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

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

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

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

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Battle of Bosworth, as depicted by Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740–1812); the painting dates to 1804 and the engraving dates to c. 1857

The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field (/ˈbɒzwərθ/ BOZ-wərth) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by an alliance of Lancastrians and disaffected Yorkists. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty by his victory and subsequent marriage to a Yorkist princess. His opponent Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed during the battle, the last English monarch to die in combat. Historians consider Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, making it one of the defining moments of English history.

Richard's reign began in 1483 when he ascended the throne after his twelve-year-old nephew, Edward V, was declared illegitimate. The boy and his younger brother Richard soon disappeared, and their fate is a mystery still today. Across the English Channel Henry Tudor, a descendant of the greatly diminished House of Lancaster, seized on Richard's difficulties and laid claim to the throne. Henry's first attempt to invade England in 1483 foundered in a storm, but his second arrived unopposed on 7 August 1485 on the southwest coast of Wales. Marching inland, Henry gathered support as he made for London. Richard hurriedly mustered his troops and intercepted Henry's army near Ambion Hill, south of the town of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire. Lord Stanley and Sir William Stanley also brought a force to the battlefield, but held back while they decided which side it would be most advantageous to support, initially lending only four knights to Henry's cause; these were: Sir Robert Tunstall, Sir John Savage (nephew of Lord Stanley), Sir Hugh Persall and Sir Humphrey Stanley. Sir John Savage was placed in command of the left flank of Henry's army. (Full article...)

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Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers including Aldous Huxley, Siegfried Sassoon, T. S. Eliot and D. H. Lawrence, and artists including Mark Gertler, Dora Carrington and Gilbert Spencer. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The Alfred Jewel, late 9th century (from History of England)
Image 2King Charles II (from History of England)
Image 3Interior of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford (from Culture of England)
Image 4Sir Francis Drake's voyage 1585–86 (from History of England)
Image 5Portrait of Edward VI, c. 1550 (from History of England)
Image 6Stonehenge, erected in several stages from c.3000–2500 BC (from History of England)
Image 7Bronze coins of Cunobelin, called "King of the Britons" by Suetonius. 1–42 AD. (from History of England)
Image 8Frontispiece 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 9Portrait 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 10The 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 11A pint of real ale (from Culture of England)
Image 12Elizabeth I (from History of England)
Image 13Remains of Hadrian's Wall (from History of England)
Image 14The Mob Quad of Merton College, University of Oxford, 13th–14th century (from History of England)
Image 15The Ruthwell Cross, 8th century AD (from History of England)
Image 16Sir 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 17Chester, c. 1880 (from History of England)
Image 18Alfred 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 19Remains of the Roman baths at Bath, England. (from History of England)
Image 20Stinking Bishop cheese (from Culture of England)
Image 21Artefacts from Bush Barrow at Stonehenge. Wessex culture, Early Bronze Age, c. 1900 BC (from History of England)
Image 22Procession of characters from Shakespeare's plays (from Culture of England)
Image 23Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers. (from Culture of England)
Image 24The 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 25The wizard Merlin features as a character in many works of fiction, including the BBC series Merlin. (from Culture of England)
Image 26The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588, (unknown, 16th-century, English School) (from History of England)
Image 27A traditional Punch and Judy booth, at Swanage, Dorset, England (from Culture of England)
Image 28King Henry VIII (from History of England)
Image 29Canterbury Cathedral nave, 1377 (from History of England)
Image 30Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill. (from Culture of England)
Image 31Gold torc from Snettisham, 70 BC (from History of England)
Image 32William 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 33King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom. (from Culture of England)
Image 34Kingdoms and tribes in Britain, c. AD 600 (from History of England)
Image 35View of the ramparts of the hillfort of Maiden Castle (450 BC), as they look today (from History of England)
Image 36Whitehall by Francis Dodd (1920) displaying the Palace of Westminster (from Culture of England)
Image 37England in 878 (from History of England)
Image 38Tomb of Richard I of England and Isabella of Angoulême (from History of England)
Image 39Londinium (Roman London), c. 120 AD (from History of England)
Image 40Dover Castle, 12th–13th century (from History of England)
Image 41Shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 625 AD (from History of England)
Image 42The 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 43King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 (from History of England)
Image 44The Billingsgate Fish Market in London in the early 19th century (from History of England)
Image 45Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1340s–1400, author of The Canterbury Tales (from History of England)
Image 46The epic poem Beowulf, set in 6th century Scandinavia, composed c. 700–1000 AD. (from History of England)
Image 47The Lindisfarne Gospels (from Culture of England)
Image 48Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 720 AD (from History of England)
Image 49Morris dancing (from Culture of England)
Image 50National performing arts are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as The Proms during the summer. (from Culture of England)
Image 51Canterbury 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 52Flatford Mill ('Scene on a Navigable River') by John Constable, c. 1816 (from Culture of England)
Image 53Durham Cathedral, dating from 1093 (from Culture of England)
Image 54Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (green) during the English Civil War (1642–1645) (from History of England)
Image 55The Royal College of Music is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, established by royal charter in 1882. (from Culture of England)
Image 56Durham Cathedral. The Norman cathedral was built 1093–1133 (from History of England)
Image 57The Procession Picture, c. 1600, showing Elizabeth I borne along by her courtiers (from History of England)
Image 58Anglo-Saxon king with his Witan. Biblical scene in the Old English Hexateuch (11th century) (from History of England)
Image 59Christopher Lee (seen here as Dracula in 1958) starred in many of Hammer's British horror films. (from Culture of England)
Image 60Silbury Hill, c. 2400 BC (from History of England)
Image 61The Battersea Shield (detail), 350 BC. (from History of England)
Image 62Anglo-Saxon helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship burial, 625 AD (replica) (from History of England)
Image 63Countries where English is natively spoken or has official status (from Culture of England)
Image 64The English landscape garden at Stourhead, described as a 'living work of art' when first opened in the 1750s (from Culture of England)
Image 65First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. (from Culture of England)
Image 66Depiction of the Battle of Hastings (1066) on the Bayeux Tapestry (from History of England)
Image 67Victory in Europe Day celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 (from History of England)
Image 68Francis 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 69King 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 70King James I of England (from History of England)
Image 71Jack 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 72King'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 73First English Civil War at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 (from History of England)
Image 74England 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 75The Great Fire London, 1666. (from History of England)
Image 76The Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of England)
Image 77One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library (from History of England)
Image 78The White Tower of the Tower of London, built in 1078 (from History of England)

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Runcorn's Silver Jubilee Bridge

Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Its population in 2021 was 62,100. Runcorn is on the southern bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap.

Runcorn was founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 915 AD as a fortification to guard against Viking invasion at a narrowing of the River Mersey. Under Norman rule, Runcorn fell under the Barony of Halton and an Augustinian abbey was established here in 1115. It remained a small, isolated settlement until the Industrial Revolution when the extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Runcorn in 1776 established it as a port which would link Liverpool with inland Manchester and Staffordshire. The docks enabled the growth of industry, initially shipwrights and sandstone quarries. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was a spa and health resort but this ended with the growth of polluting industries, especially soap and chemical works. In 1964, Runcorn was designated a new town and expanded eastward, swallowing neighbouring settlements and more than doubling its population. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

The Westminster Assembly

... that the 1643 Westminster Assembly, which was appointed by the Parliament of England to restructure the Church of England, produced the Westminster Confession, the foundation of the Presbyterian Church?
... that Declaration of Sports was a 1617 declaration of James I of England listing archery and dancing as permissible on Sundays and that Puritans in Parliament had it publicly burned in 1643?
... that Jemmy Button was a Yaghan from Tierra del Fuego who was bought for a mother-of-pearl button in 1830 and taken on HMS Beagle to meet the King and Queen of England?

In the news

30 July 2024 –: British Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary is sentenced to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 28 years for directing the al-Muhajiroun militant network. (ABC News)
29 July 2024 – 2024 Southport stabbing: Three children are killed and ten other people are injured in a mass stabbing at a dance school in Southport, Merseyside, England. A teenager is subsequently arrested. (BBC News)
21 July 2024 –: Six people, including two children, are killed in a multiple-vehicle collision in West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. (Sky News)
18 July 2024 –: The Southwark Crown Court sentences five Just Stop Oil activists, including co-founder Roger Hallam, to prison terms ranging from four to five years for organizing protests that blocked the M25 motorway in London, England, United Kingdom, in 2022. (CNN)
15 July 2024 – Clifton Suspension Bridge human remains discovery: Colombian Yostin Andres Mosquera is charged with the murders of two gay men and remanded in custody by Wimbledon Magistrates Court in London, United Kingdom. (The Guardian)
14 July 2024 – UEFA Euro 2024: In association football, Spain defeat England 2–1 in the final match to win their fourth UEFA European Championship title, having previously won in 1964, 2008, and 2012, the most by any team. (Al Jazeera)

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“

I have seen much to hate here, much to forgive. But in a world where England is finished and dead, I do not wish to live.

”

— Alice Duer Miller

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Related WikiProjects

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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