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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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Bath (RP: /bɑːθ/; local pronunciation: [ba(ː)θ]) is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset in England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Bristol. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and was later added to the transnational World Heritage Site known as the "Great Spa Towns of Europe" in 2021. Bath is also the largest city and settlement in Somerset.

The city became a spa with the Latin name Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") c. 60 AD when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although hot springs were known even before then. Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre; the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, claims were made for the curative properties of water from the springs, and Bath became popular as a spa town in the Georgian era. Georgian architecture, crafted from Bath stone, includes the Royal Crescent, Circus, Pump Room, and the Assembly Rooms, where Beau Nash presided over the city's social life from 1705 until his death in 1761. (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 1A pint of real ale (from Culture of England)
Image 2King 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 3Interior of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford (from Culture of England)
Image 4Sir 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 5Artefacts from Bush Barrow at Stonehenge. Wessex culture, Early Bronze Age, c. 1900 BC (from History of England)
Image 6Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 720 AD (from History of England)
Image 7William 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 8View of the ramparts of the hillfort of Maiden Castle (450 BC), as they look today (from History of England)
Image 9King Henry VIII (from History of England)
Image 10Remains of Hadrian's Wall (from History of England)
Image 11The Lindisfarne Gospels (from Culture of England)
Image 12Portrait 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 13Portrait of Edward VI, c. 1550 (from History of England)
Image 14Tomb of Richard I of England and Isabella of Angoulême (from History of England)
Image 15Anglo-Saxon helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship burial, 625 AD (replica) (from History of England)
Image 16Alfred 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 17Canterbury Cathedral nave, 1377 (from History of England)
Image 18Whitehall by Francis Dodd (1920) displaying the Palace of Westminster (from Culture of England)
Image 19Londinium (Roman London), c. 120 AD (from History of England)
Image 20First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. (from Culture of England)
Image 21Durham Cathedral. The Norman cathedral was built 1093–1133 (from History of England)
Image 22The Ruthwell Cross, 8th century AD (from History of England)
Image 23The Procession Picture, c. 1600, showing Elizabeth I borne along by her courtiers (from History of England)
Image 24Countries where English is natively spoken or has official status (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 26Stonehenge, erected in several stages from c.3000–2500 BC (from History of England)
Image 27The Mob Quad of Merton College, University of Oxford, 13th–14th century (from History of England)
Image 28The Billingsgate Fish Market in London in the early 19th century (from History of England)
Image 29Shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 625 AD (from History of England)
Image 30Christopher Lee (seen here as Dracula in 1958) starred in many of Hammer's British horror films. (from Culture of England)
Image 31National performing arts are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as The Proms during the summer. (from Culture of England)
Image 32The epic poem Beowulf, set in 6th century Scandinavia, composed c. 700–1000 AD. (from History of England)
Image 33Depiction of the Battle of Hastings (1066) on the Bayeux Tapestry (from History of England)
Image 34The wizard Merlin features as a character in many works of fiction, including the BBC series Merlin. (from Culture of England)
Image 35Stinking Bishop cheese (from Culture of England)
Image 36Remains of the Roman baths at Bath, England. (from History of England)
Image 37Silbury Hill, c. 2400 BC (from History of England)
Image 38England in 878 (from History of England)
Image 39England 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 40Sir Francis Drake's voyage 1585–86 (from History of England)
Image 41The Royal College of Music is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, established by royal charter in 1882. (from Culture of England)
Image 42King James I of England (from History of England)
Image 43King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 (from History of England)
Image 44Francis 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 45Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill. (from Culture of England)
Image 46Victory in Europe Day celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 (from History of England)
Image 47The Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of England)
Image 48A traditional Punch and Judy booth, at Swanage, Dorset, England (from Culture of England)
Image 49The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588, (unknown, 16th-century, English School) (from History of England)
Image 50One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library (from History of England)
Image 51The Alfred Jewel, late 9th century (from History of England)
Image 52King'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 53Chester, c. 1880 (from History of England)
Image 54Jack 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 55Durham Cathedral, dating from 1093 (from Culture of England)
Image 56Procession of characters from Shakespeare's plays (from Culture of England)
Image 57The White Tower of the Tower of London, built in 1078 (from History of England)
Image 58The Great Fire London, 1666. (from History of England)
Image 59Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1340s–1400, author of The Canterbury Tales (from History of England)
Image 60Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (green) during the English Civil War (1642–1645) (from History of England)
Image 61King Charles II (from History of England)
Image 62Anglo-Saxon king with his Witan. Biblical scene in the Old English Hexateuch (11th century) (from History of England)
Image 63The 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 64King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom. (from Culture of England)
Image 65Flatford Mill ('Scene on a Navigable River') by John Constable, c. 1816 (from Culture of England)
Image 66Morris dancing (from Culture of England)
Image 67The Battersea Shield (detail), 350 BC. (from History of England)
Image 68Dover Castle, 12th–13th century (from History of England)
Image 69Canterbury 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 70Gold torc from Snettisham, 70 BC (from History of England)
Image 71Bronze coins of Cunobelin, called "King of the Britons" by Suetonius. 1–42 AD. (from History of England)
Image 72The English landscape garden at Stourhead, described as a 'living work of art' when first opened in the 1750s (from Culture of England)
Image 73Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers. (from Culture of England)
Image 74First English Civil War at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 (from History of England)
Image 75Elizabeth I (from History of England)
Image 76Kingdoms and tribes in Britain, c. AD 600 (from History of England)
Image 77The 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 78Frontispiece 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)

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Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar, Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found. The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain stalactites and stalagmites. The gorge is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest called Cheddar Complex.

Cheddar Gorge, including the caves and other attractions, has become a tourist destination. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, following its appearance on the television programme Seven Natural Wonders (2005), Cheddar Gorge was named as the second greatest natural wonder in Britain, surpassed only by Dan yr Ogof caves.

The gorge attracts about 500,000 visitors per year. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that the HMS Queen (1902) was fitted with Babcock and Wilcox cylindrical boilers due to service problems with the water service boilers?
...that the Charter Roll is the administrative record created by the medieval office of the chancery that recorded all the charters issued by the chancery?
...that Canterbury in eastern Kent was abandoned at the end of the Roman period, but was resettled by the Saxons?
...that English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams has sold more albums in the United Kingdom than any other British solo artist in history?

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In the news

13 September 2024 – Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal: Seven men receive prison sentences ranging from six to 25 years for sexual offences against girls aged 11 to 16 that occurred in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Northern England from the late 1980s until 2013. (BBC News)
13 September 2024 –: Bedfordshire Police arrest an 18-year-old man on suspicion of murder after three people are found dead in flat in a tower block in Luton, England, United Kingdom. (BBC News)
10 September 2024 –: His Majesty's Prison Service begins releasing thousands of prisoners in England and Wales early amid a record high prison population and a shortage of prison cells for new inmates. (BBC News)
10 September 2024 – 2021–present United Kingdom cost-of-living crisis: The House of Commons of the United Kingdom votes 348–228 to end the Winter Fuel Payment for 10 million pensioners in England and Wales after Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that the scheme was no longer affordable to be applied universally. (Sky News)

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“

England... is a nation of shopkeepers

”

— Napoleon

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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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