Portal:England

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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 about 62%, and more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. England shares a land border with Scotland to the north and another land border with 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 extensive 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 amongst 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 London metropolitan area has a population of over 15 million as of 2025, 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 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 and Wales 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 Welsh monarch of England from the Tudor dynasty by his victory and subsequent marriage to the de facto Yorkist heiress, Elizabeth of York. His opponent Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed during the battle, the last English monarch to fall in battle. 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, likely at Richard’s instigation. The boy and his younger brother Richard soon disappeared, and their fate remains a mystery. 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 south-west 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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Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west.

The county has an area of 3,544 square kilometres (1,368 sq mi) and had population of 1,931,684 in 2024. The north-west of Kent is densely populated, with Dartford and Gravesend belonging to the Greater London conurbation and Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester forming a second conurbation around the River Medway; the town of Maidstone is located to their south. The remainder of the county is more rural, and its principal settlements include the city of Canterbury in the north-east, the seaside resort of Margate on the north-east coast, and the ports of Dover and Folkestone on the east coast. For local government purposes Kent consists of a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and the unitary authority area of Medway. The county historically included south-east Greater London, and is one of the home counties. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Sir 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 2The wizard Merlin features as a character in many works of fiction, including the BBC series Merlin. (from Culture of England)
Image 3Remains of Hadrian's Wall (from History of England)
Image 4Alfred 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 5The Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of England)
Image 6Portrait of Edward VI, c. 1550 (from History of England)
Image 7Depiction of the Battle of Hastings (1066) on the Bayeux Tapestry (from History of England)
Image 8A pint of real ale (from Culture of England)
Image 9Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill. (from Culture of England)
Image 10Frontispiece 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 11Stonehenge, erected in several stages from c.3000–2500 BC (from History of England)
Image 12National performing arts are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as The Proms during the summer. (from Culture of England)
Image 13King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom. (from Culture of England)
Image 14Portrait 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 15The Procession Picture, c. 1600, showing Elizabeth I borne along by her courtiers (from History of England)
Image 16The Great Fire London, 1666. (from History of England)
Image 17William 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 18Whitehall by Francis Dodd (1920) displaying the Palace of Westminster (from Culture of England)
Image 19King'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 20King Charles II (from History of England)
Image 21The Battersea Shield (detail), 350 BC. (from History of England)
Image 22Gold torc from Snettisham, 70 BC (from History of England)
Image 23Kingdoms and tribes in Britain, c. AD 600 (from History of England)
Image 24Christopher Lee (seen here as Dracula in 1958) starred in many of Hammer's British horror films. (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 26The Ruthwell Cross, 8th century AD (from History of England)
Image 27Countries where English is natively spoken or has official status (from Culture of England)
Image 28King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 (from History of England)
Image 29The English landscape garden at Stourhead, described as a 'living work of art' when first opened in the 1750s (from Culture of England)
Image 30Durham Cathedral, dating from 1093 (from Culture of England)
Image 31Anglo-Saxon king with his Witan. Biblical scene in the Old English Hexateuch (11th century) (from History of England)
Image 32Shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 625 AD (from History of England)
Image 33First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. (from Culture of England)
Image 34The Fairy Ring by William Holmes Sullivan, c.1908 (from Culture of England)
Image 35Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1340s–1400, author of The Canterbury Tales (from History of England)
Image 36Bronze coins of Cunobelin, called "King of the Britons" by Suetonius. 1–42 AD. (from History of England)
Image 37One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library (from History of England)
Image 38Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 720 AD (from History of England)
Image 39Morris dancing (from Culture of England)
Image 40Victory in Europe Day celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 (from History of England)
Image 41Artefacts from Bush Barrow at Stonehenge. Wessex culture, Early Bronze Age, c. 1900 BC (from History of England)
Image 42The Royal College of Music is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, established by royal charter in 1882. (from Culture of England)
Image 43Silbury Hill, c. 2400 BC (from History of England)
Image 44View of the ramparts of the hillfort of Maiden Castle (450 BC), as they look today (from History of England)
Image 45The Alfred Jewel, late 9th century (from History of England)
Image 46Elizabeth I (from History of England)
Image 47Canterbury Cathedral nave, 1377 (from History of England)
Image 48England 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 49Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers. (from Culture of England)
Image 50Dover Castle, 12th–13th century (from History of England)
Image 51Francis 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 52The White Tower of the Tower of London, built in 1078 (from History of England)
Image 53The Billingsgate Fish Market in London in the early 19th century (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 55King 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 56Tomb of Richard I of England and Isabella of Angoulême (from History of England)
Image 57The 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 58The 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 59The epic poem Beowulf, set in 6th century Scandinavia, composed c. 700–1000 AD. (from History of England)
Image 60Procession of characters from Shakespeare's plays (from Culture of England)
Image 61Sir Francis Drake's voyage 1585–86 (from History of England)
Image 62The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588, (unknown, 16th-century, English School) (from History of England)
Image 63Stinking Bishop cheese (from Culture of England)
Image 64Remains of the Roman baths at Bath, England. (from History of England)
Image 65The Mob Quad of Merton College, University of Oxford, 13th–14th century (from History of England)
Image 66Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (green) during the English Civil War (1642–1645) (from History of England)
Image 67Flatford Mill ('Scene on a Navigable River') by John Constable, c. 1816 (from Culture of England)
Image 68First English Civil War at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 (from History of England)
Image 69Josiah Wedgwood was a leading entrepreneur in the Industrial Revolution. (from Culture of England)
Image 70Canterbury 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 71A traditional Punch and Judy booth, at Swanage, Dorset, England (from Culture of England)
Image 72Chester, c. 1880 (from History of England)
Image 73The Lindisfarne Gospels (from Culture of England)
Image 74Durham Cathedral. The Norman cathedral was built 1093–1133 (from History of England)
Image 75Interior of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford (from Culture of England)
Image 76Anglo-Saxon helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship burial, 625 AD (replica) (from History of England)
Image 77King Henry VIII (from History of England)
Image 78England in 878 (from History of England)
Image 79King James I of England (from History of England)

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The Exchequer of Pleas, or Court of Exchequer, was a court that dealt with matters of equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law and common law in England and Wales. Originally part of the curia regis, or King's Council, the Exchequer of Pleas split from the curia in the 1190s to sit as an independent central court. The Court of Chancery's reputation for tardiness and expense resulted in much of its business transferring to the Exchequer. The Exchequer and Chancery, with similar jurisdictions, drew closer together over the years until an argument was made during the 19th century that having two seemingly identical courts was unnecessary. As a result, the Exchequer lost its equity jurisdiction. With the Judicature Acts, the Exchequer was formally dissolved as a judicial body by an Order in Council on 16 December 1880.

The Exchequer's jurisdiction at various times was common law, equity or both. Initially a court of both common law and equity, it lost much of its common law jurisdiction after the formation of the Court of Common Pleas. From then on, it concerned itself with equitable matters and those common law matters that it had discretion to try, such as actions brought against Exchequer officials and actions brought by the monarch against non-paying debtors. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

A trade-cog, the main horse-transport type used during the invasion of England

...that Mary Somerville was the first to sign John Stuart Mill's petition to give women the right to vote?
...that William the Conqueror's transport of over 2000 horses across the English Channel during the Norman invasion of England is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry?
...that the Premier League's proposal to play some matches outside England was condemned by the Football Supporters' Federation as an "outrageous desecration of the national game"?

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6 December 2025 –: Four protesters from Take Back Power are arrested after they threw custard on a display case containing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London in England. (DW)
4 December 2025 – Russia–United Kingdom relations: The United Kingdom imposes sanctions against Russia's GRU and several military intelligence officers after a public inquiry concludes that Russian operatives carried out the 2018 Novichok attack in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, under orders from President Vladimir Putin. The UK also summons Russian ambassador Andrey Kelin. (Reuters)
2 December 2025 –: The Winter Egg, one of the few Fabergé eggs remaining in private hands, sells at Christie's in London, England, United Kingdom, for £22.9 million (US$30.2 million), setting a new auction record for a work by the House of Fabergé. (CNN)
21 November 2025 –: High Court judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb sentences former Welsh MEP Nathan Gill to 10 and a half years in prison after he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from ex-Ukrainian lawmaker Oleh Voloshyn to promote pro-Russian positions in the European Parliament. (AP)
17 November 2025 – Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia: Russia's Rosfinmonitoring adds former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov and London Business School dean Sergei Guriev to its list of extremists and terrorists. (Reuters)
14 November 2025 – Mariana dam disaster: British High Court judge Finola O'Farrell rules Australian mining corporation BHP liable for the 2015 Samarco dam collapse in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil, considered the biggest environmental disaster in the country. (The Guardian) (G1)

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

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— George Mikes

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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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