English History: Kings, Queens, Castles & Churchill

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616. During his life he wrote 38 plays, including several of the finest in the English language, and many sonnets and other poems. We don’t know much about his life – he wasn’t all that high regarded during his lifetime -…

Updated September 2022 – This post was updated after the sad death of HM Queen Elizabeth II and the ascension to the throne of King Charles III. The Kings and Queens of England have had a huge impact on the direction of the country throughout its long history. From William…

Henry of Monmouth, best known as Henry V, ruled England from 1413 until he died in August of 1422. While he only reigned for a short period, Henry V is best remembered for his outstanding success guiding the military through the Hundred Years’ Ware against France. In fact, Henry V…

How well do you know England’s Victorian Period? Here are 20 questions to find out… How Well Do You Know The Victorians?Take our quiz to find out…. Click ‘Start’ >>>Well Done!

Here are some of the many UK historical events that happened in April…. The Joint Coronation of William of Orange and Mary (11 April 1689) The date 11 April 1689 denotes a significant event in Britain. When William III, Prince of Orange, and his wife, Mary, succeeded James II, they…

The Battle Of Trafalgar fought off the coast of southwest Spain on 21 October 1805 between Britain’s Royal Navy and the combined fleets of Napoleonic France and Spain ranks high in the annals of naval glory and British history. Britain was outnumbered and outgunned but triumphant. The triumph of Britain’s…

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill is revered as one of the most famous and celebrated Britons in the long history of the United Kingdom. His leadership as prime minister during World War II and the many stories surrounding his turbulent political career are well known from frequent repetition in books, films…

Canterbury Cathedral has a menacing beauty. The seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Church of England and global Anglican Communion – there are few more holy places in England than Canterbury Cathedral. Canterbury isn’t just one of the oldest or best-known of England’s fine fleet…

Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, reigned over Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567. However it is as the tragic claimant of the English throne that she is mainly remembered, including as…

Blenheim Palace is not, and never has been, a home to the British royal family – and yet it is a palace. Not only that, it is considered by many to be the most magnificent residence in Britain, a rival to Queen Elizabeth II’s many not-so-humble abodes. Gift of a Grateful Nation…

English history is full of fine deeds, great leaders, bloody battles and massive personalities.It’s also a major drawcard for visits to England. So we thought we’d highlight some of the posts for those interested in this aspect to English life. So what do we cover? Kings And Queens Of England…

It is less than a hundred years since the suffragette movement and the right to vote being extended to English women on the same terms as men. The suffragettes had a prominent profile in the struggle – but who were they, and what was their real legacy? Thirst for Change…

The date was the 3rd of September, 1939. It was a Sunday and unseasonably warm out, in London at least. In homes across the nation preparations were underway for the usual Sunday lunch of roast beef or chicken and those who had a wireless already had it on, its familiar…

Voted Britain’s favourite artist in 2015, Joseph Mallord William Turner is renowned for his sweeping brushstrokes and incredible use of light. Though perhaps best known for his paintings of ships and the sea, Turner also painted scores of landscapes depicting England’s most picturesque sites. Here we take a look at…

English hoaxes have ranged far and wide in the subject of their pranks – from pretending to be foreign royalty to offering evidence of mystical creatures and alien life. It seems there’s nothing some people like more than pulling the wool over each other’s eyes. We take a look at some…

If you’d been so fortunate as to step inside the college rooms of C. S. Lewis on a Thursday evening in the 1930s and ’40s, you’d have found yourself in august company. It was there that a group known as the Inklings assembled to discuss some of the best loved…

Chatsworth House is one of very few English country houses still owned by the family that built it and a brief history of this family – their triumphs, their trials and their scandals – offers snapshot of life in the uppermost echelons of society that spans over 500 years. It’s…

Love English literature? Dream of seeing the world through the eyes of Elizabeth Bennett or Jane Eyre, Heathcliff or Mr Darcy?  Step this way and enjoy our tour of ten wonderful English literature locations made famous by the great classics. Norton Conyers House – Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë By…

(Updated February 2022) Queen Elizabeth I of England, the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty, reigned during the Elizabethan era, which was named for her. She was also known as The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess. (Part of our series on the Kings & Queens of England) Early…

Many of you will have heard of the Wars of the Roses, but most of us have only a hazy notion of when they took place, what they were about and who took part in them. The popular image is of medieval chivalry and romantic knights-in-armour charging courageously into battle…

Queen Victoria, Queen of England and Empress of India, tends to be remembered today as a rather dour, jowled old lady with a stately and rather humourless personality. Dedicated to her patriotic duty, she is seen as the embodiment of 19th-century (or ‘Victorian’) values at a time when Britain was…

Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease… For centuries before the development of modern medicine the inhabitants of the British Isles relied upon all manner of folk remedies to tackle the various diseases and ailments that afflicted them. In pre-Roman Britain, the Druids prescribed concoctions of mistletoe and other plants…

Henry VIII was one of the most important, and infamous, British monarchs. Most people know about his 6 wives, but how many of these things do you now about him? 1. Henry founded the Church of England Source Well, sort of… After his argument with Rome over his marriage to Catherine…

We’ve featured many English historic sites such as, castles, Stonehenge and the Tower of London on EnglandExplore before. However here we feature some of the lesser known places that in their own way are just as important… 1. Runnymede By WyrdLight.com, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link Runnymede on the banks of…

KING RICHARD III : A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! Richard III, Scene IV. (William Shakespeare) Richard III (1452-1485), of the House Of York, was the last Plantagenet king of England. He died at the Battle Of Bosworth Field, ending the War(s) Of The Roses, and was…

There is rich Roman history embedded in the countryside of Great Britain. It is amazing to see how the people lived their daily lives. You can get a glimpse into the past by visiting these beautiful ancient Roman ruins. There are so many locations to consider when trying to find…

(Updated February 2022) England has been involved in military conflicts worldwide, but did you know that many conflicts were also fought on its home soil? Here are some of the English battle sites that saw battle in days gone by. (NB You might be interested in a new post we’ve…