View source for England

{{Short description|Country within the United Kingdom}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{For-multi|other uses}}
{{Distinguish|United Kingdom}}
}}
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{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox UK country
 | image_flag = Flag of England.svg
 | flag_caption = 
 | image_coat = 
 | symbol_width =
 | symbol_type = 
 | national_motto =
 | englishmotto =
 | national_anthem =[[National anthem of England|None officially]];<br />Predominantly "[[God Save the King]]"{{Efn|England has no official anthem, as such it typically uses the anthem of the United Kingdom, [[God Save The King]] at international events, although it sometimes makes use of other English patriotic songs such as [[Land of Hope and Glory]] and the hymn [[And did those feet in ancient time|Jerusalem]].}}
 | image_map2 = <!-- Another map -->
 | status = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Country]]
 | capital = [[London]]
 | coordinates = {{coord|51|30|N|0|7|W|type:city_region:GB-ENG|display=inline}}
 | largest_city = London
 | languages_type = National language
 | languages = [[English language in England|English]], [[British Sign Language|BSL]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 April 2022 |title=Historic moment as BSL becomes official language |url=https://www.hw.ac.uk/news-archive/2022/historic-moment-as-bsl-becomes-official.htm |access-date=18 June 2025 |website=www.hw.ac.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>
 | languages2_type = Regional languages
 | languages2 = [[Cornish language|Cornish]]
 | languages2_sub =
 | ethnic_groups =
  {{unbulleted list
   | 81.0% [[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]
   | 9.6% [[British Asians|Asian]]
   | 4.2% [[Black British people|Black]]
   | 3.0% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]]
   | 2.2% [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|other]]
  }}
 | ethnic_groups_year = [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]]
 | ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name="2021 Nomis">{{NOMIS2021|id=E92000001|title=England Country|access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref>
 | religion =
  {{unbulleted list
   | 46.3% [[Religion in England#Christianity|Christianity]]
   | 36.7% [[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|no religion]]
   | 6.7% [[Islam in England|Islam]]
   | 1.8% [[Hinduism in England|Hinduism]]
   | 0.9% [[Sikhism in England|Sikhism]]
   | 0.5% [[History of the Jews in England|Judaism]]
   | 0.5% [[Buddhism in England|Buddhism]]
   | 0.6% [[Religion in England|other]]
   | 6.0% not stated
  }}
 | religion_year = 2021
 | religion_ref = <ref name="2021 Nomis" />
 | demonym = [[English people|English]]{{efn|Englishman/Englishwoman}}
 | type =
 | legal_jurisdiction = [[England and Wales]]
 | government_type = Direct rule by the [[UK Government]] within a [[Westminster parliamentary system|parliamentary constitutional monarchy]]
 | monarch = [[Charles III]]
 | number_of_mps = 543
 | legislature =
 | sovereignty_type = [[History of England|Establishment]]
 | sovereignty_note =
 | established_event1 = [[Æthelstan#King of the English|Unification of Angles, Saxons and Danes]]
 | established_date1 = By 12 July 927
 | established_event2 = [[Acts of Union 1707|Union with Scotland]]
 | established_date2 = 1 May 1707
 | established_event3 =
 | established_date3 =
 | established_event4 =
 | established_date4 =
 | established_event5 =
 | established_date5 =
 | area_rank =
 | area_label = Total{{efn|[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]] Standard Area Measurement, 'total extent of the realm' (area to mean low water)}}
 | area_km2 = 132932
 | area_sq_mi = auto
 | area_footnote =<ref name="ONS Standard Area Measurement">{{cite web |url=https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::standard-area-measurements-for-administrative-areas-december-2023-in-the-uk/about |title=Standard Area Measurements for Administrative Areas (December 2023) in the UK |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=31 May 2024 |website=[[ONS Open Geography Portal|Open Geography Portal]] |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref>
 | area_label2 = Land{{efn|ONS Standard Area Measurement, 'area to mean high water excluding inland water'}}
 | area_data2 = {{convert|{{UK subdivision area|GSS=E92000001}}|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}<ref name="ONS mid-year pop est"/>
 | percent_water =
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 | population_estimate_rank =
 | population_estimate_year = {{UK subdivision statistics year}}
 | population_census = 56,490,048<ref name="2021 Nomis" />
 | population_census_year = 2021
 | population_density_km2 = {{UK subdivision density|GSS=E92000001}}
 | population_density_sq_mi = auto
 | population_density_rank =
 | pop_den_footnote =<ref name="ONS mid-year pop est"/>
 | GVA = £2.113&nbsp;trillion
 | GVA_rank =
 | GVA_year = 2023
 | GVA_per_capita = £36,632<ref name="ONS GVA">{{Cite web |title=Regional gross value added (balanced) per head and income components |date=24 April 2024 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossvalueaddedgva/datasets/nominalregionalgrossvalueaddedbalancedperheadandincomecomponents |access-date=15 May 2024 |website=Office for National Statistics}}</ref>
 | GVA_per_capita_rank =
 | GDP_PPP =
 | GDP_PPP_rank =
 | GDP_PPP_year =
 | GDP_PPP_per_capita =
 | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
 | GDP_nominal = £2.330&nbsp;trillion
 | GDP_nominal_rank =
 | GDP_nominal_year = 2023
 | GDP_nominal_per_capita = £40,382<ref name="ONS GDP">{{Cite web |title=Regional gross domestic product: all ITL regions |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/datasets/regionalgrossdomesticproductallnutslevelregions |website=Office for National Statistics}}</ref>
 | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
 | Gini_year =
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}}

'''England'''<!--Per WP:LEAD: Do not include pronunciation guides if pronunciations are well-known in English.--> is a [[Countries of the United Kingdom|country]] that is part of the [[United Kingdom]]. It is located on the island of [[Great Britain]], of which it covers about 62%, and [[List of islands of England|more than 100 smaller adjacent islands]]. England shares [[Anglo-Scottish border|a land border]] with [[Scotland]] to the north and [[England–Wales border|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 United Kingdom census|2021 census]], the population was 56,490,048. [[London]] is both [[List of urban areas in the United Kingdom|the largest city]] and the [[Capital city|capital]].

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the [[Upper Paleolithic]]. It takes its name from the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], a [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] tribe who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had extensive [[Anglicisation|cultural and legal impact]] on the wider world since the [[Age of Discovery]], which began during the 15th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=England&nbsp;– Culture |url=http://www.britainusa.com/sections/index_nt1.asp?i=41105&L1=41105&L2=41105&D=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516162153/http://www.britainusa.com/sections/index_nt1.asp?i=41105&L1=41105&L2=41105&D=0 |archive-date=16 May 2008 |access-date=1 February 2009 |website=britainusa.com}}</ref> 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 1707|Acts of Union]] brought into effect a political union with the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] that created the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=William E. |last=Burns |title=A Brief History of Great Britain |page=[{{GBurl |id=Fjf4YynnC90C |pg=PT21}} xxi]}}; {{Cite web |title=Acts of Union 1707 |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny |access-date=27 January 2011 |website=parliament.uk}}</ref>

England is the origin of the [[English language]], the [[English law|English legal system]] (which served as the basis for the [[common law]] systems of many other countries), [[association football]], and the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] branch of Christianity; [[Westminster system|its parliamentary system of government]] has been widely adopted by other nations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 October 2009 |title=Country profile: United Kingdom |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1038758.stm |access-date=1 February 2009}}</ref> The [[Industrial Revolution]] began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Industrial Revolution |url=http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Global_Warming/Older/Industrial_Revolution.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080427080826/http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Global_warming/older/Industrial_Revolution.html |archive-date=27 April 2008 |access-date=1 February 2009 |website=Ace.mmu.ac.uk}}</ref> England is home to the two [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|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.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Willey |first1=Ed |date=4 October 2021 |title=What makes UK universities so popular? |url=https://camvision-edu.co.uk/what-makes-uk-universities-so-popular/ |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=CamVision Education}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 October 2022 |title=World University Rankings |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2023/world-ranking |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=Times Higher Education (THE)}}</ref>

England's terrain chiefly consists of low hills and [[plain]]s, especially in the [[Midlands|centre]] and [[Southern England|south]]. Upland and mountainous terrain is mostly found in the [[Northern England|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&nbsp;million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London, the [[South East England|South East]], and conurbations in the [[Midlands]], the [[North West England|North West]], the [[North East England|North East]], and [[Yorkshire]], which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century.<ref name="2011 census">[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_270487.pdf 2011 Census – Population and household estimates for England and Wales, March 2011]. Accessed 31 May 2013.</ref>

==Toponymy{{Anchor|Etymology}}==<!--linked-->
{{See also|Toponymy of England}}

The name "England" is derived from the [[Old English]] name {{lang|ang|Englaland}}, which means "land of the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]]".<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=England |encyclopedia=Online Etymology Dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=England |access-date=21 July 2010}}</ref> The Angles were one of the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] that settled in Great Britain during the [[Early Middle Ages]]. They came from the [[Angeln]] region of what is now the German state of [[Schleswig-Holstein]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ripley|1869|p=570}}.</ref> The earliest recorded use of the term, as "{{Lang|ang|Engla londe}}", is in the late-ninth-century translation into Old English of [[Bede]]'s ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]''. The term was then used to mean "the land inhabited by the English", and it included English people in what is now south-east Scotland but was then part of the English kingdom of [[Northumbria]]. The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' recorded that the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 covered the whole of England, meaning the English kingdom, but a few years later the ''Chronicle'' stated that King [[Malcolm III]] went "out of Scotlande into [[Lothian]] in Englaland", thus using it in the more ancient sense.{{sfn|Molyneaux|2015|pp=6–7}}

The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by [[Tacitus]], ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'', in which the [[Latin]] word {{Lang|la|Anglii}} is used.<ref name="Fordham">{{Cite web |title=Germania |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/tacitus-germanygord.html |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=[[Tacitus]] |archive-date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916075339/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/tacitus-germanygord.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars; it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an ''angular'' shape.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Angle |encyclopedia=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |url=http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50075354?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=Angle&first=1&max_to_show=10 |access-date=5 September 2009}}{{dead link|date=October 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> How and why a term derived from the name of this tribe, rather than others such as the [[Saxons]], came to be used for the entire country is not known, but it seems this is related to the custom of calling the Germanic people in Britain ''Angli Saxones'' or English Saxons to distinguish them from continental Saxons (Eald-Seaxe) of Old Saxony in Germany.<ref>{{harvnb|Crystal|2004|pp=26–27}}</ref> In [[Scottish Gaelic]], the Saxon tribe gave their name to the word for England ({{lang|gd|Sasunn}});<ref>{{Cite book |last=Forbes |first=John |title=The Principles of Gaelic Grammar |publisher=Oliver, Boyd and Tweeddale |year=1848 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref> similarly, the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] name for the English language is {{lang|cy|Saesneg}}. A romantic name for England is [[Lloegyr|Loegria]], related to the Welsh word for England, {{lang|cy|Lloegr}}, and made popular by its use in [[Arthurian legend]]. ''[[Albion]]'' is also applied to England in a more poetic capacity,<ref>{{harvnb|Foster|1988|p=9}}.</ref> though its original meaning is the island of Britain as a whole.

==History==
{{Main|History of England}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of English history}}

=== Prehistory ===
{{Main|Prehistoric Britain}}
[[File:Stonehenge, Condado de Wiltshire, Inglaterra, 2014-08-12, DD 18.JPG|alt=Sun shining through row of upright standing stones with other stones horizontally on the top.|thumb|[[Stonehenge]], a [[Neolithic]] monument]]

[[File:London - British Museum - 2453.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|The [[Battersea Shield]] is one of the most significant pieces of ancient [[Celtic art]] found in Britain.]]
The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of ''[[Homo antecessor]]'', dating to about 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000&nbsp;years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 May 2007 |title=500,000 BC&nbsp;– Boxgrove |url=http://www.archaeology.co.uk/the-timeline-of-britain/boxgrove.htm |access-date=20 December 2010 |website=Current Archaeology |publisher=Current Publishing}}</ref> Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the [[Upper Paleolithic]] period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palaeolithic Archaeology Teaching Resource Box |url=http://www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~sgs04rh/SWRivers/Palaeolithic%20Archaeology%20Teaching%20Resource%20Box_Lifestyles_Basic.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505012542/http://www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~sgs04rh/SWRivers/Palaeolithic%20Archaeology%20Teaching%20Resource%20Box_Lifestyles_Basic.pdf |archive-date=5 May 2021 |access-date=20 December 2010 |publisher=Palaeolithic Rivers of South-West Britain Project (2006)}}; {{Cite web |title=Chalk east |url=http://www.geo-east.org.uk/special_projects/eco_culture.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305032854/http://www.geo-east.org.uk/special_projects/eco_culture.htm |archive-date=5 March 2011 |access-date=20 December 2010 |publisher=A Geo East Project}}</ref> After the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]] only large mammals such as [[mammoth]]s, [[bison]] and [[woolly rhinoceros]] remained. Roughly 11,000&nbsp;years ago, when the [[ice sheets]] began to recede, humans repopulated the area; genetic research suggests they came from the northern part of the [[Iberian Peninsula]].{{Sfn|Oppenheimer|2006|p=173}} The sea level was lower than the present day and Britain was connected by [[land bridge]] to Ireland and [[Eurasia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tertiary Rivers: Tectonic and structural background |url=http://www.qpg.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/tertiaryrivers/tectonics.html |access-date=9 September 2009 |publisher=University of Cambridge}}</ref>
As the seas rose, it was separated from Ireland 10,000&nbsp;years ago and from Eurasia two millennia later. [[Early European Farmers|Neolithic farmers]] from the Iberian Peninsula [[Pre-modern human migration|migrated]] to the region around 4100 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brace |first1=Selina |last2=Diekmann |first2=Yoan |display-authors=1 |date=15 April 2019 |title=Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain |journal=[[Nature Ecology and Evolution]] |publisher=[[Nature Research]] |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=765–771|doi=10.1038/s41559-019-0871-9 |pmid=30988490 |pmc=6520225 |bibcode=2019NatEE...3..765B }}</ref>

The [[Beaker culture]] arrived around 2,500&nbsp;BC, introducing drinking and food vessels constructed from clay, as well as vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Function and significance of Bell Beaker pottery according to data from residue analyses |url=http://tp.revistas.csic.es/index.php/tp/article/viewFile/5/5 |access-date=21 December 2010}}</ref> It was during this time that major [[Neolithic]] monuments such as [[Stonehenge]] (phase III) and [[Avebury]] were constructed. By heating together tin and copper, which were in abundance in the area, the Beaker culture people made [[bronze]], and later iron from iron ores. The development of iron [[smelting]] allowed the construction of better [[plough]]s, advancing agriculture (for instance, with [[Celtic field]]s), as well as the production of more effective weapons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reid |first=Struan |url={{GBurl |id=bn88JPk_Fr0C |q=inventions in trade}} |title=Inventions and Trade. P.8 |date=1994 |publisher=James Lorimer & Company |isbn=978-0-921921-30-1 |access-date=23 December 2010}}</ref>

During the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]], [[Celts|Celtic culture]], deriving from the [[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt]] and [[La Tène culture]]s, arrived from Central Europe. [[British language (Celtic)|Brythonic]] was the spoken language during this time. Society was tribal; according to [[Ptolemy]]'s {{Lang|la|[[Geographia]]}} there were around 20 tribes in the area. Like other regions on the edge of the Empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans. Julius Caesar of the [[Roman Republic]] attempted to [[Caesar's invasions of Britain|invade twice]] in 55&nbsp;BC; although largely unsuccessful, he managed to set up a [[Roman client kingdoms in Britain|client king]] from the [[Trinovantes]].

===Ancient history===

[[File:Housesteads Roman Fort aerial.jpg|thumb|[[Housesteads Roman Fort|Housesteads Roman fort]], Northumberland, the northern limit of Roman England]]
The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD during the reign of Emperor [[Claudius]], subsequently [[Roman conquest of Britain|conquering much of Britain]], and the area was incorporated into the Roman Empire as [[Roman Britain|Britannia province]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Jason |date=2 December 2000 |title=Dig uncovers Boudicca's brutal streak |work=The Observer |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/03/jasonburke.theobserver |url-status=live |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031022061846/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0%2C6903%2C406152%2C00.html |archive-date=22 October 2003}}</ref> The best-known of the native tribes who attempted to resist were the [[Catuvellauni]] led by [[Caratacus]]. Later, an uprising led by [[Boudica]], Queen of the [[Iceni]], ended with Boudica's suicide following her defeat at the [[Defeat of Boudica|Battle of Watling Street]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Tac.+Ann.+14.37&redirect=true |access-date=22 December 2010 |publisher=Alfred John Church, William Jackson Brudribh, Ed}}</ref> The author of one study of Roman Britain suggested that from 43 AD to 84 AD, the Roman invaders killed somewhere between 100,000 and 250,000 people from a population of perhaps 2,000,000.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goldsworthy |first=Adrian |title=[[Pax Romana: War, Peace and Conquest in the Roman World]] |date=2016 |publisher=Hachette UK |page=276}}</ref> This era saw a [[Greco-Roman]] culture prevail with the introduction of [[Roman law]], [[Roman architecture]], [[List of aqueducts in the Roman Empire|aqueducts]], [[Sanitation in ancient Rome|sewers]], many agricultural items and silk.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bedoyere |first=Guy |title=Architecture in Roman Britain |url=http://heritage-key.com/publication/architecture-roman-britain |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703012351/http://heritage-key.com/publication/architecture-roman-britain |archive-date=3 July 2009 |access-date=23 December 2010 |website=Heritage Key}}; {{Cite book |url={{GBurl |id=bylBAAAAIAAJ |q=roman law after roman invasion of britain |p=276}} |title=The History of Progress in Great Britain |volume=2 |first=Robert |last=Philip |access-date=23 December 2010 |date=1860}}; {{Cite book |url={{GBurl |id=1qiFEQ1tAHQC |q=roman occupation brought to britain a sewage system |pg=PT119}} |title=Medicine through time |publisher=Heinemann |first1=Bob |last1=Rees |first2=Paul |last2=Shute |first3=Nigel |last3=Kelly |access-date=24 December 2010 |isbn=978-0-435-30841-4 |year=2003}}</ref> In the 3rd century, Emperor [[Septimius Severus]] died at [[Eboracum]] (now [[York]]), where [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] was subsequently proclaimed emperor a century later.{{Sfn|Rankov|1994|p=16}}

There is debate about when Christianity was first introduced; it was no later than the 4th century, probably much earlier. According to [[Bede]], missionaries were sent from Rome by [[Pope Eleuterus|Eleutherius]] at the request of the chieftain [[Lucius of Britain]] in 180 AD, to settle differences as to Eastern and Western ceremonials, which were disturbing the church. There are traditions linked to Glastonbury claiming an introduction through [[Joseph of Arimathea]], while others claim through Lucius of Britain.{{Sfn|Wright|2008|p=143}} By 410, during the [[decline of the Roman Empire]], Britain was left exposed by the [[end of Roman rule in Britain]] and the withdrawal of Roman army units, to defend the frontiers in continental Europe and partake in civil wars.<ref name="james_anglosaxons" /> Celtic Christian monastic and missionary movements flourished. This period of Christianity was influenced by ancient Celtic culture in its sensibilities, polity, practices and theology. Local "congregations" were centred in the monastic community and monastic leaders were more like chieftains, as peers, rather than in the more hierarchical system of the Roman-dominated church.<ref name="Lehane">{{Cite book |last=Lehane |first=Brendan |title=Early Christian Christianity |date=1968 |publisher=John Murray}}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
{{Main|England in the Middle Ages}}
[[File:Sutton Hoo replica (face).jpg|thumb|alt=Studded and decorated metallic mask of human face.|Replica of the 7th-century ceremonial [[Sutton Hoo helmet]] from the [[Kingdom of East Anglia]]]]

[[Military of ancient Rome|Roman military]] withdrawals left Britain open to invasion by pagan, seafaring warriors from north-western continental Europe, chiefly the Saxons, [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Jutes]] and Frisians who had long raided the coasts of the Roman province. These groups then began to settle in increasing numbers over the course of the fifth and sixth centuries, initially in the eastern part of the country.<ref name="james_anglosaxons">{{Cite web |last=James |first=Edward |title=Overview: Anglo-Saxons, 410 to 800 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/overview_anglo_saxons_01.shtml |access-date=3 December 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> Their advance was contained for some decades after the Britons' victory at the [[Battle of Badon|Battle of Mount Badon]], but subsequently resumed, overrunning the fertile lowlands of Britain and reducing the area under [[Britons (historical)|Brittonic]] control to a series of separate enclaves in the more rugged country to the west by the end of the 6th century. Contemporary texts describing this period are extremely scarce, giving rise to its description as a [[Dark Age]]. Details of the [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain]] are consequently subject to considerable disagreement; the emerging consensus is that it occurred on a large scale in the south and east but was less substantial to the north and west, where Celtic languages continued to be spoken even in areas under Anglo-Saxon control.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dark |first=Ken R. |date=2003 |title=Large-scale population movements into and from Britain south of Hadrian's Wall in the fourth to sixth centuries AD |url=https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-2003-03_K._R._Dark%2C_Large-scale_population_movements_into_and_from_Britan_south_of_Hadrian%27s_Wall_in_the_fourth_to_sixth_centuries_AD.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601080017/https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-2003-03_K._R._Dark%2C_Large-scale_population_movements_into_and_from_Britan_south_of_Hadrian%27s_Wall_in_the_fourth_to_sixth_centuries_AD.pdf |archive-date=1 June 2021 |access-date=20 June 2020}}; {{Cite book |first=Toby F. |last=Martin |title=The Cruciform Brooch and Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=Boydell and Brewer Press |date=2015 |pages=174–178}}; {{Cite web |last=Coates |first=Richard |title=Celtic whispers: revisiting the problems of the relation between Brittonic and Old English |url=https://ul.qucosa.de/api/qucosa%3A31804/attachment/ATT-0/}}; {{Cite web |last=Kortlandt |first=Frederik |year=2018 |title=Relative Chronology |url=https://www.kortlandt.nl/publications/art320e.pdf}}; {{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Bethany |title=The P-Celtic Place Names of North-East England and South-East Scotland |url=http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox.html}}</ref><ref name="Härke, Heinrich 2011">{{Cite journal |last=Härke |first=Heinrich |date=2011 |title=Anglo-Saxon Immigration and Ethnogenesis |journal=Medieval Archaeology |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |doi=10.1179/174581711X13103897378311 |s2cid=162331501 |issn=0076-6097}}</ref> Roman-dominated Christianity had, in general, been replaced in the conquered territories by [[Anglo-Saxon paganism]], but was [[Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England|reintroduced by missionaries]] from Rome led by [[Augustine of Canterbury|Augustine]] from 597.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Christian Tradition |url=http://www.picturesofengland.com/history/england-history-p4.html |access-date=5 September 2009 |website=PicturesofEngland.com}}</ref> Disputes between the Roman- and Celtic-dominated forms of Christianity ended in victory for the Roman tradition at the [[Council of Whitby]] (664), which was ostensibly about [[tonsure]]s (clerical haircuts) and the date of Easter, but more significantly, about the differences in Roman and Celtic forms of authority, theology, and practice.<ref name="Lehane" />

During the settlement period the lands ruled by the incomers seem to have been fragmented into numerous tribal territories, but by the 7th century, when substantial evidence of the situation again becomes available, these had coalesced into roughly a dozen kingdoms including [[Northumbria]], [[Mercia]], [[Wessex]], [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Anglia]], [[Kingdom of Essex|Essex]], [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]] and [[Kingdom of Sussex|Sussex]]. Over the following centuries, this process of political consolidation continued.{{Sfn|Kirby|2000|p=4}} The 7th century saw a struggle for hegemony between Northumbria and Mercia, which in the 8th century gave way to Mercian preeminence.{{Sfn|Lyon|1960|p=23}} In the early 9th century Mercia was displaced as the foremost kingdom by Wessex. Later in that century escalating attacks by the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]] culminated in the conquest of the north and east of England, overthrowing the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. Wessex under [[Alfred the Great]] was left as the only surviving English kingdom, and under his successors, it steadily expanded at the expense of the kingdoms of the [[Danelaw]]. This brought about the political unification of England, first accomplished under [[Æthelstan]] in 927 and definitively established after further conflicts by [[Eadred]] in 953. A fresh wave of Scandinavian attacks from the late 10th century ended with the conquest of this united kingdom by [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] in 1013 and again by his son [[Cnut the Great|Cnut]] in 1016, turning it into the centre of a short-lived [[North Sea Empire]] that also included [[Kingdom of Denmark|Denmark]] and [[Norway]]. However, the native royal dynasty was restored with the accession of [[Edward the Confessor]] in 1042.

[[File:King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt, 1415.|[[King Henry V of England|King Henry V]] at the [[Battle of Agincourt]], fought on [[Saint Crispin's Day]] and concluded with an English victory against a larger French army in the [[Hundred Years' War]]]]
A dispute over the succession to Edward led to an unsuccessful Norwegian Invasion in September 1066 close to York in the North, and the successful [[Norman Conquest]] in October 1066, accomplished by an army led by [[William the Conqueror|Duke William of Normandy]] invading at Hastings late September 1066.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview: The Normans, 1066–1154 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/overview_normans_01.shtml |access-date=3 December 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> The [[Normans]] themselves originated from [[Scandinavia]] and had settled in Normandy in the late 9th and early 10th centuries.<ref>{{harvnb|Crouch|2006|pp=2–4}}</ref> This conquest led to the almost total dispossession of the English elite and its replacement by a new French-speaking aristocracy, whose speech had a profound and permanent effect on the English language.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 February 2008 |title=Norman invasion word impact study |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7254446.stm |access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref>

Subsequently, the [[House of Plantagenet]] from [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]] inherited the English throne under [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], adding England to the budding [[Angevin Empire]] of fiefs the family had inherited in France including [[Duchy of Aquitaine|Aquitaine]].<ref name="Bartlett p124">{{harvnb|Bartlett|1999|p=124}}.</ref> They reigned for three centuries, some noted monarchs being [[Richard I of England|Richard I]], [[Edward I of England|Edward I]], [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] and [[Henry V of England|Henry V]].<ref name="Bartlett p124" /> The period saw changes in trade and legislation, including the signing of [[Magna Carta]], an English legal charter used to limit the sovereign's powers by law and protect the privileges of freemen. Catholic [[monasticism]] flourished, providing philosophers, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded with royal patronage. The [[Principality of Wales]] became a Plantagenet fief during the 13th century<ref>{{Cite web |title=Edward I (r. 1272–1307) |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page61.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624181028/http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page61.asp |archive-date=24 June 2008 |access-date=21 September 2009 |website=Royal.gov.uk}}</ref> and the [[Lordship of Ireland]] was given to the English monarchy by the Pope. During the 14th century, the Plantagenets and the [[House of Valois]] claimed to be legitimate claimants to the [[House of Capet]] and of France; the two powers clashed in the [[Hundred Years' War]].{{Sfn|Fowler|1967|p=208}} The [[Black Death]] epidemic [[Black Death in England|hit England]]; starting in 1348, it eventually killed up to half of England's [[Medieval demography|inhabitants]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ziegler|2003|p=230}}; {{harvnb|Goldberg|1996|p=4}}.</ref>

Between 1453 and 1487, a civil war known as the [[War of the Roses]] waged between the two branches of the royal family, the [[House of York|Yorkists]] and [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrians]].{{Sfn|Crofton|2007|p=111}} Eventually it led to the Yorkists losing the throne entirely to a Welsh noble family the [[House of Tudor|Tudors]], a branch of the Lancastrians headed by [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]] who invaded with Welsh and Breton mercenaries, gaining victory at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]] where the Yorkist king [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] was killed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Richard III (r. 1483–1485) |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page50.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710093939/http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page50.asp |archive-date=10 July 2008 |access-date=21 September 2009 |website=Royal.gov.uk}}</ref>

===Early modern period===
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During the [[Tudor period]], England began to develop [[English Navy|naval skills]], and exploration intensified in the [[Age of Discovery]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Navy History, Tudor Period and the Birth of a Regular Navy |url=http://www.royal-navy.org/lib/index.php?title=Tudor_Period_and_the_Birth_of_a_Regular_Navy_Part_Two |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118040146/http://www.royal-navy.org/lib/index.php?title=Tudor_Period_and_the_Birth_of_a_Regular_Navy_Part_Two |archive-date=18 January 2012 |url-status=usurped |access-date=24 December 2010}}; {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Goldwin |url={{GBurl |id=RdOTQUDgH54C |q=england under the tudors by goldwin smith}} |title=England Under the Tudors |page=176 |publisher=Forgotten Books |access-date=26 December 2010 |isbn=978-1-60620-939-4}}</ref> [[Henry VIII]] broke from communion with the Catholic Church, over issues relating to his divorce, under the [[Acts of Supremacy]] in 1534 which proclaimed the monarch head of the [[Church of England]]. In contrast with much of European [[Protestantism]], the [[English Reformation|roots of the split]] were more political than theological.{{Efn|As [[Roger Scruton]] explains, "The Reformation must not be confused with the changes introduced into the Church of England during the "Reformation Parliament" of 1529–36, which were of a political rather than a religious nature, designed to unite the secular and religious sources of authority within a single sovereign power: the Anglican Church did not make substantial change in doctrine until later."{{Sfn|Scruton|1982|p=470}}}} He also legally incorporated his ancestral land Wales into the Kingdom of England with the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542|1535–1542 acts]]. There were internal religious conflicts during the reigns of Henry's daughters, [[Mary I of England|Mary I]] and [[Elizabeth I]]. The former took the country back to Catholicism while the latter broke from it again, forcefully asserting the supremacy of [[Anglicanism]]. The [[Elizabethan era]] is the epoch in the Tudor age of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I ("the Virgin Queen"). Historians often depict it as the [[Golden age (metaphor)|golden age]] in English history that represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of great art, drama, poetry, music and literature.<ref>From the 1944 Clark lectures by [[C. S. Lewis]]; Lewis, ''English Literature in the Sixteenth Century'' (Oxford, 1954) p. 1, {{OCLC|256072}}</ref> England during this period had a centralised, well-organised, and effective government.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tudor Parliaments |url=https://spartacus-educational.com/TUDparliament.htm |access-date=4 April 2021 |website=Spartacus Educational}}</ref>

Competing with [[Spanish Empire|Spain]], the first English colony in the Americas was founded in 1585 by explorer [[Walter Raleigh]] in [[Virginia]] and named [[Roanoke Colony|Roanoke]]. The Roanoke colony failed and is known as the lost colony after it was found abandoned on the return of the late-arriving supply ship.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ordahl |first=Karen |url={{GBurl |id=W8cr4Vgt9ekC |q=roanoke colony}} |title=Roanak:the abandoned colony |year=2007 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield publishers Inc |isbn=978-0-7425-5263-0 |access-date=24 December 2010}}</ref> With the [[East India Company]], England also competed with the [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] and [[French colonial empire|French]] in the East. During the Elizabethan period, England was at war with Spain. An [[Spanish Armada|armada]] sailed from Spain in 1588 as part of a wider plan to invade England and re-establish a Catholic monarchy. The plan was thwarted by bad coordination, stormy weather and successful harrying attacks by an English fleet under [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham|Lord Howard of Effingham]]. This failure did not end the threat: Spain launched two further armadas, in [[2nd Spanish Armada|1596]] and [[3rd Spanish Armada|1597]], but both were driven back by storms.

===Union with Scotland===
{{further|Union of the Crowns|Treaty of Union}}
[[File:JamesIEngland (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright=.7|[[King of Scotland]], [[King James VI of Scotland|James VI]], became [[King of England]] as James I in 1603, forming the [[Union of the Crowns]]]]

The political structure of the island changed in 1603, when the [[King of Scots]], [[James VI of Scotland|James VI]], a kingdom which had been a long-time rival to English interests, inherited the throne of England as James I, thereby creating a [[Union of the Crowns|personal union]].<ref name="Britons">{{harvnb|Colley|1992|p=12}}; {{Cite web |title=Making the Act of Union |work=Act of Union 1707 |url=http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/01_background.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609075346/http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/01_background.html |archive-date=9 June 2008 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=UK Parliament}}</ref> He styled himself [[King of Great Britain]], although this had no basis in English law.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hay |first=Denys |title=The term 'Great Britain' in the Middle Ages |url=http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_089/89_055_066.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325061737/http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_089/89_055_066.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009 |access-date=19 February 2009 |website=ads.ahds.ac.uk}}</ref> Under the auspices of James VI and I the Authorised [[King James Version]] of the Holy Bible was published in 1611. It was the standard version of the Bible read by most Protestant Christians for four hundred years until modern revisions were produced in the 20th century.

Based on conflicting political, religious and social positions, the [[English Civil War]] was fought between the supporters of [[Long Parliament|Parliament]] and those of King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], known colloquially as [[Roundhead]]s and [[Cavalier]]s respectively. This was an interwoven part of the wider multifaceted [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]], involving [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] and [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]]. The Parliamentarians were victorious, [[execution of Charles I|Charles I was executed]] and the kingdom replaced by the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]]. Leader of the Parliament forces, [[Oliver Cromwell]] declared himself [[Lord Protector]] in 1653; a period of [[the Protectorate|personal rule]] followed.<ref name="O Cromwell">{{Cite web |title=Oliver Cromwell (English statesman) |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/143822/Oliver-Cromwell |access-date=8 August 2009 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> After Cromwell's death and the resignation of his son [[Richard Cromwell|Richard]] as Lord Protector, [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] was invited to return as monarch in 1660, in a move called the [[English Restoration|Restoration]]. With the reopening of theatres, fine arts, literature and performing arts flourished throughout the Restoration of the "Merry Monarch" Charles II.<ref>Lyndsey Bakewell, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20200212175057/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5c52/dfd2b876951f2d9ca982a2aa2460f52c228f.pdf Changing scenes and flying machines: re-examination of spectacle and the spectacular in Restoration theatre, 1660–1714]" (PhD. Diss. Loughborough University, 2016).</ref> After the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688, it was constitutionally established that King and Parliament should rule together, though Parliament would have the real power. This was established with the [[Bill of Rights 1689|Bill of Rights]] in 1689. Amongst the statutes set down were that the law could only be made by Parliament and could not be suspended by the King, also that the King could not impose taxes or raise an army without the prior approval of Parliament.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Adler |first1=Philip J. |url={{GBurl |id=mPoqfoiIp4sC |q=with the restoration it was not constitutionally established that king and parliament should rule together |p=340}} |title=World Civilization |last2=Pouwels |first2=Randall L. |date=2007 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-495-50262-3 |page=340 |access-date=24 December 2010}}</ref> Also since that time, no British monarch has entered the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] when it is sitting, which is annually commemorated at the [[State Opening of Parliament]] by the British monarch when the doors of the House of Commons are slammed in the face of the monarch's messenger, symbolising the rights of Parliament and its independence from the monarch.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/guides/newsid_81000/81909.stm "Democracy Live: Black Rod"]. BBC. Retrieved 6 August 2008; {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Black Rod|volume=4}}</ref> With the founding of the [[Royal Society]] in 1660, science was greatly encouraged.

[[File:Charles II of England.jpeg|thumb|upright=.7|alt=Painting of seated male figure, with long black hair wearing a white cape and breeches.|The [[English Restoration]] restored the monarchy under King [[Charles II of England|Charles&nbsp;II]] and peace after the [[English Civil War]].]]

In 1666 the [[Great Fire of London]] gutted the city of London, but it was rebuilt shortly afterward with many significant buildings designed by Sir [[Christopher Wren]].<ref>{{cite news |title=London's Burning: The Great Fire |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/great_fire_02.shtml |access-date=25 September 2009 |work=BBC News}}</ref> By the mid-to-late 17th century, two political factions had emerged – the [[Tory|Tories]] and [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]]. Though the Tories initially supported Catholic king [[James II of England|James II]], some of them, along with the Whigs, during the [[Glorious Revolution|Revolution of 1688]] invited the Dutch [[Prince William of Orange]] to defeat James and become the king. Some English people, especially in the north, were [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]] and continued to support James and his sons. Under the [[House of Stuart|Stuart dynasty]] England expanded in trade, finance and prosperity. The Royal Navy developed Europe's largest merchant fleet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History Press {{!}} The Stuarts |url=https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/the-stuarts |access-date=11 April 2021 |website=thehistorypress.co.uk}}</ref> After the parliaments of England and Scotland agreed,<ref name="Union with Scotland" /> the two countries joined in [[political union]], to create the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] in 1707.<ref name="Britons" /> To accommodate the union, institutions such as the law and national churches of each remained separate.{{Sfn|Gallagher|2006|p=14}}

===Late modern and contemporary periods===
[[File:CanalettoSomersetHouseTerrace.jpg|thumb|left|The [[River Thames]] during the [[Georgian period]] from the Terrace of Somerset House looking towards St. Paul's, {{Circa|1750}}]]

Under the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain, output from the Royal Society and other [[English Enlightenment|English initiatives]] combined with the [[Scottish Enlightenment]] to create innovations in science and engineering, while the enormous growth in [[Triangular trade|British overseas trade]] protected by the [[Royal Navy]] paved the way for the establishment of the [[British Empire]]. Domestically it drove the [[Industrial Revolution]], a period of profound change in the [[socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] and cultural conditions of England, resulting in industrialised agriculture, manufacture, engineering and mining, as well as new and pioneering road, rail and water networks to facilitate their expansion and development.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hudson, Pat |title=The Workshop of the World |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/workshop_of_the_world_01.shtml |access-date=10 December 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> The opening of Northwest England's [[Bridgewater Canal]] in 1761 ushered in the [[History of the British canal system|canal age in Britain]].<ref name="Briton20015">{{Harvnb|Office for National Statistics|2000|p=5}}; {{harvnb|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=4}}.</ref> In 1825 the world's first permanent steam locomotive-hauled passenger railway – the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]] – opened to the public.<ref name="Briton20015" />

During the [[Industrial Revolution]], many workers moved from England's countryside to new and expanding urban industrial areas to work in factories, for instance at [[Birmingham]] and [[Manchester]],<ref>{{Harvnb|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=9}}.; {{Cite web |last=Birmingham City Council |author-link=Birmingham City Council |title=Heritage |url=http://www.visitbirmingham.com/arts_and_culture/heritage/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426080011/http://www.visitbirmingham.com/arts_and_culture/heritage/ |archive-date=26 April 2012 |access-date=4 October 2009 |website=visitbirmingham.com}}</ref> with the latter the world's first industrial city.<ref name="Industrial city">{{Cite web |title=Manchester – the first industrial city |url=http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/energyhall/page84.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309184810/http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/energyhall/page84.asp |archive-date=9 March 2012 |access-date=17 March 2012 |publisher=Entry on Sciencemuseum website}}</ref> England maintained relative stability throughout the [[French Revolution]], under [[George III]] and [[William Pitt the Younger]]. The [[Regency era|regency of George IV]] is noted for its elegance and achievements in the fine arts and architecture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Regency {{!}} British Architectural Dates and Styles {{!}} Property {{!}} UK {{!}} Mayfair Office |url=https://www.mayfairoffice.co.uk/members-home/British-Architectural-Styles/British-Architectural-Styles-Regency |access-date=8 April 2021 |website=mayfairoffice.co.uk |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417084322/https://www.mayfairoffice.co.uk/members-home/British-Architectural-Styles/British-Architectural-Styles-Regency |url-status=dead}}</ref> During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], [[Napoleon]] planned to [[Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom|invade from the south-east]]; however, this failed to manifest and the Napoleonic forces were defeated by the British: at sea by [[Horatio Nelson]], and on land by [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]]. The major victory at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century.<ref>Bennet, Geoffrey (2004). ''The Battle of Trafalgar''. England: Pen & Sword Books Limited, CPI UK, South Yorkshire.</ref> The Napoleonic Wars fostered a concept of [[Britishness]] and a united national [[British people]], shared with the English, Scots and Welsh.<ref name="Colley1">{{Harvnb|Colley|1992|p=1}}.</ref>

[[File:Turner, The Battle of Trafalgar (1822).jpg|alt=multi-storey square industrial buildings beyond a river|thumb|right|The [[Battle of Trafalgar]] was a naval engagement between the [[Royal Navy]] and the combined fleets of France and Spain during the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 July 2014 |title=Department of History – Napoleonic Wars |url=http://www.westpoint.edu/history/SitePages/Napoleonic%20Wars.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728203458/http://www.westpoint.edu/history/SitePages/Napoleonic%20Wars.aspx |archive-date=28 July 2014 |access-date=8 April 2021}}</ref>]]

London became the largest and most populous metropolitan area in the world during the [[Victorian era]], and trade within the British Empire – as well as the standing of the British military and navy – was prestigious.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Haggard |first=Robert F. |url={{GBurl |id=53VUwDw_UYMC |q=prestige of the british empire in victorian times |p=13}} |title=The persistence of Victorian liberalism:The Politics of Social Reform in Britain, 1870–1900 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-313-31305-9 |page=13 |access-date=26 December 2010}}</ref> Technologically, this era saw many innovations that proved key to the United Kingdom's power and prosperity.<ref name="Atterbury 2011">{{Cite web |last=Atterbury |first=Paul |date=17 February 2011 |title=Victorian Technology |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/victorian_technology_01.shtml |access-date=13 October 2020 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> Political agitation at home from radicals such as the [[Chartism|Chartists]] and the [[suffragette]]s enabled legislative reform and [[universal suffrage]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crawford, Elizabeth |title=Women: From Abolition to the Vote |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/abolition_women_article_01.shtml#five |access-date=10 December 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

Power shifts in east-central Europe led to World War I; hundreds of thousands of English soldiers died fighting for the United Kingdom as part of the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]].{{Efn|Figure of 550,000 military deaths is for England and Wales.{{Sfn|Cox|1970|p=180}}}} Two decades later, in [[World War II]], the United Kingdom was again one of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. Developments in warfare technology saw many cities damaged by air-raids during [[the Blitz]]. Following the war, the British Empire experienced rapid [[decolonisation]], and there was a speeding-up of technological innovations; automobiles became the primary means of transport and [[Frank Whittle]]'s development of the [[jet engine]] led to wider [[air travel]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Golley, John |date=10 August 1996 |title=Obituaries: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle |work=The Independent |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-air-commodore-sir-frank-whittle-1309015.html |access-date=2 December 2010}}</ref> Residential patterns were altered in England by private motoring, and by the creation of the [[National Health Service (England)|National Health Service]] in 1948, providing [[publicly funded health care]] to all permanent residents free at the point of need. Combined, these prompted the reform of [[local government in England]] in the mid-20th century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Clark|Steed|Marshall|1973|p=1}}; {{Harvnb|Wilson|Game|2002|p=55}}.</ref>

[[File:Frith A Private View.jpg|thumb|The [[Victorian era]] is often cited as a [[Golden Age]]. Painting done by [[William Powell Frith]] to show cultural divisions. ]]

Since the 20th century, there has been significant population movement to England, mostly from other parts of the [[British Isles]], but also from the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], particularly the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref>{{harvnb|Gallagher|2006|pp=10–11}}.</ref> Since the 1970s there has been a large move away from manufacturing and an increasing emphasis on the [[service industry]].<ref name="Thatcher" /> As part of the United Kingdom, the area joined a [[common market]] initiative called the [[European Economic Community]] which became the [[European Union]].

Since the late 20th century the [[politics of the United Kingdom|administration of the United Kingdom]] has moved towards [[devolution|devolved governance]] in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keating |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Keating (political scientist) |date=1 January 1998 |title=Reforging the Union: Devolution and Constitutional Change in the United Kingdom |journal=Publius: The Journal of Federalism |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=217 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a029948}}</ref> [[England and Wales]] continues to exist as a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom.<ref name="BBC Wales">{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=The coming of the Tudors and the Act of Union |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/guide/ch11_part2_coming_of_the_tudor.shtml |access-date=9 September 2009 |website=[[BBC Wales]] |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> Devolution has stimulated a greater emphasis on a more English-specific identity and patriotism.<ref>{{harvnb|Kenny|English|Hayton|2008|p=3}}; {{Harvnb|Ward|2004|p=180}}.</ref> There is no devolved English government, but an attempt to create a similar system on a sub-regional basis was rejected by [[2004 North East England devolution referendum|referendum]].<ref name="The Times 2004-11-05" />

==Governance==
===Politics===
{{Main|Politics of England}}
England is part of the United Kingdom,<ref name="ONS Geography Guide">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=4 February 2025 |title=A Beginner's Guide to UK Geography (2023) |url=https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/d1f39e20edb940d58307a54d6e1045cd/about |access-date=14 May 2025 |website=Open Geography Portal |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref> a [[constitutional monarchy]] with a [[parliamentary system]].<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-kingdom/ "United Kingdom"]. [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] [''[[The World Factbook]]'']. Retrieved 13 April 2021.</ref> There has not been a [[government of England]] since 1707, when the [[Acts of Union 1707]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Act of Union between England and Scotland |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Act-of-Union/ |access-date=25 December 2023 |website=Historic UK}}</ref> putting into effect the terms of the [[Treaty of Union]], joined England and Scotland to form the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]].<ref name="Union with Scotland">{{Cite web |title=The first Parliament of Great Britain |url=http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/08_02_great.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621165514/http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/08_02_great.html |archive-date=21 June 2008 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Parliament}}</ref> Before the union England was ruled by [[List of English monarchs|its monarch]] and the [[Parliament of England]]. 
[[File:Palace of Westminster, London - Feb 2007.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Photograph of rectangular floodlight building, reflected in water. The building has multiple towers including one at each end. The tower on the right includes an illuminated clock face.|right|The [[Palace of Westminster]], the seat of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] in which England is directly governed]]

England is governed directly by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], although other [[countries of the United Kingdom]] have [[Devolution|devolved]] governments.<ref name="Devolution">{{Cite web |last=Cabinet Office |author-link=Cabinet Office |date=26 March 2009 |title=Devolution in the United Kingdom |url=http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/devolution.aspx |access-date=16 August 2009 |publisher=cabinetoffice.gov.uk}}</ref> There has been debate about how to counterbalance this in England. Originally it was planned that various [[regions of England]] would be devolved, but following the proposal's rejection by the [[North East England|North East]] in a [[2004 North East England devolution referendum|2004 referendum]], this has not been carried out.<ref name="The Times 2004-11-05" /> In 2024, an England-only intergovernmental body, known as the [[Mayoral Council for England]], was established to bring together ministers from the [[UK Government]], the [[Mayor of London]] and the leaders of [[Combined authority|combined authorities]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deputy-prime-minister-launches-first-ever-mayoral-council |title=Deputy Prime Minister launches first-ever Mayoral Council}}</ref>

In the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] which is the [[lower house]] of the British Parliament based at the [[Palace of Westminster]], there are 543 members of parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lists of MPs |url=http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/ |access-date=21 May 2009 |publisher=Parliament.uk}}</ref> England is represented by 347 MPs from the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], 116 from the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], 65 from the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], four for [[Reform UK]] and four for the [[Green Party of England and Wales]].<ref>{{cite web|title=State of the parties|url=https://members.parliament.uk/parties/commons|access-date=31 July 2025}}</ref>

===Law===
{{Main|English law}}
[[File:Royal Courts of Justice (6201094569).jpg|thumb|The [[Royal Courts of Justice]]|left]]

The [[English law]] legal system, developed over the centuries, is the basis of [[common law]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Common Law |url=http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=248 |access-date=5 October 2013 |website=The People's Law Dictionary |publisher=ALM Media Properties}}</ref> legal systems used in most [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 October 2000 |title=The Common Law in the British Empire |url=http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~law/ASLH/conferences/2000conference/101900345b.htm |access-date=20 August 2011 |publisher=H-net.msu.edu}}</ref> and the United States (except [[Louisiana]]). Despite now being part of the United Kingdom, the legal system of the [[Courts of England and Wales]] continued, under the [[Treaty of Union]], as a separate legal system from [[Scots law|the one used in Scotland]]. The general essence of English law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of [[legal precedent]] – ''stare decisis'' – to the facts before them.<ref>{{harvnb|Fafinski|2007|p=60}}.</ref>

The court system is headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales|Court of Appeal]], the [[High Court of Justice]] for civil cases, and the [[Crown Court]] for criminal cases.<ref>{{harvnb|Fafinski|2007|p=127}}.</ref> The [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom]] is the highest court for criminal and civil cases in [[England and Wales]]. It was created in 2009 after constitutional changes, taking over the [[judicial functions of the House of Lords]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constitutional reform: A Supreme Court for the United Kingdom |url=http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/supremecourt/supreme.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090117132005/http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/supremecourt/supreme.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=DCA.gov.uk}}</ref> A decision of the Supreme Court is binding on every other court in the hierarchy, which must follow its directions.<ref>{{harvnb|Fafinski|2007|p=67}}.</ref>

The [[Secretary of State for Justice]] is the minister responsible to Parliament for the [[Judiciaries of the United Kingdom|judiciary]], the court system and prisons and probation in England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-justice |website=GOV.UK}}</ref> Crime increased between 1981 and 1995 but fell by 42% in the period 1995–2006.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crime over the last 25 years |url=http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/crime0607summ.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324214809/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/crime0607summ.pdf |archive-date=24 March 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=HomeOffice.gov.uk}}</ref> The prison population doubled over the same period, giving it one of the [[List of countries by incarceration rate|highest incarceration rates]] in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000.<ref name="Crime BBC">{{Cite news |date=8 February 2008 |title=New record high prison population |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7235438.stm |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> [[His Majesty's Prison Service]], reporting to the [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]], manages most prisons, housing 81,309 prisoners in England and Wales {{As of|2022|September|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Offender management statistics quarterly: April to June 2022 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022 |access-date=14 November 2022 |website=GOV.UK}}</ref>

===Subdivisions===
{{Main|Subdivisions of England}}
{{See also|Regions of England|Combined authority|Counties of England|Districts of England}}
{{England Ceremonial Counties Labelled Map|Londonprefix = Greater|WMsuffix = (county)|float=center|width=400}}

The [[subdivisions of England]] consist of up to four levels of [[administrative division|subnational division]], controlled through a variety of types of administrative entities created for the purposes of [[local government in England|local government]].

Outside the London region, England's highest tier is the 48 [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial counties]].<ref name="britannicagov">{{harvnb|Encyclopædia Britannica|2002|p=100}}</ref> These are used primarily as a geographical frame of reference. Of these, 38 developed gradually since the [[Middle Ages]]; these were reformed to 51 in 1974 and to their current number in 1996.<ref name="maud">{{harvnb|Redcliffe-Maud|Wood|1974}}.</ref> Each has a [[Lord Lieutenant]] and [[High Sheriff]]; these posts are used to represent the [[British monarch]] locally.<ref name="britannicagov" /> Some counties, such as [[Herefordshire]], are only divided further into civil parishes. The royal county of Berkshire and the metropolitan counties have different types of status to other ceremonial counties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=abcounties.com |date=26 June 2013 |title=The problem of 'county confusion' – and how to resolve it |url=https://abcounties.com/counties/county-confusion/ |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=Association of British Counties}}</ref>

The second tier is made up of [[combined authorities]] and the 27 [[County Council|county-tier]] [[shire counties]]. In 1974, all ceremonial counties were two-tier; and with the metropolitan county tier phased out, the 1996 reform separated the ceremonial county and the administrative county tier.

England is also divided into local government districts.<ref name="localgov">{{harvnb|Singh|2009|p=53}}.</ref> The district can align to a ceremonial county, or be a district tier within a [[shire counties|shire county]], be a [[royal borough|royal]] or [[metropolitan borough]], have [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]] or [[city status in the United Kingdom|city status]], or be a [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]].

At the community level, much of England is divided into [[civil parishes in England|civil parishes]] with their own [[Parish councils in England|councils]]; in Greater London only one such parish, [[Queen's Park, London|Queen's Park]], exists {{as of|2014|lc=y}} after they were [[London Government Act 1963|abolished in 1965]] until legislation [[Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007|allowed their recreation]] in 2007.

====London====
From 1994 until the early 2010s England was divided for a few purposes into regions; a [[1998 Greater London Authority referendum|1998 referendum]] for the London Region created the [[London Assembly]] two years later.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Hilary |date=29 March 2011 |title=Tiers shed as regional government offices disappear |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/29/regional-government-disappears-1500-jobs-lost |access-date=16 June 2011}}</ref> A failed [[2004 North East England devolution referendum]] cancelled further [[Regional Assemblies in England|regional assembly]] devolution<ref name="The Times 2004-11-05">{{Cite news |last1=Sherman |first1=Jill |last2=Andrew Norfolk |date=5 November 2004 |title=Prescott's dream in tatters as North East rejects assembly |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article503255.ece |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525121618/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article503255.ece |archive-date=25 May 2010}}</ref> with the regional structure outside London abolished.

Administratively, London is divided between 33 [[local government districts]]: the 32 [[London boroughs]] and the [[City of London]].<ref>{{harvnb|Axford|2002|p=315}}.</ref> The 32 London boroughs form the ceremonial county of Greater London, with the City of London being a separate ceremonial county.

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of England}}

===Landscape and rivers===
[[File:Malvern Hills - England.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Malvern Hills]] located in the English counties of [[Worcestershire]] and [[Herefordshire]]. The hills have been designated by the Countryside Agency as an [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]]. ]]
Geographically, England includes the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus such offshore islands as the [[Isle of Wight]] and the [[Isles of Scilly]]. It is bordered by two other countries of the United Kingdom: [[Anglo Scottish border|to the north]] by Scotland and [[Wales-England border|to the west]] by Wales.

England is closer than any other part of mainland Britain to the European continent. It is separated from [[France]] ([[Hauts-de-France]]) by a {{convert|21|mi|adj=on}}<ref name="Engchannel">{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=English Channel |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/187921/English-Channel |access-date=15 August 2009 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |publisher=britannica.com}}</ref> sea gap, though the two countries are connected by the [[Channel Tunnel]] near [[Folkestone]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/ukcCorporate/ukcAboutUs/ukm/history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081116055538/http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/ukcCorporate/ukcAboutUs/ukm/history.htm |archive-date=16 November 2008 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=EuroTunnel.com}}</ref> England also has shores on the [[Irish Sea]], [[North Sea]] and Atlantic Ocean.

The ports of London, [[Liverpool]], and [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] lie on the tidal rivers [[River Thames|Thames]], [[River Mersey|Mersey]] and [[River Tyne|Tyne]] respectively. At {{convert|220|mi}}, the [[River Severn|Severn]] is the longest river flowing through England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The River Severn |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/west/severn-river/ |access-date=5 December 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> It empties into the [[Bristol Channel]] and is notable for its [[Severn Bore]] (a [[tidal bore]]), which can reach {{convert|2|m|ft}} in height.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Severn Bore and Trent Aegir |url=http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/31439.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122125420/http://environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/31439.aspx |archive-date=22 November 2010 |access-date=5 December 2010 |publisher=Environment Agency}}</ref> However, the longest river entirely in England is the Thames, which is {{convert|215|mi}} in length.<ref name="Thames">{{Cite web |title=River Thames and London (England) |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-home/related-139-94056-articles-reviews/River+Thames-London+(England)/related.do |access-date=17 August 2009 |website=London Evening Standard |location=London}}{{dead link|date=October 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> There are many [[lakes in England]]; the largest is [[Windermere]], within the aptly named [[Lake District]].<ref name="metoffice_nw">{{Cite web |title=North West England & Isle of Man: climate |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/nw/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605003213/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/nw/ |archive-date=5 June 2011 |access-date=5 December 2010 |publisher=Met Office}}</ref>

Most of England's landscape consists of low hills and plains, with upland and mountainous terrain in the north and west of the country. The northern uplands include the [[Pennines]], a chain of uplands dividing east and west, the Lake District mountains in Cumbria, and the [[Cheviot Hills]], straddling the border between England and Scotland. The highest point in England, at {{convert|978|m|ft}}, is [[Scafell Pike]] in the Lake District.<ref name="metoffice_nw" /> The [[Shropshire Hills]] are near Wales while [[Dartmoor]] and [[Exmoor]] are two upland areas in the south-west of the country. The approximate dividing line between terrain types is often indicated by the [[Tees–Exe line]].<ref>{{Cite book |url={{GBurl |id=yAgGHnENHjoC |q=tees exe line england lowland upland |p=100}} |title=World Regional Geography |date=2008 |publisher=Joseph J. Hobbs |isbn=978-0-495-38950-7 |access-date=6 December 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Glenridding, Cumbria, England - June 2009.jpg|thumb|The village of [[Glenridding]] and [[Ullswater]] in [[Cumbria]]]]

The Pennines, known as the "backbone of England", are the oldest range of mountains in the country, originating from the end of the [[Paleozoic Era]] around 300&nbsp;million years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pennines |url=http://www.summitpost.org/area/range/220026/pennines.html |access-date=8 September 2009 |publisher=Smmit Post}}</ref> Their geological composition includes, amongst others, [[sandstone]] and [[limestone]], and also coal. There are [[karst]] landscapes in calcite areas such as parts of [[Yorkshire]] and [[Derbyshire]]. The Pennine landscape is high [[moorland]] in upland areas, indented by fertile valleys of the region's rivers. They contain two [[national parks in England|national parks]], the [[Yorkshire Dales]] and the [[Peak District]]. In the [[West Country]], Dartmoor and Exmoor of the Southwest Peninsula include upland moorland supported by granite.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Parks&nbsp;– About us |url=http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/aboutus |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027162402/http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/aboutus |archive-date=27 October 2010 |access-date=5 December 2010 |publisher=nationalparks.gov.uk}}</ref>

The [[English Lowlands beech forests|English Lowlands]] are in the central and southern regions of the country, consisting of green rolling hills, including the [[Cotswold Hills]], [[Chiltern Hills]], [[North Downs|North]] and [[South Downs]]; where they meet the sea they form white rock exposures such as the [[cliffs of Dover]]. This also includes relatively flat plains such as the [[Salisbury Plain]], [[Somerset Levels]], [[South Coast Plain]] and [[The Fens]].

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of England}}

England has a [[temperate climate|temperate]] [[maritime climate]]: it is mild with temperatures not much lower than {{convert|0|°C|°F}} in winter and not much higher than {{convert|32|°C|°F}} in summer.<ref name="weather">{{Cite web |title=What is the Climate like in Britain? |url=http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/weather/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114052538/http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/weather/ |archive-date=14 January 2010 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Woodlands Kent}}</ref> The weather is damp relatively frequently and is changeable. The coldest months are January and February, the latter particularly on the [[Geography of the United Kingdom|English coast]], while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm weather are May, June, September and October.<ref name="weather" /> Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year.

Important influences on the climate of England are its proximity to the [[Atlantic Ocean]], its northern [[latitude]] and the warming of the sea by the [[Gulf Stream]].<ref name="weather" /> Rainfall is higher in the west, and parts of the [[Lake District]] receive more rain than anywhere else in the country.<ref name="weather" /> Since weather records began, the highest temperature recorded was {{convert|40.3|°C|°F}} on 19 July 2022 at [[Coningsby]], [[Lincolnshire]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Record high temperatures verified |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2022/record-high-temperatures-verified |access-date=22 March 2023 |website=Met Office}}</ref> while the lowest was {{convert|−26.1|°C|°F}} on 10 January 1982 in [[Edgmond, Shropshire|Edgmond]], Shropshire.<ref>{{Cite web |title=English Climate |url=http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/england/#temperature |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829161614/http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/england/ |archive-date=29 August 2008 |publisher=MetOffice.com}}</ref>

===Nature and wildlife===
{{main|Fauna of England}}
[[File:Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), Icklesham, Sussex.jpg|thumb|The [[Eurasian wren]], the most numerous bird species in England<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 February 2020 |title=It's official – the Wren is our commonest bird |url=https://www.bto.org/press-releases/it%E2%80%99s-official-%E2%80%93-wren-our-commonest-bird#:~:text=In%20the%20latest%20report%20looking,million%20pairs%20across%20the%20UK. |access-date=2 December 2022 |website=BTO |last1=Ornithology |first1=British Trust for }}</ref>]]

The fauna of England is similar to that of other areas in the [[British Isles]] with a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate life in a diverse range of habitats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Natural History Museum |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/british-wildlife.html |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> [[National nature reserves in England]] are designated by [[Natural England]] as key places for [[wildlife]] and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most significant areas of habitat and of geological formations. NNRs are managed on behalf of the nation, many by Natural England themselves, but also by non-governmental organisations, including the members of [[The Wildlife Trusts]] partnership, the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]], and the [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]]. There are 221 NNRs in England covering {{Convert|110000|ha|km2|abbr=off}}. Often they contain rare species or nationally important populations of plants and animals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Natural England: Designated sites |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/ReportConditionSummary.aspx?SiteType=NNR |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825034122/https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/ReportConditionSummary.aspx?SiteType=NNR |archive-date=25 August 2021 |access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref>
.
The [[Environment Agency]] is a non-departmental public body, established in 1995 and sponsored by the [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]] with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment in England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Environment Agency |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency |access-date=3 April 2021 |website=GOV.UK}}</ref> The [[Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]] is the minister responsible for environmental protection, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-environment-food-and-rural-affairs#:~:text=Current%20role%20holder-,The%20Rt%20Hon%20George%20Eustice%20MP,Affairs%20on%2013%20February%202020. |access-date=3 April 2021 |website=gov.uk}}</ref>
[[File:Richmond Park - London - England - 02102005.jpg|thumb|[[Red deer]] in [[Richmond Park]]. The park was created by [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in the 17th century as a [[Deer park (England)|deer park]].<ref name="Pastscape">{{PastScape|mnumber=397979|mname=Richmond Park|date=2015|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>]]
England has a [[Oceanic climate|temperate oceanic climate]] in most areas, lacking extremes of cold or heat, but does have a few small areas of [[Subarctic climate|subarctic]] and warmer areas in [[South West England|the South West]]. Towards the [[Northern England|North of England]] the climate becomes colder and most of England's mountains and high hills are located here and have a major impact on the climate and thus the local fauna of the areas. [[Deciduous]] woodlands are common across all of England and provide a great habitat for much of England's wildlife, but these give way in northern and upland areas of England to [[coniferous]] forests (mainly plantations) which also benefit certain forms of wildlife. Some species have adapted to the expanded urban environment, particularly the [[red fox]], which is the most successful [[Urban wildlife|urban mammal]] after the [[brown rat]], and other animals such as [[common wood pigeon]], both of which thrive in urban and suburban areas.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 May 2012 |title=Mammals in Britain's cities: A spotter's guide – in pictures {{pipe}} Urban wildlife |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2012/may/17/mammals-britains-cities-spotters-guide}}</ref>

===Major conurbations===
{{See also|List of places in England}}

The [[Greater London Built-up Area]] is by far the largest urban area in England<ref name="BUA">{{Cite web |title=2011 Census – Built-up areas |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx |access-date=5 February 2014 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]]}}</ref> and one of the busiest cities in the world. It is considered a [[global city]] and has a population larger than any other country in the United Kingdom besides England itself.<ref name="BUA" /> Other urban areas of considerable size and influence tend to be in [[northern England]] or the [[English Midlands]].<ref name="BUA" /> There are [[List of cities in the United Kingdom|50 settlements]] which have designated [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status in England]], while the wider United Kingdom has 66.

While many cities in England are quite large, such as [[Birmingham]], [[Sheffield]], [[Manchester]], [[Liverpool]], [[City of Leeds|Leeds]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], [[City of Bradford|Bradford]], [[Nottingham]], population size is not a prerequisite for city status.<ref name="cathcities">{{Cite news |last=O'Brian |first=Harriet |date=24 November 2007 |title=The Complete Guide To: Cathedral cities in the UK |work=The Independent |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/the-complete-guide-to-cathedral-cities-in-the-uk-760201.html |url-status=dead |access-date=8 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090812091322/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/the-complete-guide-to-cathedral-cities-in-the-uk-760201.html |archive-date=12 August 2009}}</ref> Traditionally the status was given to towns with [[List of cathedrals in England|diocesan cathedrals]], so there are smaller cities like [[Wells, Somerset|Wells]], [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]], [[Ripon]], [[Truro]] and [[Chichester]].
{{Largest Urban areas
| name         = Largest Urban areas
| kind         = conurbations
| country      = England
| stat_ref     = 2011 census<ref name="BUA" />
| list_by_pop  = List of urban areas in the United Kingdom
| class        = nav
| div_name     =
| div_link     = List of urban areas in the United Kingdom{{!}}Conurbation
| div_1 = Greater London Built-up Area{{!}}Greater London
| city_1 = London
| pop_1 = 9,787,426
| div_2 = Greater Manchester Built-up Area{{!}}Greater Manchester
| city_2 = Manchester
| pop_2 = 2,553,379
| div_3 = West Midlands Conurbation{{!}}West Midlands
| city_3 = Birmingham
| pop_3 = 2,440,986
| div_4 = West Yorkshire Urban Area{{!}}West Yorkshire
| city_4 = Leeds
| pop_4 = 1,777,934
| div_5 = Liverpool Urban Area{{!}}Liverpool
| city_5 = Liverpool
| pop_5 = 864,122
| img_5 =
| div_6 = South Hampshire
| city_6 = Southampton
| pop_6 = 855,569
| img_6 =
| div_7 = Tyneside
| city_7 = Newcastle upon Tyne
| pop_7 = 774,891
| img_7 =
| div_8 = Nottingham Urban Area{{!}}Nottingham
| city_8 = Nottingham
| pop_8 = 729,977
| img_8 =
| div_9 = Sheffield Urban Area{{!}}Sheffield
| city_9 = Sheffield
| pop_9 = 685,368
| img_9 =
| div_10 = Bristol Built-up Area{{!}}Bristol
| city_10 = Bristol
| pop_10 = 617,280
| img_10 =
}}

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of England}}

[[File:Canary Wharf Wide View 2, London - July 2009-2.jpg|thumb|[[London]] is the financial capital of England and the United Kingdom.]]
England's economy is one of the largest and most dynamic in the world, with a [[GDP per capita]] of £37,852 in 2022.<ref name="ONS GDP" /> [[HM Treasury]], led by the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], is responsible for developing and executing the government's [[public finance]] policy and [[economic policy]].<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossvalueaddedgva/bulletins/regionalgrossvalueaddedbalanceduk/1998to2017/pdf |title=Regional economic activity by gross value added (balanced), UK: 1998 to 2017 |last=Fenton |first=Trevor |date=12 December 2018 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref> Usually regarded as a [[Anglo-Saxon economy|mixed market economy]], it has adopted many [[free market]] principles, yet maintains an advanced [[social welfare]] infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Welfare State&nbsp;– Never Ending Reform |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/field_01.shtml |access-date=17 September 2009}}</ref>

The economy of England is the largest part of the [[economy of the United Kingdom|UK's economy]].<ref name="regionalacc">{{Cite web |last=Office for National Statistics |author-link=Office for National Statistics |title=Regional Accounts |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/economy/national-accounts/regional-accounts/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826104410/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/economy/national-accounts/regional-accounts/index.html |archive-date=26 August 2009 |access-date=17 September 2009 |publisher=statistics.gov.uk}}</ref> England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly [[aerospace]], the [[arms industry]], and the [[software industry]]. London, home to the [[London Stock Exchange]], the United Kingdom's main [[stock exchange]] and the largest in Europe, is England's financial centre, with 100 of Europe's 500&nbsp;largest corporations being based there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Financial Centre |url=http://legacy.london.gov.uk/london-life/business-and-jobs/financial-centre.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713060624/http://legacy.london.gov.uk/london-life/business-and-jobs/financial-centre.jsp |archive-date=13 July 2011 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=London.gov.uk}}</ref> As of 2025, London is the largest financial centre in Europe and the second largest in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GFCI 36 Rank - Long Finance |url=https://www.longfinance.net/programmes/financial-centre-futures/global-financial-centres-index/gfci-36-explore-the-data/gfci-36-rank/ |access-date=24 September 2025 |website=www.longfinance.net}}</ref>

London has been named as the fastest growing technology hub in Europe, with England having over 100 unique tech companies with a value of $1&nbsp;billion or more.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 July 2021 |title=London Has Officially Become the Technology Capital of Europe |url=https://brainstation.io/magazine/london-technology-capital-of-europe-100-unicorns |access-date=10 July 2023 |website=BrainStation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Willems |first=Michiel |date=20 June 2021 |title=Unicorn nest: UK hits milestone of 100 $1bn tech companies, more than rest of Europe combined |url=https://www.cityam.com/unicorn-nest-uk-hits-milestone-of-100-1bn-tech-companies-more-than-rest-of-europe-combined/ |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=CityAM}}</ref> The [[Bank of England]], founded in 1694 as private banker to the government of England and a [[nationalisation|state-owned institution]] since 1946, is the United Kingdom's [[central bank]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bank's relationship with Parliament |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/parliament/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708200732/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/parliament/index.htm |archive-date=8 July 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=BankofEngland.co.uk}}</ref> The bank has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in [[England and Wales]], although not in other parts of the UK. The government has devolved responsibility to the bank's [[Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom)|Monetary Policy Committee]] for managing the monetary policy of the country and setting interest rates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monetary Policy Committee |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/overview.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708141658/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/overview.htm |archive-date=8 July 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=BankofEngland.co.uk}}</ref>
[[File:Aston Martin DB12 Volante IMG 9323.jpg|left|alt=A grey coloured convertible.|thumb|[[Aston Martin]] manufacture luxury vehicles in England.]]
England is highly industrialised, but since the 1970s there has been a decline in traditional heavy and manufacturing industries, and an increasing emphasis on a more [[service industry]]-oriented economy.<ref name="Thatcher">{{harvnb|Reitan|2003|p=50}}.</ref> Tourism has become a significant industry, attracting millions of visitors to England each year. The export part of the economy is dominated by [[pharmaceuticals]], automotives, [[crude oil]] and petroleum from the English parts of [[North Sea oil]] along with [[Wytch Farm]], [[aircraft engine]]s and alcoholic beverages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=England Exports |url=http://mambiz.com/main/?cat=28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105132032/http://mambiz.com/main/?cat=28 |archive-date=5 January 2012 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=EconomyWatch.com}}</ref> The [[creative industries]] accounted for 7 per cent GVA in 2005 and grew at an average of 6 per cent per annum between 1997 and 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 March 2007 |title=From the Margins to the Mainstream&nbsp;– Government unveils new action plan for the creative industries |url=http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/media_releases/2132.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204131529/http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/media_releases/2132.aspx |archive-date=4 December 2008 |access-date=9 March 2015 |publisher=DCMS}}</ref>

Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised and efficient by European standards, producing 60% of food needs with only 2% of the labour force.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Guide&nbsp;– England&nbsp;– Economy Overview |url=http://www.intute.ac.uk/worldguide/html/1069_economic.html |access-date=9 September 2009 |website=World Guide |publisher=Intute |archive-date=2 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802024219/http://www.intute.ac.uk/worldguide/html/1069_economic.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Two-thirds of production is devoted to livestock, the remainder to arable crops.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Economy of the United Kingdom |url=http://www.pteducation.com/gk/UK.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123055028/http://www.pteducation.com/gk/UK.pdf |archive-date=23 November 2009 |access-date=8 October 2009 |publisher=PTeducation}}</ref> The main crops that are grown are [[wheat]], [[barley]], [[oat]]s, [[potato]]es, and [[sugar beet]]s. England retains a significant fishing industry. Its fleets bring home a variety of fish, ranging from [[Sole (fish)|sole]] to [[herring]]. England is also rich in natural resources including [[coal]], [[petroleum]], [[natural gas]], [[tin]], [[limestone]], [[iron ore]], [[salt]], [[clay]], [[chalk]], [[gypsum]], [[lead]], and silica.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coal {{!}} Mines and quarries {{!}} MineralsUK |url=https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/mines/coal/home.html |access-date=7 July 2016 |website=MineralsUK |archive-date=20 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720145905/http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsUK/mines/coal/home.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Science and technology===
{{Main|List of English inventions and discoveries|Royal Society}}
Prominent English figures from the field of science and mathematics include Sir [[Isaac Newton]], [[Charles Darwin]], [[Robert Hooke]], [[Alan Turing]], [[Stephen Hawking]], [[Edward Jenner]], [[Francis Crick]], [[Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister|Joseph Lister]], [[Joseph Priestley]], [[Thomas Young (scientist)|Thomas Young]], [[Christopher Wren]] and [[Richard Dawkins]].
[[File:GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.7|alt=Torso of man with long white hair and dark coloured jacket|Sir [[Isaac Newton]] is one of the most influential figures in the [[history of science]].]]

England was a leading centre of the [[Scientific Revolution]] from the 17th century.<ref>Gascoin, J. "A reappraisal of the role of the universities in the Scientific Revolution", in Lindberg, David C. and Westman, Robert S., eds (1990), ''Reappraisals of the Scientific Revolution''. Cambridge University Press. p. 248. {{ISBN|0-521-34804-8}}.</ref> As the birthplace of the [[Industrial Revolution]], England was home to many significant inventors during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Famous English engineers include [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], best known for the creation of the [[Great Western Railway]], a series of famous [[steamship]]s, and numerous important bridges, revolutionising public transport and modern-day engineering.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spratt |first=H. P. |year=1958 |title=Isambard Kingdom Brunel |journal=Nature |volume=181 |issue=4626 |pages=1754–1755 |bibcode=1958Natur.181.1754S |doi=10.1038/1811754a0 |s2cid=4255226 |doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Thomas Newcomen]]'s [[Newcomen steam engine|steam engine]] helped spawn the Industrial Revolution.<ref>{{harvnb|Oakes|2002|p=214}}</ref>

The Father of Railways, [[George Stephenson]], built the first public inter-city railway line in the world, the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]], which opened in 1830. With his role in the marketing and manufacturing of the steam engine, and invention of modern coinage, [[Matthew Boulton]] (business partner of [[James Watt]]) is regarded as one of the most influential entrepreneurs in history.<ref>Ronald Shillingford (2010). "The History of the World's Greatest- Entrepreneurs: Biographies of Success". p.&nbsp;64–69</ref> The physician [[Edward Jenner]]'s [[smallpox vaccine]] is said to have "saved more lives&nbsp;... than were lost in all the wars of mankind since the beginning of recorded history."<ref>{{harvnb|Saunders|1982|p=13}}; {{harvnb|White|1885|p=335}}; {{harvnb|Levine|1960|p=183}}</ref>

Inventions and discoveries of the English include the [[jet engine]]; the first industrial [[spinning frame|spinning machine]]; [[Analytical engine|the first computer]] and the first [[Manchester Baby|modern computer]]; the [[World Wide Web]] along with [[HTML]]; the first successful human [[blood transfusion]]; the motorised [[vacuum cleaner]];<ref name="americanheritage">{{Cite web |last=Wohleber |first=Curt |date=Spring 2006 |title=The Vacuum Cleaner |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2006/4/2006_4_4.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313170420/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2006/4/2006_4_4.shtml |archive-date=13 March 2010 |access-date=8 December 2010 |website=Invention & Technology Magazine |publisher=American Heritage Publishing}}</ref> the [[lawn mower]]; the [[seat belt]]; the [[hovercraft]]; the [[electric motor]]; [[steam engine]]s; and theories such as the Darwinian theory of [[evolution]] and [[atomic theory]]. Newton developed the ideas of [[universal gravitation]], [[Newtonian mechanics]], and [[calculus]], and [[Robert Hooke]] his eponymously named [[Hooke's law of elasticity|law of elasticity]]. Other inventions include the iron plate railway, the [[thermosiphon]], [[Tarmacadam|tarmac]], the [[rubber band]], the [[mousetrap]], [[Cat's eye (road)|"cat's eye"]] [[raised pavement marker|road marker]], joint development of the [[light bulb]], steam [[locomotive]]s, the modern [[seed drill]] and many modern techniques and technologies used in [[precision engineering]].<ref name="invent">{{Cite web |title=English Inventors and Inventions |url=http://www.english-crafts.co.uk/history/inventors.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415212829/http://www.english-crafts.co.uk/history/inventors.htm |archive-date=15 April 2010 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=English-Crafts.co.uk}}</ref>

English innovators made crucial contributions to computing from the earliest concepts to the microchip era. [[Charles Babbage]]<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=22 September 2025 |title=Charles Babbage's difference engines and the science museum| website=Science Museum |date=18 July 2023 |url=https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum}}</ref> and [[Ada Lovelace]]<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=22 September 2025 |title=Ada Lovelace and the Analytical Engine | website=Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford |date=26 July 2018 |url=https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/adalovelace/2018/07/26/ada-lovelace-and-the-analytical-engine}}</ref> conceived the first programmable computer, while [[George Boole]] created the binary logic underlying all digital systems, known as [[boolean logic]].<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=22 September 2025 |title=George Boole and the AND OR NOT gates | website=BBC News |date=8 December 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30376235}}</ref> [[Alan Turing]] defined the foundations of computing and pioneered artificial intelligence,<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=22 September 2025 |title=Alan Turing | website=New Scientist |url=https://www.newscientist.com/people/alan-turing}}</ref> while [[Tommy Flowers]] built [[Colossus computer|Colossus]], proving electronic computing feasible.<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=22 September 2025 |title=FLOWERS, TOMMY (1905–1998) | website=English Heritage |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/tommy-flowers}}</ref> [[Frederic C. Williams|Sir Frederic Williams]], [[Tom Kilburn]] and [[Geoff Tootill]] developed the [[Manchester Baby]],<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=22 September 2025 |title=How a 70-year-old 'Baby' changed the face of modern computing | date=21 June 2018 | website=The University of Manchester|url=https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/how-a-70-year-old-baby-changed-the-face-of-modern-computing}}</ref> while [[Maurice Wilkes|Sir Maurice Wilkes]] developed [[EDSAC]]<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=22 September 2025 |title=MAURICE V. WILKES  | website=A M Turing Award|url=https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/wilkes_1001395.cfm}}</ref> contributing to the first stored-program computers that established modern computer architecture. [[Geoffrey Dummer]] conceptualised the integrated circuit.<ref>{{Cite magazine |access-date=22 September 2025 |title=May 7, 1952: The Integrated Circuit ... What a Concept! | magazine=Wired |date=7 May 2010 |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/05/0507integrated-circuit-concept-published}}</ref>

The [[Royal Society]], formally [[The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge]],<ref name="royalsociety.org">{{Cite web |title=The formal title as adopted in the royal charter |url=https://royalsociety.org/~/media/Royal_Society_Content/about-us/history/2012-Supplemental-Charter.pdf |website=royalsociety.org}}</ref> is a [[learned society]] and the [[United Kingdom]]'s national [[academy of sciences]]. Founded on 28 November 1660,<ref name="royalsociety.org" /> It is the oldest national scientific institution in the world.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Royal Society |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Royal-Society |access-date=24 February 2018 |last=Hunter |first=Michael}}</ref> The [[Royal Institution|Royal Institution of Great Britain]] was founded in 1799 by leading English scientists, including [[Henry Cavendish]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Caroe |first=Gwendy |title=The Royal Institution : an informal history |publisher=J. Murray |others=Final chapter by Alban |year=1985 |isbn=0-7195-4245-6 |location=London}}</ref> Some experts claim that the earliest concept of a [[metric system]] was invented by [[John Wilkins]] in 1668.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 2007 |title=Metric system was British |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6890000/newsid_6898200/6898274.stm?bw=nb&mp=wm&news=1&ms3=10 |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref>

Scientific research and development remains important in the [[universities of England]], with many establishing [[science park]]s to facilitate production and co-operation with industry.<ref>Castells, M.; Hall, P.; Hall, P.G. (2004). ''Technopoles of the World: the Making of Twenty-First-Century Industrial Complexes''. London: Routledge. pp. 98–100. {{ISBN|0-415-10015-1}}.</ref> [[Silicon Fen|Cambridge]] is the most intensive research cluster for science and technology in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 September 2023 |title=Cambridge remains most intensive science and technological cluster in the world |url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/cambridge-remains-most-intensive-science-and-technological-cluster-in-the-world |access-date=4 December 2023 |website=University of Cambridge}}</ref> In 2022, the UK produced 6.3 per cent of the world's scientific research papers and had a 10.5 per cent share of scientific citations, the third highest in the world (after the United States and China).<ref>{{Cite web |title=International comparison of the UK research base, 2022 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1078073/international-comparison-uk-research-base-2022-accompanying-note.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305235208/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1078073/international-comparison-uk-research-base-2022-accompanying-note.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2023 |access-date=11 March 2023}} (last checked 11 March 2023)</ref> Scientific journals produced in England include ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', the ''[[BMJ|British Medical Journal]]'' and ''[[The Lancet]]''. The [[Department for Science, Innovation and Technology]], [[Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology]], and [[Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation]] has responsibility for science in England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department for Science, Innovation and Technology |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-science-innovation-and-technology |access-date=12 February 2023 |website=GOV.UK}}</ref>

===Transport===
{{Main|Transport in England}}

The [[Department for Transport]] is the government body responsible for overseeing transport in England. The department is run by the [[Secretary of State for Transport]].

England has a dense and modern transportation infrastructure. There are [[List of motorways in the United Kingdom|many motorways in England]], and many other trunk roads, such as the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1 Great North Road]], which runs through eastern England from London to Newcastle<ref name="roads">{{harvnb|UK Parliament|2007|p=175}}</ref> (much of this section is motorway) and onward to the Scottish border. The longest motorway in England is the [[M6 motorway|M6]], from [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]] through the [[North West England|North West]] up to the [[Anglo-Scottish border]], a distance of {{convert|232|mi}}.<ref name="roads" /> Other major routes include: the [[M1 motorway|M1]] from London to Leeds, the [[M25 motorway|M25]] which encircles London, the [[M60 motorway (Great Britain)|M60]] which encircles Manchester, the [[M4 motorway|M4]] from London to South Wales, the [[M62 motorway|M62]] from Liverpool via Manchester to East Yorkshire, and the [[M5 motorway|M5]] from Birmingham to Bristol and the South West.<ref name="roads" />
[[File:St Pancras Railway Station 2012-06-23.jpg|thumb|alt=red stone building with tall clock tower in corner|[[St Pancras railway station|London St Pancras International]] is one of London's main domestic and international transport hubs providing both commuter rail and high-speed rail services across the UK and to Paris, [[Lille]] and [[Brussels]].]]
Bus transport across the country is widespread; major companies include [[Arriva UK Bus|Arriva]], [[FirstGroup]], [[Go-Ahead Group]], [[Mobico Group]], [[Rotala]] and [[Stagecoach Group]]. [[Bus rapid transit]] originated in England with the [[Runcorn]] Busway opening in 1971.<ref name="Runcorn Busway JSTOR">{{Cite journal |last=Lesley |first=Lewis |date=1983 |title=Runcorn – A Rapid Transit New Town? |journal=Built Environment |volume=9 |issue=3/4 |page=234 |jstor=23286723}}</ref><ref name="RUDI 7.3 Transport">{{Cite web |title=Runcorn New Town – 7.3 Transport |url=http://www.rudi.net/books/3346 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018012240/http://www.rudi.net/books/3346 |archive-date=18 October 2014 |access-date=24 July 2020 |website=rudi.net}}</ref> The red [[double-decker bus]]es in London have become a symbol of England. [[National Cycle Route]] offers cycling routes nationally.

[[Rail transport in Great Britain|Rail transport in England]] is the oldest in the world: passenger railways originated in England in 1825.<ref>{{Cite web |title=27 September 1825&nbsp;– Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway |url=http://www.moorerail.com/history/timeline1825.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007035746/http://www.moorerail.com/history/timeline1825.asp |archive-date=7 October 2013 |access-date=5 October 2013 |publisher=The Stockton and Darlington Railway}}</ref> Much of Britain's {{convert|10000|mi}} of rail network lies in England, covering the country fairly extensively. There is rail transport access to France and Belgium through an undersea rail link, the [[Channel Tunnel]], which was completed in 1994.

[[Great British Railways]] is a planned state-owned public body that will oversee [[rail transport in Great Britain]] from 2024. The [[Office of Rail and Road]] is responsible for the economic and safety regulation of England's railways.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home page {{!}} Office of Rail and Road |url=https://www.orr.gov.uk/home |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200828151253mp_/https://www.orr.gov.uk/home |archive-date=28 August 2020 |access-date=21 May 2021 |website=orr.gov.uk}}</ref> [[Crossrail]] was Europe's largest construction project with a £15&nbsp;billion projected cost, opened in 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 January 2012 |title=Crossrail's giant tunnelling machines unveiled |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-16289051}}</ref> [[High Speed 2]], a high-speed north–south railway line, is under construction since 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 February 2020 |title=HS2: When will the line open and how much will it cost? |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16473296 |access-date=5 September 2020}}</ref>

There is a [[rapid transit]] network in two English cities: the [[London Underground]], and the [[Tyne and Wear Metro]] in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], [[Gateshead]] and [[Sunderland]].<ref name="pubwhite">{{harvnb|White|2002|p=63}}.</ref> There are several extensive tram networks, such as the [[Manchester Metrolink]], [[Sheffield Supertram]], [[West Midlands Metro]], [[Nottingham Express Transit]], and [[Tramlink]] in South London.<ref name="pubwhite" /> England also has extensive domestic and international aviation links. The largest airport is [[Heathrow Airport|Heathrow]], which is the [[World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic|world's second busiest airport measured by number of international passengers]].<ref name="wsj230211">{{Cite news |date=23 February 2011 |title=Delta Expects New Slots To Foster Growth At Heathrow Airport |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110223-710213.html |url-status=dead |access-date=23 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513074109/http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110223-710213.html |archive-date=13 May 2011}}</ref>

By sea there is ferry transport, both local and international, including from Liverpool to Ireland and the Isle of Man, and Hull to the Netherlands and Belgium.<ref name="waterworks">{{harvnb|Else|2007|p=781}}.</ref> There are around {{convert|4400|mi}} of navigable waterways in England, half of which is owned by the [[Canal & River Trust]],<ref name="waterworks" /> however, water transport is very limited. The [[River Thames]] is the major waterway in England, with imports and exports focused at the [[Port of Tilbury]] in the [[Thames Estuary]], one of the United Kingdom's three major ports.<ref name="waterworks" />

===Energy===
{{main|Energy in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Den Brook Wind Farm from Main Road.jpg|thumb|Wind turbines at [[Den Brook Wind Farm|Den Brook]], Devon. The UK is [[Wind power in the United Kingdom|one of the best sites in Europe for wind energy]], and wind power production is its fastest growing supply.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=BBC – Weather Centre – Climate Change – Wind Power |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/adaptation/wind_power.shtml |access-date=9 June 2015 |website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref name="Roadmap" />|left]]

Successive governments have outlined numerous commitments to reduce [[carbon dioxide]] emissions. Notably, the UK is [[Wind power in the United Kingdom|one of the best sites in Europe for wind energy]], and wind power production is its fastest growing supply.<ref name="Roadmap">{{Cite web |title=UK Renewable Energy Roadmap Crown copyright, July 2011 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48128/2167-uk-renewable-energy-roadmap.pdf}}; {{Cite web |url=http://www.renewableuk.com/en/news/renewableuk-news.cfm/electricity-needs-of-more-than-a-quarter-of-uk-homes-powered-by-wind-in-2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509191928/http://www.renewableuk.com/en/news/renewableuk-news.cfm/electricity-needs-of-more-than-a-quarter-of-uk-homes-powered-by-wind-in-2014 |url-status=dead |title=RenewableUK News website article |archive-date=9 May 2015}}</ref> Wind power contributed 26.8% of UK electricity generation in 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 2023 |title=Britain produced record amount of wind power in 2022, National Grid says |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/britain-produced-record-amount-wind-power-2022-national-grid-2023-01-06/ |access-date=8 May 2023}}</ref> England is home to [[Hornsea Wind Farm|Hornsea 2]], the largest offshore wind farm in the world, situated in waters roughly 89 kilometres off the coast of Yorkshire.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2022 |title=The world's biggest offshore wind farm is now fully operational |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/huge-offshore-wind-farm-hornsea-2-is-fully-operational-orsted-says.html |access-date=13 April 2023 |website=CNBC}}</ref>

The [[Climate Change Act 2008]] was passed in Parliament with an overwhelming majority across political parties. It sets out emission reduction targets that the UK must comply with legally. It represents the first global legally binding [[climate change mitigation]] target set by a country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the 2008 Climate Change Act? |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/what-is-the-2008-climate-change-act/ |access-date=1 April 2021 |website=Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment}}</ref> [[Energy policy of the United Kingdom|UK government energy policy]] aims to play a key role in limiting [[greenhouse gas emissions]], while meeting energy demand. Shifting availabilities of resources and development of technologies also change the country's [[energy mix]] through changes in costs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Proctor |first=Darrell |date=24 November 2020 |title=UK Undergoing 'Remarkable Shift' in Power Generation |url=https://www.powermag.com/uk-undergoing-remarkable-shift-in-power-generation/ |access-date=11 April 2021 |website=POWER Magazine}}</ref>

The current energy policy is the responsibility of the [[Department for Energy Security and Net Zero]] and [[Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department for Energy Security & Net Zero – GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-energy-security-and-net-zero |access-date=3 April 2021 |website=gov.uk}}</ref> The [[Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth]] is responsible for green finance, climate science and innovation, and low carbon generation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Minister of State (Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth) – GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state--75#responsibilities |access-date=24 October 2020 |website=gov.uk}}</ref> In 2024, the United Kingdom was ranked 5 out of 180 countries in the [[Environmental Performance Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Environmental Performance Index |url=https://epi.yale.edu/measure/2024/EPI |access-date=2 September 2025 |website=Environmental Performance Index |language=en}}</ref> A law has been passed that [[Greenhouse gas emissions|UK greenhouse gas emissions]] will be [[net zero]] by 2050.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 April 2020 |title=UK net zero target |url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/net-zero-target#:~:text=In%20June%202019%2C%20parliament%20passed,to%201990%20levels%20by%202050.&text=Prior%20to%20this%2C%20the%20UK,1990%20levels%2C%20also%20by%202050. |access-date=20 November 2020 |website=Institute for Government}}</ref>

==Healthcare==
{{Main|Healthcare in England}}
[[File:Sir W.H. Beveridge, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[William Beveridge]]'s 1942 report ''Social Insurance and Allied Services'' served as the basis for the post-[[World War II]] [[welfare state]].]]

The [[National Health Service (England)|National Health Service]] (NHS), is the publicly funded [[healthcare system]] responsible for providing the majority of healthcare in the country. The NHS began on 5 July 1948, putting into effect the provisions of the [[National Health Service Act 1946]]. It was based on the findings of the [[Beveridge Report]], prepared by the economist and social reformer, [[William Beveridge]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=BBC History on William Beveridge |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/beveridge_william.shtml |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> The NHS is largely funded by general taxation and [[National Insurance]] payments;<ref>{{Cite news |title=NHS Expenditure in England |work=House of Commons Library |url=http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snsg-00724.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423153740/http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snsg-00724.pdf |archive-date=23 April 2010}}</ref> it provides most of its services free at the point of use, although there are charges for some people for eye tests, dental care, prescriptions and aspects of personal care.<ref>{{Cite news |title=NHS costs and exemptions |work=Department of Health |url=http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Medicinespharmacyandindustry/Prescriptions/NHScosts/DH_087013 |access-date=5 September 2009}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The government department responsible for the NHS is the [[Department of Health (United Kingdom)|Department of Health]], under the [[Secretary of State for Health]]. Most of the department's expenses are on the NHS{{snd}}£98.6&nbsp;billion was spent in 2008–2009.<ref name="budget2008">{{Cite news |date=3 March 2008 |title=Budget 2008, Chapter C |work=HM Treasury |url=http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/7/3/bud08_chapterc.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001194628/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/7/3/bud08_chapterc.pdf |archive-date=1 October 2008}}</ref> Regulatory bodies such as the [[General Medical Council]] and the [[Nursing and Midwifery Council]] are organised on a UK-wide basis, as are non-governmental bodies such as the [[Medical royal college|Royal College]]s.

The average [[life expectancy]] is 77.5 years for males and 81.7 years for females, the highest of the four [[countries of the United Kingdom]].<ref name="LifeExpect">{{Cite news |last=Office for National Statistics |author-link=Office for National Statistics |title=Life expectancy |publisher=statistics.gov.uk |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?ID=168 |url-status=dead |access-date=20 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525050617/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=168 |archive-date=25 May 2009}}</ref> The south of England has a higher life expectancy than the north, but regional differences seem to be slowly narrowing: between 1991–1993 and 2012–2014, life expectancy in the North East increased by 6.0 years and in the North West by 5.8 years.<ref name="LifeExpect" />

==Demography==
{{Main|Demographics of England}}

===Population===
{{Main|English people}}
{{See also|English diaspora|Cornish people|List of urban areas in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:England counties population (crop).png|thumb|alt=Map of England with regions shaded in different shades of blue.|The [[metropolitan county|metropolitan]] and [[Non-metropolitan county|non-metropolitan counties]], colour-coded to show population]]
[[File:England and Wales population cartogram districts.svg|thumb|Population of England and Wales by administrative areas. Their size shows their population, with some approximation. Each group of squares in the map key is 20% of total number of districts.]]

With over 56&nbsp;million inhabitants, England is by far the most populous country of the United Kingdom, accounting for 84% of the combined total.<ref name="ONS mid-year pop est"/> England taken as a unit and measured against international states would be the 26th largest [[List of countries and dependencies by population|country by population]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs |author-link=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs |title=World Population Prospects: Analytical Report for the 2004 |url=https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WPP2004/WPP2004_Volume3.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807035831/http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WPP2004/WPP2004_Volume3.htm |archive-date=7 August 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref>

The [[English people]] are [[British people]].<ref name="ethnicityengl">{{Cite web |last=Office for National Statistics |author-link=Office for National Statistics |year=2011 |title=Ethnicity and National Identity in England and Wales 2011 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rpt-ethnicity.html |access-date=5 October 2013 |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk}}</ref> There is an English diaspora in former parts of the British Empire; especially the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[South Africa]] and [[New Zealand]].{{Efn|For instance, in 1980 around 50&nbsp;million [[United States|Americans]] claimed [[English Americans|English ancestry]].<ref>{{Cite news |year=2001 |title=Shifting Identities&nbsp;– statistical data on ethnic identities in the US |publisher=Bnet |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_/ai_80408799 |url-status=dead |access-date=29 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112123723/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_/ai_80408799 |archive-date=12 January 2016}}</ref> In Canada there are around 6.5&nbsp;million [[Demographics of Canada|Canadians]] who claim [[English Canadians|English ancestry]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 April 2008 |title=Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101151108/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000 |archive-date=1 November 2009 |access-date=29 July 2009 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref> Around 70% of [[Demographics of Australia|Australians]] in 1999 denoted their origins as [[Anglo-Celtic]], a category which includes all peoples from Great Britain and Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University |title=Australian Population: Ethnic Origins |url=http://elecpress.monash.edu.au/pnp/free/pnpv7n4/v7n4_3price.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719124226/http://elecpress.monash.edu.au/pnp/free/pnpv7n4/v7n4_3price.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2011 |access-date=29 July 2009}}</ref> Chileans of [[English Chilean|English descent]] are somewhat of an anomaly in that [[Chile]] itself was never part of the British Empire, but today there are around 420,000 people of English origins living there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inmigración británica en Chile |url=http://www.galeon.com/typepad/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822074242/http://www.galeon.com/typepad/ |archive-date=22 August 2009 |access-date=29 July 2009 |publisher=Galeon.com}}</ref>}} Since the late 1990s, many English people [[British migration to Spain|have migrated]] to Spain.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Jason |date=9 October 2005 |title=An Englishman's home is his casa as thousands go south |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/09/spain.spain |access-date=5 September 2009}}; {{cite news |last=Travis |first=Alan |author2=Sarah Knapton |date=16 November 2007 |title=Record numbers leave the country for life abroad |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/nov/16/emigration |access-date=8 August 2009}}</ref> Due in particular to the economic prosperity of [[South East England]], it has received many economic migrants from the other parts of the United Kingdom.<ref name="ethnicityengl" /> There has been [[Irish migration to Great Britain|significant Irish migration]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 March 2001 |title=One in four Britons claim Irish roots |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1224611.stm |access-date=26 November 2010}}</ref> The proportion of ethnically European residents totals at 81.7%,<ref name="ethnicityengl-2021">{{cite news |title=Population of England and Wales |url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest/ |work=Gov.uk |date=22 December 2022}}</ref> including [[White British]], [[British Germans|Germans]]<ref name="migra" /> and [[Polish British|Poles]],<ref name="ethnicityengl" /> down from 94.1% in 1991.<ref name="ethnicityengl" /> Other people from much further afield in the former British colonies have arrived since the 1950s: in particular, about 7% of people living in England have family [[South Asians in the United Kingdom|origins in the Indian subcontinent]], mostly [[British Indians|India]], [[British Pakistanis|Pakistan]] and [[British Bangladeshis|Bangladesh]].<ref name="ethnicityengl-2021"/><ref name="migra">{{Cite news |date=7 September 2005 |title=British Immigration Map Revealed |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4218740.stm |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> About 0.7% are [[British Chinese|Chinese]],<ref name="ethnicityengl-2021"/><ref name="migra" /> 0.6% are [[British Arabs|Arabs]].<ref name="ethnicityengl-2021"/> 4.0% of the population are [[Black British people|black]], from Africa and the [[British African-Caribbean people|Caribbean]], especially former British colonies,<ref name="ethnicityengl-2021"/><ref name="migra" /> and 2.9% identified as multiracial or [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|mixed]].<ref name="ethnicityengl-2021"/>

In 2007, 22% of primary school children in England were from [[minority group|ethnic minority]] families,<ref name="Paton">{{Cite news |last=Paton |first=Graeme |date=1 October 2007 |title=One fifth of children from ethnic minorities |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1564365/One-fifth-of-children-from-ethnic-minorities.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=14 August 2014 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1564365/One-fifth-of-children-from-ethnic-minorities.html |archive-date=10 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and in 2011 that figure was 26.5%.<ref name="Shepherd">{{Cite news |last=Shepherd |first=Jessica |date=22 June 2011 |title=Almost a quarter of state school pupils are from an ethnic minority |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/jun/22/quarter-state-school-pupils-from-ethnic-minority |access-date=17 January 2014}}</ref> About half of the population increase between 1991 and 2001 was due to immigration.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leppard |first=David |date=10 April 2005 |title=Immigration rise increases segregation in British cities |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article379434.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211185641/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article379434.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 February 2008 |access-date=8 August 2009}}</ref>

England contains one indigenous national minority, the [[Cornish people]], recognised by the UK government under the [[Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities]] in 2014.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite news |date=23 April 2014 |title=Cornish people formally declared a national minority along with Scots, Welsh and Irish |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cornish-people-formally-declared-a-national-minority-along-with-scots-welsh-and-irish-9278725.html |url-status=dead |access-date=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424100108/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cornish-people-formally-declared-a-national-minority-along-with-scots-welsh-and-irish-9278725.html |archive-date=24 April 2014}}</ref>

===Language===
{{further|Languages of the United Kingdom|English language in England}}
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|-
!Language
!Native speakers
<small>(thousands)</small><ref>[http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/QS204EW/view/2092957699?cols=measures QS204EW – Main language], [[Office for National Statistics]] 2011 Census. Retrieved 21 July 2015.</ref>
|-
|[[English language in England|English]]
|46,937
|-
|[[Polish language|Polish]]
|529
|-
|[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
|272
|-
|[[Urdu]]
|266
|-
|[[Bengali language|Bengali]]
|216
|-
|[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
|212
|-
|[[Arabic]]
|152
|-
|[[French language|French]]
|145
|-
|-
|[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
|131
|-
|[[Welsh language|Welsh]]
|8
|-
|[[Cornish language|Cornish]]
|0.6
|-
|Other
|2,267
|-
!Population
|51,006
|}

[[English language|English]], today widely spoken around the world,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mujica |first=Mauro E. |date=19 June 2003 |title=English: Not America's Language? |work=The Globalist |location=Washington, DC |url=http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=3229 |access-date=1 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117232711/http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=3229 |archive-date=17 January 2008}}</ref> originated in what is now England, where it remains the principal tongue. According to a 2011 census, it is spoken well or very well by 98% of the population<ref name="CensusEnglish">{{Cite web |title=QS205EW – Proficiency in English |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/QS205EW/view/2092957699?cols=measures |access-date=20 July 2015 |website=[[Office for National Statistics]] 2011 census |quote=Out of the 51,005,610 residents of England over the age of three, 50,161,765 (98%) can speak English "well" or "very well"}}</ref>

[[English as a second or foreign language|English language learning and teaching]] is an important [[Economics|economic activity]]. There is no [[United Kingdom legislation|legislation]] mandating an [[official language]] for England,<ref>{{Cite web |title=English language history |url=http://www.yaelf.com/history.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213214406/http://www.yaelf.com/history.shtml |archive-date=13 February 2010 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Yaelf}}</ref> but English is the only language used for official business. Despite the country's relatively small size, there are many distinct [[Regional accents of English speakers#England|regional accents]].

Cornish died out as a community language in the 18th century but is being revived,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government Offices for the English Regions |author-link=Government Offices for the English Regions |title=Cornish language |url=http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/?view=Standard |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112123830/http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/?view=Standard |archive-date=12 January 2016 |access-date=22 September 2009 |publisher=gos.gov.uk}}; {{cite web |title=The Cornish Language Development Project&nbsp;– Evaluation&nbsp;– Final Report |page=20 |url=http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=d9bd1b63-0135-47b1-8edf-4a5e9358da06&version=-1 |publisher=Hywel Evans, Aric Lacoste / ERS |access-date=5 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007054626/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=d9bd1b63-0135-47b1-8edf-4a5e9358da06&version=-1 |archive-date=7 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and is now protected under the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=South West&nbsp;– Cornish Language |url=http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013095206/http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/ |archive-date=13 October 2008 |access-date=17 September 2009 |publisher=Government Office South West}}</ref> It is spoken by 0.1% of people in [[Cornwall]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=On being a Cornish "Celt": changing Celtic heritage and traditions |url=http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/cornishcom/documents/OnbeingaCornishcelt.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920093455/http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/cornishcom/documents/OnbeingaCornishcelt.pdf |archive-date=20 September 2009 |access-date=1 February 2009 |publisher=[[University of Exeter]]}}</ref> and is taught to some degree in several primary and secondary schools.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Cornish: They revolted in 1497, now they're at it again |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-cornish-they-revolted-in-1497-now-theyre-at-it-again-1782535.html |work=The Independent |location=London |access-date=17 September 2009 |first=Emily |last=Dugan |date=6 September 2009 |archive-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819072618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-cornish-they-revolted-in-1497-now-theyre-at-it-again-1782535.html |url-status=dead}}; {{Cite web |year=2009 |title=Cornish in Schools |url=http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=336 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007054858/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=336 |archive-date=7 October 2013 |access-date=5 October 2013 |website=Cornish Language Partnership}}</ref>

[[State school]]s teach students a [[second language]] or [[third language]] from the ages of seven, most commonly French, Spanish or German.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lipsett |first=Anthea |date=26 June 2008 |title=Number of primaries teaching foreign languages doubles |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/jun/26/schools.uk2 |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref> It was reported in 2007 that around 800,000 school students spoke a foreign language at home,<ref name="Paton" /> the most common being [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Urdu]]. However, following the 2011 census data released by the [[Office for National Statistics]], figures now show that Polish is the main language spoken in England after English.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Booth |first=Robert |date=30 January 2013 |title=Polish becomes England's second language |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jan/30/polish-becomes-englands-second-language |access-date=30 January 2013}}</ref> In 2022, [[British Sign Language]] became an official language of England when the [[British Sign Language Act 2022]] came into effect.<ref>{{cite news |title=British Sign Language gets official status after 19 years of campaigning |url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-05-06/were-finally-recognised-british-sign-language-gets-official-status |access-date=14 June 2023 |work=ITV News |date=6 May 2022}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in England}}
{{further|History of Christianity in England}}

In the 2021 census, 46.3% of the population of England specified their religion as Christian, 36.7% answered that they had no religion, 6.7% specified that they were [[Muslim]], while 4.3% of the population belongs to other religions and 6% did not give an answer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 December 2012 |title=Table KS209EW 2011 Census: Religion, local authorities in England and Wales |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/2011censuskeystatisticsforlocalauthoritiesinenglandandwales/r21ewrttableks209ewladv1_tcm77-290705.xls |access-date=22 May 2017 |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref> Christianity is the most widely practised religion in England. The [[established church]] of England is the [[Church of England]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church of England |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/cofe/cofe_1.shtml |access-date=4 December 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> which left communion with [[Vatican City|Rome]] in the 1530s when [[Henry VIII of England|Henry&nbsp;VIII]] was unable to annul his marriage to [[Catherine of Aragon]]. The church regards itself as both Catholic and [[Protestant]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=In depth history of the Church of England |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/history/detailed-history.aspx |access-date=25 January 2017 |publisher=Church of England |quote=The religious settlement that eventually emerged in the reign of Elizabeth gave the Church of England the distinctive identity that it has retained to this day. It resulted in a Church that consciously retained a large amount of continuity with the Church of the Patristic and Medieval periods in terms of its use of the catholic creeds, its pattern of ministry, its buildings and aspects of its liturgy, but which also embodied Protestant insights in its theology and in the overall shape of its liturgical practice. The way that this is often expressed is by saying that the Church of England is both 'catholic and reformed.'}}</ref>

There are [[High Church]] and [[Low Church]] traditions and some Anglicans regard themselves as [[Anglo-Catholics]], following the [[Tractarian movement]]. The monarch of the United Kingdom is the [[supreme governor of the Church of England]], which has around 26&nbsp;million baptised members (of whom the vast majority are not regular churchgoers). In 2016, research at [[St Mary's University, Twickenham|St. Mary's University]] in London reported that 19.8% of the population of England and Wales identified as Anglican.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=St Mary's Study Finds London Most Religious Area in England and Wales |url=https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/news/2016/st-marys-study-finds-london-most-religious-area-in-england-and-wales |access-date=2026-01-01 |website=St Mary's University, Twickenham, London |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Contemporary Catholicism in England and Wales |url=https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/research/centres/benedict-xvi/contemporary-catholicism.aspx |access-date=2026-01-01 |website=www.stmarys.ac.uk}}</ref> It forms part of the [[Anglican Communion]] with the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] acting as its symbolic worldwide head.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2008 |title=Global Anglicanism at a Crossroads |url=http://pewresearch.org/pubs/896/global-anglicanism-at-a-crossroads |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813045413/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/896/global-anglicanism-at-a-crossroads |archive-date=13 August 2011 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=PewResearch.org}}</ref> Many [[List of cathedrals in England|cathedrals]] and parish churches are historic buildings of significant architectural importance, such as [[Westminster Abbey]], [[York Minster]], [[Durham Cathedral]], and [[Salisbury Cathedral]].

[[File:Westminster Abbey, west facade, August 2014.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Westminster Abbey]] is a notable example of [[English Gothic architecture]]. The [[coronation of the British monarch]] traditionally takes place at the Abbey.]]

The second-largest Christian denomination is the [[Catholic Church]]. Since its reintroduction after the [[Catholic Emancipation]], the Church has organised ecclesiastically on an [[Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales|England and Wales]] basis where there are 4.5&nbsp;million members (most of whom are English).<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 February 2008 |title=People here 'must obey the laws of the land' |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578212/People-here-must-obey-the-laws-of-the-land.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578212/People-here-must-obey-the-laws-of-the-land.html |archive-date=10 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2016, 8.3% of the population of England and Wales identified as Catholic.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> There has been one Pope from England to date, [[Pope Adrian IV|Adrian IV]], while saints [[Bede]] and [[Anselm of Canterbury|Anselm]] are regarded as [[Doctors of the Church]].

A form of [[Protestantism]] known as [[Methodist Church of Great Britain|Methodism]] is the third largest Christian practice and grew out of Anglicanism through [[John Wesley]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Methodist Church |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/methodist_1.shtml |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> It gained popularity in the [[mill town]]s of [[Lancashire]] and [[Yorkshire]], and amongst tin miners in [[Cornwall]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Independent Academic Study on Cornish |url=http://www.linguae-celticae.org/dateien/Independent_Study_on_Cornish_Language.pdf |access-date=26 December 2010 |page=8 |archive-date=2 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102111342/http://www.linguae-celticae.org/dateien/Independent_Study_on_Cornish_Language.pdf |url-status=usurped}}</ref> There are other [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformist]] minorities, such as [[Baptists]], [[Quakers]], [[Congregational church|Congregationalists]], [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]] and [[The Salvation Army]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge History of Christianity |url=http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521815000&ss=exc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721000044/http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521815000&ss=exc |archive-date=21 July 2012 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Hugh McLeod}}</ref>

The patron saint of England is [[Saint George]]; his symbolic cross is included in the flag of England.<ref name="flaghistory">{{Cite web |title=United Kingdom&nbsp;– History of the Flag |url=http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-hist.html |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=FlagSpot.net}}</ref> There are many other English and associated saints, including [[Cuthbert]], [[Edmund the Martyr|Edmund]], [[Saint Alban|Alban]], [[Wilfrid]], [[Aidan of Lindisfarne|Aidan]], [[Edward the Confessor]], [[John Fisher]], [[Thomas More]], [[Saint Petroc|Petroc]], [[Saint Piran|Piran]], [[Margaret Clitherow]] and [[Thomas Becket]]. There are non-Christian religions practised. [[Jews]] have a history of a small minority on the island since 1070.<ref name="jews">{{Cite web |title=From Expulsion (1290) to Readmission (1656): Jews and England |url=http://www.gold.ac.uk/media/350th-anniversary.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721183112/http://www.gold.ac.uk/media/350th-anniversary.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 |access-date=1 February 2009 |publisher=Goldsmiths.ac.uk}}</ref> They were expelled from England in 1290 following the [[Edict of Expulsion]], and were allowed back in 1656.<ref name="jews" />

Especially since the 1950s, religions from the [[British Empire|former British colonies]] have grown in numbers, due to immigration. [[Islam]] is the most common of these, now accounting for around 5% of the population in England.<ref name="statsio">{{Cite web |last=Office for National Statistics |author-link=Office for National Statistics |title=Religion |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8301 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707100949/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8301 |archive-date=7 July 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk}}</ref> [[Hinduism]], [[Sikhism]] and [[Buddhism]] are next in number, adding up to 2.8% combined,<ref name="statsio" /> introduced from India and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="statsio" />

A small minority of the population practise ancient [[Pagan religion]]s. [[Neopaganism in the United Kingdom]] is primarily represented by [[Wicca]] and [[Neopagan witchcraft]], [[Neo-Druidry|Druidry]], and [[Germanic neopaganism|Heathenry]]. According to the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]], there are roughly 53,172 people who identify as Pagan in England,{{Efn|name=pagan|People who strictly identified as "Pagan". Other Pagan paths, such as Wicca or Druidism, have not been included in this number.<ref name="2011 ONS results">{{Cite web |title=2011 ONS results |url=http://ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-qs210ew.xls |access-date=28 October 2017}}</ref>}} including 11,026 [[Wicca]]ns.{{Efn|People who strictly identified as "Wiccan". Other Pagan paths, such as Druidism, and general "Pagan" have not been included in this number.<ref name="2011 ONS results" />}} 24.7% of people in England declared [[Irreligion|no religion]], compared with 14.6% in 2001.<ref name="2011 ONS results" /> [[Norwich]] had the highest such proportion at 42.5%, followed by [[Brighton and Hove]] at 42.4%.

==Education==
{{Main|Education in England}}

The [[Department for Education]] is the government department responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including education.<ref>{{harvnb|Gearon|2002|p=246}}.</ref> State-funded schools are attended by about 93% of English schoolchildren.<ref>{{harvnb|West|2003|p=28}}.</ref> Education is the responsibility of the [[Secretary of State for Education]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Secretary of State for Education – GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-education |website=gov.uk}}</ref>

Children between the ages of 3 and 5 attend nursery or an [[Early Years Foundation Stage]] reception unit within a primary school. Children between the ages of 5 and 11 attend primary school, and secondary school is attended by those aged between 11 and 16. State-funded schools are obliged by law to teach the [[National Curriculum for England|National Curriculum]]; basic areas of learning include English literature, English language, mathematics, science, art & design, citizenship, history, geography, religious education, design & technology, computing, ancient & modern languages, music, and physical education.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Curriculum |url=https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>[[File:Radcliffe Camera by Fenlio.jpg|thumb|The [[University of Oxford]] was founded in 1096, making it the world's second-oldest university.]] The [[Programme for International Student Assessment]] coordinated by the [[OECD]] currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of British 15-year-olds as 13th in the world in literacy, mathematics, and science with the average British student scoring 503.7, well above the OECD average of 493.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Combined_Executive_Summaries_PISA_2018.pdf |title=OECD: PISA 2018}}</ref>

Although most English secondary schools are comprehensive, there are selective intake [[grammar school]]s to which entrance is subject to passing the [[eleven-plus]] exam. Around 7.2 per cent of English schoolchildren attend [[Independent school (UK)|private schools]], which are funded by private sources.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Independent Schools in the United Kingdom |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580406/Independent_Schools_in_the_United_Kingdom.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829163013/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580406/Independent_Schools_in_the_United_Kingdom.html |archive-date=29 August 2009}}</ref> Standards in state schools are monitored by the [[Office for Standards in Education]], and in private schools by the [[Independent Schools Inspectorate]].<ref>{{harvnb|Gearon|2002|p=102}}.</ref>

After finishing compulsory education, students take [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] examinations. Students may then opt to continue into [[further education]] for two years. [[List of further education colleges in England|Further education colleges]] (particularly [[sixth form colleges]]) often form part of a secondary school site. [[A-level]] examinations are sat by a large number of further education students, and often form the basis of an application to university. Further education covers a wide curriculum of study and [[apprenticeship]]s, including [[T Level|T-levels]], [[Business and Technology Education Council|BTEC]], [[NVQ]] and others. [[Tertiary college]]s provide both academic and vocational courses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Watson |first1=Judith |last2=Church |first2=Andrew |year=2009 |title=The Social Effects of Travel to Learn Patterns – A Case Study of 16–19 Year Olds in London |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02690940903166971 |journal=Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=389–414 |doi=10.1080/02690940903166971 |s2cid=145187656|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Higher education===
Higher education students normally attend university from age 18 onwards, where they study for an [[academic degree]]. There are over 90&nbsp;universities in England, all but one of which are [[Public university|public institutions]]. The [[Department for Business, Innovation and Skills]] is the government department responsible for higher education in England.<ref>{{Cite web |last=United Kingdom Parliament |author-link=Parliament of the United Kingdom |title=Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee Contents |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmdius/170/17004.htm |access-date=16 September 2009 |publisher=publications.parliament.uk}}</ref> Students are generally entitled to [[student loan]]s to cover [[tuition fees]] and living costs.{{Efn|Students attending English universities now have to pay tuition fees towards the cost of their education, as do English students who choose to attend university in Scotland. Scottish students attending Scottish universities have their fees paid by the devolved Scottish Parliament.<ref name="House of Commons Library">{{cite web |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/cost-of-living-support-for-students/ |title=Financial support for higher education students |date=31 January 2024 |website=commonslibrary.parliament.uk |publisher=House of Commons Library}}</ref>}} The first degree offered to undergraduates is the [[bachelor's degree]], which usually takes three years to complete. Students are then able to work towards a postgraduate degree, which usually takes one year, or a doctorate, which takes three or more years.<ref name="FHEQ">{{Cite web |date=November 2014 |title=The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies |url=http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/qualifications-frameworks.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305083730/http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/qualifications-frameworks.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=4 November 2016 |page=17}}</ref>

[[List of universities in England|England's universities]] include some of the highest-ranked universities in the world. As of 2024, four England-based universities, the [[University of Cambridge]], [[University of Oxford]], [[Imperial College London]], and [[University College London]], are ranked amongst the top ten in the 2024 ''[[QS World University Rankings]]''. The University of Cambridge, founded in 1209, and the University of Oxford, founded in 1096, are the two [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|oldest universities in the English-speaking world]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 2017 |title=QS World University Rankings 2023 {{pipe}} Top Universities |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2023 |access-date=28 February 2023 |publisher=QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited}}</ref>

The [[London School of Economics]] has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research.<ref name="london_156">{{Cite news |last=Hoyle |first=Ben |date=23 September 2007 |title=The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2007&nbsp;– Profile for London School of Economics |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article2496158.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202225123/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article2496158.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 December 2008 |access-date=6 June 2008}}</ref> The [[London Business School]] is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2010 its MBA programme was ranked best in the world by the ''[[Financial Times]]''.<ref name="ft">{{Cite web |title=FT Global MBA Rankings |url=http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504135153/http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings |archive-date=4 May 2011 |access-date=25 January 2010 |website=Financial Times}}</ref> [[Academic degree]]s in England are usually split into classes: first class, upper second class, lower second class, third, and unclassified.<ref name="FHEQ" /> [[The King's School, Canterbury]] and [[King's School, Rochester]] are the oldest schools in the English-speaking world.<ref>{{harvnb|Webster|1937|p=383}}.</ref> Many of England's most well-known schools, such as [[Winchester College]], [[Eton College|Eton]], [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School]], [[Harrow School]] and [[Rugby School]] are fee-paying institutions.<ref>{{harvnb|Lowe|1971|p=317}}.</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of England}}
{{further|English Renaissance}}

===Architecture===
Many ancient [[standing stone]] monuments were erected during the prehistoric period; amongst the best known are [[Stonehenge]], [[Devil's Arrows]], [[Rudston Monolith]] and [[Castlerigg stone circle|Castlerigg]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stone-circles.org.uk/stone/index.htm |publisher=Stone-Circles.org.uk |title=The Prehistoric Sites of Great Britain |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> With the introduction of [[Ancient Roman architecture]] there was a development of [[basilicas]], [[Roman baths|baths]], [[amphitheaters]], [[triumphal arch]]es, [[villa]]s, [[Roman temple]]s, [[Roman road]]s, [[Roman fort]]s, [[stockade]]s and [[aqueduct (bridge)|aqueducts]].<ref name="roman">{{cite web |url=http://www.castles.me.uk/ancient-roman-architecture-england-wales.htm |publisher=Castles.me.uk |title=Ancient Roman architecture in England and Wales |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212033420/http://www.castles.me.uk/ancient-roman-architecture-england-wales.htm |archive-date=12 December 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was the Romans who founded the first cities and towns such as London, Bath, York, Chester and St Albans. Perhaps the best-known example is [[Hadrian's Wall]] stretching right across northern England.<ref name="roman" /> Another well-preserved example is the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|Roman Baths]] at [[Bath, Somerset]].<ref name="roman" />

[[File:Bodiam-castle-10My8-1197.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A castle of square plan surrounded by a water-filled moat. It has round corner towers and a forbidding appearance.|[[Bodiam Castle]] is a 14th-century [[moat]]ed [[castle]] near [[Robertsbridge]] in East Sussex.]]
[[Anglo-Saxon architecture|Early medieval architecture]]'s secular buildings were simple constructions mainly using timber with [[thatch]] for roofing. Ecclesiastical architecture ranged from a synthesis of [[Early Christian Ireland|Hiberno]]–[[Germanic Christianity|Saxon]] [[monasticism]],<ref>{{harvnb|Colgrave|1985|p=326}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|1942|p=14}}.</ref> to [[Early Christian art and architecture|Early Christian]] [[basilica]] and architecture characterised by pilaster-strips, blank arcading, baluster shafts and triangular headed openings. After the Norman conquest in 1066 various [[castles in England|castles]] were created; the best known include the [[Tower of London]], [[Warwick Castle]], [[Durham Castle]] and [[Windsor Castle]].<ref name="buildings" />

Throughout the Plantagenet era, an [[English Gothic architecture]] flourished, with prime examples including the [[Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England|medieval cathedrals]] such as [[Canterbury Cathedral]], [[Westminster Abbey]] and [[York Minster]].<ref name="buildings">{{harvnb|Atkinson|2008|p=189}}.</ref> Expanding on the [[Norman architecture|Norman base]] there was also [[castle]]s, [[palace]]s, [[List of historic houses in England|great houses]], universities and [[parish church]]es. Medieval architecture was completed with the 16th-century [[Tudor architecture|Tudor style]]; the four-centred arch, now known as the [[Tudor arch]], was a defining feature as were [[wattle and daub]] houses domestically. In the aftermath of the [[Renaissance]] a form of architecture echoing classical antiquity synthesised with Christianity appeared, the [[English Baroque]] style of architect [[Christopher Wren]] being particularly championed.<ref>{{harvnb|Downes|2007|p=17}}.</ref>

[[Georgian architecture]] followed in a more refined style, evoking a simple Palladian form; the [[Royal Crescent]] at Bath is one of the best examples of this. With the emergence of [[romanticism]] during Victorian period, a [[Gothic Revival]] was launched. In addition to this, around the same time the Industrial Revolution paved the way for buildings such as [[The Crystal Palace]]. Since the 1930s various [[modernist architecture|modernist]] forms have appeared whose reception is often controversial, though traditionalist resistance movements continue with support in influential places.{{Efn|While people such as [[Norman Foster (architect)|Norman Foster]] and [[Richard Rogers]] represent the modernist movement, [[Prince Charles]] since the 1980s has voiced strong views against it in favour of traditional architecture and put his ideas into practice at his [[Poundbury]] development in Dorset.<ref name=ArchCon4>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8045027.stm |work=BBC News |title=Architects to hear Prince appeal |date=12 May 2009 |access-date=20 June 2009}}</ref> Architects like [[Raymond Erith]], [[Francis Johnson (architect)|Francis Johnson]] and [[Quinlan Terry]] continued to practise in the classical style.}}
{{Clear}}

===Gardens===
{{Main|English garden}}
[[File:Stourhead lake in midsummer - panoramio.jpg|thumb|right|The landscape garden at Stourhead. Inspired by the great [[landscape artists]] of the seventeenth century, the landscape garden was described as a "living work of art" when first opened in the 1750s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The history of the house at Stourhead |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead/features/the-history-of-stourhead |access-date=10 April 2021 |website=National Trust}}</ref>]]

Landscape gardening, as developed by [[Capability Brown]], set an international trend for the [[English garden|English landscape garden]]. Gardening, and visiting gardens, are regarded as typically English pursuits. The English garden presented an idealised view of nature. At large country houses, the English garden usually included lakes, sweeps of gently rolling lawns set against groves of trees, and recreations of classical temples, [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |title=Gardens through time |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/gardens-through-time/ |access-date=10 April 2021 |website=English Heritage}}</ref>

By the end of the 18th century, the English garden was being imitated by the [[French landscape garden]], and as far away as [[Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg]], the gardens of the future [[Emperor Paul]]. It also had a major influence on the [[public parks]] and gardens which appeared around the world in the 19th century.<ref>Lucia Impelluso, ''Jardins, potagers et labyrinthes'', Mondatori Electra, Milan</ref> The English landscape garden was centred on the [[English country house]] and manor houses.<ref name=":2" />

[[English Heritage]] and the [[National Trust]] preserve great gardens and landscape parks throughout the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gardens & parks |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/gardens-and-parks |access-date=10 April 2021 |website=National Trust}}</ref> The [[RHS Chelsea Flower Show]] is held every year by the [[Royal Horticultural Society]] and is said to be the largest gardening show in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show |title=RHS Chelsea Flower Show |website=rhs.org.uk}}</ref>

===Folklore===
{{Main|English folklore}}
[[File:The King joins the hands of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Robin Hood]] and [[Maid Marian]] with [[Richard I of England]]]]

English folklore developed over many centuries. Some of the characters and stories are present across England, but most belong to specific regions. Common folkloric beings include [[pixie]]s, [[giant (mythology)|giants]], [[elf|elves]], [[bogeymen]], [[troll]]s, [[goblin]]s and [[dwarf (mythology)|dwarves]]. While many legends and folk-customs are thought to be ancient, such as the tales featuring [[Offa of Angel]] and [[Wayland the Smith]],<ref name="keary">{{harvnb|Keary|1882|p=50}}.</ref> others date from after the Norman invasion. The legends featuring [[Robin Hood]] and his [[Merry Men]] of [[Sherwood Forest|Sherwood]], and their battles with the [[Sheriff of Nottingham]], are amongst the best-known of these.<ref>{{harvnb|Pollard|2004|p=272}}.</ref>

During the [[High Middle Ages]] tales originating from Brythonic traditions entered English folklore and developed into the [[Arthurian myth]].<ref name="woodbbc">{{cite news |last=Wood |first=Michael |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/arthur_03.shtml |title=King Arthur, 'Once and Future King' |work=BBC News |access-date=16 September 2009}}</ref><ref name="higham1">{{harvnb|Higham|2002|p=25}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Koch|2006|p=732}}.</ref> These were derived from [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]], Welsh and French sources,<ref name="higham1" /> featuring [[King Arthur]], [[Camelot]], [[Excalibur]], [[Merlin]] and the [[Knights of the Round Table]] such as [[Lancelot]]. These stories are most centrally brought together within [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s {{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} (''History of the Kings of Britain'').{{Efn|These tales may have come to prominence, at least in part, as an attempt by the Norman ruling elite to legitimise their rule of the British Isles, finding [[Anglo-Saxon]] history ill-suited to the task during an era when members of the deposed [[House of Wessex]], especially [[Edgar the Ætheling]] and his nephews of the Scottish [[House of Dunkeld]], were still active in the isles.<ref name=higham1 /><ref>{{harvnb|Lacy|1986|p=649}}.</ref> Also [[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood]] explains; "Over the centuries the figure of Arthur became a symbol of British history – a way of explaining the matter of Britain, the relationship between the Saxons and the Celts, and a way of exorcising ghosts and healing the wounds of the past."<ref name=woodbbc />}}

Some folk figures are based on semi or actual historical people whose story has been passed down centuries.<ref>{{harvnb|Briggs|2004|p=26}}.</ref> On 5 November people celebrate [[Bonfire Night]] to commemorate the foiling of the [[Gunpowder Plot]] centred on [[Guy Fawkes]]. There are various national and regional folk activities, participated in to this day, such as [[Morris dancing]], [[Maypole dance|Maypole dancing]], [[Rapper sword]] in the North East, [[Long Sword dance]] in Yorkshire, [[Mummers Play]]s, [[bottle-kicking]] in Leicestershire, and [[Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake|cheese-rolling]] at [[Brockworth, Gloucestershire|Cooper's Hill]].<ref>{{harvnb|Withington|2008|p=224}}.</ref> There is no official national costume, but a few are well established such as the [[Pearly Kings and Queens]] associated with cockneys, the [[Queen's Guard|Royal Guard]], the [[Morris dance|Morris costume]] and [[Beefeater]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/costume.html |publisher=Woodlands-Junior.kent.sch.uk |title=What is England's national costume? |access-date=24 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505015321/http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/CUSTOMS/questions/costume.html |archive-date=5 May 2009}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
{{Main|English cuisine}}Since the [[early modern period]] the food of England has historically been characterised by its simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce.<ref>{{harvnb|Else|2007|p=76}}.</ref> During the [[Middle Ages]] and the Renaissance, English cuisine enjoyed an excellent reputation, though a decline began during the [[Industrial Revolution]] with increasing urbanisation. The cuisine of England has, however, recently undergone a revival, which has been recognised by food critics with some good ratings in ''[[Restaurant (magazine)|Restaurant]]''{{'}}s [[best restaurant in the world]] charts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theworlds50best.com/module/acms_winners?group_id=1 |publisher=TheWorlds50Best.com |title=The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113043907/http://www.theworlds50best.com/module/acms_winners?group_id=1 |archive-date=13 January 2010}}</ref>[[File:English-cusine-exports.jpg|thumb|English foods: clockwise from top left{{emdash}}[[tea cakes]], [[English cheese|cheeses]], [[English wine|wines]] and [[cider]]]]

Traditional examples of English food include the [[Sunday roast]], featuring a [[roasting|roasted joint]] (usually beef, [[lamb and mutton|lamb]], chicken or pork) served with assorted vegetables, [[Yorkshire pudding]] and [[gravy]].<ref name="tradfood" /> Other prominent meals include [[fish and chips]] and the [[Full breakfast|full English breakfast]] (generally consisting of [[bacon]], [[sausages]], grilled tomatoes, fried bread, [[black pudding]], [[baked beans]], [[edible mushroom|mushrooms]] and eggs).<ref>{{cite news |title=How to make the perfect full English breakfast |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11029015/How-to-make-the-perfect-full-English-breakfast.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11029015/How-to-make-the-perfect-full-English-breakfast.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=25 June 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Various [[meat pie]]s are consumed, such as [[steak and kidney pie]], [[steak and ale pie]], [[cottage pie]], [[pork pie]] (usually eaten cold)<ref name="tradfood">{{cite web |url=http://www.travelsignposts.com/England/traditional-English-food-specialities.php |publisher=TravelSignPosts.com |title=Traditional English Food Specialities |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> and the [[Cornish pasty]].

Sausages are commonly eaten, either as [[bangers and mash]] or [[toad in the hole]]. [[Lancashire hotpot]] is a well-known stew originating in the northwest. Some of the more popular cheeses are [[Cheddar cheese|Cheddar]], [[Red Leicester]], [[Wensleydale (cheese)|Wensleydale]], [[Double Gloucester]] and [[Stilton cheese|Blue Stilton]]. Many [[Anglo-Indian]] hybrid dishes, [[curries]], have been created, such as [[chicken tikka masala]] and [[balti (food)|balti]]. Traditional English dessert dishes include [[apple pie]] or other fruit pies; [[spotted dick]] – all generally served with [[custard]]; and, more recently, [[sticky toffee pudding]]. Sweet pastries include [[scones]] served with jam or cream, dried fruit loaves, [[Eccles cake]]s and [[mince pie]]s as well as sweet or spiced biscuits.

Common non-alcoholic drinks include tea<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tea.co.uk/catherine-of-braganza |publisher=Tea.co.uk |title=Catherine of Braganza |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> and coffee; frequently consumed alcoholic drinks include wine, [[cider]]s and [[English beer]]s, such as [[bitter (beer)|bitter]], [[mild ale|mild]], [[stout]] and [[brown ale]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/the-pint-of-real-ale/features/types-of-beer-finished |publisher=Icons of England |title=Types of Beer |access-date=5 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030154340/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/the-pint-of-real-ale/features/types-of-beer-finished |archive-date=30 October 2009}}</ref>

===Visual arts===
{{Main|English art}}
{{See also|Arts Council England}}
{{stack begin|float=left}}
[[File:John Constable The Hay Wain.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A horse-drawn wagon crossing a river towards a cottage, with trees and fields beyond|''[[The Hay Wain]]'' by [[John Constable]], 1821, is an archetypal English painting.]]
[[File:John William Waterhouse - The Lady of Shalott - Google Art Project edit.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A painting of a red haired woman, sitting in a boat, surrounded by trees|''[[The Lady of Shalott (painting)|The Lady of Shalott]]'' by [[John William Waterhouse]], 1888, in the [[Pre-Raphaelite]] style]]
{{stack end}}

The earliest known examples are the prehistoric rock and [[cave art]] pieces, most prominent in [[North Yorkshire]], Northumberland and [[Cumbria]], but also feature further south, for example at [[Creswell Crags]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-836-1/dissemination/pdf/ERA_Brochure.pdf |publisher=ArchaeologyDataService.ac.uk |title=The Prehistoric Cave Art of England |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> With the arrival of [[Roman culture]] in the 1st century, various forms of art such as statues, busts, glasswork and mosaics were the norm. There are numerous surviving artefacts, such as those at [[Lullingstone Roman Villa|Lullingstone]] and [[Isurium Brigantum|Aldborough]].<ref>{{cite web |author=English Heritage |author-link=English Heritage |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.17022 |publisher=english-heritage.org.uk |title=Aldborough Roman Site |access-date=5 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022105915/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.17022 |archive-date=22 October 2009}}</ref> During the Early Middle Ages the style favoured sculpted crosses and ivories, manuscript painting, gold and enamel jewellery, demonstrating a love of intricate, interwoven designs such as in the [[Staffordshire Hoard]] discovered in 2009. Some of these blended [[Insular art|Gaelic and Anglian]] styles, such as the [[Lindisfarne Gospels]] and [[Vespasian Psalter]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0023715.html |publisher=Tiscali.co.uk |title=Early Middle Ages Art |access-date=5 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227121544/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0023715.html |archive-date=27 February 2009}}</ref> Later [[Gothic art]] was popular at Winchester and Canterbury, examples survive such as [[Benedictional of St. Æthelwold]] and [[Luttrell Psalter]].<ref name="engart" />

The Tudor era saw [[Artists of the Tudor court|prominent artists]] as part of their court; portrait painting, which would remain an enduring part of English art, was boosted by German [[Hans Holbein the Younger|Hans Holbein]], and natives such as [[Nicholas Hilliard]] built on this.<ref name="engart">{{cite web |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0028010.html |publisher=Tiscali.co.uk |title=English art |access-date=5 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216224856/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0028010.html |archive-date=16 February 2009}}</ref> Under the Stuarts, Continental artists were influential especially the Flemish, examples from the period include [[Anthony van Dyck]], [[Peter Lely]], [[Godfrey Kneller]] and [[William Dobson]].<ref name="engart" /> The 18th century saw the founding of the [[Royal Academy]]; a [[classicism]] based on the [[Renaissance art|High Renaissance]] prevailed, with [[Thomas Gainsborough]] and [[Joshua Reynolds]] becoming two of England's most treasured artists.<ref name="engart" />

In the 19th century, [[John Constable]] and [[J. M. W. Turner]] were major landscape artists. The [[Norwich School (art movement)|Norwich School]] continued the landscape tradition, while the [[Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood]], led by artists such as [[Holman Hunt]], [[Dante Gabriel Rossetti]] and [[John Everett Millais]], revived the [[Early Renaissance]] style with their vivid and detailed style.<ref name="engart" /> Prominent amongst 20th-century artists was [[Henry Moore]], regarded as the voice of British sculpture, and of British modernism in general.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Turner |first=Chris |title=The Bronze Age: Henry Moore and his successors |journal=Tate Magazine |issue=6 |url=http://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue6/moore.htm |access-date=9 September 2009 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120105222753/http://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue6/moore.htm |archive-date=5 January 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Royal Society of Arts]] is an organisation committed to the arts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the RSA – RSA |url=https://www.thersa.org/about |access-date=8 May 2021 |website=thersa.org}}</ref>

===Literature, poetry, and philosophy===
{{Main|English literature}}
[[File:Geoffrey Chaucer (17th century).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A man dressed in grey with a beard, holding a rosary, depicted next to a coat of arms.|[[Geoffrey Chaucer]] was an English author, poet and philosopher, best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]''.]]

Early authors such as [[Bede]] and [[Alcuin]] wrote in Latin.<ref name="warnancmod">{{harvnb|Warner|1902|p=35}}.</ref> The period of [[Old English literature]] provided the epic poem ''[[Beowulf]]'' and the secular prose of the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'',<ref>{{harvnb|Rogers|2001|p=17}}.</ref> along with Christian writings such as ''[[Judith (poem)|Judith]]'', [[Cædmon]]'s ''[[Cædmon|Hymn]]'' and [[hagiography|hagiographies]].<ref name="warnancmod" /> Following the Norman conquest [[Latin literature|Latin]] continued amongst the educated classes, as well as an [[Anglo-Norman literature]].

[[Middle English literature]] emerged with [[Geoffrey Chaucer]], author of ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'', along with [[John Gower|Gower]], the [[Pearl Poet]] and [[William Langland|Langland]]. [[William of Ockham]] and [[Roger Bacon]], who were [[Franciscans]], were major philosophers of the Middle Ages. [[Julian of Norwich]], who wrote ''[[Revelations of Divine Love]]'', was a prominent Christian mystic. With the [[English Renaissance]] literature in the [[Early Modern English]] style appeared. [[William Shakespeare]], whose works include ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', ''[[Macbeth]]'', and ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', remains one of the most championed authors in English literature.<ref>{{harvnb|Rogers|2001|p=135}}.</ref>

[[Christopher Marlowe]], [[Edmund Spenser]], [[Philip Sydney]], [[Thomas Kyd]], [[John Donne]], and [[Ben Jonson]] are other established authors of the [[Elizabethan literature|Elizabethan age]].<ref name="elizren">{{harvnb|Rowse|1971|p=48}}.</ref> [[Francis Bacon]] and [[Thomas Hobbes]] wrote on [[empiricism]] and [[materialism]], including [[scientific method]] and [[social contract]].<ref name="elizren" /> [[Robert Filmer|Filmer]] wrote on the [[Divine Right of Kings]]. [[Andrew Marvell|Marvell]] was the best-known poet of the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]],<ref>{{harvnb|Norbrook|2000|p=6}}.</ref> while [[John Milton]] authored ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' during the [[Restoration literature|Restoration]].
{{Quote box
 | quote =This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, this earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, demi-paradise; this fortress, built by nature for herself. This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
 | source = [[William Shakespeare]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Richard II |url=http://www.users.waitrose.com/~uk1/shakespeare/sceptred.htm |publisher=[[William Shakespeare]] |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-date=28 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080628141802/http://www.users.waitrose.com/~uk1/shakespeare/sceptred.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 | width =28%
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}}
Some of the most prominent philosophers of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] were [[John Locke]], [[Thomas Paine]], [[Samuel Johnson]] and [[Jeremy Bentham]]. More radical elements were later countered by [[Edmund Burke]] who is regarded as the founder of conservatism.<ref>{{harvnb|Heywood|2007|p=74}}.</ref> The poet [[Alexander Pope]] with his satirical verse became well regarded. The English played a significant role in [[romanticism]]: [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], [[Lord Byron]], [[John Keats]], [[Mary Shelley]], [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], [[William Blake]] and [[William Wordsworth]] were major figures.<ref>{{harvnb|Watson|1985|p=360}}.</ref>

In response to the [[Industrial Revolution]], agrarian writers sought a way between [[liberty]] and tradition; [[William Cobbett]], [[G. K. Chesterton]] and [[Hilaire Belloc]] were main exponents, while the founder of [[guild socialism]], [[Arthur Penty]], and [[cooperative movement]] advocate [[G. D. H. Cole]] are somewhat related.<ref>{{harvnb|Cole|1947|p=268}}.</ref> Empiricism continued through [[John Stuart Mill]] and [[Bertrand Russell]], while [[Bernard Williams]] was involved in [[analytics]]. Authors from around the [[Victorian era]] include [[Charles Dickens]], the [[Brontë sisters]], [[Jane Austen]], [[George Eliot]], [[Rudyard Kipling]], [[Thomas Hardy]], [[H. G. Wells]] and [[Lewis Carroll]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hawkins-Dady|1996|p=970}}.</ref> Since then England has continued to produce novelists such as [[George Orwell]], [[D. H. Lawrence]], [[Virginia Woolf]], [[C. S. Lewis]], [[Enid Blyton]], [[Aldous Huxley]], [[Agatha Christie]], [[Terry Pratchett]], [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], and [[J. K. Rowling]].<ref>{{harvnb|Eccleshare|2002|p=5}}.</ref>

===Performing arts===
{{further|Folk music of England}}
{{See also|Music of the United Kingdom}}
{{Listen
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|title=Thomas Tallis' "Lamentations I"
|filename2=Greensleeves-dorian.ogg
|title2="Greensleeves"
|filename3=09 The Queen's Dolour (A Farewell) Henry Purcell Transcribed Ronald Stevenson (1958) Mark Gasser Piano (Live Recording).ogg
|title3=Henry Purcell's "The Queen's Dolour (A Farewell)"
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The traditional [[folk music of England]] is centuries old and has contributed to several genres prominently; mostly [[sea shanties]], [[jig]]s, [[hornpipe]]s and [[dance music]]. It has its own distinct variations and regional peculiarities. Ballads featuring Robin Hood, printed by [[Wynkyn de Worde]] in the 16th century, are an important artefact, as are [[John Playford]]'s ''[[The Dancing Master]]'' and [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Robert Harley]]'s ''[[Roxburghe Ballads]]'' collections.<ref>{{harvnb|Chappell|1966|p=690}}.</ref> Some of the best-known songs are ''[[Greensleeves]]'', ''[[Pastime with Good Company]]'', ''[[Maggie May (folk song)|Maggie May]]'' and ''[[Spanish Ladies]]'' amongst others. Many [[nursery rhymes]] are of English origin such as ''[[Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary]]'', ''[[Roses Are Red]]'', ''[[Jack and Jill (nursery rhyme)|Jack and Jill]]'', ''[[London Bridge Is Falling Down]], [[The Grand Old Duke of York]], [[Hey Diddle Diddle]]'' and ''[[Humpty Dumpty]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Lax|1989|p=7}}.</ref> Traditional English Christmas carols include "[[We Wish You a Merry Christmas]]", "[[The First Noel]]", "[[I Saw Three Ships]]" and "[[God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen]]".

Early English composers in classical music include Renaissance artists [[Thomas Tallis]] and [[William Byrd]], followed by [[Henry Purcell]] from the [[Baroque music|Baroque period]] and [[Thomas Arne]] who was well known for his patriotic song [[Rule, Britannia!]]. German-born [[George Frideric Handel]] spent most of his composing life in London and became a national icon in Britain, creating some of the most well-known works of classical music, especially his English oratorios, ''[[Messiah (Handel)|The Messiah]]'', ''[[Solomon (Handel)|Solomon]]'', ''[[Water Music (Handel)|Water Music]]'', and ''[[Music for the Royal Fireworks]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Birth of British Music: Handel – The Conquering Hero |publisher=BBC |date=15 July 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kntl1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514114225/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kntl1 |archive-date=14 May 2017}}</ref>
[[File:The Beatles arrive at JFK Airport.jpg|thumb|[[The Beatles]] are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in popular music.<ref>{{cite news |url={{GBurl |id=rdU1xtIWJz0C |q=The Beatles have sold around 1&nbsp;billion records and cassettes}} |title=The Guinness Book of Records 1999 |isbn=978-0-85112-070-6 |last1=Kynaston |first1=Nic |year=1998 |publisher=Guinness}}</ref>]]

Classical music attracted much attention in the 18th century with the formation of the [[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival]], which was the longest running classical music festival of its kind until the final concerts in 1912. The [[English Musical Renaissance]] was a hypothetical development in the late 19th and early 20th century, when English composers, often those lecturing or trained at the [[Royal College of Music]], were said to have freed themselves from foreign musical influences. There was a revival in the profile of composers from England in the 20th century led by [[Edward Elgar]], [[Benjamin Britten]], [[Frederick Delius]], [[Gustav Holst]], [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] and others.<ref>{{harvnb|Stradling|1993|p=166}}.</ref> Present-day composers from England include [[Michael Nyman]], best known for ''[[The Piano]]'', and [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]], whose musicals have achieved enormous success in the [[West End theatre|West End]] and worldwide.

In [[popular music]], many English bands and solo artists have been cited as the most influential and best-selling musicians of all time. Acts such as [[the Beatles]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[Elton John]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[David Bowie]], [[the Rolling Stones]] and [[Def Leppard]] are amongst the highest-selling recording artists in the world.<ref>{{cite web |author=Recording Industry Association of America |author-link=Recording Industry Association of America |title=Top Selling Artists |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701163039/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt |archive-date=1 July 2007 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=riaa.com}}</ref> Many musical genres have origins in (or strong associations with) England, such as [[British invasion]], [[progressive rock]], [[hard rock]], [[mod (subculture)|Mod]], [[glam rock]], [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]], [[Britpop]], [[indie rock]], [[gothic rock]], [[shoegazing]], [[acid house]], [[UK garage|garage]], [[trip hop]], [[drum and bass]] and [[dubstep]].<ref>{{harvnb|Else|2007|p=65}}.</ref>

[[File:Royal Albert Hall Rear, London, England - Diliff.jpg|thumb|The [[Royal Albert Hall]]. Since the hall's opening in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. ]]
Large outdoor [[List of music festivals in the United Kingdom|music festivals]] in the summer and autumn are popular, such as [[Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury]], [[V Festival]], and the [[Reading and Leeds Festivals]]. England was at the forefront of the illegal, free [[rave]] movement from the late 1980s, which inspired the pan-European culture of [[teknival]]s.<ref>Matthew Collin, John Godfrey (2010). "Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House" p. 258.</ref> The [[Boishakhi Mela]] is a [[Bengali New Year]] festival celebrated by the [[British Bangladeshi]] community. It is the largest open-air Asian festival in Europe. After the [[Notting Hill Carnival]], it is the second-largest street festival in the UK, attracting over 80,000 visitors.

The most prominent [[opera house]] in England is the [[Royal Opera House]] at [[Covent Garden]].<ref name="foreman">{{harvnb|Foreman|2005|p=371}}.</ref> [[The Proms]] is a major annual cultural event in the English calendar.<ref name="foreman" /> [[The Royal Ballet]] is one of the world's foremost classical ballet companies. The [[Royal Academy of Music]] is the oldest [[Music school|conservatoire]] in the UK, founded in 1822, receiving its [[royal charter]] in 1830.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Academy of Music {{!}} University of London |url=https://www.london.ac.uk/federation/royal-academy-music |access-date=24 February 2024 |website=london.ac.uk}}</ref> England is home to numerous major orchestras such as the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]], the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]], the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]], and the [[London Symphony Orchestra]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=- PPL |url=https://www.ppluk.com/london-symphony-orchestra-tops-ppl-chart-ranking-uk-classical-ensembles/ |access-date=1 May 2021 |website=ppluk.com|date=25 September 2018 }}</ref> Other forms of entertainment that originated in England include the [[circus]]<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/may/15/chipperfields-circus-family-dynasties Great dynasties of the world: The Chipperfields] ''[[The Guardian]]'' Retrieved 18 February 2011.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/2929565.stm "The circus comes to the Circus"]. BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2014</ref><ref>Hamilton, John (2000) ''Entertainment: A Pictorial History of the Past One Thousand Years'' p. 24. Retrieved 3 February 2011.</ref> and the [[pantomime]].<ref name="Panto">David Christopher (2002). "British Culture: An Introduction". p. 74. Routledge,</ref>

===Cinema===
{{See also|Cinema of the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia.png|left|thumb|[[Peter O'Toole]] as T. E. Lawrence in [[David Lean]]'s 1962 epic ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'']]

England has had a considerable influence on the history of the cinema, producing some of the greatest actors, directors and motion pictures of all time, including [[Alfred Hitchcock]], [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[David Lean]], [[Laurence Olivier]], [[Vivien Leigh]], [[John Gielgud]], [[Peter Sellers]], [[Julie Andrews]], [[Michael Caine]], [[Gary Oldman]], [[Helen Mirren]], [[Kate Winslet]] and [[Daniel Day-Lewis]]. Hitchcock and Lean are amongst the most critically acclaimed filmmakers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/directors-directors.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517155218/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/directors-directors.html |archive-date=17 May 2012 |title=The Directors' Top Ten Directors |publisher=British Film Institute |url-status=dead}}</ref> Hitchcock's ''[[The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog]]'' (1926) helped shape the [[Thriller film|thriller]] genre in film, while his 1929 ''[[Blackmail (1929 film)|Blackmail]]'' is often regarded as the first British [[Sound film#Transition: Europe|sound]] feature film.<ref>{{cite book |url={{GBurl |id=AvxgFdRJ66kC |q=blackmail first british sound film |p=79}} |first=Paul Matthew |last=St. Pierre |title=Music Hall Mimesis in British Film, 1895–1960: On the Halls on the Screen |page=79 |publisher=[[Fairleigh Dickinson University Press]] |location=New Jersey |date=1 April 2009 |isbn=978-1-61147-399-5}}</ref>

Major film studios in England include [[Pinewood Studios|Pinewood]], [[Elstree Studios|Elstree]] and [[Shepperton Studios|Shepperton]]. Some of the most commercially successful films of all time have been produced in England, including two of the [[List of highest-grossing film series|highest-grossing film franchises]] (''[[Harry Potter (film series)|Harry Potter]]'' and ''[[James Bond (film series)|James Bond]]'').<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/sep/11/jkjoannekathleenrowling |title=Harry Potter becomes highest-grossing film franchise |access-date=2 November 2010 |work=The Guardian |date=11 September 2007 |location=London}}</ref> [[Ealing Studios]] in London has a claim to being the oldest continuously working film studio in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ealingstudios.com/EalingStudios/history_home.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726040738/http://www.ealingstudios.com/EalingStudios/history_home.html |archive-date=26 July 2013 |title=History of Ealing Studios |publisher=Ealing Studios |access-date=9 March 2015}}</ref> Famous for recording many motion picture [[film scores]], the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] first performed film music in 1935.<ref>[http://lso.co.uk/page/3151/LSO-and-Film-Music London Symphony Orchestra and Film Music] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930173905/http://lso.co.uk/page/3151/LSO-and-Film-Music |date=30 September 2011 }} LSO. Retrieved 30 June 2011</ref> The [[Hammer Film Productions|Hammer Horror]] films starring [[Christopher Lee]] saw the production of the first gory horror films showing blood and guts in colour.<ref>{{cite news |title=Frankenstein: Behind the monster smash |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42411484 |agency=BBC |date=1 January 2018}}</ref>

The [[BFI Top 100 British films]] includes ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'' (1979), a film regularly voted the funniest of all time by the UK public.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/948331.stm "Life of Brian tops comedy poll"]. BBC News (''[[Total Film]]'' magazine poll: 29 September 2000) Retrieved 27 June 2015</ref> English producers are also active in [[international co-productions]] and English actors, directors and crew feature regularly in American films. The UK film council ranked [[David Yates]], [[Christopher Nolan]], [[Mike Newell (director)|Mike Newell]], [[Ridley Scott]] and [[Paul Greengrass]] the five most commercially successful English directors since 2001.<ref>[http://statisticalyearbook11.ry.com/?id=82856 Statistical Yearbook 2011: 7.3 UK directors] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615221043/http://statisticalyearbook11.ry.com/?id=82856 |date=15 June 2012 }}. UK Film Council.</ref> Other contemporary English directors include [[Sam Mendes]], [[Guy Ritchie]] and [[Richard Curtis]]. Current actors include [[Tom Hardy]], [[Daniel Craig]], [[Benedict Cumberbatch]], [[Lena Headey]], [[Felicity Jones]], [[Emilia Clarke]], [[Lashana Lynch]], and [[Emma Watson]]. Acclaimed for his motion capture work, [[Andy Serkis]] opened [[The Imaginarium Studios]] in London in 2011.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/oscars/11217293/Does-Andy-Serkiss-motion-capture-acting-deserve-an-Oscar.html "Does Andy Serkis's motion capture acting deserve an Oscar?"]. The Telegraph. Retrieves 11 January 2015</ref> The visual effects company [[Framestore]] in London has produced some of the most critically acclaimed special effects in modern film.<ref>[https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/film/tim-webber-the-man-who-put-sandra-bullock-in-space-8804917.html "Tim Webber: the man who put Sandra Bullock in space"]. Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 January 2014</ref> Many successful Hollywood films have been based on English people, [[British literature|stories]] or events. The 'English Cycle' of Disney animated films include ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'', ''[[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|The Jungle Book]]'' and ''[[The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh|Winnie the Pooh]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article600292.ece/Barry-Ronges-Classic-DVD---Alice-in-Wonderland |title=Barry Ronge's Classic DVD : Alice in Wonderland |website=[[The Times (South Africa)|The Times]] |quote=It was made under the personal supervision of Walt Disney, and he took special care when animating British fantasy. He called them his "English Cycle". |date=15 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009011612/http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article600292.ece/Barry-Ronges-Classic-DVD---Alice-in-Wonderland |archive-date=9 October 2012}}</ref>

===Sites and institutions===
{{Further|List of museums in England}}
[[File:London Natural History Museum Panorama.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|left|alt=A museum building entrance.|The [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] in London]]

[[English Heritage]] is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. It is currently sponsored by the [[Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport|Department for Culture, Media and Sport]]. A non-governmental charity, the [[National Trust]] holds a complementary role, focussed on landscapes and [[English country house|country houses]]. 17 of the 25 United Kingdom UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]s fall within England.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/gb |title=United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |website=UNESCO World Heritage |access-date=8 September 2009}}</ref> Some of the best-known of these are: [[Hadrian's Wall]], [[Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites]], the [[Tower of London]], the [[Jurassic Coast]], [[Saltaire]], [[Ironbridge Gorge]], [[Blenheim Palace]] and the [[Lake District]].<ref>{{cite web |title=English World Heritage Sites to get strongest ever protections |url=http://www.ihbc.org.uk/news/docs/English%20World%20Heritage%20Sites%20to%20get%20strongest%20ever%20protections%20CLG%20press%20notice%2027%20May%202008.pdf |publisher=Institute of Historic Building Conservation |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-date=2 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402203252/http://www.ihbc.org.uk/news/docs/English |url-status=dead}}</ref>

London's [[British Museum]] holds more than seven million objects,<ref>{{cite web |title=Museum in London |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/museum_in_london.aspx |publisher=BritishMuseum.org |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> one of the largest and most comprehensive collections in the world,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=250 Years of the British Museum |url=http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1871956,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117100413/http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1871956,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2009 |magazine=Time |access-date=17 September 2009 |date=15 January 2009}}</ref> illustrating and documenting global human culture from its beginnings to the present. The [[British Library]] in London is the [[national library]] and is one of the world's largest [[research libraries]], holding over 150&nbsp;million items in almost all known languages and formats, including around 25&nbsp;million books.<ref>{{cite web |title=British Library |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/80260/British-Library |access-date=5 September 2009 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bl.uk/about-us/our-story/facts-and-figures-of-the-british-library |title=Facts and figures of the British Library |website=The British Library |access-date=23 May 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731015517/https://www.bl.uk/about-us/our-story/facts-and-figures-of-the-british-library |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[National Gallery]] in [[Trafalgar Square]] houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.<ref>{{cite web |title=The National Gallery |url=http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/22865/9383/the-national-gallery-london/about/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307205750/http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/22865/9383/the-national-gallery-london/about/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=7 March 2009 |publisher=ArtInfo.com |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> The [[Tate]] galleries house the national collections of British and international modern art; they also host the [[Turner Prize]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2382373.stm |title=The art of Turner protests |last=Youngs |first=Ian |date=31 October 2002 |work=BBC News |access-date=10 August 2009}}</ref>

The [[Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport|Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport]] has overall responsibility for cultural property and heritage.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-digital-culture-media-and-sport |title=Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport |website=gov.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state--81 |access-date=29 January 2020 |website=gov.uk}}</ref> A [[blue plaque]], the oldest [[historical marker]] scheme in the world, is a permanent sign installed in a public place in England to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event. In 2011 there were around 1,600 museums in England.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 2011 |title=A review of research and literature on museums and libraries |url=http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/a_review_of_research.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904133747/http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/a_review_of_research.pdf |archive-date=4 September 2012 |access-date=24 February 2013 |publisher=Arts Council}}</ref> Entry to most museums and galleries is free.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 December 2011 |title=Ten years of free museums |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ten-years-of-free-museums |access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref> [[London]] is one of the world's most visited cities, regularly taking the top five most visited cities in [[Europe]]. It is considered a global centre of finance, art and culture.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 December 2019 |title=These Are the World's Most Popular City Destinations in 2019 |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-03/these-are-the-world-s-most-popular-city-destinations-in-2019 |access-date=3 December 2019}}; {{Cite web |title=Top 100 City Destinations: 2019 Edition |url=http://go.euromonitor.com/white-paper-travel-2019-100-cities.html |access-date=3 December 2019 |website=Euromonitor International}}</ref>

=== Media ===
{{Main|Media in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Footbridge to Media City, Salford - geograph.org.uk - 6131368.jpg|thumb|[[MediaCityUK|MediaCity]] in Manchester is the largest media-production facility in Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Europe's largest, digital, tech and creative hub: MediaCity |url=https://www.mediacityuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/MediaCity_Commercial-Brochure_Feb_V1_030223.pdf |journal=MediaCityUK}}</ref>]]
The [[BBC]], founded in 1922, is the UK's publicly funded radio, television and Internet broadcasting corporation, and is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world.<ref name="MediaNewsline">{{cite web |title=BBC: World's largest broadcaster & Most trusted media brand |url=http://www.medianewsline.com/news/151/ARTICLE/4930/2009-08-13.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005004930/http://www.medianewsline.com/news/151/ARTICLE/4930/2009-08-13.html |archive-date=5 October 2010 |access-date=23 September 2010 |publisher=Media Newsline}}</ref><ref name="AboutBBC">{{cite news |title=About the BBC&nbsp;– What is the BBC |work=BBC Online |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/info/purpose/what.shtml |access-date=9 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116202334/http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/purpose/what.shtml |archive-date=16 January 2010}}</ref> It operates numerous television and radio stations in the UK and abroad and its domestic services are funded by the [[Television licensing in the United Kingdom|television licence]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite journal |last=Newswire7 |date=13 August 2009 |title=BBC: World's largest broadcaster & Most trusted media brand |url=http://www.medianewsline.com/news/151/ARTICLE/4930/2009-08-13.html |url-status=dead |journal=Media Newsline |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510090842/http://www.medianewsline.com/news/151/ARTICLE/4930/2009-08-13.html |archive-date=10 May 2011 |access-date=19 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 2010 |title=TV Licence Fee: facts & figures |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/licencefee.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427080539/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/licencefee.shtml |archive-date=27 April 2011 |publisher=BBC Press Office}}</ref> The [[BBC World Service]] is an [[International broadcasting|international broadcaster]] owned and operated by the [[BBC]]. It is the world's largest of any kind.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Work of the BBC World Service |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmfaff/334/334.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021001645/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmfaff/334/334.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2020 |access-date=16 February 2011}}</ref> It broadcasts radio news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=News in your language |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ws/languages |website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC World Service |url=https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/whatwedo/worldservice |website=[[BBC]] News}}</ref>

London dominates the media sector in England: national newspapers and television and radio are largely based there, although [[Manchester]] is also a significant national media centre. The UK publishing sector, including books, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20&nbsp;billion and employs around 167,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=Publishing |url=http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/creative_industries/3280.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505104322/http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/creative_industries/3280.aspx |archive-date=5 May 2011 |publisher=Department of Culture, Media and Sport}}</ref> National newspapers produced in England include ''[[The Times]]'', ''[[The Guardian]]'', ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', and the ''[[Financial Times]]''.<ref name="paper2">{{cite news |date=10 October 2008 |title=ABCs: National daily newspaper circulation September 2008 |work=The Guardian |location=UK |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/table/2008/oct/10/abcs-pressandpublishing |access-date=17 October 2008}}</ref>

Magazines and journals published in England that have achieved worldwide circulation include ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', ''[[New Scientist]]'', ''[[The Spectator]]'', ''[[Prospect (magazine)|Prospect]]'', ''[[NME]]'' and ''[[The Economist]]''. The [[Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport|Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport]] has overall responsibility over media and broadcasting in England.<ref name=":0"/>

=== Sport ===
{{Main|Sport in England}}
<!---Caution should be taken to ensure that the sections are not simply a listing of names or mini biographies of individuals accomplishments. Good example Canada#Sports.--->

England has a strong sporting heritage, and during the 19th century [[Codification (law)|codified]] many sports that are now played around the world. Sports originating in England include [[association football]],<ref name="football">{{cite web |date=24 October 2007 |title=Sheffield FC: 150 years of history |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=621801.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025033006/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=621801.html |archive-date=25 October 2007 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=[[FIFA]]}}</ref> [[cricket]], [[rugby union]], [[rugby league]], [[tennis]], [[boxing]], badminton, [[squash (sport)|squash]],<ref>{{cite web |title=History of squash |url=http://www.worldsquash2008.com/the-championships/history-of-squash.aspx |publisher=WorldSquash2008.com |access-date=5 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831081620/http://www.worldsquash2008.com/the-championships/history-of-squash.aspx |archive-date=31 August 2009}}</ref> [[rounders]],<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Game |url=http://www.nra-rounders.co.uk/dyncat.cfm?catid=17177 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060223211035/http://www.nra-rounders.co.uk/dyncat.cfm?catid=17177 |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 February 2006 |publisher=NRA-Rounders.co.uk}}</ref> [[field hockey|hockey]], [[snooker]], [[billiards]], [[darts]], table tennis, [[bowls]], [[netball]], [[thoroughbred]] horseracing, [[greyhound racing]] and [[fox hunting]]. It has helped the development of [[golf]], sailing and [[Formula One]]. England has been crowned world champion in several major sports including: [[2019 Cricket World Cup final|Cricket]], [[2003 Rugby World Cup final|Rugby]] and [[1966 FIFA World Cup final|Association Football]].

Football is the [[Sport in the United Kingdom#Popularity|most popular]] of these sports. The [[England national football team]], whose home venue is [[Wembley Stadium]], played [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] in the first-ever international football match in 1872.<ref>{{cite news |title=The first international football match |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0012/index.shtml |publisher=BBC |author=Paul Mitchell |access-date=15 January 2015 |author-link=Paul Mitchell (broadcaster)}}</ref> Referred to as the "home of football" by [[FIFA]], England hosted and won the [[1966 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131220190138/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/worldcup/england1966/index.html "Hurst the hero for England in the home of football"]. FIFA.com. Retrieved 15 January 2015</ref> With a British television audience peak of 32.30&nbsp;million viewers, the [[1966 FIFA World Cup Final|final]] is the [[List of most-watched television broadcasts#United Kingdom|most watched television event ever]] in the UK.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16671101 "Tracking 30 years of TV's most watched programmes"]. BBC. Retrieved 25 June 2015</ref> England is recognised by FIFA as the birthplace of club football: [[Sheffield F.C.]], founded in 1857, is the world's oldest club.<ref name="football" /> The [[England women's national football team]] won the [[UEFA Women's Euro 2022]], hosted by England.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 July 2022 |title=England 2–1 Germany (aet): Kelly gives Lionesses Wembley final triumph |url=https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/news/0277-15c1d9745f40-baafd6e58b36-1000--england-2-1-germany-aet-kelly-gives-lionesses-wembley-fin/ |access-date=20 November 2023 |website=[[UEFA]]}}</ref> England was also victorious in the [[UEFA Women's Euro 2025]], winning the final in a penalty shootout against Spain.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wrack |first1=Suzanne |title=Chloe Kelly the hero again as England beat Spain in Euro 2025 final shootout |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jul/27/chloe-kelly-winning-penalty-england-beat-spain-win-euro-2025 |access-date=27 July 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=27 July 2025}}</ref>
[[File:Euro 2022 Final England v Germany (52254519898).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|[[Wembley Stadium]], home of the [[Football in England|England football team]], during the [[UEFA Women's Euro 2022 final]]. At 90,000 capacity, it is the biggest stadium in the UK and [[List of European stadiums by capacity|the second-largest stadium in Europe]].]]
[[Cricket]] is generally thought to have been developed in the early medieval period amongst the farming and metalworking communities of the [[Weald]].<ref>{{harvnb|Underdown|2000|p=6}}.</ref> The [[England cricket team]] is a composite England and Wales team. One of the game's top rivalries is [[The Ashes]] series between England and [[Australia cricket team|Australia]], contested since 1882. [[Lord's Cricket Ground]] situated in London is sometimes referred to as the "Mecca of Cricket".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket-flaw-lords-out-of-order-1166513.html |title=Cricket: Flaw Lord's out of order |last=Fay |first=Stephen |work=The Independent |location=London |date=21 June 1998 |access-date=9 September 2009 |archive-date=18 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118130512/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket-flaw-lords-out-of-order-1166513.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> After winning the [[2019 Cricket World Cup]], England became the first country to win the World Cups in football, rugby union, and cricket.<ref>{{Cite web |title=England 1st country to win Cricket World Cup, Football World Cup and Rugby World Cup |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket-world-cup-2019/story/england-1st-country-to-win-cricket-world-cup-football-world-cup-and-rugby-world-cup-1569076-2019-07-15 |access-date=16 July 2023 |website=India Today |date=15 July 2019}}</ref>

[[William Penny Brookes]] was prominent in organising the format for the modern [[Olympic Games]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Father of the modern Olympics |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2006/01/31/william_penny_brookes_feature.shtml |agency=BBC |date=22 September 2017}}</ref> London has hosted the [[Summer Olympic Games]] three times, in [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908]], [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948]], and [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012]]. England competes in the [[Commonwealth Games]], held every four years. [[Sport England]] is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England.

[[Rugby union]] originated in [[Rugby School]], Warwickshire in the early 19th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/originsofrugby.htm#2 |title=Origins of Rugby&nbsp;– Codification 'The innovation of running with the ball was introduced some time between 1820 and 1830.' |publisher=Rugbyfootballhistory.com |access-date=15 August 2011}}</ref> The top level of club participation is the [[Guinness Premiership|English Premiership]]. England's [[England women's national rugby union team|Red Roses]] won the [[2025 Women's Rugby World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News|title=England overpower Canada to win Women's World Cup|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/czjvgj81y2mo|date=26 September 2025|first=Alastair|last=Telfer|access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref> [[Rugby league]] was born in [[Huddersfield]] in 1895. Since 2008, the [[England national rugby league team]] has been a full test nation in lieu of the [[Great Britain national rugby league team]], which won three [[Rugby League World Cup|World Cups]]. Club sides play in [[Super League]], the present-day embodiment of the [[Rugby Football League Championship]]. Rugby League is most popular amongst towns in the northern English counties of [[Lancashire]], Yorkshire and [[Cumbria]].<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyleague/10397530/Rugby-League-World-Cup-2013-will-provide-the-sport-with-a-true-test-of-its-popularity.html "Rugby League World Cup 2013 will provide the sport with a true test of its popularity"]. The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 September 2015</ref>

[[Golf]] has been prominent in England, due in part to its [[Golf in Scotland|cultural and geographical ties to Scotland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tourlife/travel/04/08/trans_atlantic/index.html |title=Scotland is the home of golf |publisher=[[PGA Tour]] official website |access-date=4 December 2008 |quote=Scotland is the home of golf&nbsp;... |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828200541/http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tourlife/travel/04/08/trans_atlantic/index.html |archive-date=28 August 2008}}</ref> There are professional tours for men and women, in two main tours: the [[Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain and Ireland)|PGA]] and the [[European Tour]]. The world's oldest golf tournament, and golf's first major is [[The Open Championship]], played both in England and Scotland. The biennial golf competition, the [[Ryder Cup]], is named after English businessman [[Samuel Ryder]].<ref>Fry, Peter (July 2000). Samuel Ryder: The Man Behind the Ryder Cup. Wright Press.</ref>

[[Tennis]] was created in Birmingham in the late 19th century, and [[The Championships, Wimbledon|the Wimbledon Championships]] is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and widely considered the most prestigious.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 July 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/sports/tennis/05wimbledon.html |title=Traditional Final: It's Nadal and Federer |work=The New York Times |access-date=5 September 2009 |first=Christopher |last=Clarey}}</ref> Wimbledon has a major place in the English cultural calendar.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaufman|Macpherson|2005|p=958}}.</ref>

[[File:Mansell in his Ferrari 641 - 1990 British GP.jpg|thumb|left|Former [[Formula One]] world champion [[Nigel Mansell]] driving at [[Silverstone Circuit|Silverstone]] in 1990. The circuit hosted the [[1950 British Grand Prix|first ever World Championship Formula One race]] in 1950.]]
In [[boxing]], under the [[Marquess of Queensberry Rules]], England has produced many world champions across the weight divisions internationally recognised by the governing bodies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 20 British Boxers |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/661141-the-top-20-british-boxers-of-all-time |access-date=12 April 2011 |website=[[Bleacher Report]]}}</ref>

Originating in 17th and 18th-century England, the [[thoroughbred]] is a horse breed best known for its use in [[horse racing]]. The [[National Hunt]] horse race the [[Grand National]], is held annually at [[Aintree Racecourse]] in early April. It is the most watched horse race in the UK, and three-time winner [[Red Rum]] is the most successful racehorse in the event's history.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/3495663.stm Red Rum: Aintree favourite] BBC. Retrieved 11 October 2011</ref>

The [[1950 British Grand Prix]] at [[Silverstone Circuit|Silverstone]] was the first race in the newly created [[Formula One World Championship]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.silverstone.co.uk/about/history/ |publisher=Silverstone.co.uk |title=The History of British Motorsport and Motor Racing at Silverstone |access-date=31 October 2009 |work=Silverstone}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/page/3421.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922084250/http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/page/3421.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 September 2013 |work=ESPN |title=F1 Champions: Dan Wheldon killed in Las Vegas |access-date=15 December 2011}}</ref> England has seen the manufacture some of the most technically advanced racing cars, and many of today's racing companies choose England as their base of operations.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Asher |first1=Richard |last2=Hardy |first2=Ed |date=5 August 2022 |title=Where are F1 teams based? Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and more |url=https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/where-are-f1-teams-based/10348715/ |website=Autosport}}</ref> England also has a rich heritage in [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing]], the premier championship of motorcycle [[road racing]], and has produced several world champions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 March 2016 |title=Inside MotoGP™ · History |url=http://www.motogp.com/en/Inside+MotoGP/History |access-date=30 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324103719/http://www.motogp.com/en/Inside+MotoGP/History |archive-date=24 March 2016}}</ref>

[[Darts]] is a widely popular sport in England; a professional competitive sport, it is a traditional [[pub game]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/2631249.stm |title=Part relishes Taylor triumph |date=6 January 2003 |work=BBC Sport |access-date=18 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Phil Taylor player profile |url=http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?playerKey=1 |work=Dartsdatabase |access-date=23 July 2010 |archive-date=18 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118094449/http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?playerKey=1 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Another popular sport commonly associated with pub games is [[snooker]], and England has produced several world champions.

The English are keen sailors and enjoy competitive [[sailing]]; founding and winning some of the world's most famous international competitive tournaments across the various race formats, including the [[match race]], a regatta, and the [[America's Cup]].

==National symbols==
{{Main|National symbols of England}}
The St George's Cross has been the national [[flag of England]] since the 13th century. Originally, the flag was used by the maritime [[Republic of Genoa]]. The English monarch paid a tribute to the [[Doge of Genoa]] from 1190 onwards so that English ships could fly the flag as a means of protection when entering the Mediterranean.
A red cross was a symbol for many [[Crusaders]] in the 12th and 13th centuries, and became associated with [[Saint George]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannia.com/history/stgeorge.html |title=St. George&nbsp;– England's Patron Saint |publisher=Britannia.com |access-date=1 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308175508/http://www.britannia.com/history/stgeorge.html |archive-date=8 March 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Since 1606 the St George's Cross has formed part of the design of the [[Union Flag]], a Pan-British flag designed by King [[James I of England|James I]].<ref name="flaghistory" /> During the [[English Civil War]] and [[Interregnum (England)|Interregnum]], the [[New Model Army]]'s standards and the [[English Commonwealth|Commonwealth]]'s [[Great Seal of the Realm#Commonwealth|Great Seal]] both incorporated the flag of Saint George.<ref>{{cite book |last=Good |first=Jonathan |title=The Cult of Saint George in Medieval England |url={{GBurl |id=dP8LAQAAMAAJ}} |page=149 |year=2009 |publisher=Boydell Press |isbn=978-1-84383-469-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of England, 1651 |website=Getty Images |date=18 January 2014 |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/the-great-seal-of-the-commonwealth-of-england-1651-news-photo/463967983 |access-date=27 October 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Tudor Rose.svg|left|thumb|alt=A red and white flower.|upright=.7|The [[Tudor rose]], England's [[national flower|national floral emblem]]]]
There are numerous other symbols and symbolic artefacts, both official and unofficial, including the [[Tudor rose]], the nation's [[national emblem|floral emblem]], and the Three Lions featured on the [[Royal Arms of England]]. The Tudor rose was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the [[Wars of the Roses]] as a symbol of peace.<ref name="Flowers">{{cite web |url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page828 |title=National flowers |date=13 January 2003 |publisher=Number10.gov.uk |access-date=8 August 2009 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080909053639/http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page828 |archive-date=9 September 2008}}</ref> It is a [[syncreticism|syncretic]] symbol in that it merged the white rose of the [[House of York|Yorkists]] and the red rose of the [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrians]]. It is also known as the ''Rose of England''.<ref name="Rose">{{cite web |url=http://www.rugbynetwork.net/main/s245/st74325.htm |title=England's Rose&nbsp;– The Official History |last=Smith |first=Jed |date=3 June 2005 |website=Museum of Rugby, Twickenham |publisher=RugbyNetwork.net |access-date=8 August 2009}}</ref> The [[oak]] tree is a symbol of England: the [[Royal Oak]] symbol and [[Oak Apple Day]] commemorate the escape of King [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] after his father's execution, when he hid in an oak to avoid detection by the parliamentarians before safely reaching exile.

[[File:Royal Arms of England (1198-1340).svg|thumb|upright=.6|alt=A red shield tapers to its bottom end; on it are three stylised golden lions with blue claws.|The [[Royal Arms of England]]]]
The Royal Arms of England, a national [[coat of arms]] featuring three lions, originated with [[Richard the Lionheart]] in 1198. It is [[blazon]]ed as ''gules, three lions passant guardant or'' and it provides one of the most prominent symbols of England. England does not have an official national anthem, as the United Kingdom as a whole has ''[[God Save the King]]''. However, ''[[Jerusalem (hymn)|Jerusalem]]'', ''[[Land of Hope and Glory]]'' (used for England during the [[2002 Commonwealth Games]]),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/node/143569 |title=Jason Cowley loves the Commonwealth Games |work=New Statesman |access-date=5 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011102925/https://www.newstatesman.com/node/143569 |archive-date=11 October 2013}}</ref> and ''[[I Vow to Thee, My Country]]'' are often considered unofficial [[National anthem of England|English national anthems]]. England's [[National Day]] is 23 April which is [[St George's Day in England|Saint George's Day]]: Saint George is the patron saint of England.<ref name="St. George">{{cite news |date=23 April 1998 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/82166.stm |title=The Great Saint George Revival |work=BBC News |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|England}}
* [[Outline of England]]
* [[Outline of the United Kingdom]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
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{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|s=Portal:England|voy=England}}
* [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ English Heritage]&nbsp;– national body protecting English heritage
* [http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ Natural England]&nbsp;– wildlife and the natural world of England
* [https://www.visitengland.com/ VisitEngland]&nbsp;– English tourist board
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england BBC News – England]&nbsp;– news items from BBC News relating to England
* [https://www.gov.uk/ GOV.UK]&nbsp;– official website of the British Government
* {{OSM relation|58447}}

{{England topics}}
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[[Category:England| ]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where English is an official language]]
[[Category:Great Britain]]
[[Category:Island countries]]
[[Category:United Kingdom by country]]
[[Category:Christian states]]