons, is itself fictitious.
* The Tower is the setting for Gilbert and Sullivan's 1888 light opera The Yeomen of the Guard.
* The Tower of London and the Crown Jewels are seen in the film Johnny English (2003)
* The Tower is the location for the final battle in the TV series Hellsing between the protagonist Alucard and the antagonist Incognito.
* In Maken X, the "Tower of Despair" is still used as a prison in the near-future. Maken and Kei will meet an ousted Parliament member there.
* In the Doctor Who episode The Christmas Invasion (2005), the Tower is a being used as a military base by UNIT.
[edit] See also
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For other uses, see Tower of London (disambiguation)
Tower of London*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Tower of London, seen from the River Thames, with a view of the water gate called "Traitors' Gate!"
State Party United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iv
Reference 488
Region† Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription 1988 (12th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress The Tower of London, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically simply as The Tower), is an historic monument in central London, England on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the Tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.
The Tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, a mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 Menagerie
o 1.2 Ravens
o 1.3 Prisoners in the Tower
o 1.4 Torture
o 1.5 Executions
o 1.6 Recent history
o 1.7 Administration
* 2 Description
* 3 Crown Jewels
* 4 Ghosts
* 5 Location
* 6 In fiction
* 7 See also
* 8 Notes
* 9 References
* 10 External links
[edit] History
The 15th century Tower in a manuscript of poems by Charles, Duke of Orléans (1391-1465) commemorating his imprisonment there (British Library).
The 15th century Tower in a manuscript of poems by Charles, Duke of Orléans (1391-1465) commemorating his imprisonment there (British Library).
The Tower of London was founded in 1078 when William the Conqueror ordered the White Tower to be built inside the SE angle of the City walls, adjacent to the Thames. [1] This was as much to protect the Normans from the people of the City of London as to protect London from outside invaders. William ordered the Tower to be built of Caen stone, which he had specially imported from France, and appointed Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester as the architect.
Some writers, such as Shakespeare in his play Richard III, have ascribed an earlier origin to the Tower of London and have stated that it was built by Julius Caesar. This supposed Roman origin is a myth, however, as is the story that the mortar used in its construction was tempered by the blood of beasts.
In the 12th century, King Richard the Lionheart enclosed the White Tower with a curtain wall and had a moat dug around it filled with water from the Thames. The moat was not successful until Henry III, in the 13th century, employed a Dutch moat-building technique. This king greatly strengthened the curtain wall, breaking down the city wall to the east, to extend the circuit, despite the protests of the citizens of London and even supernatural warnings (if the contemporary monastic chronicler Matthew Paris is to be believed). Henry III transformed the Tower into a major royal residence and had palatial buildings constructed within the Inner Bailey.
The fortification was completed between 1275 and 1285 by Edward I who built the outer curtain wall, completely enclosing the inner wall and thus creating a concentric double defence. He filled in the pre-existing moat and built a new moat around the new outer wall.
The Tower remained a royal residence until the time of Oliver Cromwell, who demolished the old palatial buildings.
[edit] Menagerie
A Royal Menagerie was established at the Tower in the 13th century, possibly as early as 1204 during the reign of King John, and probably stocked with animals from an earlier menagerie started in 1125 by Henry I at his palace in Woodstock, near Oxford; William of Malmesbury reported the latter king had lions, leopards, lynxes and camels among other animals there.[2] Its year of origin is often stated as 1235, when Henry III received a wedding gift of three leopards (so recorded, although they may have been lions) from Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1264, they were moved to the Bulwark, which was duly renamed the Lion Tower, near the main western entrance. It was opened as an occasional public spectacle in the reign of Elizabeth I. A lion skull was radiocarbon dated to between 1280 and 1385, making it the earliest medieval big cat known in Britain.[3]
The menagerie was open to the public by the 18th century, admission was a sum of three half-pence or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions.[4] This was where William Blake saw the tiger which may have inspired his poem The Tyger. The menagerie's last director, Alfred Cops, who took over in 1822, found the collection in a dismal state, but restocked it and issued an illustrated scientific catalogue. The menagerie was not to last because the new London Zoo was due to open in Regent's Park. Partly for commercial reasons and partly for animal welfare, the animals were moved to the London Zoo. The last of the animals left in 1835, and most of the Lion Tower was demolished soon after, although Lion Gate remains.
[edit] Ravens
A Tower raven
A Tower raven
It had been thought that there have been at least six ravens in residence at the Tower for centuries. It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer.[5]. However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the Monarchy, and the entire Kingdom would fall. Charles, following the time of the English Civil War, superstition or not, was not prepared to take the chance, and instead had the observatory moved to Greenwich.
Though recent research by Geoff Parnell, the official historian for the Tower, has found that the earliest record of ravens at the Tower was in 1895, nobody knows when the ravens were first resident in the Tower or when the legend began. Wild ravens, which were once abundant in London, and often seen around meat markets (such as nearby Eastcheap) feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the Tower in earlier times. [6]
No one can remember the Tower without Ravens, though during the Second World War most of them perished through shock during bombing raids - the sole survivor being a bird called 'Grip'.[7] However, before the Tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure that a new set of ravens was in place.[8]
There are eight ravens, whose wings are now clipped to prevent them from flying away, and they are cared for by the Ravenmaster, a duty given to one of the Yeomen Warders.
The ravens' names/gender/age are (as of November 2006):[9]
* Gwylum (M/18 yrs)
* Thor (M/15)
* Hugin (F/11)
* Munin (F/11)
* Branwen (F/3 yrs)
* Bran (M/3)
* Gundulf (M/1)
* Baldrick (M/1).
The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow, who died at the age of 44.[10]
In 2006, ahead of the H5N1 avian flu scare, the ravens were moved indoors; as of July 2006, they are once again free to roam about the grounds within the Tower complex.
[edit] Prisoners in the Tower
The Tower as seen from the River Thames. At water-level is Traitors Gate, so-called because it provided a discreet means of conveying important prisoners, often accused of treason, to the Tower.
The Tower as seen from the River Thames. At water-level is Traitors Gate, so-called because it provided a discreet means of conveying important prisoners, often accused of treason, to the Tower.
The Tower of London was used as a prison for those of high rank and for religious dissidents.
The first prisoner was Ranulf Flambard in 1100 who, as Bishop of Durham, was found guilty of extortion. Ironically he had himself been responsible for various improvements to the design of the Tower after the first architect Gundulf moved back to Rochester. He escaped from the White Tower by climbing down a rope, which had been smuggled into his cell in a wine casket.
Other prisoners include:
* John Balliol King of Scotland
* David II King of Scotland
* John II King of France
* Charles I de Valois, Duke of Orléans was one of the many French noblemen wounded in the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415. Captured and taken to England as a hostage, he would remain in captivity for the next twenty-five years, at various places including Wallingford Castle. Charles is now remembered as an accomplished poet owing to the more than five hundred extant poems he produced, most written when a prisoner.
* Henry VI of England was imprisoned in the Tower, where he was murdered on the 21 of May 1471. Popular legend has accused Richard, Duke of Gloucester of his murder. Each year on the anniversary of Henry VI's death, the Provosts of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, lay roses and lilies on the altar which now stands where he died.
* Margaret of Anjou, wife of the above
* Sir William de la Pole. A distant relative of King Henry VIII, he was incarcerated at the Tower for 37 years (1502-1539) for allegedly plotting against Henry VII thus becoming the longest serving prisoner here.
* Queen Elizabeth I, imprisoned for two months in 1554 for her alleged involvement in Wyatt's Rebellion.
* John Gerard, S.J. (1564-1637) an English Jesuit priest, operating undercover during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when Catholics were being persecuted. He was captured and tortured and incarcerated in the Salt Tower before making a daring escape by rope across the moat.
* Sir Walter Raleigh spent thirteen years (1603-1616) imprisoned at the Tower but was able to live in relative comfort in the Bloody Tower with his wife and two children. For some of the time he even grew tobacco on Tower Green, just outside his apartment. Here he wrote The History of the World.
* Nicolas Woodcock. He was a sailor that had worked for the Muscovy Company on voyages of exploration and exploitation (walruses and whales) in the early 17th century. He spent sixteen months (1612-13) in the "gatehouse and tower" for leading a ship of San Sebastian on a whaling voyage to Spitsbergen in 1612.
* Niall Garve O'Donnell Irish nobleman, ironically a one-time ally of the English against his cousin, Red Hugh O'Donnell.
* Guy Fawkes, famous for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, was brought to the Tower to be interrogated by a council of the King's Ministers. However, he was not executed here. When he confessed he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered in the Old Palace Yard at Westminster, however he escaped his fate by jumping off the scaffold at the gallows which in turn broke his neck - killing him.
* Johan Anders Jägerhorn, a Swedish officer from Finland, Lord Edward FitzGeralds friend, participating in the Irish independence movement. Spent two years in the Tower 1799-1801, but was released because of Russian interests.
* Lord George Gordon, instigator of the Gordon Riots in 1780, spent 6 months in the Tower while awaiting trial on the charge of High Treason.
* Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of the German Nazi Party, the last state prisoner to be held in the tower, in May 1941.
* The Kray twins, the last prisoners to be held, for a few days in 1952, for failing to report for national service.
[edit] Torture
Inside the torture chambers of the tower various implements of torture were used such as the Scavenger’s daughter, a kind of compression device, and the Rack, also known as the Duke of Exeter's Daughter.[11][12]
Anne Askew is the only woman on record to have been tortured in the tower, after being taken there in 1546 on a charge of heresy. Sir Anthony Kingston, the Constable of the Tower of London, was ordered to torture Anne in an attempt to force her to name other Protestants. Anne was put on the Rack. Kingston was so impressed with the way Anne behaved that he refused to carry on torturing her, and Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor had to take over.
[edit] Executions
The Tower in 1597.
The Tower in 1597.
Lower-class criminals were usually executed by hanging at one of the public execution sites outside the Tower. High-profile convicts, such as Thomas More, were publicly beheaded on Tower Hill. Seven nobles (five of them ladies) were beheaded privately on Tower Green, inside the complex, and then buried in the "Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula" (Latin for "in chains," making him an appropriate patron saint for prisoners) next to the Green. Some of the nobles who were executed outside the Tower are also buried in that chapel. (External link to Chapel webpage) The names of the seven beheaded on Tower Green for treason are:
* William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1483)
* Anne Boleyn (1536)
* Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541)
* Catherine Howard (1542)
* Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (1542)
* Lady Jane Grey (1554)
* Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1601)
The Traitors' Gate
The Traitors' Gate
George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was executed for treason in the Tower in February 1478, but not by beheading (and probably not by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, despite what Shakespeare wrote). When Edward IV died, he left two young sons behind: the Princes in the Tower. His brother Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, was made regent until the older of his two sons, Edward V, should come of age. According to Thomas More's History of Richard III Richard hired men to kill them, and, one night, the two princes were smothered with their pillows. Many years later bones were found buried at the foot of a stairway in the Tower, which are thought to be those of the Princes. Richard was crowned King Richard III of England. The last execution at the Tower was that of German spy Josef Jakobs on the 14 August 1941 by firing squad formed from the Scots Guards.
[edit] Recent history
The military use of the Tower as a fortification, like that of other such castles, became obsolete with the introduction of artillery, and the moat was drained in 1830. However the Tower did serve as the headquarters of the Board of Ordnance until 1855, and the Tower was still occasionally used as a prison, even through both World Wars. In 1780, the Tower held its only American prisoner, former President of the Continental Congress, Henry Laurens. In World War I, eleven German spies were shot in the Tower. Irish rebel Roger Casement was imprisoned in the Tower during his trial on treason charges in 1916. The last execution, of German spy Josef Jakobs, took place during World War II.
Reconstruction of the interior of the Bloody Tower
Reconstruction of the interior of the Bloody Tower
In the following year, Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, was imprisoned in the tower for four days. During this time, RAF Wing Commander George Salaman was placed in the same cell undercover, impersonating a Luftwaffe officer, to spy on Hess. Although acting in a covert manner and not held as a true inmate, Salaman remains the last Englishman to be locked in the Tower of London. The tower was used as a prison for German prisoners of war throughout the conflict.
Waterloo Barracks, the location of the Crown Jewels, remained in use as a base for the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) into the 1950s; during 1952, the Kray twins were briefly held there for failing to report for national service, making them among the last prisoners of the Tower;[citation needed] the last British citizen held for any length of time was the traitorous Army officer Norman Baillie-Stewart from 1933 to 1937.
A sentry posted outside the Jewel House
A sentry posted outside the Jewel House
Although it is no longer a royal residence, the Tower officially remains a royal palace, and as such, maintains a permanent Guard: this is found by the unit forming the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. Two sentries are maintained during the hours that the Tower is open, with one stationed outside the Jewel House and one outside the Queen's House.
In 1974, there was a bomb explosion in the Mortar Room in the White tower leaving one person dead and 41 injured. No one claimed responsibility for the blast, however the police were investigating suspicions that the IRA was behind it [13].
In 2007 Moira Cameron became the first female Beefeater in history to go on duty at the Tower of London. Cameron, 42, beat five men to the £20,000 per-year job as a Yeomen Warder.
[edit] Administration
The Tower of London and its surrounding area has always had a separate administration from the adjacent City of London. It was, anciently, under the jurisdiction of Constable of the Tower who also held authority over the Tower liberties until 1894. In addition the Constable was ex-officio Lord Lieutenant of the Tower division of Middlesex until 1889, and head of the Tower Hamlets Militia until 1871.
[edit] Description
The Middle Tower (centre) guards the outer perimeter entrance across the (now) dry moat
The Middle Tower (centre) guards the outer perimeter entrance across the (now) dry moat
The White Tower and courtyard
The White Tower and courtyard
The Battlements, as seen from Tower Bridge approach
The Battlements, as seen from Tower Bridge approach
The Spanish Armory exhibition in the Courtyard of the Tower of London.
The Spanish Armory exhibition in the Courtyard of the Tower of London.
At the centre of the Tower of London stands the Norman White Tower. It is 90 feet high and is of massive construction, the walls varying from 15 feet thickness at the base to almost 11 feet in the upper parts. Above the battlements rise four turrets; three of them are square, but the one on the north-east is circular. This turret once contained the first royal observatory. Henry III (1216-72) had the exterior of the building whitewashed in 1240, which is how the tower got its name.
The White Tower is situated in the Inner Ward, defended by a massive curtain wall, which has thirteen towers:
* Bloody Tower (or the Garden Tower), so named after a legend that the Princes in the Tower were murdered here. Allegedly also haunted by the latter.
* Bell Tower
* Beauchamp Tower (pronounced 'Beecham')
* Deveraux Tower
* Flint Tower
* Bowyer Tower
* Brick Tower
* Martin Tower
* Constable Tower
* Broad Arrow Tower
* Salt Tower
* Lanthorn Tower
* Wakefield Tower
The entrance to the Inner Ward is on the south side under the Bloody Tower. Outside of this is the Outer Ward, defended by a second massive curtain wall, flanked by five towers on the river face:
* Byward Tower
* St Thomas's Tower, built between 1275-1279 by Edward I to provide additional royal accommodation for the King.
* Cradle Tower
* Develin Tower
* Middle Tower
* Well Tower
On the north face of the outer wall are three semicircular bastions. A Ditch or Moat, now dry, encircles the whole, crossed at the south-western angle by a stone bridge, leading to the Byward Tower from the Middle Tower - a gateway which had formerly an outwork, called the Lion Tower (which housed the menagerie - see above).
The water entrance to the Tower is often referred to as Traitor's Gate, as a number of prisoners accused of treason such as Queen Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More passed through it. Traitor's Gate cuts through St Thomas's Tower and replaced Henry III's watergate in the Bloody Tower behind it. Behind Traitors Gate in the pool was an engine used to raise water to a cistern located on the roof of the White Tower. The engine was originally powered by the force of the tide or by horsepower and eventually by steampower; this was adapted around 1724-6 to drive machinery for boring gun barrels. It was removed in the 1860s. The Tudor Timber Framing seen above the great arch of Traitor's Gate dates from 1532-3, and was much restored in the 19th century.
The Tower today is principally a tourist attraction. Besides the buildings themselves, the British Crown Jewels, a fine armour collection from the Royal Armouries, and a remnant of the wall of the Roman fortress are on display.
The tower is manned by the Yeomen Warders (known as Beefeaters), who act as tour guides, provide security, and are a tourist attraction in their own right. Every evening, the warders participate in the Ceremony of the Keys, as the Tower is secured for the night.
[edit] Crown Jewels
Main article: Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
The Crown Jewels have been kept at the Tower of London since 1303, after they were stolen from Westminster Abbey. It is thought that most, if not all, were recovered shortly afterwards. After the coronation of Charles II, they were locked away and shown for a viewing fee paid to a custodian. However, this arrangement ended when Colonel Thomas Blood stole the Crown Jewels after having bound and gagged the custodian. Thereafter, the Crown Jewels were kept in a part of the Tower known as Jewel House, where armed guards defended them. They were temporarily taken out of the Tower during World War II, and reportedly were secretly kept in the basement vaults of the Sun Life Insurance company in Montreal, Canada, along with the gold bullion of the Bank of England; however, it has also been said that they were kept in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle, or the Fort Knox Bullion Depository, in the United States. However the Windsor Castle option is the most likely, as the Crown Jewels are not supposed to leave the country.
[edit] Ghosts
The Tower of London is reputedly the most haunted building in England. The ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536 for treason against King Henry VIII, is said to have been seen walking around the tower carrying her head under her arm. Other ghosts include Henry VI and the Princes in the Tower[14]
[edit] Location
The Tower viewed from the Swiss Re Tower
The Tower viewed from the Swiss Re Tower
The Tower is located at the eastern boundary of the City of London financial district, adjacent to the River Thames and Tower Bridge. Between the river and the Tower is Tower Wharf, a freely accessible walkway with excellent views of the river, tower and bridge, together with HMS Belfast and London City Hall on the opposite bank.
The nearest public transport locations are:
* Tower Hill tube station (London Underground District and Circle lines);
* Tower Gateway DLR station (Docklands Light Railway);
* Fenchurch Street railway station (National Rail);
* Tower Millennium Pier (river cruise boats);
* St Katherine's Dock (Thames Clipper commuter boats).
[edit] In fiction
* The Tower of London, as a place of death, darkness and treachery, is most famously evoked in William Shakespeare's play, Richard III, where it forms the backdrop of a tyrant's rise to power and the scene of the notorious murder of the Princes in the Tower, amongst other victims (see above).
* This horror is reprised in the novel The Tower of London (1840) by William Harrison Ainsworth. Though written in fictional form, Ainsworth's tale contrives to give a detailed account of the history and architecture of the Tower. Much of the later - especially in relation to tunnels and dungeons, is itself fictitious.
* The Tower is the setting for Gilbert and Sullivan's 1888 light opera The Yeomen of the Guard.
* The Tower of London and the Crown Jewels are seen in the film Johnny English (2003)
* The Tower is the location for the final battle in the TV series Hellsing between the protagonist Alucard and the antagonist Incognito.
* In Maken X, the "Tower of Despair" is still used as a prison in the near-future. Maken and Kei will meet an ousted Parliament member there.
* In the Doctor Who episode The Christmas Invasion (2005), the Tower is a being used as a military base by UNIT.
[edit] See also
England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see England (disambiguation).
England
Flag of England Royal Coat of Arms of England
Flag Royal Coat of Arms
Motto
Dieu et mon droit (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen". See also Proposed English National Anthems.
Location of England
Location of England (orange)
– on the European continent (camel & white)
– in the United Kingdom (camel)
Capital
(and largest city) London (de facto)
[show location on an interactive map] 51°30′N, 0°7′W
Official languages English (de facto)1
Government Constitutional monarchy
- Monarch Queen Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP
Unified
- by Athelstan AD 927
Area
- Total 130,395 km²
50,346 sq mi
Population
- 2006 estimate 50,714,000²
- 2001 census 49,138,831
- Density 388.7 /km²
976 /sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2006 estimate
- Total $1.9 trillion (6th)
- Per capita US$38,000 (6th)
GDP (nominal) 2006 estimate
- Total $2.2 trillion (5th)
- Per capita $44,000 (10th)
HDI (2006) 0.940 (high)
Currency Pound sterling (GBP)
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
- Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Internet TLD .uk³
Calling code +44
Patron saint St. George
1 English is established by de facto usage. Cornish is officially recognised as a Regional or Minority language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The Cornish-language name for England is Pow Sows.
2 From the Office for National Statistics - National population projections
3 Also .eu, as part of the European Union. ISO 3166-1 is GB, but .gb is unused.
England (pronounced IPA: /ˈɪŋglənd/) (Old English: Englaland, Middle English: Engelond) is the largest and most populous constituent country[1][2] of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total population of the United Kingdom,[3] whilst the mainland territory of England occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the North Sea, Irish Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and English Channel.
England became a unified state during the 10th century and takes its name from the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes who settled in the territory during the 5th and 6th centuries. The capital city of England is London, which is the largest city in Great Britain, and the largest city in the European Union by most, but not all, measures.[4]
England ranks amongst the world's most influential and far-reaching centres of cultural development.[5][6] It is the place of origin of both the English language and the Church of England, and English law forms the basis of the legal systems of many countries: in addition, London, the British and English capital, was the historic centre of the British Empire, and was also the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.[7] England was the first country in the world to become industrialised. England is home to the Royal Society, which laid the foundations of modern experimental science. England was the world's first parliamentary democracy[8] and consequently many constitutional, governmental and legal innovations that had their origin in England have been widely adopted by other nations.
The Kingdom of England was a separate state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union resulted in a political union with the [Kingdom of Scotland ] to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.[9]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Etymology
* 2 History
o 2.1 Prehistoric England
o 2.2 Roman conquest of Britain
o 2.3 Anglo-Saxon England
+ 2.3.1 Kingdom of England
o 2.4 Norman Conquest
o 2.5 Mediæval England
o 2.6 Reformation
o 2.7 English Civil War
o 2.8 Great Britain and the United Kingdom
* 3 Politics
* 4 Subdivisions
* 5 Geography
o 5.1 Climate
o 5.2 Major rivers
o 5.3 Major conurbations
* 6 Economics
* 7 Demographics
* 8 Culture
o 8.1 Architecture
o 8.2 Art
o 8.3 Cuisine
o 8.4 Engineering and innovation
o 8.5 Folklore
o 8.6 Literature
o 8.7 Music
o 8.8 Science and philosophy
o 8.9 Sport
* 9 Language
o 9.1 English language
o 9.2 Additional languages
* 10 Religion
o 10.1 Christianity
o 10.2 Other religions
* 11 Education
* 12 Transport
* 13 English people
* 14 Nomenclature
* 15 National symbols, insignia and anthems
o 15.1 St George's Cross
o 15.2 Three Lions
o 15.3 Rose
o 15.4 Anthem
* 16 Gallery of images
* 17 See also
* 18 References
* 19 External links
[edit] Etymology
See also: List of meanings of countries' names
England is named after the Angles, the largest of a number of Germanic tribes who settled in England in the fifth and sixth centuries, and who are believed to have originated in the peninsula of Angeln, in modern-day northern Germany. (The further etymology of this tribe's name remains uncertain, although a popular theory holds that it need be sought no further than the word angle itself, and refers to a fish-hook-shaped region of Holstein.[10])
The Angles' name has had a variety of different spellings. The earliest known reference to these people is under the Latinised version Anglii used by Tacitus in chapter 40 of his Germania,[11] written around 98 AD. He gives no precise indication of their geographical position within Germania, but states that, together with six other tribes, they worshipped a goddess named Nerthus, whose sanctuary was situated on "an island in the Ocean."
The early 8th century historian Bede, in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People), refers to the English people as Angelfolc (in English) or Angli (in Latin).[12]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known usage of "England" referring the southern part of the island of Great Britain was in 897, with the modern spelling first used in 1538.[13]
[edit] History
Main article: History of England
[edit] Prehistoric England
Stonehenge, a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument in Wiltshire, thought to have been erected c.2000-2500BC.
Stonehenge, a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument in Wiltshire, thought to have been erected c.2000-2500BC.
Main article: Prehistoric Britain
Bones and flint tools found in Norfolk and Suffolk show that Homo erectus lived in what is now England around 700,000 years ago.[14] At this time, England was linked to mainland Europe by a large land bridge. The current position of the English Channel was a large river flowing westwards and fed by tributaries that would later become the Thames and the Seine. This area was greatly depopulated during the period of the last major ice age, as were other regions of the British Isles. In the subsequent recolonisation, after the thawing of the ice, genetic research[15] shows that 'England' was the last area of the British Isles to be repopulated[citation needed] (circa 13,000 years ago). The migrants arriving during this period contrast with the other of the inhabitants of the British Isles, coming across land from the south east of Europe, whereas earlier arriving inhabitants came north along a coastal route from Iberia. These migrants would later adopt the Celtic culture that came to dominate much of western Europe.
[edit] Roman conquest of Britain
Main article: Roman conquest of Britain
By AD 43, the time of the main Roman invasion of Britain, Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Like other regions on the edge of the empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans, and their economic and cultural influence was a significant part of the British late pre-Roman Iron Age, especially in the south. With the fall of the Roman empire 400 years later, the Romans left England.
[edit] Anglo-Saxon England
An Anglo-Saxon helmet found at Sutton Hoo
An Anglo-Saxon helmet found at Sutton Hoo
Main article: History of Anglo-Saxon England
Further information: Anglo-Saxon conquest of England
The History of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of early mediaeval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the fifth century until the Conquest by the Normans in 1066.
Fragmentary knowledge of Anglo-Saxon England in the 5th and 6th centuries comes from the British writer Gildas (6th century) the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (a history of the English people begun in the 9th century), saints' lives, poetry, archaeological findings, and place-name studies.
The dominant themes of the seventh to tenth centuries were the spread of Christianity and the political unification of England. Christianity is thought to have come from three directions — from Rome to the south, and Scotland and Ireland to the north and west.
Heptarchy is a term used to refer to the existence (as believed) of the seven petty kingdoms which eventually merged to become the Kingdom of England during the early 10th century: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex.
The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms tended to coalesce by means of warfare. As early as the time of Ethelbert of Kent, one king could be recognised as Bretwalda ("Lord of Britain"). Generally speaking, the title fell in the 7th century to the kings of Northumbria, in the eighth to those of Mercia, and finally, in the ninth, to Egbert of Wessex, who in 825 defeated the Mercians at the Battle of Ellendun. In the next century his family came to rule all England.
[edit] Kingdom of England
Statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester.
Statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester.
Originally, England (or Englaland) was a geographical term to describe the territory of Britain which was occupied by the Anglo-Saxons, rather than a name of an individual nation-state. It became politically united through the expansion of the kingdom of Wessex, whose king Athelstan brought the whole of England under one ruler for the first time in 927, although unification did not become permanent until 954. In 1016 England was conquered by the Danish king Canute the Great, and became the centre of government for his short-lived empire which also included Denmark and Norway. In 1042 England became a separate kingdom again with the accession of Edward the Confessor, heir of the native English dynasty.
The Kingdom of England (including Wales) continued to exist as an independent nation-state right through to the Acts of Union and the Union of Crowns. However the political ties and direction of England were changed forever by the Norman Conquest in 1066.
[edit] Norman Conquest
The Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry
Main article: Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. It is an important watershed in English history for a number of reasons. The conquest linked England more closely with Continental Europe, and lessened Scandinavian influence. The success of the conquest established one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe, created the most sophisticated governmental system in Europe, changed the English language and culture, and set the stage for English-French conflict that would last into the nineteenth century.
The events of the conquest also paved the way for a pivotal historical document to be produced - the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book was the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William the Conqueror. The survey was similar to a census by a government of today and is England's earliest surviving public records document.
To date, the Norman conquest remains the last successful military conquest of England.
[edit] Mediæval England
The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. It was one of the first steps towards the creation of modern democracy.
The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. It was one of the first steps towards the creation of modern democracy.
Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the English victory over France at the Battle of Agincourt.
Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the English victory over France at the Battle of Agincourt.
Main article: Britain in the Middle Ages
See also: Medieval demography
The next few hundred years saw England as an important part of expanding and dwindling empires based in France, with the "King of England" being a subsidiary title of a succession of French-speaking Dukes of territories in what is now France.[citation needed] Only when English kings realised that their losses in France meant that England was now their richest and most important possession did they accept the same "nationality" and language as their subjects in England.[citation needed] They used England as a source of troops to enlarge their personal holdings in France for many years (Hundred Years' War); in fact the English crown did not relinquish its last foothold on mainland France until Calais was lost during the reign of Mary Tudor (the Channel Islands are still crown dependencies, though not part of the UK).
The Principality of Wales, under the control of English monarchs from the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, became part of the Kingdom of England by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. Wales shared a legal identity with England as the joint entity originally called England and later England and Wales.
An epidemic of catastrophic proportions, the Black Death first reached England in the summer of 1348. The Black Death is estimated to have killed between a third and two-thirds of Europe's population. England alone lost as many as 70% of its population, which passed from 7 million to 2 million in 1400. The plague repeatedly returned to haunt England throughout the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. The Great Plague of London in 1665–1666 was the last plague outbreak.[16]
[edit] Reformation
Portrait of Elizabeth made to commemorate the English victory over the Spanish Armada (1588).
Portrait of Elizabeth made to commemorate the English victory over the Spanish Armada (1588).
Main article: English Reformation
During the English Reformation, the external authority of the Roman Catholic Church in England was abolished and replaced with Royal Supremacy and ultimately describes the establishment of a Church of England, outside the Roman Catholic Church, under the Supreme Governance of the English monarch. The English Reformation differed from its European counterparts in that it was a political, rather than purely theological, dispute at root.[17] The break with Rome started in the reign of Henry VIII.
The English Reformation paved the way for the spread of Anglicanism in the church and other institutions.
[edit] English Civil War
Main article: English Civil War
Cromwell at Dunbar. Oliver Cromwell united the whole of the British Isles by force and created the Commonwealth of England.
Cromwell at Dunbar. Oliver Cromwell united the whole of the British Isles by force and created the Commonwealth of England.
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. The first (1642–1645) and second (1648–1649) civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war of (1649–1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The Civil War ended with the Parliamentary victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651.
The Civil War led to the trial and execution of Charles I, the exile of his son Charles II and the replacement of the English monarchy with the Commonwealth of England (1649–1653) and then with a Protectorate (1653–1659): the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell. After a brief return to Commonwealth rule, in 1660 The Crown was restored and Charles II accepted Convention Parliament's invitation to return to England. During the interregnum the monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England came to an end, and the victors consolidated the already-established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. Constitutionally, the wars established a precedent that British monarchs could not govern without the consent of Parliament although this would not be cemented until the Glorious Revolution later in the century.
[edit] Great Britain and the United Kingdom
When King James VI of Scotland took over the English throne, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland remained separate, until 1707, when under the Acts of Union, both England and Scotland lost their individual political (though not legal) identities. This union has subsequently changed its name twice; firstly on the merger with the Kingdom of Ireland following the Act of Union in 1800 creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Then following the secession from the union of the Irish Free State under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, it became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Throughout these changes, England (including Wales) retained a separate legal identity from its partners, with a separate legal system (English law) from those in Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland law) and Scotland (Scots law), and eventually the strong feelings of the Welsh were acknowledged when it was decided that the name would henceforth be "England and Wales".
[edit] Politics
A Mediaeval manuscript, showing the Parliament of England in front of the king c. 1300
A Mediaeval manuscript, showing the Parliament of England in front of the king c. 1300
Main articles: Politics of England, Politics of the United Kingdom, and Government of England
There has not been a Government of England since 1707, when the Kingdom of England merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, although both kingdoms have been ruled by a single monarch since 1603. Prior to the Acts of Union of 1707, England was ruled by a monarch and the Parliament of England.
The Scottish and Welsh governing institutions were created by the UK parliament with support from the majority of people of Scotland and Wales in referenda in 1997 and are not independent of the rest of Britain. However, this gave each country a separate political entity which left England as the only part of Britain directly ruled in nearly all matters by the British government in London. In Cornwall, a region of England claiming a distinct national identity, there has been a campaign for a Cornish assembly along Welsh lines by nationalist parties such as Mebyon Kernow.
The Palace of Westminster, Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Palace of Westminster, Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Because Westminster is the UK parliament but also votes on local English matters devolution of national matters to parliament/assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has refocused attention on a long-standing anomaly called the West Lothian question. The "Question" is that there is no convention or rule whereby Scottish MPs are barred from voting on issues relating only to England and Wales in the post devolution era.
Welsh devolution has removed the anomaly for Wales, but highlighted the anomaly for England: Scottish and Welsh MPs can vote on English issues, but purely Scottish and Welsh issues are debated in Scotland and Wales, not at Westminster In fact Scottish MPs can't even vote on such issues affecting their own constituencies. This problem is exacerbated by an over-representation of Scottish MPs in the government, sometimes referred to as the Scottish mafia; as of September 2006, seven of the twenty-three Cabinet members are Scottish, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Defence Secretary. In addition, Scotland traditionally benefited from moderate malapportionment in its favour, increasing its representation to a degree disproportionate to its population. In 2004 the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 was passed which rectified this to a degree, reducing the number of MPs representing Scottish constituencies from 73 to 59 and brought the number of voters per constituency closer to that in England. This change was implemented in the 2005 General Election.
In terms of national administration, England's affairs are managed by a combination of the UK government, the UK parliament, a number of England-specific quangos, such as English Heritage, and the mostly unelected Regional Assemblies (a kind of nascent executive for each English Region).
There are calls for a devolved English Parliament, and certain English parties go further by calling for the dissolution of the Union entirely[18][19]. However, the approach favoured by the current Labour government was (on the basis that England is too large to be governed as a single sub-state entity) to propose the devolution of power to the Regions of England. Lord Falconer claimed a devolved English parliament would dwarf the rest of the United Kingdom.[20] Referendums would decide whether people wanted to vote for directly-elected regional assemblies to watch over the work of the non-elected Regional Development Agencies.
During the campaign, a common criticism of the proposals was that England did not need "another tier of bureaucracy".[21] On the other hand, many said that they were not decentralising enough, and amounted not to devolution, but to little more than local government reorganisation, with no real power being removed from central government, and no real power given to the regions, which would not even gain the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly, much less the tax-varying and legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament (but Welsh powers are now being expanded). They said that power was simply re-allocated within the region, with little new resource allocation and no real prospects of Assemblies being able to change the pattern of regional aid. Late in the process, responsibility for regional transport was added to the proposals. This was perhaps crucial in the North East, where resentment at the Barnett Formula, which delivers greater regional aid to adjacent Scotland, was a significant impetus for the North East devolution campaign. However, a referendum on this issue in North East England on 4 November 2004 rejected this proposal, and plans for referendums in other Regions (such as Yorkshire) were shelved.
[edit] Subdivisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of England
See also: Counties of England
Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These have their origin in the shires, the subdivisions of the kingdom of Wessex, which were extended over the rest of England as Wessex expanded to unite the country in the ninth and tenth centuries. Some of these new shires, particularly in the south-east of England, retained the extent and names of the kingdoms or subdivisions of kingdoms which had existed there before, such as Sussex and Kent, but most were new creations, named after their principal town with the suffix "-shire" added, for example Nottinghamshire from Nottingham. In the far north of England, the system took longer to become regularised and County Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland emerged after the Norman Conquest. These historical county lines were usually drawn up before the Industrial Revolution and the mass urbanisation of England. The counties each had a county town.
A series of local government reorganisations have taken place since the latter part of the nineteenth century. The solution to the emergence of large urban areas was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities (an example being Greater Manchester). The creation of unitary authorities, where districts gained the administrative status of a county, began with the 1990s reform of local government. Today, some confusion exists between the ceremonial counties (which do not necessarily form an administrative unit) and the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties.
Non-metropolitan counties (or "shire counties") are divided into one or more districts. At the very lowest level, England is divided into parishes, though these are not to be found everywhere (many urban areas for example are unparished). Parishes are prohibited from existing in Greater London.
England is now also divided into nine regions, which do not have an elected authority and exist to co-ordinate certain local government functions across a wider area. London is an exception, however, and is the one region which now has a representative authority as well as a directly elected mayor. The 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London remain the local form of government in the city.
[edit] Geography
Main articles: Geography of the United Kingdom and Geography of England
England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 52 km (24 statute mile or 21 nautical mile)[22] sea gap. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, directly links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel[citation needed].
Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, the Fens, much of which has been drained for agricultural use.
The list of England's largest cities is much debated because in English the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area"; these are hard to define and various other definitions are preferred by some people to boost the ranking of their own city. For the official definition of a UK (and therefore English) city, see City status in the United Kingdom. However, by any definition London is by far the largest urban area in England and one of the largest and busiest cities in the world. Birmingham is the second largest, both in terms of the city itself and its urban conurbation. A number of other cities, mainly in central and northern England, are of substantial size and influence. These include: Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Hull.
The largest natural harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Some regard it as the second largest harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia, although this fact is disputed (see harbours for a list of other large natural harbours).
[edit] Climate
Main article: Climate of the United Kingdom
England has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round, though the seasons are quite variable in temperature. However, temperatures rarely fall below −5 °C (23 °F) or rise above 30 °C (86 °F). The prevailing wind is from the south-west, bringing mild and wet weather to England regularly from the Atlantic Ocean. It is driest in the east and warmest in the south, which is closest to the European mainland. Snowfall can occur in Winter and early Spring, though it is not that common away from high ground.
The highest temperature ever recorded in England is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on August 10, 2003 at Brogdale, near Faversham, in Kent.[23] The lowest temperature ever recorded in England is −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on January 10, 1982 at Edgmond, near Newport, in Shropshire.[24]
[edit] Major rivers
Until 1998, the Humber Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Until 1998, the Humber Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Main article: Waterways in the United Kingdom
* Severn (the longest river basin in Great Britain)
* Thames
* Trent
* Humber
* Tyne
* Tees
* Ribble
* Ouse
* Mersey
* Dee
* Avon
[edit] Major conurbations
London is the largest city in England, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
London is the largest city in England, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.[25]
Main article: List of English cities by population
The largest cities in England are much debated but according to the urban area populations (continuous built-up areas) these would be the fifteen largest conurbations (population figures taken from 2001 census):
Greater London Urban Area 8,278,251
West Midlands conurbation 2,284,093
Greater Manchester Urban Area 2,240,230
West Yorkshire Urban Area 1,499,465
Tyneside 879,996
Liverpool Urban Area 816,216
Nottingham Urban Area 666,358
Sheffield Urban Area 640,720
Greater Bristol 551,066
Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton 461,181
Portsmouth Urban Area 442,252
Leicester Urban Area 441,213
Bournemouth Urban Area 383,713
Reading/Wokingham Urban Area 369,804
Teesside 365,323
[edit] Economics
The City of London is a major business and commercial centre, ranking alongside New York City as the leading centre of global finance.
The City of London is a major business and commercial centre, ranking alongside New York City as the leading centre of global finance.[26]
Main article: Economy of England
England's economy is the second largest economy in Europe and the fifth largest economy in the world. It follows the Anglo-Saxon economic model. England's economy is the largest of the four economies of the United Kingdom, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations based in London.[27] As part of the United Kingdom, England is a major centre of world economics. One of the world's most highly industrialised countries, England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry and the manufacturing side of the software industry.
The Bullring shopping complex in Birmingham city centre attracted 36.5 million visitors in its début year upon opening in 2003.
The Bullring shopping complex in Birmingham city centre attracted 36.5 million visitors in its début year upon opening in 2003.
London exports mainly manufactured goods and imports materials such as petroleum, tea, wool, raw sugar, timber, butter, metals, and meat,[28] exporting over 30,000 tonnes of beef last year, worth around £75,000,000, with France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain being the biggest importers of beef from England.[29]
The central bank of the United Kingdom, which sets interest rates and implements monetary policy, is the Bank of England in London. London is also home to the London Stock Exchange, the main stock exchange in the UK and the largest in Europe. London, is one of the international leaders in finance[30] and the largest financial centre in Europe.
Traditional heavy and manufacturing industries have declined sharply in England in recent decades, as they have in the United Kingdom as a whole. At the same time, service industries have grown in importance. For example, tourism is the sixth largest industry in the UK, contributing 76 billion pounds to the economy. It employs 1,800,000 full-time equivalent people — 6.1% of the working population (2002 figures).[31] The largest centre for tourism is London, which attracts millions of international tourists every year.
As part of the United Kingdom, England's official currency is the Pound Sterling (also known as the British pound or GBP).
[edit] Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of England and Population of England
Demography of England
Demography of England
With 50,431,700 inhabitants, or 84% of the UK's total[32], England is the most populous nation in the United Kingdom; as well as being the most ethnically diverse. England would have the fourth largest population in the European Union and would be the 25th largest country by population if it were a sovereign state.
The country's population is 'ageing', with a declining percentage of the population under age 16 and a rising one of over 65. Population continues to rise and in every year since 1901, with the exception of 1976, there have been more births than deaths.[33] England is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, with 383 people per square kilometre (992/sq mi),[34] making it second only to the Netherlands.
The generally accepted view is that the ethnic background of the English populace, before 19th- and 20th-century immigration, was a mixed European one deriving from historical waves of Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Norman invasions, along with the possible survival of pre-Celtic ancestry.
The economic prosperity of England has also made it a destination for economic migrants from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This was particularly true during the Industrial Revolution.
Since the fall of the British Empire, many denizens of former colonies have migrated to Britain including the Indian sub-continent and the British Caribbean. A BBC published report of the 2001 census, by the Institute for Public Policy Research stated that the vast majority of immigrants settled in London and the South East of England. The largest groups of residents born in other countries were from the Republic of Ireland, India, Pakistan, Germany, and the Caribbean. Though Germany was high on the list, this was mainly the result of children being born to British forces personnel stationed in that country.[35]
About half the population increase between 1991 and 2001 was due to foreign-born immigration. In 2004 the number of people who became British citizens rose to a record 140,795 - a rise of 12% on the previous year. This number had risen dramatically since 2000. The overwhelming majority of new citizens come from Africa (32%) and Asia (40%), the largest three groups being people from Pakistan, India and Somalia.[36] One in five babies in the UK are born to immigrant mothers, according to official statistics released in 2007 that also show the highest birth rates in Britain for 26 years. 21.9 per cent of all births in the UK in 2006 were to mothers born outside the United Kingdom compared to just 12.8 per cent in 1995.[37]
In 2005, an estimated 565,000 migrants[38] arrived to live in the UK for at least a year, while 380,000 people emigrated from the UK for a year or more, with Australia, Spain and France most popular destinations.[39][40] Largest group of arrivals were people from the Indian subcontinent who accounted for two-thirds of net immigration, mainly fuelled by family reunion.[41]
The European Union allows free movement between the member states. While France and Germany put in place controls to curb Eastern European migration, the UK (along with Ireland) did not impose restrictions. Following Poland's entry into the EU in May 2004 it is estimated that by the start of 2007 about 375,000 Poles have registered to work in the UK, although the total Polish population in the UK is believed to be 750,000. Many Poles work in seasonal occupations and a large number is likely to move back and forth including between Ireland and other EU Western nations. A quarter of Eastern European migrants, often young and well-educated, plan to stay in Britain permanently. Most of them had originally intended to go home but have changed their minds after living there.[42]
[edit] Culture
Main articles: Culture of England, English people, and English Renaissance
England has a vast and influential culture that encompasses elements both old and new. The modern culture of England is sometimes difficult to identify and separate clearly from the culture of the wider United Kingdom, so intertwined are its composite nations. However, the traditional and historic culture of England is more clearly defined.
English Heritage is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. London's British Museum, British Library and National Gallery contain some of the finest collections in the world.
The English have played a significant role in the development of the arts and sciences. Many of the most important figures in the history of modern western scientific and philosophical thought were either born in, or at one time or other resided in, England. Major English thinkers of international significance include scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, Charles Darwin and New Zealand-born Ernest Rutherford, philosophers such as John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Hobbes, and economists such as David Ricardo, and John Maynard Keynes. Karl Marx wrote most of his important works, including Das Kapital, whilst in exile in London, and the team that developed the first atomic bomb began their work in England, under the wartime codename tube alloys.
[edit] Architecture
The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
See also: Category:English architects and Architecture of the United Kingdom
England has played a significant part in the advancement of Western architecture. It is home to some of the finest mediaeval castles and forts in the world (see Castles in England), including Warwick Castle, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle (the largest inhabited castle in the world and the oldest in continuous occupation). It is also known for its numerous grand country houses (see List of historic houses in England), and for its many mediaeval and later churches and cathedrals.
English architects have contributed to a number of styles over the centuries, including Tudor architecture, English Baroque, the Georgian style and Victorian movements such as Gothic Revival.
Among the best-known contemporary English architects are Norman Foster and Richard Rogers.
[edit] Art
Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable, c.1825.
Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable, c.1825.
Main article: English art
England is home to the National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St. Ives, and the Tate Modern. Significant figures in English art include William Blake, William Hogarth, J.M.W. Turner and John Constable in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, through to the influential William Morris in the late nineteenth, to L. S. Lowry, Henry Moore and Francis Bacon during the twentieth century, and names such as David Hockney and Damien Hirst in the present day.
[edit] Cuisine
Main article: English cuisine
Although highly-regarded in the Middle Ages, English cuisine later became a source of fun among Britain's French and European neighbours, being viewed until the late twentieth century as crude and unsophisticated by comparison with continental tastes. However, with the influx of non-European immigrants (particularly those of south and east Asian origins) from the 1950s onwards, the English diet was transformed. Indian and Chinese cuisine in particular were absorbed into English culinary life, with restaurants and takeaways appearing in almost every town in England, and 'going for an Indian' becoming a regular part of English social life. A distinct hybrid food style composed of dishes of Asian origin, but adapted to British tastes, emerged and was subsequently exported to other parts of the world. Many of the well-known Indian dishes in the western world, such as Tikka Masala and Balti, are in fact Anglo-Indian dishes of this sort. Chicken Tikka Masala is often jokingly referred to as England's national dish, in a reference both to its English origins and to its enormous popularity.
Dishes forming part of the old tradition of English food include:
* Apple pie
* Bangers and mash
* Bubble and Squeak
* Cornish pasty
* Cottage pie
* Egg Salad
* Fish and chips
* Full English breakfast
* Gravy
* Jellied eels
* Lancashire hotpot
* Lincolnshire sausage
* Mince pies
* Pie and mash
* Pork pie
* Scouse
* Shepherd's pie
* Spotted Dick
* Steak and kidney pie
* Sunday roast
* Toad in the hole
* Yorkshire pudding
[edit] Engineering and innovation
See also: Category:English inventors and Category:English inventions
As birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, England was home to many significant inventors during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Famous English engineers include Isambard Kingdom Brunel, best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, and numerous important bridges, hence revolutionising public transport and modern day engineering.
Other notable English figures in the fields of engineering and innovation include:
* Richard Arkwright — inventor of the first industrial spinning machine
* Charles Babbage — inventor of the first computer (in the nineteenth century)
* Tim Berners-Lee — inventor of the World Wide Web, http, html, and many of the other technologies on which the Web is based
* James Blundell — who performed the first blood transfusion
* Hubert Cecil Booth — inventor of the Vacuum cleaner
* Edwin Beard Budding — inventor of the lawnmower
* George Cayley — inventor of the seat belt
* Christopher Cockerell — inventor of the hovercraft
* John Dalton — pioneer of atomic theory
* James Dyson — inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner
* Michael Faraday — inventor of the electric motor
* Thomas Fowler — inventor of the thermosiphon
* Robert Hooke — Hooke's law of elasticity
* E. Purnell Hooley — inventor of tarmac
* Thomas Newcomen — inventor of the first practical steam engine
* Isaac Newton — defining Universal gravitation, Universal gravitation, Newtonian mechanics, Infinitesimal calculus
* Stephen Perry — inventor of the rubber band
* Thomas Savery — inventor of the steam engine
* Percy Shaw — inventor of the "cat's eye" road safety device
* George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson — railway pioneers (father and son)
* Joseph Swan — developer of the light bulb
* Richard Trevithick — builder of the earliest steam locomotive
* Jethro Tull — inventor of the seed drill
* Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers — inventors of the modern computer and its associated concepts and technologies
* Frank Whittle — inventor of the jet engine
* Joseph Whitworth — inventor of many of the modern techniques and technologies of precision engineering
[edit] Folklore
Main article: English folklore
English folklore is rich and diverse. Many of the land's oldest legends share themes and sources with the Celtic folklore of Wales, Scotland and Ireland, a typical example being the legend of Herne the Hunter, which shares many similarities with the traditional Welsh legend of Gwyn ap Nudd.
Successive waves of pre-Norman invaders and settlers, from the Romans onwards, via Saxons, Jutes, Angles, Norse to the Norman Conquest have all influenced the myth and legend of England. Some tales, such as that of The Lambton Wyrm show a distinct Norse influence, whilst others, particularly some of the events and characters associated with the Arthurian legends show a distinct Romano-gaulic slant.[43]
The most famous body of English folk-tales concerns the legends of King Arthur, although it would be wrong to regard these stories as purely English in origin as they also concern Wales and, to a lesser extent, Ireland and Scotland. They should therefore be considered as part of the folklore of the British Isles as a whole.
Post-Norman stories include the tales of Robin Hood, which exists in many forms, and stories of other folk heroes such as Hereward the Wake and Fulk FitzWarin who, although being based on historical characters, have grown to become legends in their own right.
Finally, other historical figures come to have legends associated with them (such as Sir Francis Drake and 'Drake's Drum'). These figures then move out of the realm of historical fact and into the realm of mythology.
[edit] Literature
William Shakespeare; an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, as well as one of the greatest in Western literature.
William Shakespeare; an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, as well as one of the greatest in Western literature.[44][45][46]
Main article: English literature
The English language boasts a rich and prominent literary heritage. England has produced a wealth of significant literary figures including playwrights William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, as well as writers Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, William Makepeace Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelly, HG Wells, George Eliot, Rudyard Kipling, DH Lawrence, EM Forster, Virginia Woolf, George Orwell and Harold Pinter. Others, such as Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton and J.K. Rowling have been among the best-selling novelists of the last century.
Among the poets, Geoffrey Chaucer, Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sydney, Thomas Kyd, John Donne, Andrew Marvell, Alexander Pope, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, John Keats, John Milton, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, T.S. Eliot (an English Citizen from 1927) and many others remain read and studied around the world. Among men of letters, Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt and George Orwell are some of the most famous. England continues to produce writers working in all branches of literature, and in a wide range of styles; contemporary English literary writers attracting international attention include Martin Amis, Julian Barnes and Zadie Smith.
[edit] Music
The composer Sir Edward Elgar is primarily remembered for his orchestral music, some of which develops patriotic themes.
The composer Sir Edward Elgar is primarily remembered for his orchestral music, some of which develops patriotic themes.
Main article: Music of England
Composers from England have not achieved recognition as broad as that earned by their literary counterparts, and particularly during the nineteenth century, were overshadowed in international reputation by other European composers; however, many works of earlier composers such as Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, and Henry Purcell are still frequently performed throughout the world today. A revival of England's musical status began during the twentieth century with the prominence of composers such as Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, William Walton, Eric Coates, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Frederick Delius and Benjamin Britten.
In popular music, however, English bands and solo artists have been cited as the most influential and best-selling musicians of all time. Acts such as The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Black Sabbath, The Cure, Iron Maiden, David Bowie, Queen, Spice Girls, Oasis, The Police, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Sir Elton John and Radiohead,are amongst the biggest selling in the world. England is also credited with being the birthplace of many pop-culture movements such as hard rock, British invasion, heavy metal, britpop, glam rock, drum and bass, grindcore, progressive rock, indie, punk, goth, shoegazing, acid house, UK garage and Trip Hop.
[edit] Science and philosophy
See also: Category:English scientists and Category:English philosophers
Prominent English figures from the field of science and mathematics include Sir Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, J. J. Thomson, Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Wren, Alan Turing, Francis Crick, Joseph Lister, Tim Berners-Lee, Andrew Wiles and Richard Dawkins. Some experts claim that the earliest concept of a Metric system was invented by John Wilkins, first secretary of the Royal Society in 1668.[47]
England played an important role in the development of Western philosophy, particularly during the Enlightenment. Jeremy Bentham, leader of the Philosophical Radicals, and his school are recognised as the men who unknowingly laid down the doctrines for Socialism.[48] Bentham's impact on English law is also considerable. Aside from Bentham, major English philosophers include Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill, Bernard Williams and Bertrand Russell.
[edit] Sport
Main article: Sport in England
A number of modern sports were codified in England during the nineteenth century, among them cricket, rugby union and rugby league, football (soccer), tennis and badminton. Of these, association football, rugby and cricket remain the country's most popular spectator sports. England contains more UEFA 5 star and 4 star rated stadia than any other country, and is home to some of the sport's top clubs. Among these, Aston Villa, Liverpool FC, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest have won the European Cup. The England national football team are considered one of the game's superpowers (currently ranked 12th by FIFA and 7th by Elo), having won the World Cup in 1966 when it was hosted in England. Since then, however, they have failed to reach a final of a major international tournament, though they reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990 and the quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006 and Euro 2004.
The England national rugby union team and England cricket team are often among the best performing in the world, with the rugby union team winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and the cricket team winning The Ashes in 2005, and being ranked the second best Test nation in the world. Rugby union clubs such as Leicester Tigers, London Wasps and the Northampton Saints have had success in the Europe-wide Heineken Cup. At rugby league, the England national rugby league team are to compete more regularly after 2006, when England will become a full test nation in lieu of the Great Britain national rugby league team, when that team is retired after the 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations. The English Rugby Team will now be looking forward to prosper in The Rugby World Cup 2007 which will be held in France in the next few weeks.
Sport England is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England.
The 2012 Summer Olympics are to be hosted by London, England. It will run from 26 July to 12 August 2012. London will become the first city to have hosted the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948.
[edit] Language
[edit] English language
Main articles: English language and History of the English language
Places in the world where English is spoken. Countries are dark blue where English is an official language, de facto official language, or national language. Countries (and one Province) are light blue where it is an official, non-primary language or non-official primary language.
Places in the world where English is spoken. Countries are dark blue where English is an official language, de facto official language, or national language. Countries (and one Province) are light blue where it is an official, non-primary language or non-official primary language.
[[Image:Beowulf.firstpage.jpeg|thumb|upright|right|Beowulf is one of the oldest surviving epic poems in what is identifiable as a form of the English language. As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today (although not officially designated as such). An Indo-European language in the Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic family, it is closely related to Scots and Frisian. As the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms merged into England, "Old English" emerged; some of its literature and poetry has survived.
Used by aristocracy and commoners alike before the Norman Conquest (1066), English was displaced in cultured contexts under the new regime by the Norman French language of the new Anglo-Norman aristocracy. Its use was confined primarily to the lower social classes while official business was conducted in a mixture of Latin and French. Over the following centuries, however, English gradually came back into fashion among all classes and for all official business except certain traditional ceremonies, some of which survive to this day. But Middle English, as it had by now become, showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins; and more recent years, Modern English has extended this custom, being always remarkable for its far-flung willingness to incorporate foreign-influenced words.
It is most commonly accepted that — thanks in large part to the British Empire, and now the United States — the English language is now the world's unofficial lingua franca,[49] while English common law is also the foundation of many legal systems throughout the English-speaking countries of the world.[50] English language learning and teaching is an important economic sector, including language schools, tourism spending, and publishing houses.
[edit] Additional languages
UK legislation does not recognise any language as being official,[51] but English is the only language used in England for general official business. The other national languages of the UK (Welsh, Irish, Scots and Scottish Gaelic) are confined to their respective nations, except Welsh to some degree.
The only non-Anglic native spoken language in England is the Cornish language, a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, which became extinct in the nineteenth century but has been revived and is spoken in various degrees of fluency, currently by around 2000 people.[52] This has no official status (unlike Welsh) and is not required for official use, but is nonetheless supported by national and local government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Cornwall County Council has produced a draft strategy to develop these plans. There is, however, no programme as yet for public bodies to actively promote the language. Scots is spoken by some adjacent to the Anglo-Scottish Border, and Welsh is still spoken by some natives around Oswestry, Shropshire, on the Welsh border.
Most deaf people within England speak British sign language (BSL), a sign language native to Britain. The British Deaf Association estimates that 250,000 people throughout the UK speak BSL as their first or preferred language,[53] but does not give statistics specific to England. Neither Cornish nor BSL are official languages of the UK and most British government departments and hospitals have limited facilities for deaf people. The BBC broadcasts several of its programmes with BSL interpreters.
Different languages from around the world, especially from the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, have been brought to England by immigrants. Many of these are widely spoken within ethnic minority communities, with Hindi, Bengali, Sinhala, Tamil, Punjabi, Urdu, Polish, Greek, Turkish and Cantonese being the most common languages that people living in Britain consider their first language. These are often used by official bodies to communicate with the relevant sections of the community, particularly in big cities, but this occurs on an "as needed" basis rather than as the result of specific legislative ordinances.
Other languages have also traditionally been spoken by minority populations in England, including Romany.
Despite the relatively small size of the nation, there are a many distinct English regional accents. Those with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood elsewhere in the country. Use of foreign non-standard varieties of English (such as Caribbean English) is also increasingly widespread, mainly because of the effects of immigration.
[edit] Religion
Due to immigration in the past decades, there is an enormous diversity of religious belief in England, as well as a growing percentage that have no religious affiliation. Levels of attendance in various denominations have begun to decline. England today is largely a secular country. Although the following percentages : Christianity: 71.6%, Islam: 3.1%, Hindu: 1.1%, Sikh: 0.7%, Jewish: 0.5%, and Buddhist: 0.3%, No Faith: 22.3%.[54], the EU Eurobarometer poll of 2005 shows that only 38%[55] of people in the UK believe in a god and that religious belief is on the decline.
[edit] Christianity
[[Image:Rochester cathedral stained glass 2.jpg|upright|right|thumb|Stained glass from Rochester Cathedral in Kent, England, incorporating the Flag of England.]] Christianity reached England through missionaries from Scotland and from Continental Europe; the era of St. Augustine (the first Archbishop of Canterbury) and the Celtic Christian missionaries in the north (notably St. Aidan and St. Cuthbert). The Synod of Whitby in 664 ultimately led to the English Church being fully part of Roman Catholicism. Early English Christian documents surviving from this time include the seventh century illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels and the historical accounts written by the Venerable Bede. England has many early cathedrals, most notably York Minster (1080), Durham Cathedral (1093) and Salisbury Cathedral (1220), In 1536, the Church was split from Rome over the issue of the divorce of King Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon. The split led to the emergence of a separate ecclesiastical authority, and later the influence of the Reformation, resulting in the Church of England and Anglicanism. Unlike the other three constituent countries of the UK, the Church of England is an established church (although the Church of Scotland is a 'national church' recognised in law).
Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England, a significant worldwide Christian denomination.
Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England, a significant worldwide Christian denomination.
The sixteenth century break with Rome under the reign of King Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries had major consequences for the Church (as well as for politics). The Church of England remains the largest Christian church in England; it is part of the Anglican communion. Many of the Church of England's cathedrals and parish churches are historic buildings of significant architectural importance.
Other major Christian Protestant denominations in England include the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church and the United Reformed Church. Smaller denominations, but not insignificant, include the Religious Society of Friends (the "Quakers") and the Salvation Army — both founded in England. There are also Afro-Caribbean Churches, especially in the London area.
The Roman Catholic Church re-established a hierarchy in England in the nineteenth century. Attendances were considerably boosted by immigration, especially from Ireland and more recently Poland.
See also: Churches Together in England
[edit] Other religions
Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, immigration from many colonial countries, often from South Asia and the Middle East have resulted in a considerable growth in Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism in England. Cities and towns with large Muslim communities include Birmingham, Blackburn,Coventry, Bolton, Bradford, Leicester, London, Luton, Manchester, Oldham & Sheffield. Cities and towns with large Sikh communities include London, Slough, Staines, Hounslow, Southall, Reading, Ilford, Barking, Dagenham, Leicester, Leeds, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and others.
The Jewish community in England is mainly located in the Greater London area, particularly the north west suburbs such as Golders Green;[56] although Manchester and Gateshead also have significant Jewish communities.[57][58]
[edit] Education
The chapel of King's College, Cambridge University.
The chapel of King's College, Cambridge University.
Main article: Education in England
There is a long history of the promotion of education in England in schools, colleges and universities. England is home to the oldest existing schools in the English speaking world: The King's School, Canterbury and The King's School, Rochester, believed to be founded in the sixth and seventh century respectively. There are at least eight existing schools in England which were founded in the first millennium. Most of these ancient institutions are fee-paying schools, however there are also very early examples of state schools in England, most notably Beverley Grammar School founded in 700. State and private schools and colleges have continued side by side since that time. Other famous English schools include Eton College (founded 1440), Harrow School (1572)Winchester College (1382), Tonbridge School (1553) and Charterhouse School (1611). The oldest surviving girls' school in England is Red Maids' School founded in 1634. England is also home to the two oldest universities in the English speaking world: Oxford University (twelfth century) and Cambridge University (early thirteenth century). There are more than ninety universities in England and many of these (most notably the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London) consist of autonomous colleges many of which are world famous in their own right, for example University College, Oxford (founded 1249), Peterhouse, Cambridge (1284) and the London School of Economics (1895).
The education system in England is run by the Department for Children, Schools and Families . The education is split into two main types; State schools which are funded through taxation and free to all, and private schools, which provide a paid-for education on top of taxes (also known as "Public" or "Independent" schools).
Education is the responsibility of Department for Children, Schools and Families at national level and, in the case of publicly funded compulsory education, of Local Education Authorities. The education structures for Wales and Northern Ireland are broadly similar to the English system, but there are significant differences of emphasis in the depth and breadth of teaching objectives in Scotland. Traditionally the English system emphasises depth of education, whereas the Scottish system emphasises breadth.
See also: List of universities in England
[edit] Transport
See also: Transport in England
Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport in terms of numbers of international passengers
Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport in terms of numbers of international passengers
BAA Limited runs many of England's airports, its flagship being London Heathrow Airport, the largest airport by traffic volume in Europe and one of the world's busiest airports, and London Gatwick Airport, the second largest. The third largest is Manchester Airport. This is run by Manchester Airport Group, which also owns various other airports. Other major airports include London Stansted Airport in Essex, about thirty miles (50 km) north of London, Coventry Airport and Birmingham International Airport.
The growth in private car ownership in the latter half of the twentieth century led to a number of major road-building programmes. Important trunk roads built include the A1 Great North Road from London to Newcastle and Edinburgh, and the A580 "East Lancs." road between Liverpool and Manchester. The Preston Bypass was the first section of motorway and opened in 1958 - it now forms part of the M6 motorway, the country's longest motorway running from Rugby through North West England to the Scottish border. Other major roads include the M1 motorway from London to Leeds up the East of the country, the M25 motorway which encircles London, the M60 motorway which encircles Manchester, the M4 motorway from London to South Wales, the M62 motorway from Liverpool to Manchester and Yorkshire, and the M5 motorway from Birmingham to Bristol and the South West.
The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles (16,116 route km) in Great Britain, of which the majority is in England. Urban rail networks are also well developed in London and several other cities, including the Manchester Metrolink and the London Underground. The London Underground is the oldest and most extensive underground railway in the world, and as of 2007 consists of 253 miles (407 kilometres) of line[59] and serves 275 stations.[60]
There are around 4,400 miles (7,100 km) of navigable waterways in England, of which roughly half is owned by British Waterways. It is estimated that 165 million journeys are made by people on Britain's waterways annually. The Thames is the major waterway in England, with imports and exports focused at Tilbury, one of the three major ports in the UK. Ports in the UK handled over 560 million tonnes of domestic and international freight in 2005.[61]
The government department overseeing transport is the Department for Transport.
[edit] English people
Main article: English people
The ancestry of the English, considered as an ethnic group, is mixed; it can be traced to the mostly Celtic Romano-Britons,[62] to the eponymous Anglo-Saxons,[63] the Danish-Vikings[64] that formed the Danelaw during the time of Alfred the Great and the Normans,[65][66] among others. The 19th and 20th centuries, furthermore, brought much new immigration to England.
Ethnicity aside, the simplest view is that an English person is someone who was born in England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. It has, however, been a notoriously complicated, emotive and controversial identity to delimit. Centuries of English dominance within the United Kingdom has created a situation where to be English is, as a linguist would put it, an "unmarked" state. The English frequently include themselves and their neighbours in the wider term of "British", while the Scots and Welsh tend to be more forward about referring to themselves by one of those more specific terms.[67] This reflects a more subtle form of English-specific patriotism in England; St George's Day, the country's national day, is barely celebrated. Though this is mainly down to the fact it is not a public holiday.[citation needed] The celebrations have increased year on year over the past 5 years.[68]
Modern celebration of English identity is often found around its sports, one field in which the British Home Nations often compete individually. The English Association football team, rugby union team and cricket team often cause increases in the popularity of celebrating Englishness.
[edit] Nomenclature
The country is named after the Angles, one of several Germanic tribes who settled the country in the fifth and sixth centuries. There are two distinct linguistic patterns for the name of the country.
The majority of European languages use names similar to "England":
* "Anglie" (Czech)
* "Anglicko" (Slovak)
* "England" (Danish, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish)
* "Engeland" (Dutch)
* "Inglismaa" (Estonian)
* "Angleterre" (French)
* "Англия" (Angliya) (Russian, Bulgarian)
* "Anglaterra" (Catalan)
* "Inghilterra" (Italian)
* "Ingilterra" (Maltese, Egyptian)
* "Inglaterra" (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician)
* "İngiltere" (Turkish)
* "Anglia" (Latin, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian)
* "Anglija" (Slovene, Lithuanian, Latvian, Ukrainian)
* "Engleska" (Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian)
* "Αγγλία" ("Anglía") (Greek)
* "Englanti" (Finnish)
* "Ingalaterra" (Basque)
The Celtic names are quite different, referring to the Saxons, another family of Germanic tribes which arrived at about the same time as the Angles.
* "Bro-Saoz" (Breton)
* "Pow Sows" (Cornish)
* "Sasana" (Irish)
* "Sostyn" (Manx)
* "Sasainn" (Scottish Gaelic)
* "Lloegr" (Welsh), an ancient geographic term and not Saxon-related; but the inhabitants are referred to as "Saeson".
The names in Asian languages:
* "إنجلترا" (Ingiltra) or "إنكلترا" (Inkiltra)(Arabic)
* "যুক্তরাজ্য" (Juktorajjo) (Bangla)
* "انگلستان" (Inglistan) (Persian)
* "אנגליה" (Anglia) (Hebrew)
* "イギリス" (Igirisu) or "英国" (eikoku)(Japanese)
* "Engalaantha" (Sri Lankans (Sinhalese))
* "இங்கிலாந்து" (In-gi-laan-dhu) (Tamil)
* "Anh Quôc" (Vietnamese)
* "Inggris" (Indonesian)
* "อังกฤษ" (Ang-grit) (Thai)
* "英国" (Yīngguó) (Chinese)
* "잉글랜드" (Ing-geul-laen-deu) (Korean)
Names In other languages:
* "Uingereza"(Ou-I-ng'e-re-za) (Swahili)
Alternative names include:
* the slang "Blighty", from the Hindustani "bila yati" meaning "foreign" (which coincidentally resembles "Britain")
* "Albion", an ancient name, supposedly referring to the white (Latin alba) cliffs of Dover. Originally it referred to the whole island of Great Britain, and is still sometimes seen that way today, but is more often used for England. Following the Roman conquest of Britain, the term contracted to mean only the area north of Roman control and is today a relative of Alba, the Celtic languages name for Scotland.
* More poetically, England has been called "this sceptred isle...this other Eden" and "this green and pleasant land", quotations respectively from the poetry of William Shakespeare (in Richard II) and William Blake (And did those feet in ancient time).
Slang terms sometimes used for the people of England include "Sassenachs" or "Sasanachs" (from the Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic respectively, both originally meaning "Saxon"), "Limeys" (in reference to the citrus fruits carried aboard English sailing vessels to prevent scurvy) and "Pom/Pommy" (used in Australian English and New Zealand English), but these may be perceived as offensive. Also see alternative words for British.
[edit] National symbols, insignia and anthems
Saint George and the Dragon, Paolo Uccello, c. 1470. This small one has the look of a griffin or a wyvern.
Saint George and the Dragon, Paolo Uccello, c. 1470. This small one has the look of a griffin or a wyvern.
The two main traditional symbols of England are the St George's cross (the English flag), and the Three Lions coat of arms.
Other national symbols exist, but have varying degrees of official usage, such as the oak tree and the rose.
England's National Day is St George's Day (Saint George being the patron saint), which is on 23 April.[69]
[edit] St George's Cross
Main article: St George's Cross
The St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background and is the national flag of England.
It is believed to have been adopted for the uniform of English soldiers during the Crusades of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries.[70] From about 1277 it became the national flag of England. St George's Cross was originally the flag of Genoa and was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the powerful Genoese fleet. The maritime Republic of Genoa was rising and going to become, together with its rival Venice, one of the most important powers in the world. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege. The cross of St George would become the official Flag of England.
A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It became associated with St George and England, along with other countries and cities (such as Georgia, Milan and the Republic of Genoa), which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner. It remained in national use until 1707, when the Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack, especially at sea) which English and Scottish ships had used at sea since 1606, was adopted for all purposes to unite the whole of Great Britain under a common flag. The flag of England no longer has much of an official role, but it is widely flown by Church of England properties and at sporting events.
Until recently, the flag was not commonly flown in England with the British Union Flag being used instead. This was certainly evident at the 1966 Football World Cup when English fans predominantly flew the latter. However, since devolution in the United Kingdom, the St George Cross has experienced a growth in popularity and is now the predominant flag used in English sporting events.[71]
[edit] Three Lions
Main article: Coat of arms of England
The arms of England are gules, three lions passant guardant or; the earliest surviving record of their use was by Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) in the late twelfth century.
Since union with Scotland and Northern Ireland, the arms of England are no longer used on their own; instead they form a part of the conjoined Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. However, both the Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board use logos based on the three lions. In recent years, it has been common to see banners of the arms flown at English football matches, in the same way the Lion Rampant is flown in Scotland.
In 1996, Three Lions was the official song of the England football team for the 1996 European Football Championship, which were held in England.
[edit] Rose
The Tudor rose is the national floral emblem of England, and was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the Wars of the Roses.[72]
The rose is used in a variety of contexts in its use for England's representation. The so-called Rose of England is a Royal Badge, and is a Tudor, or half-red-half-white rose, [73] symbolising the end of both the Wars of the Roses and the subsequent marriage between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. This symbolism is reflected in the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom and the crest of the FA. However, the rose of England is often displayed as a red rose (which also symbolises Lancashire), such as the badge of the England national rugby union team. A white rose (which also symbolises Yorkshire) is also used on different occasions.
[edit] Anthem
England does not have an official designated national anthem, as the United Kingdom as a whole has "God Save the Queen". However, the following are often considered to be unofficial English national anthems:
* "I Vow to Thee, My Country"
* "Land of Hope and Glory"
* "Nimrod"
* "Jerusalem"
* "Heart of Oak"
"God Save the Queen" is usually played for English sporting events, such as football matches, against teams from outside the UK,[74] although "Land of Hope and Glory" was used as the English anthem for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[75] Since 2004, "Jerusalem" has been sung before England cricket matches,[76] and "Rule Britannia" (Britannia being the Roman name for Great Britain a personification of the United Kingdom) was often used in the past for the English national football team when they played against another of the home nations but more recently "God Save the Queen" has been used by both the rugby union and football teams.[74]
[edit] Gallery of images
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
Tower of London, London.
The Palace of Westminster — the political centre of the United Kingdom.
Stonehenge — a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument in Wiltshire.
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For other uses, see England (disambiguation).
England
Flag of England Royal Coat of Arms of England
Flag Royal Coat of Arms
Motto
Dieu et mon droit (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen". See also Proposed English National Anthems.
Location of England
Location of England (orange)
– on the European continent (camel & white)
– in the United Kingdom (camel)
Capital
(and largest city) London (de facto)
[show location on an interactive map] 51°30′N, 0°7′W
Official languages English (de facto)1
Government Constitutional monarchy
- Monarch Queen Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP
Unified
- by Athelstan AD 927
Area
- Total 130,395 km²
50,346 sq mi
Population
- 2006 estimate 50,714,000²
- 2001 census 49,138,831
- Density 388.7 /km²
976 /sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2006 estimate
- Total $1.9 trillion (6th)
- Per capita US$38,000 (6th)
GDP (nominal) 2006 estimate
- Total $2.2 trillion (5th)
- Per capita $44,000 (10th)
HDI (2006) 0.940 (high)
Currency Pound sterling (GBP)
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
- Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Internet TLD .uk³
Calling code +44
Patron saint St. George
1 English is established by de facto usage. Cornish is officially recognised as a Regional or Minority language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The Cornish-language name for England is Pow Sows.
2 From the Office for National Statistics - National population projections
3 Also .eu, as part of the European Union. ISO 3166-1 is GB, but .gb is unused.
England (pronounced IPA: /ˈɪŋglənd/) (Old English: Englaland, Middle English: Engelond) is the largest and most populous constituent country[1][2] of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total population of the United Kingdom,[3] whilst the mainland territory of England occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the North Sea, Irish Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and English Channel.
England became a unified state during the 10th century and takes its name from the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes who settled in the territory during the 5th and 6th centuries. The capital city of England is London, which is the largest city in Great Britain, and the largest city in the European Union by most, but not all, measures.[4]
England ranks amongst the world's most influential and far-reaching centres of cultural development.[5][6] It is the place of origin of both the English language and the Church of England, and English law forms the basis of the legal systems of many countries: in addition, London, the British and English capital, was the historic centre of the British Empire, and was also the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.[7] England was the first country in the world to become industrialised. England is home to the Royal Society, which laid the foundations of modern experimental science. England was the world's first parliamentary democracy[8] and consequently many constitutional, governmental and legal innovations that had their origin in England have been widely adopted by other nations.
The Kingdom of England was a separate state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union resulted in a political union with the [Kingdom of Scotland ] to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.[9]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Etymology
* 2 History
o 2.1 Prehistoric England
o 2.2 Roman conquest of Britain
o 2.3 Anglo-Saxon England
+ 2.3.1 Kingdom of England
o 2.4 Norman Conquest
o 2.5 Mediæval England
o 2.6 Reformation
o 2.7 English Civil War
o 2.8 Great Britain and the United Kingdom
* 3 Politics
* 4 Subdivisions
* 5 Geography
o 5.1 Climate
o 5.2 Major rivers
o 5.3 Major conurbations
* 6 Economics
* 7 Demographics
* 8 Culture
o 8.1 Architecture
o 8.2 Art
o 8.3 Cuisine
o 8.4 Engineering and innovation
o 8.5 Folklore
o 8.6 Literature
o 8.7 Music
o 8.8 Science and philosophy
o 8.9 Sport
* 9 Language
o 9.1 English language
o 9.2 Additional languages
* 10 Religion
o 10.1 Christianity
o 10.2 Other religions
* 11 Education
* 12 Transport
* 13 English people
* 14 Nomenclature
* 15 National symbols, insignia and anthems
o 15.1 St George's Cross
o 15.2 Three Lions
o 15.3 Rose
o 15.4 Anthem
* 16 Gallery of images
* 17 See also
* 18 References
* 19 External links
[edit] Etymology
See also: List of meanings of countries' names
England is named after the Angles, the largest of a number of Germanic tribes who settled in England in the fifth and sixth centuries, and who are believed to have originated in the peninsula of Angeln, in modern-day northern Germany. (The further etymology of this tribe's name remains uncertain, although a popular theory holds that it need be sought no further than the word angle itself, and refers to a fish-hook-shaped region of Holstein.[10])
The Angles' name has had a variety of different spellings. The earliest known reference to these people is under the Latinised version Anglii used by Tacitus in chapter 40 of his Germania,[11] written around 98 AD. He gives no precise indication of their geographical position within Germania, but states that, together with six other tribes, they worshipped a goddess named Nerthus, whose sanctuary was situated on "an island in the Ocean."
The early 8th century historian Bede, in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People), refers to the English people as Angelfolc (in English) or Angli (in Latin).[12]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known usage of "England" referring the southern part of the island of Great Britain was in 897, with the modern spelling first used in 1538.[13]
[edit] History
Main article: History of England
[edit] Prehistoric England
Stonehenge, a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument in Wiltshire, thought to have been erected c.2000-2500BC.
Stonehenge, a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument in Wiltshire, thought to have been erected c.2000-2500BC.
Main article: Prehistoric Britain
Bones and flint tools found in Norfolk and Suffolk show that Homo erectus lived in what is now England around 700,000 years ago.[14] At this time, England was linked to mainland Europe by a large land bridge. The current position of the English Channel was a large river flowing westwards and fed by tributaries that would later become the Thames and the Seine. This area was greatly depopulated during the period of the last major ice age, as were other regions of the British Isles. In the subsequent recolonisation, after the thawing of the ice, genetic research[15] shows that 'England' was the last area of the British Isles to be repopulated[citation needed] (circa 13,000 years ago). The migrants arriving during this period contrast with the other of the inhabitants of the British Isles, coming across land from the south east of Europe, whereas earlier arriving inhabitants came north along a coastal route from Iberia. These migrants would later adopt the Celtic culture that came to dominate much of western Europe.
[edit] Roman conquest of Britain
Main article: Roman conquest of Britain
By AD 43, the time of the main Roman invasion of Britain, Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Like other regions on the edge of the empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans, and their economic and cultural influence was a significant part of the British late pre-Roman Iron Age, especially in the south. With the fall of the Roman empire 400 years later, the Romans left England.
[edit] Anglo-Saxon England
An Anglo-Saxon helmet found at Sutton Hoo
An Anglo-Saxon helmet found at Sutton Hoo
Main article: History of Anglo-Saxon England
Further information: Anglo-Saxon conquest of England
The History of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of early mediaeval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the fifth century until the Conquest by the Normans in 1066.
Fragmentary knowledge of Anglo-Saxon England in the 5th and 6th centuries comes from the British writer Gildas (6th century) the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (a history of the English people begun in the 9th century), saints' lives, poetry, archaeological findings, and place-name studies.
The dominant themes of the seventh to tenth centuries were the spread of Christianity and the political unification of England. Christianity is thought to have come from three directions — from Rome to the south, and Scotland and Ireland to the north and west.
Heptarchy is a term used to refer to the existence (as believed) of the seven petty kingdoms which eventually merged to become the Kingdom of England during the early 10th century: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex.
The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms tended to coalesce by means of warfare. As early as the time of Ethelbert of Kent, one king could be recognised as Bretwalda ("Lord of Britain"). Generally speaking, the title fell in the 7th century to the kings of Northumbria, in the eighth to those of Mercia, and finally, in the ninth, to Egbert of Wessex, who in 825 defeated the Mercians at the Battle of Ellendun. In the next century his family came to rule all England.
[edit] Kingdom of England
Statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester.
Statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester.
Originally, England (or Englaland) was a geographical term to describe the territory of Britain which was occupied by the Anglo-Saxons, rather than a name of an individual nation-state. It became politically united through the expansion of the kingdom of Wessex, whose king Athelstan brought the whole of England under one ruler for the first time in 927, although unification did not become permanent until 954. In 1016 England was conquered by the Danish king Canute the Great, and became the centre of government for his short-lived empire which also included Denmark and Norway. In 1042 England became a separate kingdom again with the accession of Edward the Confessor, heir of the native English dynasty.
The Kingdom of England (including Wales) continued to exist as an independent nation-state right through to the Acts of Union and the Union of Crowns. However the political ties and direction of England were changed forever by the Norman Conquest in 1066.
[edit] Norman Conquest
The Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry
Main article: Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. It is an important watershed in English history for a number of reasons. The conquest linked England more closely with Continental Europe, and lessened Scandinavian influence. The success of the conquest established one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe, created the most sophisticated governmental system in Europe, changed the English language and culture, and set the stage for English-French conflict that would last into the nineteenth century.
The events of the conquest also paved the way for a pivotal historical document to be produced - the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book was the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William the Conqueror. The survey was similar to a census by a government of today and is England's earliest surviving public records document.
To date, the Norman conquest remains the last successful military conquest of England.
[edit] Mediæval England
The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. It was one of the first steps towards the creation of modern democracy.
The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. It was one of the first steps towards the creation of modern democracy.
Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the English victory over France at the Battle of Agincourt.
Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the English victory over France at the Battle of Agincourt.
Main article: Britain in the Middle Ages
See also: Medieval demography
The next few hundred years saw England as an important part of expanding and dwindling empires based in France, with the "King of England" being a subsidiary title of a succession of French-speaking Dukes of territories in what is now France.[citation needed] Only when English kings realised that their losses in France meant that England was now their richest and most important possession did they accept the same "nationality" and language as their subjects in England.[citation needed] They used England as a source of troops to enlarge their personal holdings in France for many years (Hundred Years' War); in fact the English crown did not relinquish its last foothold on mainland France until Calais was lost during the reign of Mary Tudor (the Channel Islands are still crown dependencies, though not part of the UK).
The Principality of Wales, under the control of English monarchs from the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, became part of the Kingdom of England by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. Wales shared a legal identity with England as the joint entity originally called England and later England and Wales.
An epidemic of catastrophic proportions, the Black Death first reached England in the summer of 1348. The Black Death is estimated to have killed between a third and two-thirds of Europe's population. England alone lost as many as 70% of its population, which passed from 7 million to 2 million in 1400. The plague repeatedly returned to haunt England throughout the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. The Great Plague of London in 1665–1666 was the last plague outbreak.[16]
[edit] Reformation
Portrait of Elizabeth made to commemorate the English victory over the Spanish Armada (1588).
Portrait of Elizabeth made to commemorate the English victory over the Spanish Armada (1588).
Main article: English Reformation
During the English Reformation, the external authority of the Roman Catholic Church in England was abolished and replaced with Royal Supremacy and ultimately describes the establishment of a Church of England, outside the Roman Catholic Church, under the Supreme Governance of the English monarch. The English Reformation differed from its European counterparts in that it was a political, rather than purely theological, dispute at root.[17] The break with Rome started in the reign of Henry VIII.
The English Reformation paved the way for the spread of Anglicanism in the church and other institutions.
[edit] English Civil War
Main article: English Civil War
Cromwell at Dunbar. Oliver Cromwell united the whole of the British Isles by force and created the Commonwealth of England.
Cromwell at Dunbar. Oliver Cromwell united the whole of the British Isles by force and created the Commonwealth of England.
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. The first (1642–1645) and second (1648–1649) civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war of (1649–1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The Civil War ended with the Parliamentary victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651.
The Civil War led to the trial and execution of Charles I, the exile of his son Charles II and the replacement of the English monarchy with the Commonwealth of England (1649–1653) and then with a Protectorate (1653–1659): the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell. After a brief return to Commonwealth rule, in 1660 The Crown was restored and Charles II accepted Convention Parliament's invitation to return to England. During the interregnum the monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England came to an end, and the victors consolidated the already-established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. Constitutionally, the wars established a precedent that British monarchs could not govern without the consent of Parliament although this would not be cemented until the Glorious Revolution later in the century.
[edit] Great Britain and the United Kingdom
When King James VI of Scotland took over the English throne, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland remained separate, until 1707, when under the Acts of Union, both England and Scotland lost their individual political (though not legal) identities. This union has subsequently changed its name twice; firstly on the merger with the Kingdom of Ireland following the Act of Union in 1800 creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Then following the secession from the union of the Irish Free State under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, it became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Throughout these changes, England (including Wales) retained a separate legal identity from its partners, with a separate legal system (English law) from those in Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland law) and Scotland (Scots law), and eventually the strong feelings of the Welsh were acknowledged when it was decided that the name would henceforth be "England and Wales".
[edit] Politics
A Mediaeval manuscript, showing the Parliament of England in front of the king c. 1300
A Mediaeval manuscript, showing the Parliament of England in front of the king c. 1300
Main articles: Politics of England, Politics of the United Kingdom, and Government of England
There has not been a Government of England since 1707, when the Kingdom of England merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, although both kingdoms have been ruled by a single monarch since 1603. Prior to the Acts of Union of 1707, England was ruled by a monarch and the Parliament of England.
The Scottish and Welsh governing institutions were created by the UK parliament with support from the majority of people of Scotland and Wales in referenda in 1997 and are not independent of the rest of Britain. However, this gave each country a separate political entity which left England as the only part of Britain directly ruled in nearly all matters by the British government in London. In Cornwall, a region of England claiming a distinct national identity, there has been a campaign for a Cornish assembly along Welsh lines by nationalist parties such as Mebyon Kernow.
The Palace of Westminster, Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Palace of Westminster, Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Because Westminster is the UK parliament but also votes on local English matters devolution of national matters to parliament/assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has refocused attention on a long-standing anomaly called the West Lothian question. The "Question" is that there is no convention or rule whereby Scottish MPs are barred from voting on issues relating only to England and Wales in the post devolution era.
Welsh devolution has removed the anomaly for Wales, but highlighted the anomaly for England: Scottish and Welsh MPs can vote on English issues, but purely Scottish and Welsh issues are debated in Scotland and Wales, not at Westminster In fact Scottish MPs can't even vote on such issues affecting their own constituencies. This problem is exacerbated by an over-representation of Scottish MPs in the government, sometimes referred to as the Scottish mafia; as of September 2006, seven of the twenty-three Cabinet members are Scottish, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Defence Secretary. In addition, Scotland traditionally benefited from moderate malapportionment in its favour, increasing its representation to a degree disproportionate to its population. In 2004 the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 was passed which rectified this to a degree, reducing the number of MPs representing Scottish constituencies from 73 to 59 and brought the number of voters per constituency closer to that in England. This change was implemented in the 2005 General Election.
In terms of national administration, England's affairs are managed by a combination of the UK government, the UK parliament, a number of England-specific quangos, such as English Heritage, and the mostly unelected Regional Assemblies (a kind of nascent executive for each English Region).
There are calls for a devolved English Parliament, and certain English parties go further by calling for the dissolution of the Union entirely[18][19]. However, the approach favoured by the current Labour government was (on the basis that England is too large to be governed as a single sub-state entity) to propose the devolution of power to the Regions of England. Lord Falconer claimed a devolved English parliament would dwarf the rest of the United Kingdom.[20] Referendums would decide whether people wanted to vote for directly-elected regional assemblies to watch over the work of the non-elected Regional Development Agencies.
During the campaign, a common criticism of the proposals was that England did not need "another tier of bureaucracy".[21] On the other hand, many said that they were not decentralising enough, and amounted not to devolution, but to little more than local government reorganisation, with no real power being removed from central government, and no real power given to the regions, which would not even gain the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly, much less the tax-varying and legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament (but Welsh powers are now being expanded). They said that power was simply re-allocated within the region, with little new resource allocation and no real prospects of Assemblies being able to change the pattern of regional aid. Late in the process, responsibility for regional transport was added to the proposals. This was perhaps crucial in the North East, where resentment at the Barnett Formula, which delivers greater regional aid to adjacent Scotland, was a significant impetus for the North East devolution campaign. However, a referendum on this issue in North East England on 4 November 2004 rejected this proposal, and plans for referendums in other Regions (such as Yorkshire) were shelved.
[edit] Subdivisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of England
See also: Counties of England
Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These have their origin in the shires, the subdivisions of the kingdom of Wessex, which were extended over the rest of England as Wessex expanded to unite the country in the ninth and tenth centuries. Some of these new shires, particularly in the south-east of England, retained the extent and names of the kingdoms or subdivisions of kingdoms which had existed there before, such as Sussex and Kent, but most were new creations, named after their principal town with the suffix "-shire" added, for example Nottinghamshire from Nottingham. In the far north of England, the system took longer to become regularised and County Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland emerged after the Norman Conquest. These historical county lines were usually drawn up before the Industrial Revolution and the mass urbanisation of England. The counties each had a county town.
A series of local government reorganisations have taken place since the latter part of the nineteenth century. The solution to the emergence of large urban areas was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities (an example being Greater Manchester). The creation of unitary authorities, where districts gained the administrative status of a county, began with the 1990s reform of local government. Today, some confusion exists between the ceremonial counties (which do not necessarily form an administrative unit) and the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties.
Non-metropolitan counties (or "shire counties") are divided into one or more districts. At the very lowest level, England is divided into parishes, though these are not to be found everywhere (many urban areas for example are unparished). Parishes are prohibited from existing in Greater London.
England is now also divided into nine regions, which do not have an elected authority and exist to co-ordinate certain local government functions across a wider area. London is an exception, however, and is the one region which now has a representative authority as well as a directly elected mayor. The 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London remain the local form of government in the city.
[edit] Geography
Main articles: Geography of the United Kingdom and Geography of England
England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 52 km (24 statute mile or 21 nautical mile)[22] sea gap. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, directly links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel[citation needed].
Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, the Fens, much of which has been drained for agricultural use.
The list of England's largest cities is much debated because in English the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area"; these are hard to define and various other definitions are preferred by some people to boost the ranking of their own city. For the official definition of a UK (and therefore English) city, see City status in the United Kingdom. However, by any definition London is by far the largest urban area in England and one of the largest and busiest cities in the world. Birmingham is the second largest, both in terms of the city itself and its urban conurbation. A number of other cities, mainly in central and northern England, are of substantial size and influence. These include: Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Hull.
The largest natural harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Some regard it as the second largest harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia, although this fact is disputed (see harbours for a list of other large natural harbours).
[edit] Climate
Main article: Climate of the United Kingdom
England has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round, though the seasons are quite variable in temperature. However, temperatures rarely fall below −5 °C (23 °F) or rise above 30 °C (86 °F). The prevailing wind is from the south-west, bringing mild and wet weather to England regularly from the Atlantic Ocean. It is driest in the east and warmest in the south, which is closest to the European mainland. Snowfall can occur in Winter and early Spring, though it is not that common away from high ground.
The highest temperature ever recorded in England is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on August 10, 2003 at Brogdale, near Faversham, in Kent.[23] The lowest temperature ever recorded in England is −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on January 10, 1982 at Edgmond, near Newport, in Shropshire.[24]
[edit] Major rivers
Until 1998, the Humber Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Until 1998, the Humber Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Main article: Waterways in the United Kingdom
* Severn (the longest river basin in Great Britain)
* Thames
* Trent
* Humber
* Tyne
* Tees
* Ribble
* Ouse
* Mersey
* Dee
* Avon
[edit] Major conurbations
London is the largest city in England, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
London is the largest city in England, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.[25]
Main article: List of English cities by population
The largest cities in England are much debated but according to the urban area populations (continuous built-up areas) these would be the fifteen largest conurbations (population figures taken from 2001 census):
Greater London Urban Area 8,278,251
West Midlands conurbation 2,284,093
Greater Manchester Urban Area 2,240,230
West Yorkshire Urban Area 1,499,465
Tyneside 879,996
Liverpool Urban Area 816,216
Nottingham Urban Area 666,358
Sheffield Urban Area 640,720
Greater Bristol 551,066
Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton 461,181
Portsmouth Urban Area 442,252
Leicester Urban Area 441,213
Bournemouth Urban Area 383,713
Reading/Wokingham Urban Area 369,804
Teesside 365,323
[edit] Economics
The City of London is a major business and commercial centre, ranking alongside New York City as the leading centre of global finance.
The City of London is a major business and commercial centre, ranking alongside New York City as the leading centre of global finance.[26]
Main article: Economy of England
England's economy is the second largest economy in Europe and the fifth largest economy in the world. It follows the Anglo-Saxon economic model. England's economy is the largest of the four economies of the United Kingdom, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations based in London.[27] As part of the United Kingdom, England is a major centre of world economics. One of the world's most highly industrialised countries, England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry and the manufacturing side of the software industry.
The Bullring shopping complex in Birmingham city centre attracted 36.5 million visitors in its début year upon opening in 2003.
The Bullring shopping complex in Birmingham city centre attracted 36.5 million visitors in its début year upon opening in 2003.
London exports mainly manufactured goods and imports materials such as petroleum, tea, wool, raw sugar, timber, butter, metals, and meat,[28] exporting over 30,000 tonnes of beef last year, worth around £75,000,000, with France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain being the biggest importers of beef from England.[29]
The central bank of the United Kingdom, which sets interest rates and implements monetary policy, is the Bank of England in London. London is also home to the London Stock Exchange, the main stock exchange in the UK and the largest in Europe. London, is one of the international leaders in finance[30] and the largest financial centre in Europe.
Traditional heavy and manufacturing industries have declined sharply in England in recent decades, as they have in the United Kingdom as a whole. At the same time, service industries have grown in importance. For example, tourism is the sixth largest industry in the UK, contributing 76 billion pounds to the economy. It employs 1,800,000 full-time equivalent people — 6.1% of the working population (2002 figures).[31] The largest centre for tourism is London, which attracts millions of international tourists every year.
As part of the United Kingdom, England's official currency is the Pound Sterling (also known as the British pound or GBP).
[edit] Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of England and Population of England
Demography of England
Demography of England
With 50,431,700 inhabitants, or 84% of the UK's total[32], England is the most populous nation in the United Kingdom; as well as being the most ethnically diverse. England would have the fourth largest population in the European Union and would be the 25th largest country by population if it were a sovereign state.
The country's population is 'ageing', with a declining percentage of the population under age 16 and a rising one of over 65. Population continues to rise and in every year since 1901, with the exception of 1976, there have been more births than deaths.[33] England is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, with 383 people per square kilometre (992/sq mi),[34] making it second only to the Netherlands.
The generally accepted view is that the ethnic background of the English populace, before 19th- and 20th-century immigration, was a mixed European one deriving from historical waves of Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Norman invasions, along with the possible survival of pre-Celtic ancestry.
The economic prosperity of England has also made it a destination for economic migrants from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This was particularly true during the Industrial Revolution.
Since the fall of the British Empire, many denizens of former colonies have migrated to Britain including the Indian sub-continent and the British Caribbean. A BBC published report of the 2001 census, by the Institute for Public Policy Research stated that the vast majority of immigrants settled in London and the South East of England. The largest groups of residents born in other countries were from the Republic of Ireland, India, Pakistan, Germany, and the Caribbean. Though Germany was high on the list, this was mainly the result of children being born to British forces personnel stationed in that country.[35]
About half the population increase between 1991 and 2001 was due to foreign-born immigration. In 2004 the number of people who became British citizens rose to a record 140,795 - a rise of 12% on the previous year. This number had risen dramatically since 2000. The overwhelming majority of new citizens come from Africa (32%) and Asia (40%), the largest three groups being people from Pakistan, India and Somalia.[36] One in five babies in the UK are born to immigrant mothers, according to official statistics released in 2007 that also show the highest birth rates in Britain for 26 years. 21.9 per cent of all births in the UK in 2006 were to mothers born outside the United Kingdom compared to just 12.8 per cent in 1995.[37]
In 2005, an estimated 565,000 migrants[38] arrived to live in the UK for at least a year, while 380,000 people emigrated from the UK for a year or more, with Australia, Spain and France most popular destinations.[39][40] Largest group of arrivals were people from the Indian subcontinent who accounted for two-thirds of net immigration, mainly fuelled by family reunion.[41]
The European Union allows free movement between the member states. While France and Germany put in place controls to curb Eastern European migration, the UK (along with Ireland) did not impose restrictions. Following Poland's entry into the EU in May 2004 it is estimated that by the start of 2007 about 375,000 Poles have registered to work in the UK, although the total Polish population in the UK is believed to be 750,000. Many Poles work in seasonal occupations and a large number is likely to move back and forth including between Ireland and other EU Western nations. A quarter of Eastern European migrants, often young and well-educated, plan to stay in Britain permanently. Most of them had originally intended to go home but have changed their minds after living there.[42]
[edit] Culture
Main articles: Culture of England, English people, and English Renaissance
England has a vast and influential culture that encompasses elements both old and new. The modern culture of England is sometimes difficult to identify and separate clearly from the culture of the wider United Kingdom, so intertwined are its composite nations. However, the traditional and historic culture of England is more clearly defined.
English Heritage is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. London's British Museum, British Library and National Gallery contain some of the finest collections in the world.
The English have played a significant role in the development of the arts and sciences. Many of the most important figures in the history of modern western scientific and philosophical thought were either born in, or at one time or other resided in, England. Major English thinkers of international significance include scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, Charles Darwin and New Zealand-born Ernest Rutherford, philosophers such as John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Hobbes, and economists such as David Ricardo, and John Maynard Keynes. Karl Marx wrote most of his important works, including Das Kapital, whilst in exile in London, and the team that developed the first atomic bomb began their work in England, under the wartime codename tube alloys.
[edit] Architecture
The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
See also: Category:English architects and Architecture of the United Kingdom
England has played a significant part in the advancement of Western architecture. It is home to some of the finest mediaeval castles and forts in the world (see Castles in England), including Warwick Castle, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle (the largest inhabited castle in the world and the oldest in continuous occupation). It is also known for its numerous grand country houses (see List of historic houses in England), and for its many mediaeval and later churches and cathedrals.
English architects have contributed to a number of styles over the centuries, including Tudor architecture, English Baroque, the Georgian style and Victorian movements such as Gothic Revival.
Among the best-known contemporary English architects are Norman Foster and Richard Rogers.
[edit] Art
Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable, c.1825.
Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable, c.1825.
Main article: English art
England is home to the National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St. Ives, and the Tate Modern. Significant figures in English art include William Blake, William Hogarth, J.M.W. Turner and John Constable in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, through to the influential William Morris in the late nineteenth, to L. S. Lowry, Henry Moore and Francis Bacon during the twentieth century, and names such as David Hockney and Damien Hirst in the present day.
[edit] Cuisine
Main article: English cuisine
Although highly-regarded in the Middle Ages, English cuisine later became a source of fun among Britain's French and European neighbours, being viewed until the late twentieth century as crude and unsophisticated by comparison with continental tastes. However, with the influx of non-European immigrants (particularly those of south and east Asian origins) from the 1950s onwards, the English diet was transformed. Indian and Chinese cuisine in particular were absorbed into English culinary life, with restaurants and takeaways appearing in almost every town in England, and 'going for an Indian' becoming a regular part of English social life. A distinct hybrid food style composed of dishes of Asian origin, but adapted to British tastes, emerged and was subsequently exported to other parts of the world. Many of the well-known Indian dishes in the western world, such as Tikka Masala and Balti, are in fact Anglo-Indian dishes of this sort. Chicken Tikka Masala is often jokingly referred to as England's national dish, in a reference both to its English origins and to its enormous popularity.
Dishes forming part of the old tradition of English food include:
* Apple pie
* Bangers and mash
* Bubble and Squeak
* Cornish pasty
* Cottage pie
* Egg Salad
* Fish and chips
* Full English breakfast
* Gravy
* Jellied eels
* Lancashire hotpot
* Lincolnshire sausage
* Mince pies
* Pie and mash
* Pork pie
* Scouse
* Shepherd's pie
* Spotted Dick
* Steak and kidney pie
* Sunday roast
* Toad in the hole
* Yorkshire pudding
[edit] Engineering and innovation
See also: Category:English inventors and Category:English inventions
As birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, England was home to many significant inventors during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Famous English engineers include Isambard Kingdom Brunel, best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, and numerous important bridges, hence revolutionising public transport and modern day engineering.
Other notable English figures in the fields of engineering and innovation include:
* Richard Arkwright — inventor of the first industrial spinning machine
* Charles Babbage — inventor of the first computer (in the nineteenth century)
* Tim Berners-Lee — inventor of the World Wide Web, http, html, and many of the other technologies on which the Web is based
* James Blundell — who performed the first blood transfusion
* Hubert Cecil Booth — inventor of the Vacuum cleaner
* Edwin Beard Budding — inventor of the lawnmower
* George Cayley — inventor of the seat belt
* Christopher Cockerell — inventor of the hovercraft
* John Dalton — pioneer of atomic theory
* James Dyson — inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner
* Michael Faraday — inventor of the electric motor
* Thomas Fowler — inventor of the thermosiphon
* Robert Hooke — Hooke's law of elasticity
* E. Purnell Hooley — inventor of tarmac
* Thomas Newcomen — inventor of the first practical steam engine
* Isaac Newton — defining Universal gravitation, Universal gravitation, Newtonian mechanics, Infinitesimal calculus
* Stephen Perry — inventor of the rubber band
* Thomas Savery — inventor of the steam engine
* Percy Shaw — inventor of the "cat's eye" road safety device
* George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson — railway pioneers (father and son)
* Joseph Swan — developer of the light bulb
* Richard Trevithick — builder of the earliest steam locomotive
* Jethro Tull — inventor of the seed drill
* Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers — inventors of the modern computer and its associated concepts and technologies
* Frank Whittle — inventor of the jet engine
* Joseph Whitworth — inventor of many of the modern techniques and technologies of precision engineering
[edit] Folklore
Main article: English folklore
English folklore is rich and diverse. Many of the land's oldest legends share themes and sources with the Celtic folklore of Wales, Scotland and Ireland, a typical example being the legend of Herne the Hunter, which shares many similarities with the traditional Welsh legend of Gwyn ap Nudd.
Successive waves of pre-Norman invaders and settlers, from the Romans onwards, via Saxons, Jutes, Angles, Norse to the Norman Conquest have all influenced the myth and legend of England. Some tales, such as that of The Lambton Wyrm show a distinct Norse influence, whilst others, particularly some of the events and characters associated with the Arthurian legends show a distinct Romano-gaulic slant.[43]
The most famous body of English folk-tales concerns the legends of King Arthur, although it would be wrong to regard these stories as purely English in origin as they also concern Wales and, to a lesser extent, Ireland and Scotland. They should therefore be considered as part of the folklore of the British Isles as a whole.
Post-Norman stories include the tales of Robin Hood, which exists in many forms, and stories of other folk heroes such as Hereward the Wake and Fulk FitzWarin who, although being based on historical characters, have grown to become legends in their own right.
Finally, other historical figures come to have legends associated with them (such as Sir Francis Drake and 'Drake's Drum'). These figures then move out of the realm of historical fact and into the realm of mythology.
[edit] Literature
William Shakespeare; an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, as well as one of the greatest in Western literature.
William Shakespeare; an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, as well as one of the greatest in Western literature.[44][45][46]
Main article: English literature
The English language boasts a rich and prominent literary heritage. England has produced a wealth of significant literary figures including playwrights William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, as well as writers Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, William Makepeace Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelly, HG Wells, George Eliot, Rudyard Kipling, DH Lawrence, EM Forster, Virginia Woolf, George Orwell and Harold Pinter. Others, such as Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton and J.K. Rowling have been among the best-selling novelists of the last century.
Among the poets, Geoffrey Chaucer, Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sydney, Thomas Kyd, John Donne, Andrew Marvell, Alexander Pope, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, John Keats, John Milton, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, T.S. Eliot (an English Citizen from 1927) and many others remain read and studied around the world. Among men of letters, Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt and George Orwell are some of the most famous. England continues to produce writers working in all branches of literature, and in a wide range of styles; contemporary English literary writers attracting international attention include Martin Amis, Julian Barnes and Zadie Smith.
[edit] Music
The composer Sir Edward Elgar is primarily remembered for his orchestral music, some of which develops patriotic themes.
The composer Sir Edward Elgar is primarily remembered for his orchestral music, some of which develops patriotic themes.
Main article: Music of England
Composers from England have not achieved recognition as broad as that earned by their literary counterparts, and particularly during the nineteenth century, were overshadowed in international reputation by other European composers; however, many works of earlier composers such as Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, and Henry Purcell are still frequently performed throughout the world today. A revival of England's musical status began during the twentieth century with the prominence of composers such as Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, William Walton, Eric Coates, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Frederick Delius and Benjamin Britten.
In popular music, however, English bands and solo artists have been cited as the most influential and best-selling musicians of all time. Acts such as The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Black Sabbath, The Cure, Iron Maiden, David Bowie, Queen, Spice Girls, Oasis, The Police, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Sir Elton John and Radiohead,are amongst the biggest selling in the world. England is also credited with being the birthplace of many pop-culture movements such as hard rock, British invasion, heavy metal, britpop, glam rock, drum and bass, grindcore, progressive rock, indie, punk, goth, shoegazing, acid house, UK garage and Trip Hop.
[edit] Science and philosophy
See also: Category:English scientists and Category:English philosophers
Prominent English figures from the field of science and mathematics include Sir Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, J. J. Thomson, Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Wren, Alan Turing, Francis Crick, Joseph Lister, Tim Berners-Lee, Andrew Wiles and Richard Dawkins. Some experts claim that the earliest concept of a Metric system was invented by John Wilkins, first secretary of the Royal Society in 1668.[47]
England played an important role in the development of Western philosophy, particularly during the Enlightenment. Jeremy Bentham, leader of the Philosophical Radicals, and his school are recognised as the men who unknowingly laid down the doctrines for Socialism.[48] Bentham's impact on English law is also considerable. Aside from Bentham, major English philosophers include Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill, Bernard Williams and Bertrand Russell.
[edit] Sport
Main article: Sport in England
A number of modern sports were codified in England during the nineteenth century, among them cricket, rugby union and rugby league, football (soccer), tennis and badminton. Of these, association football, rugby and cricket remain the country's most popular spectator sports. England contains more UEFA 5 star and 4 star rated stadia than any other country, and is home to some of the sport's top clubs. Among these, Aston Villa, Liverpool FC, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest have won the European Cup. The England national football team are considered one of the game's superpowers (currently ranked 12th by FIFA and 7th by Elo), having won the World Cup in 1966 when it was hosted in England. Since then, however, they have failed to reach a final of a major international tournament, though they reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990 and the quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006 and Euro 2004.
The England national rugby union team and England cricket team are often among the best performing in the world, with the rugby union team winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and the cricket team winning The Ashes in 2005, and being ranked the second best Test nation in the world. Rugby union clubs such as Leicester Tigers, London Wasps and the Northampton Saints have had success in the Europe-wide Heineken Cup. At rugby league, the England national rugby league team are to compete more regularly after 2006, when England will become a full test nation in lieu of the Great Britain national rugby league team, when that team is retired after the 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations. The English Rugby Team will now be looking forward to prosper in The Rugby World Cup 2007 which will be held in France in the next few weeks.
Sport England is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England.
The 2012 Summer Olympics are to be hosted by London, England. It will run from 26 July to 12 August 2012. London will become the first city to have hosted the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948.
[edit] Language
[edit] English language
Main articles: English language and History of the English language
Places in the world where English is spoken. Countries are dark blue where English is an official language, de facto official language, or national language. Countries (and one Province) are light blue where it is an official, non-primary language or non-official primary language.
Places in the world where English is spoken. Countries are dark blue where English is an official language, de facto official language, or national language. Countries (and one Province) are light blue where it is an official, non-primary language or non-official primary language.
[[Image:Beowulf.firstpage.jpeg|thumb|upright|right|Beowulf is one of the oldest surviving epic poems in what is identifiable as a form of the English language. As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today (although not officially designated as such). An Indo-European language in the Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic family, it is closely related to Scots and Frisian. As the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms merged into England, "Old English" emerged; some of its literature and poetry has survived.
Used by aristocracy and commoners alike before the Norman Conquest (1066), English was displaced in cultured contexts under the new regime by the Norman French language of the new Anglo-Norman aristocracy. Its use was confined primarily to the lower social classes while official business was conducted in a mixture of Latin and French. Over the following centuries, however, English gradually came back into fashion among all classes and for all official business except certain traditional ceremonies, some of which survive to this day. But Middle English, as it had by now become, showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins; and more recent years, Modern English has extended this custom, being always remarkable for its far-flung willingness to incorporate foreign-influenced words.
It is most commonly accepted that — thanks in large part to the British Empire, and now the United States — the English language is now the world's unofficial lingua franca,[49] while English common law is also the foundation of many legal systems throughout the English-speaking countries of the world.[50] English language learning and teaching is an important economic sector, including language schools, tourism spending, and publishing houses.
[edit] Additional languages
UK legislation does not recognise any language as being official,[51] but English is the only language used in England for general official business. The other national languages of the UK (Welsh, Irish, Scots and Scottish Gaelic) are confined to their respective nations, except Welsh to some degree.
The only non-Anglic native spoken language in England is the Cornish language, a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, which became extinct in the nineteenth century but has been revived and is spoken in various degrees of fluency, currently by around 2000 people.[52] This has no official status (unlike Welsh) and is not required for official use, but is nonetheless supported by national and local government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Cornwall County Council has produced a draft strategy to develop these plans. There is, however, no programme as yet for public bodies to actively promote the language. Scots is spoken by some adjacent to the Anglo-Scottish Border, and Welsh is still spoken by some natives around Oswestry, Shropshire, on the Welsh border.
Most deaf people within England speak British sign language (BSL), a sign language native to Britain. The British Deaf Association estimates that 250,000 people throughout the UK speak BSL as their first or preferred language,[53] but does not give statistics specific to England. Neither Cornish nor BSL are official languages of the UK and most British government departments and hospitals have limited facilities for deaf people. The BBC broadcasts several of its programmes with BSL interpreters.
Different languages from around the world, especially from the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, have been brought to England by immigrants. Many of these are widely spoken within ethnic minority communities, with Hindi, Bengali, Sinhala, Tamil, Punjabi, Urdu, Polish, Greek, Turkish and Cantonese being the most common languages that people living in Britain consider their first language. These are often used by official bodies to communicate with the relevant sections of the community, particularly in big cities, but this occurs on an "as needed" basis rather than as the result of specific legislative ordinances.
Other languages have also traditionally been spoken by minority populations in England, including Romany.
Despite the relatively small size of the nation, there are a many distinct English regional accents. Those with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood elsewhere in the country. Use of foreign non-standard varieties of English (such as Caribbean English) is also increasingly widespread, mainly because of the effects of immigration.
[edit] Religion
Due to immigration in the past decades, there is an enormous diversity of religious belief in England, as well as a growing percentage that have no religious affiliation. Levels of attendance in various denominations have begun to decline. England today is largely a secular country. Although the following percentages : Christianity: 71.6%, Islam: 3.1%, Hindu: 1.1%, Sikh: 0.7%, Jewish: 0.5%, and Buddhist: 0.3%, No Faith: 22.3%.[54], the EU Eurobarometer poll of 2005 shows that only 38%[55] of people in the UK believe in a god and that religious belief is on the decline.
[edit] Christianity
[[Image:Rochester cathedral stained glass 2.jpg|upright|right|thumb|Stained glass from Rochester Cathedral in Kent, England, incorporating the Flag of England.]] Christianity reached England through missionaries from Scotland and from Continental Europe; the era of St. Augustine (the first Archbishop of Canterbury) and the Celtic Christian missionaries in the north (notably St. Aidan and St. Cuthbert). The Synod of Whitby in 664 ultimately led to the English Church being fully part of Roman Catholicism. Early English Christian documents surviving from this time include the seventh century illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels and the historical accounts written by the Venerable Bede. England has many early cathedrals, most notably York Minster (1080), Durham Cathedral (1093) and Salisbury Cathedral (1220), In 1536, the Church was split from Rome over the issue of the divorce of King Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon. The split led to the emergence of a separate ecclesiastical authority, and later the influence of the Reformation, resulting in the Church of England and Anglicanism. Unlike the other three constituent countries of the UK, the Church of England is an established church (although the Church of Scotland is a 'national church' recognised in law).
Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England, a significant worldwide Christian denomination.
Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England, a significant worldwide Christian denomination.
The sixteenth century break with Rome under the reign of King Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries had major consequences for the Church (as well as for politics). The Church of England remains the largest Christian church in England; it is part of the Anglican communion. Many of the Church of England's cathedrals and parish churches are historic buildings of significant architectural importance.
Other major Christian Protestant denominations in England include the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church and the United Reformed Church. Smaller denominations, but not insignificant, include the Religious Society of Friends (the "Quakers") and the Salvation Army — both founded in England. There are also Afro-Caribbean Churches, especially in the London area.
The Roman Catholic Church re-established a hierarchy in England in the nineteenth century. Attendances were considerably boosted by immigration, especially from Ireland and more recently Poland.
See also: Churches Together in England
[edit] Other religions
Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, immigration from many colonial countries, often from South Asia and the Middle East have resulted in a considerable growth in Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism in England. Cities and towns with large Muslim communities include Birmingham, Blackburn,Coventry, Bolton, Bradford, Leicester, London, Luton, Manchester, Oldham & Sheffield. Cities and towns with large Sikh communities include London, Slough, Staines, Hounslow, Southall, Reading, Ilford, Barking, Dagenham, Leicester, Leeds, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and others.
The Jewish community in England is mainly located in the Greater London area, particularly the north west suburbs such as Golders Green;[56] although Manchester and Gateshead also have significant Jewish communities.[57][58]
[edit] Education
The chapel of King's College, Cambridge University.
The chapel of King's College, Cambridge University.
Main article: Education in England
There is a long history of the promotion of education in England in schools, colleges and universities. England is home to the oldest existing schools in the English speaking world: The King's School, Canterbury and The King's School, Rochester, believed to be founded in the sixth and seventh century respectively. There are at least eight existing schools in England which were founded in the first millennium. Most of these ancient institutions are fee-paying schools, however there are also very early examples of state schools in England, most notably Beverley Grammar School founded in 700. State and private schools and colleges have continued side by side since that time. Other famous English schools include Eton College (founded 1440), Harrow School (1572)Winchester College (1382), Tonbridge School (1553) and Charterhouse School (1611). The oldest surviving girls' school in England is Red Maids' School founded in 1634. England is also home to the two oldest universities in the English speaking world: Oxford University (twelfth century) and Cambridge University (early thirteenth century). There are more than ninety universities in England and many of these (most notably the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London) consist of autonomous colleges many of which are world famous in their own right, for example University College, Oxford (founded 1249), Peterhouse, Cambridge (1284) and the London School of Economics (1895).
The education system in England is run by the Department for Children, Schools and Families . The education is split into two main types; State schools which are funded through taxation and free to all, and private schools, which provide a paid-for education on top of taxes (also known as "Public" or "Independent" schools).
Education is the responsibility of Department for Children, Schools and Families at national level and, in the case of publicly funded compulsory education, of Local Education Authorities. The education structures for Wales and Northern Ireland are broadly similar to the English system, but there are significant differences of emphasis in the depth and breadth of teaching objectives in Scotland. Traditionally the English system emphasises depth of education, whereas the Scottish system emphasises breadth.
See also: List of universities in England
[edit] Transport
See also: Transport in England
Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport in terms of numbers of international passengers
Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport in terms of numbers of international passengers
BAA Limited runs many of England's airports, its flagship being London Heathrow Airport, the largest airport by traffic volume in Europe and one of the world's busiest airports, and London Gatwick Airport, the second largest. The third largest is Manchester Airport. This is run by Manchester Airport Group, which also owns various other airports. Other major airports include London Stansted Airport in Essex, about thirty miles (50 km) north of London, Coventry Airport and Birmingham International Airport.
The growth in private car ownership in the latter half of the twentieth century led to a number of major road-building programmes. Important trunk roads built include the A1 Great North Road from London to Newcastle and Edinburgh, and the A580 "East Lancs." road between Liverpool and Manchester. The Preston Bypass was the first section of motorway and opened in 1958 - it now forms part of the M6 motorway, the country's longest motorway running from Rugby through North West England to the Scottish border. Other major roads include the M1 motorway from London to Leeds up the East of the country, the M25 motorway which encircles London, the M60 motorway which encircles Manchester, the M4 motorway from London to South Wales, the M62 motorway from Liverpool to Manchester and Yorkshire, and the M5 motorway from Birmingham to Bristol and the South West.
The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles (16,116 route km) in Great Britain, of which the majority is in England. Urban rail networks are also well developed in London and several other cities, including the Manchester Metrolink and the London Underground. The London Underground is the oldest and most extensive underground railway in the world, and as of 2007 consists of 253 miles (407 kilometres) of line[59] and serves 275 stations.[60]
There are around 4,400 miles (7,100 km) of navigable waterways in England, of which roughly half is owned by British Waterways. It is estimated that 165 million journeys are made by people on Britain's waterways annually. The Thames is the major waterway in England, with imports and exports focused at Tilbury, one of the three major ports in the UK. Ports in the UK handled over 560 million tonnes of domestic and international freight in 2005.[61]
The government department overseeing transport is the Department for Transport.
[edit] English people
Main article: English people
The ancestry of the English, considered as an ethnic group, is mixed; it can be traced to the mostly Celtic Romano-Britons,[62] to the eponymous Anglo-Saxons,[63] the Danish-Vikings[64] that formed the Danelaw during the time of Alfred the Great and the Normans,[65][66] among others. The 19th and 20th centuries, furthermore, brought much new immigration to England.
Ethnicity aside, the simplest view is that an English person is someone who was born in England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. It has, however, been a notoriously complicated, emotive and controversial identity to delimit. Centuries of English dominance within the United Kingdom has created a situation where to be English is, as a linguist would put it, an "unmarked" state. The English frequently include themselves and their neighbours in the wider term of "British", while the Scots and Welsh tend to be more forward about referring to themselves by one of those more specific terms.[67] This reflects a more subtle form of English-specific patriotism in England; St George's Day, the country's national day, is barely celebrated. Though this is mainly down to the fact it is not a public holiday.[citation needed] The celebrations have increased year on year over the past 5 years.[68]
Modern celebration of English identity is often found around its sports, one field in which the British Home Nations often compete individually. The English Association football team, rugby union team and cricket team often cause increases in the popularity of celebrating Englishness.
[edit] Nomenclature
The country is named after the Angles, one of several Germanic tribes who settled the country in the fifth and sixth centuries. There are two distinct linguistic patterns for the name of the country.
The majority of European languages use names similar to "England":
* "Anglie" (Czech)
* "Anglicko" (Slovak)
* "England" (Danish, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish)
* "Engeland" (Dutch)
* "Inglismaa" (Estonian)
* "Angleterre" (French)
* "Англия" (Angliya) (Russian, Bulgarian)
* "Anglaterra" (Catalan)
* "Inghilterra" (Italian)
* "Ingilterra" (Maltese, Egyptian)
* "Inglaterra" (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician)
* "İngiltere" (Turkish)
* "Anglia" (Latin, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian)
* "Anglija" (Slovene, Lithuanian, Latvian, Ukrainian)
* "Engleska" (Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian)
* "Αγγλία" ("Anglía") (Greek)
* "Englanti" (Finnish)
* "Ingalaterra" (Basque)
The Celtic names are quite different, referring to the Saxons, another family of Germanic tribes which arrived at about the same time as the Angles.
* "Bro-Saoz" (Breton)
* "Pow Sows" (Cornish)
* "Sasana" (Irish)
* "Sostyn" (Manx)
* "Sasainn" (Scottish Gaelic)
* "Lloegr" (Welsh), an ancient geographic term and not Saxon-related; but the inhabitants are referred to as "Saeson".
The names in Asian languages:
* "إنجلترا" (Ingiltra) or "إنكلترا" (Inkiltra)(Arabic)
* "যুক্তরাজ্য" (Juktorajjo) (Bangla)
* "انگلستان" (Inglistan) (Persian)
* "אנגליה" (Anglia) (Hebrew)
* "イギリス" (Igirisu) or "英国" (eikoku)(Japanese)
* "Engalaantha" (Sri Lankans (Sinhalese))
* "இங்கிலாந்து" (In-gi-laan-dhu) (Tamil)
* "Anh Quôc" (Vietnamese)
* "Inggris" (Indonesian)
* "อังกฤษ" (Ang-grit) (Thai)
* "英国" (Yīngguó) (Chinese)
* "잉글랜드" (Ing-geul-laen-deu) (Korean)
Names In other languages:
* "Uingereza"(Ou-I-ng'e-re-za) (Swahili)
Alternative names include:
* the slang "Blighty", from the Hindustani "bila yati" meaning "foreign" (which coincidentally resembles "Britain")
* "Albion", an ancient name, supposedly referring to the white (Latin alba) cliffs of Dover. Originally it referred to the whole island of Great Britain, and is still sometimes seen that way today, but is more often used for England. Following the Roman conquest of Britain, the term contracted to mean only the area north of Roman control and is today a relative of Alba, the Celtic languages name for Scotland.
* More poetically, England has been called "this sceptred isle...this other Eden" and "this green and pleasant land", quotations respectively from the poetry of William Shakespeare (in Richard II) and William Blake (And did those feet in ancient time).
Slang terms sometimes used for the people of England include "Sassenachs" or "Sasanachs" (from the Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic respectively, both originally meaning "Saxon"), "Limeys" (in reference to the citrus fruits carried aboard English sailing vessels to prevent scurvy) and "Pom/Pommy" (used in Australian English and New Zealand English), but these may be perceived as offensive. Also see alternative words for British.
[edit] National symbols, insignia and anthems
Saint George and the Dragon, Paolo Uccello, c. 1470. This small one has the look of a griffin or a wyvern.
Saint George and the Dragon, Paolo Uccello, c. 1470. This small one has the look of a griffin or a wyvern.
The two main traditional symbols of England are the St George's cross (the English flag), and the Three Lions coat of arms.
Other national symbols exist, but have varying degrees of official usage, such as the oak tree and the rose.
England's National Day is St George's Day (Saint George being the patron saint), which is on 23 April.[69]
[edit] St George's Cross
Main article: St George's Cross
The St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background and is the national flag of England.
It is believed to have been adopted for the uniform of English soldiers during the Crusades of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries.[70] From about 1277 it became the national flag of England. St George's Cross was originally the flag of Genoa and was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the powerful Genoese fleet. The maritime Republic of Genoa was rising and going to become, together with its rival Venice, one of the most important powers in the world. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege. The cross of St George would become the official Flag of England.
A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It became associated with St George and England, along with other countries and cities (such as Georgia, Milan and the Republic of Genoa), which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner. It remained in national use until 1707, when the Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack, especially at sea) which English and Scottish ships had used at sea since 1606, was adopted for all purposes to unite the whole of Great Britain under a common flag. The flag of England no longer has much of an official role, but it is widely flown by Church of England properties and at sporting events.
Until recently, the flag was not commonly flown in England with the British Union Flag being used instead. This was certainly evident at the 1966 Football World Cup when English fans predominantly flew the latter. However, since devolution in the United Kingdom, the St George Cross has experienced a growth in popularity and is now the predominant flag used in English sporting events.[71]
[edit] Three Lions
Main article: Coat of arms of England
The arms of England are gules, three lions passant guardant or; the earliest surviving record of their use was by Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) in the late twelfth century.
Since union with Scotland and Northern Ireland, the arms of England are no longer used on their own; instead they form a part of the conjoined Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. However, both the Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board use logos based on the three lions. In recent years, it has been common to see banners of the arms flown at English football matches, in the same way the Lion Rampant is flown in Scotland.
In 1996, Three Lions was the official song of the England football team for the 1996 European Football Championship, which were held in England.
[edit] Rose
The Tudor rose is the national floral emblem of England, and was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the Wars of the Roses.[72]
The rose is used in a variety of contexts in its use for England's representation. The so-called Rose of England is a Royal Badge, and is a Tudor, or half-red-half-white rose, [73] symbolising the end of both the Wars of the Roses and the subsequent marriage between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. This symbolism is reflected in the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom and the crest of the FA. However, the rose of England is often displayed as a red rose (which also symbolises Lancashire), such as the badge of the England national rugby union team. A white rose (which also symbolises Yorkshire) is also used on different occasions.
[edit] Anthem
England does not have an official designated national anthem, as the United Kingdom as a whole has "God Save the Queen". However, the following are often considered to be unofficial English national anthems:
* "I Vow to Thee, My Country"
* "Land of Hope and Glory"
* "Nimrod"
* "Jerusalem"
* "Heart of Oak"
"God Save the Queen" is usually played for English sporting events, such as football matches, against teams from outside the UK,[74] although "Land of Hope and Glory" was used as the English anthem for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[75] Since 2004, "Jerusalem" has been sung before England cricket matches,[76] and "Rule Britannia" (Britannia being the Roman name for Great Britain a personification of the United Kingdom) was often used in the past for the English national football team when they played against another of the home nations but more recently "God Save the Queen" has been used by both the rugby union and football teams.[74]
[edit] Gallery of images
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
Tower of London, London.
The Palace of Westminster — the political centre of the United Kingdom.
Stonehenge — a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument in Wiltshire.
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