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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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Gropecunt Lane (/ˈɡroʊpkʌnt/) was a street name found in English towns and cities during the Middle Ages, believed to be a reference to the prostitution centred on those areas; it was normal practice for a medieval street name to reflect the street's function or the economic activity taking place within it. Gropecunt, the earliest known use of which is in about 1230, appears to have been derived as a compound of the words grope and cunt. Streets with that name were often in the busiest parts of medieval towns and cities, and at least one appears to have been an important thoroughfare.

Although the name was once common throughout England, changes in attitude resulted in its replacement by more innocuous versions such as Grape Lane. A variation of Gropecunt was last recorded as a street name in 1561. (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 Lindisfarne Gospels (from Culture of England)
Image 2Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill. (from Culture of England)
Image 3Silbury Hill, c. 2400 BC (from History of England)
Image 4A pint of real ale (from Culture of England)
Image 5Durham Cathedral, dating from 1093 (from Culture of England)
Image 6A traditional Punch and Judy booth, at Swanage, Dorset, England (from Culture of England)
Image 7England 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 8The Battersea Shield (detail), 350 BC. (from History of England)
Image 9Chester, c. 1880 (from History of England)
Image 10The 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 11Francis 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 12Jack 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 13Dover Castle, 12th–13th century (from History of England)
Image 14England in 878 (from History of England)
Image 15Interior of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford (from Culture of England)
Image 16Tomb of Richard I of England and Isabella of Angoulême (from History of England)
Image 17Shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 625 AD (from History of England)
Image 18Anglo-Saxon helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship burial, 625 AD (replica) (from History of England)
Image 19The White Tower of the Tower of London, built in 1078 (from History of England)
Image 20King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 (from History of England)
Image 21The Billingsgate Fish Market in London in the early 19th century (from History of England)
Image 22Remains of the Roman baths at Bath, England. (from History of England)
Image 23Durham Cathedral. The Norman cathedral was built 1093–1133 (from History of England)
Image 24Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers. (from Culture of England)
Image 25Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 720 AD (from History of England)
Image 26Sir 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 27King Charles II (from History of England)
Image 28Depiction of the Battle of Hastings (1066) on the Bayeux Tapestry (from History of England)
Image 29Christopher Lee (seen here as Dracula in 1958) starred in many of Hammer's British horror films. (from Culture of England)
Image 30Elizabeth I (from History of England)
Image 31Countries where English is natively spoken or has official status (from Culture of England)
Image 32Remains of Hadrian's Wall (from History of England)
Image 33King 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 34First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. (from Culture of England)
Image 35Anglo-Saxon king with his Witan. Biblical scene in the Old English Hexateuch (11th century) (from History of England)
Image 36Frontispiece 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 37The 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 38One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library (from History of England)
Image 39The 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 40King'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 41Portrait of Edward VI, c. 1550 (from History of England)
Image 42Morris dancing (from Culture of England)
Image 43King Henry VIII (from History of England)
Image 44King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom. (from Culture of England)
Image 45Gold torc from Snettisham, 70 BC (from History of England)
Image 46Flatford Mill ('Scene on a Navigable River') by John Constable, c. 1816 (from Culture of England)
Image 47Whitehall by Francis Dodd (1920) displaying the Palace of Westminster (from Culture of England)
Image 48Stinking Bishop cheese (from Culture of England)
Image 49The Royal College of Music is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, established by royal charter in 1882. (from Culture of England)
Image 50The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588, (unknown, 16th-century, English School) (from History of England)
Image 51Procession of characters from Shakespeare's plays (from Culture of England)
Image 52The epic poem Beowulf, set in 6th century Scandinavia, composed c. 700–1000 AD. (from History of England)
Image 53The Procession Picture, c. 1600, showing Elizabeth I borne along by her courtiers (from History of England)
Image 54Londinium (Roman London), c. 120 AD (from History of England)
Image 55The Ruthwell Cross, 8th century AD (from History of England)
Image 56Victory in Europe Day celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 (from History of England)
Image 57The Alfred Jewel, late 9th century (from History of England)
Image 58Portrait 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 59The Mob Quad of Merton College, University of Oxford, 13th–14th century (from History of England)
Image 60Canterbury 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 61View of the ramparts of the hillfort of Maiden Castle (450 BC), as they look today (from History of England)
Image 62The Great Fire London, 1666. (from History of England)
Image 63The wizard Merlin features as a character in many works of fiction, including the BBC series Merlin. (from Culture of England)
Image 64William 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 65Bronze coins of Cunobelin, called "King of the Britons" by Suetonius. 1–42 AD. (from History of England)
Image 66Stonehenge, erected in several stages from c.3000–2500 BC (from History of England)
Image 67Alfred 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 68Kingdoms and tribes in Britain, c. AD 600 (from History of England)
Image 69First English Civil War at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 (from History of England)
Image 70The Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of England)
Image 71National performing arts are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as The Proms during the summer. (from Culture of England)
Image 72King James I of England (from History of England)
Image 73Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (green) during the English Civil War (1642–1645) (from History of England)
Image 74The English landscape garden at Stourhead, described as a 'living work of art' when first opened in the 1750s (from Culture of England)
Image 75Canterbury Cathedral nave, 1377 (from History of England)
Image 76Artefacts from Bush Barrow at Stonehenge. Wessex culture, Early Bronze Age, c. 1900 BC (from History of England)
Image 77Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1340s–1400, author of The Canterbury Tales (from History of England)
Image 78Sir Francis Drake's voyage 1585–86 (from History of England)

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Grant in 2014

Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a character actor. Hallmarks of Grant's comic skills include a nonchalant touch of sarcasm and characteristic physical mannerisms. He has received several accolades including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. He received an Honorary César in 2006. , his films had grossed a total of nearly US$3 billion worldwide. In 2022, Time Out magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's 50 greatest actors of all time.

Grant made his feature film acting debut in Privileged (1982), followed by the romantic drama Maurice (1987) for which he gained acclaim as well as the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. He then acted in a string of successful period dramas such as The Remains of the Day (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Restoration (1995). Grant emerged as a star with Richard Curtis's romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), for which he won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He starred in further romantic comedies such as Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and its 2004 sequel, About a Boy (2002), Two Weeks Notice (2002), Love Actually (2003), and Music and Lyrics (2007). (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that Lambeth, in the London Borough of Lambeth appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086?
...that Kate Marsden journeyed overland to Siberia to find a leprosy cure.
...that the Old Bailey was destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London, only to be rebuilt in 1674?
...that a Jury is only sent to cases of an indictable offence that has been sent to a Crown Court by a magistrates?

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In the news

2 July 2024 –: Serial killer Lucy Letby is convicted of an attempted murder in a retrial at Manchester Crown Court in Manchester, England. (BBC News)
20 June 2024 –: Two Just Stop Oil activists film themselves cutting through a metal fence and spraying orange paint on two private jets at Stansted Airport in Essex, England, United Kingdom. Police arrest the activists for criminal damage. (BBC News)

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“

Do not be misled by memories of your youth when, on the Continent, wanting to describe someone as exceptionally dull, you remarked: 'He is the type who would discuss the weather with you.' In England this is an ever-interesting, even thrilling topic, and you must be good at discussing the weather.

”

— George Mikes

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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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Requested articles: Charterhouse Lane • Renewable energy in England • Ealing Village
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