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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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Albert Bridge is a road bridge over the River Thames connecting Chelsea in Central London on the north bank to Battersea on the south. Designed and built by Rowland Mason Ordish in 1873 as an Ordish–Lefeuvre system modified cable-stayed bridge, it proved to be structurally unsound, so between 1884 and 1887 Sir Joseph Bazalgette incorporated some of the design elements of a suspension bridge. In 1973 the Greater London Council added two concrete piers, which transformed the central span into a simple beam bridge. As a result, today the bridge is an unusual hybrid of three different design styles. It is an English Heritage Grade II* listed building.

Built as a toll bridge, it was commercially unsuccessful. Six years after its opening it was taken into public ownership and the tolls were lifted. The tollbooths remained in place and are the only surviving examples of bridge tollbooths in London. Nicknamed "The Trembling Lady" because of its tendency to vibrate when large numbers of people walked over it, the bridge has signs at its entrances that warn troops to break step whilst crossing the bridge. (Full article...)

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Brown in 2009

June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera EastEnders (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the Inside Soap Awards and received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2005 British Soap Awards. Brown was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to drama and to charity, and promoted to an OBE in the 2022 New Year Honours. In 2009, she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, making her the second performer to receive a BAFTA nomination for their work in a soap opera, after Jean Alexander. In February 2020, at the age of 93, she announced that she had left EastEnders permanently. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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The lone sandstone wall, all that remains of Caludon Castle. Photographed in 2012.

Caludon Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building in Coventry, in the West Midlands of England. A second moated site 190 metres (620 ft) to the south is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right. The castle is now a ruin, and all that remains is a large fragment of sandstone wall. What remains of the estate is now an urban park, owned and run by Coventry City Council, but much of it was sold and developed into housing estates in the early 20th century.

The site has been occupied since at least the 11th century CE. The original building, pre-dating the Norman conquest of England, was a large house, which became the property of the Earl of Chester after the conquest. The house was given to the Segrave family in the 13th century, and was first described as a manor in 1239. A licence for crenellation was granted in 1305, at which point the house is thought to have been re-styled as a castle. Another licence was received in 1354, and the property was again rebuilt. In the 14th century, it came into the possession of Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who was banished in 1398, after which the castle fell into disrepair. Mowbray's son, John, inherited the building, and it remained in the Mowbray family until 1481, when it passed to William de Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley. It was rebuilt again circa 1580, this time as a mansion, having lain derelict since Mowbray's banishment. The castle was all but destroyed in 1662, and remained in ruins until 1800, when the remains were used in the construction of a farmhouse on the site. (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

5 August 2024 – 2024 United Kingdom far-right riots: Rioting takes place in Plymouth and Birmingham, England, while police are attacked with molotov cocktails in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as the number of people arrested rises to 400. (BBC News)
2 August 2024 – 2024 United Kingdom riots: Rioting occurs in Sunderland, England, United Kingdom, as hundreds of far-right protesters attempt to march on a mosque and clash with riot police in the city centre. A police station is set on fire by rioters. (BBC 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)

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“

The rustics of England, especially those inhabiting the South hams (villages) of Devonshire, have great fun Wassailing the Orchards on Christmans Eve, New Year's and Twelfth Nigh (Boxing Day), when they drink toasts to the largest apple trees and sprinkle them with cyder (cider) carried by the beadle, the parish clerk, or some other such obsolete individual. The Devonshire people do this because they did it the year before.

”

— Will Cuppy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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