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

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

England is the origin of many well known worldwide exports, including the English language, the English legal system (which served as the basis for the common law systems of many other countries), association football, and the Church of England; its parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England is home to the two oldest universities in the English-speaking world: the University of Oxford, founded in 1096, and the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209. Both universities are ranked among the most prestigious in the world.

England's terrain chiefly consists of low hills and plains, especially in the centre and south. Upland and mountainous terrain is mostly found in the north and west, including Dartmoor, the Lake District, the Pennines, and the Shropshire Hills. The country's capital is London, the greater metropolitan of which has a population of 14.2 million as of 2021, representing the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan area. England's population of 56.3 million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London, the South East, and conurbations in the Midlands, the North West, the North East, and Yorkshire, which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. (Full article...)

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Original lineup in 1965
From left: Pete Quaife, Dave Davies, Ray Davies and Mick Avory

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned "You Really Got Me", became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.

The Kinks' music drew from a wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies' wittily observational and satirical writing style, and made apparent in albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), and Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles including the transatlantic hit "Lola" (1970). After a fallow period in the mid-1970s, the band experienced a revival with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983), the last of which produced one of the band's most successful US hits, "Come Dancing". In addition, groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders and the Romantics covered their songs, helping to boost the Kinks' record sales. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited the band as a major influence. (Full article...)

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Bradford (/ˈbrædfərd/ ^ⓘ), also known as the City of Bradford, is a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a larger area which includes the towns and villages of Keighley, Shipley, Bingley, Ilkley, Haworth, Silsden, Queensbury, Thornton and Denholme. Bradford has a population of 528,155, making it the fourth-most populous metropolitan district and the sixth-most populous local authority district in England. It forms part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area conurbation which in 2011 had a population of 1,777,934, and the city is part of the Leeds-Bradford Larger Urban Zone (LUZ), which, with a population of 2,393,300, is the fourth largest in the United Kingdom after London, Birmingham and Manchester.

The city is situated on the edge of the Pennines, and is bounded to the east by the City of Leeds, the south by the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees and the south west by the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale. The Pendle borough of Lancashire lies to the west whilst the unitary authority of North Yorkshire lie to the north west and north east of the city. Bradford is the 4th largest metropolitan district in the country, and the contiguous urban area to the north which includes the towns of Shipley and Bingley is heavily populated. The spa town of Ilkley lies further north, whilst the town of Keighley lies to the west. Roughly two thirds of the district is rural, with an environment varying from moorlands in the north and west, to valleys and floodplains formed by the river systems that flow throughout the district. More than half of Bradford's land is green open space, stretching over part of the Airedale and Wharfedale Valleys, across the hills and the Pennine moorland between. The Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District are both in close proximity. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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The folly castle

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

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

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Did you know?

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

...that the Rev. Arthur Wagner, the first curate of the Church of St. Paul, Brighton, England, commissioned stained glass windows of his mother, father and aunt for the church?
...that Scots' Dike was constructed by the English and the Scots in 1552 to mark the division of the Debatable Lands and thereby settle the exact boundary between the kingdoms of Scotland and England?
...that the famed message "England expects that every man will do his duty" is misquoted on Nelson's Column in London?

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In the news

17 April 2024 –: Scientists announce that they have identified fossil remains of the Ichthyotitan, the largest marine reptile currently known, in the Westbury Formation in England. (NOS)
29 March 2024 –: Pouria Zeraati, an Iranian dissident journalist working for IITV, is injured in a stabbing in London. He is hospitalized in stable condition. (BBC News)

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“

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

”

— George Mikes

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

Topics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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