• While England does not have its own legislative assembly, a composed of only the 533 MPs representing English constituencies can scrutinise and vote on bills going through parliament which only affect England. England is a that is of the. It shares land borders with to the north and to the west. The lies northwest of England and the lies to the southwest. England is separated from by the to the east and the to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of (which lies in the ) in its centre and south, and includes such as the and the.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the period, but takes its name from the, a tribe deriving its name from the peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century, and since the, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the, and – the basis for the legal systems of many other countries around the world – developed in England, and the country's of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north (for example, the mountainous, and the ) and in the west (for example, and the ). The capital is London, which has the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the.

SERIES EDITOR: jOE WATSON. SENSOR TECHNOLOGY SERIES. @ MOMENTUM PRESS. 2 Automotive Pressure Sensors 37. M Tudor and S. 3 Temperature Sensors 8 5 john Turner. 4 Automotive Airflow Sensors 107 john Turner. The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago.

England's population of over 53 million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London, the, and conurbations in the, the, the, and, which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. The —which after 1535 included Wales—ceased being a separate on 1 May 1707, when the put into effect the terms agreed in the the previous year, resulting in a political union with the to create the. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the through another to become the. In 1922 the seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

See also: The name 'England' is derived from the name Englaland, which means 'land of the '. The Angles were one of the that settled in Great Britain during the. The Angles came from the peninsula in the area (present-day German state of ) of the. The earliest recorded use of the term, as 'Engla londe', is in the late ninth century translation into of 's. The term was then used in a different sense to the modern one, meaning '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. The recorded that the of 1086 covered the whole of England, meaning the English kingdom, but a few years later the Chronicle stated that King went 'out of Scotlande into in Englaland', thus using it in the more ancient sense.

According to the, its modern spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by,, in which the word Anglii is used. 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. How and why a term derived from the name of a tribe that was less significant than others, such as the, came to be used for the entire country and its people 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 between Weser and Eider rivers in Northern Germany. In, another language which developed on the island of Great Britain, the Saxon tribe gave their name to the word for England ( Sasunn); similarly, the Welsh name for the English language is ' Saesneg'.

An alternative name for England is. The name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the, specifically the 4th century BC: 'Beyond the is the ocean that flows round the earth. In it are two very large islands called Britannia; these are Albion and '. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to but to, i.e.

It was written later in the period or afterwards. The word Albion (Ἀλβίων) or insula Albionum has two possible origins. It either derives from a cognate of the Latin albus meaning white, a reference to the (the only part of Britain visible from the European mainland) or from the phrase the 'island of the Albiones' in the now lost, that is attested through ' Ora Maritima to which the former presumably served as a source. Albion is now applied to England in a more poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is, related to the word for England, Lloegr, and made popular by its use in.

A monument The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago. Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years. After the last only large mammals such as, and remained.

Roughly 11,000 years ago, when the began to recede, humans repopulated the area; genetic research suggests they came from the northern part of the. The sea level was lower than now and Britain was connected by to Ireland and. As the seas rose, it was separated from Ireland 10,000 years ago and from Eurasia two millennia later. The arrived around 2,500 BC, introducing drinking and food vessels constructed from clay, as well as vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores.

It was during this time that major monuments such as and were constructed. By heating together tin and copper, which were in abundance in the area, the Beaker culture people made, and later iron from iron ores. The development of iron allowed the construction of better, advancing agriculture (for instance, with ), as well as the production of more effective weapons. Led an uprising against the During the,, deriving from the and, arrived from Central Europe.

Was the spoken language during this time. Society was tribal; according to 's there were around 20 tribes in the area. Earlier divisions are unknown because the Britons were not literate. Like other regions on the edge of the Empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans. Julius Caesar of the attempted to in 55 BC; although largely unsuccessful, he managed to set up a from the. The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD during the reign of Emperor, subsequently, and the area was incorporated into the Roman Empire as. The best-known of the native tribes who attempted to resist were the led.

Later, an uprising led by, Queen of the, ended with Boudica's suicide following her defeat at the. This era saw a culture prevail with the introduction of,,,, many agricultural items and silk. In the 3rd century, Emperor died at (now ), where was subsequently proclaimed emperor. There is debate about when Christianity was first introduced; it was no later than the 4th century, probably much earlier. According to, missionaries were sent from Rome by at the request of the chieftain 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, while others claim through.

By 410, during the, Britain was left exposed by the and the withdrawal of Roman army units, to defend the frontiers in continental Europe and partake in civil wars. Celtic Christian monastic and missionary movements flourished: (5th-century Ireland) and in the 6th century Brendan (Clonfert), Comgall (Bangor), David (Wales), Aiden (Lindisfarne) and Columba (Iona). 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. Replica of the 7th-century ceremonial from the withdrawals left Britain open to invasion by pagan, seafaring warriors from north-western continental Europe, chiefly the Saxons,, and Frisians who had long raided the coasts of the Roman province and began to settle, initially in the eastern part of the country. Their advance was contained for some decades after the Britons' victory at the, but subsequently resumed, over-running the fertile lowlands of Britain and reducing the area under 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. The nature and progression of the is consequently subject to considerable disagreement. Roman-dominated Christianity had in general disappeared from the conquered territories, but was reintroduced by missionaries from Rome led by from 597 onwards. Disputes between the Roman- and Celtic-dominated forms of Christianity ended in victory for the Roman tradition at the (664), which was ostensibly about haircuts and the date of Easter, but more significantly, about the differences in Roman and Celtic forms of authority, theology, and practice (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,,,,, and.

Over the following centuries this process of political consolidation continued. The 7th century saw a struggle for hegemony between Northumbria and Mercia, which in the 8th century gave way to Mercian preeminence.

In the early 9th century Mercia was displaced as the foremost kingdom by Wessex. Later in that century escalating attacks by the culminated in the conquest of the north and east of England, overthrowing the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. Wessex under was left as the only surviving English kingdom, and under his successors it steadily expanded at the expense of the kingdoms of the. This brought about the political unification of England, first accomplished under in 927 and definitively established after further conflicts by in 953. A fresh wave of Scandinavian attacks from the late 10th century ended with the conquest of this united kingdom by in 1013 and again by his son in 1016, turning it into the centre of a short-lived that also included and.

However the native royal dynasty was restored with the accession of in 1042. At the, fought on 's Day and concluded with an English victory against a larger French army in the A dispute over the succession to Edward led to the in 1066, accomplished by an army led. The themselves originated from and had settled in Normandy in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. 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.

Subsequently, the from Anjou inherited the English throne under, adding England to the budding of fiefs the family had inherited in France including. They reigned for three centuries, some noted monarchs being,, and. The period saw changes in trade and legislation, including the signing of the, an English legal charter used to limit the sovereign's powers by law and protect the privileges of freemen. Catholic flourished, providing philosophers, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded with royal patronage.

The became a Plantagenet fief during the 13th century and the was given to the English monarchy by the Pope. During the 14th century, the Plantagenets and the both claimed to be legitimate claimants to the and with it France; the two powers clashed in the. The epidemic; starting in 1348, it eventually killed up to half of England's.

From 1453 to 1487 civil war occurred between two branches of the royal family—the and —known as the. Eventually it led to the Yorkists losing the throne entirely to a Welsh noble family the, a branch of the Lancastrians headed by who invaded with Welsh and Breton mercenaries, gaining victory at the where the Yorkist king was killed.

Early Modern. Became During the, the reached England through Italian courtiers, who reintroduced artistic, educational and scholarly debate from classical antiquity. England began to develop, and exploration to the West intensified.

Broke from communion with the Catholic Church, over issues relating to his divorce, under the in 1534 which proclaimed the monarch head of the. In contrast with much of European Protestantism, the were more political than theological. He also legally incorporated his ancestral land Wales into the Kingdom of England with the. There were internal religious conflicts during the reigns of Henry's daughters, and.

The former took the country back to Catholicism while the latter broke from it again, forcefully asserting the supremacy of. Competing with, the first English colony in the Americas was founded in 1585 by explorer in and named. 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. With the, England also competed with the and in the East. In 1588, during the, an English fleet under was going to face which failed because of the storms. The political structure of the island changed in 1603, when the,, a kingdom which was a longtime rival to English interests, inherited the throne of England as — creating a.

He styled himself, although this had no basis in English law. Under the auspices of King James VI and I the Authorised of the Holy Bible was published in 1611. It has not only been ranked with 's works as the greatest masterpiece of literature in the English language but also 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. The restored the monarchy under King and peace after the Based on conflicting political, religious and social positions, the was fought between the supporters of and those of King, known colloquially as and respectively. This was an interwoven part of the wider multifaceted, involving and.

The Parliamentarians were victorious, Charles I was executed and the kingdom replaced by the. Leader of the Parliament forces, declared himself in 1653; a period of followed. After Cromwell's death and the resignation of his son as Lord Protector, was invited to return as monarch in 1660, in a move called the. After the 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 in 1689. Among 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. Also since that time, no British monarch has entered the when it is sitting, which is annually commemorated at the 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.

With the founding of the in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. In 1666 the gutted the City of London but it was rebuilt shortly afterwards with many significant buildings designed by Sir. In Parliament two factions had emerged — the and. Though the Tories initially supported Catholic king, some of them, along with the Whigs, during the invited Dutch prince William of Orange to defeat James and ultimately to become.

Some English people, especially in the north, were and continued to support James and his sons. After the parliaments of England and Scotland agreed, the two countries joined in, to create the in 1707. To accommodate the union, institutions such as the law and national churches of each remained separate. Late Modern and contemporary. West Yorkshire, is a model mill town from the, and a Under the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain, output from the Royal Society and other combined with the to create innovations in science and engineering, while the enormous growth in protected by the paved the way for the establishment of the. Domestically it drove the, a period of profound change in the 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. The opening of Northwest England's in 1761 ushered in the.

In 1825 the world's first permanent steam locomotive-hauled passenger railway—the —opened to the public. In, the world's 'first industrial city', circa 1820. 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 and, dubbed 'Workshop of the World' and 'Warehouse City' respectively. England maintained relative stability throughout the; was British Prime Minister for the reign of. During the, planned to. However this failed to manifest and the Napoleonic forces were defeated by the British at sea by and on land by the.

The Napoleonic Wars fostered a concept of and a united national, shared with the and Welsh. Is a memorial to members of the who died during the two World Wars London became the largest and most populous metropolitan area in the world during the, and trade within the British Empire—as well as the standing of the British military and navy—was prestigious. Political agitation at home from radicals such as the and the enabled legislative reform and. 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.

Two decades later, in, the United Kingdom was again one of the. At the end of the, became the wartime Prime Minister. Developments in warfare technology saw many cities damaged by air-raids during. Following the war, the British Empire experienced rapid, and there was a speeding up of technological innovations; automobiles became the primary means of transport and 's development of the led to wider. Residential patterns were altered in England by private motoring, and by the creation of the (NHS) in 1948. The UK's NHS provided to all UK permanent residents free at the point of need, being paid for from general taxation.

Combined, these changes prompted the reform of in the mid-20th century. Since the 20th century there has been significant population movement to England, mostly from other parts of the, but also from the, particularly the. Since the 1970s there has been a large move away from manufacturing and an increasing emphasis on the. As part of the United Kingdom, the area joined a initiative called the which became the. Since the late 20th century the has moved towards in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Continues to exist as a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom.

Devolution has stimulated a greater emphasis on a more English-specific identity and patriotism. There is no devolved English government, but an attempt to create a similar system on a sub-regional basis was rejected by referendum. The, the seat of the As part of the United Kingdom, the basic political system in England is a and. There has not been a since 1707, when the, putting into effect the terms of the, joined England and Scotland to form the. Before the union England was ruled by and the. Today England is governed directly by the, although other have governments.

In the which is the of the British Parliament based at the, there are 532 Members of Parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total. In the, the won 317 seats (the not being counted as a Conservative), more than any other party, though not enough to achieve an overall majority. The Conservative party, headed by the prime minister, won 55 more seats than the, led. The (Scotland only) won 35 out of 59.

Changing of the at the, As the United Kingdom is a member of the European Union, there are elections held regionally in England to decide who is sent as. The saw the regions of England elect the following MEPs: 22 (UKIP), 17 Conservatives, 17 Labour, 3, and one Liberal Democrat. Since, in which other countries of the United Kingdom—Scotland, Wales and —each have their own devolved parliament or assemblies for local issues, there has been debate about how to counterbalance this in England. Originally it was planned that various would be devolved, but following the proposal's rejection by the in a referendum, this has not been carried out. One major issue is the, in which MPs from Scotland and Wales are able to vote on legislation affecting only England, while English MPs have no equivalent right to legislate on devolved matters. This when placed in the context of England being the only country of the United Kingdom not to have free cancer treatment, prescriptions, residential care for the elderly and, has led to a steady rise in. Some have suggested the creation of a, while others have proposed simply limiting voting on legislation which only affects England to English MPs.

The The legal system, developed over the centuries, is the basis of legal systems used in most countries and the United States (except ). Despite now being part of the United Kingdom, the legal system of the continued, under the, as a separate legal system from 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 — —to the facts before them. The is headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the, the for civil cases, and the for criminal cases. The is the highest court for criminal and civil cases in.

It was created in 2009 after constitutional changes, taking over the. A decision of the Supreme Court is binding on every other court in the hierarchy, which must follow its directions. Crime increased between 1981 and 1995, but fell by 42% in the period 1995–2006. The prison population doubled over the same period, giving it the in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000., reporting to the, manages most, housing over 85,000 convicts. Regions, counties, and districts.

The consist of up to four levels of controlled through a variety of types of administrative entities created for the purposes of. The highest tier of local government were the nine:,,,, West Midlands,,,, and London.

These were created in 1994 as, used by the UK government to deliver a wide range of policies and programmes regionally, but there are no elected bodies at this level, except in London, and in 2011 the regional government offices were abolished. The same boundaries remain in use for electing on a regional basis. After began to take place in other parts of the United Kingdom it was planned that referendums for the regions of England would take place for their own elected as a counterweight. In 1998: the was created two years later. However, when the proposal was rejected by the in the North East, further referendums were cancelled.

The regional assemblies outside London were abolished in 2010, and their functions transferred to respective and a new system of. Below the regional level, all of England is divided into 48. These are used primarily as a geographical frame of reference and have developed gradually since the, with some established as recently as 1974.

Each has a and; these posts are used to represent the locally. Outside and the, England is also divided into 83; these correspond to areas used for the purposes of local government and may consist of a single district or be divided into several. There are six based on the most heavily urbanised areas, which do not have county councils. In these areas the principal authorities are the councils of the subdivisions, the. Elsewhere, 27 have a and are divided into districts, each with a district council. They are typically, though not always, found in more rural areas.

The remaining non-metropolitan counties are of a single district and usually correspond to large towns or sparsely populated counties; they are known as. Greater London has a different system for local government, with 32, plus the covering a small area at the core governed by the. At the most localised level, much of England is divided into with; in Greater London only one,, exists after they were until legislation in 2007. Massif, seen from in the Geographically England includes the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus such offshore islands as the and the. It is bordered by two other countries of the United Kingdom— by Scotland and by Wales. England is closer to the European continent than any other part of mainland Britain.

It is separated from France by a 21-mile (34 km) sea gap, though the two countries are connected by the near. England also has shores on the, and Atlantic Ocean. The ports of London,, and lie on the tidal rivers, and respectively. At 220 miles (350 km), the is the longest river flowing through England. It empties into the and is notable for its (a ), which can reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height. However, the longest river entirely in England is the Thames, which is 215 miles (346 km) in length.

There are many; the largest is, within the aptly named. 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, a chain of mountains dividing east and west, the Lake District mountains in Cumbria, and the, straddling the border between England and Scotland.

The highest point in England, at 978 metres (3,209 ft), is in the Lake District. The are near Wales while and are two upland areas in the south west of the country. The approximate dividing line between terrain types is often indicated by the. Terrain of, Devon In geological terms, the Pennines, known as the 'backbone of England', are the oldest range of mountains in the country, originating from the end of the around 300 million years ago. Their geological composition includes, among others, and, and also coal. There are landscapes in calcite areas such as parts of Yorkshire and. The Pennine landscape is high in upland areas, indented by fertile valleys of the region's rivers.

They contain two, the and the. In the, Dartmoor and Exmoor of the Southwest Peninsula include upland moorland supported by granite, and enjoy a; both are national parks. The are in the central and southern regions of the country, consisting of green rolling hills, including the,, and —where they meet the sea they form white rock exposures such as the.

This also includes relatively flat plains such as the,, and. Main article: England has a: it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and not much higher than 32 °C (90 °F) in summer.

The weather is damp relatively frequently and is changeable. The coldest months are January and February, the latter particularly on the, while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm weather are May, June, September and October. Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year. Important influences on the climate of England are its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, its northern and the warming of the sea by the. Rainfall is higher in the west, and parts of the receive more rain than anywhere else in the country. Since weather records began, the highest temperature recorded was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on 10 August 2003 at in Kent, while the lowest was −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on 10 January 1982 in, Shropshire.

Major conurbations. See also: The is by far the largest urban area in England and one of the busiest cities in the world. It is considered a and has a population larger than other countries in the United Kingdom besides England itself. Other urban areas of considerable size and influence tend to be in or the. There are which have been designated, while the wider United Kingdom has 66. While many cities in England are quite large, such as,, Manchester,,,,,, population size is not a prerequisite for city status.

Traditionally the status was given to towns with, so there are smaller cities like,,, and. According to the, the ten largest, continuous built-up urban areas are: Rank Urban area Population Major localities 1 9,787,426, divided into the and 32 including,,, 2 2,553,379,,,,,,, 3 2,440,986,,,,, 4 1,777,934,,,, 5 864,122,,, 6 855,569,,,,,, 7 774,891,,,, 8 729,977, and,, 9 685,368,,, 10 617,280,,, Economy.

The is the financial capital of United Kingdom England's economy is one of the largest in the world, with an average of £22,907. Usually regarded as a, it has adopted many principles, yet maintains an advanced social welfare infrastructure. The official currency in England is the, whose code is GBP. Is quite competitive when to much of the rest of Europe – as of 2014 the basic rate of personal tax is 20% on taxable income up to £31,865 above the personal tax-free allowance (normally £10,000), and 40% on any additional earnings above that amount.

The economy of England is the largest part of the, which has the highest GDP per capita in the world. England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly, the, and the manufacturing side of the. London, home to the, the United Kingdom's main and the largest in Europe, is England's financial centre—100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations are based in London. London is the largest financial centre in Europe, and as of 2014 is the second largest in the world. Is a well-known English car company The, founded in 1694 by Scottish banker, is the United Kingdom's. Originally established as private banker to the government of England, since 1946 it has been a.

The bank has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in, although not in other parts of the United Kingdom. The government has devolved responsibility to the bank's for managing the monetary policy of the country and setting interest rates. 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 oriented economy. Tourism has become a significant industry, attracting millions of visitors to England each year. The export part of the economy is dominated by, cars (although many English are now foreign-owned, such as,, and ), and petroleum from the English parts of along with, and alcoholic beverages.

Most of the UK's £30 billion is primarily based in England. The global market opportunity for UK aerospace manufacturers over the next two decades is estimated at £3.5 trillion. – an expert in metallic and composite aerostructures is involved in almost every civil and military fixed and rotary wing aircraft in production is based in. Makes large sections of the at its sub-assembly plant in and assembles the aircraft for the RAF at its plant, near. It is also a principal subcontractor on the – the world's largest single defence project – for which it designs and manufactures a range of components including the aft fuselage, vertical and horizontal tail and wing tips and fuel system. It also manufactures the, the world's most successful jet training aircraft. Is the world's second-largest manufacturer.

Its engines power more than 30 types of commercial aircraft, and it has more 30,000 engines currently in service across both the civil and defence sectors. With a workforce of over 12,000 people, has the largest concentration of Rolls-Royce employees in the UK.

Rolls-Royce also produces low-emission power systems for ships; makes critical equipment and safety systems for the nuclear industry and powers offshore platforms and major pipelines for the oil and gas industry. Much of the UK's space industry is centred on, based in and. The company builds the – the underlying structure onto which the payload and propulsion systems are built – for most of the 's spacecraft, as well as commercial satellites.

The world leader in compact satellite systems,, is also part of Astrium., the company planning to build, a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane using their, a combined-cycle, air-breathing rocket propulsion system is based. Agriculture is intensive and highly mechanised, producing 60% of food needs with only 2% of the labour force.

Two thirds of production is devoted to livestock, the other to arable crops. Science and technology. Sir is one of the most influential figures in the Prominent English figures from the field of science and mathematics include Sir,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and. Some experts claim that the earliest concept of a was invented by, the first secretary of the, in 1668. As the birthplace of the, England was home to many significant inventors during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Famous English engineers include, best known for the creation of the, a series of famous, and numerous important bridges, hence revolutionising public transport and modern-day engineering. 's helped spawn the Industrial Revolution.

The Father of Railways,, built the first public inter-city railway line in the world, the, which opened in 1830. With his role in the marketing and manufacturing of the steam engine, and invention of modern coinage, (business partner of ) is regarded as one of the most influential entrepreneurs in history. The physician 's is said to have 'saved more lives.

Than were lost in all the wars of mankind since the beginning of recorded history.' Inventions and discoveries of the English include: the, the first industrial, and the first, the along with, the first successful human, the motorised, the, the, the, the,, and theories such as the Darwinian theory of and. Newton developed the ideas of,, and, and his eponymously named.

Other inventions include the iron plate railway, the,, the, the,, joint development of the, steam, the modern and many modern techniques and technologies used in. Has more international than any other airport in the world. The is the government body responsible for overseeing transport in England.

There are many, and many other trunk roads, such as the, which runs through eastern England from London to Newcastle (much of this section is motorway) and onward to the Scottish border. The longest motorway in England is the, from through the up to the, a distance of 232 miles (373 km). Other major routes include: the from London to Leeds, the which encircles London, the which encircles Manchester, the from London to South Wales, the from Liverpool via Manchester to East Yorkshire, and the from Birmingham to Bristol and the South West. Bus transport across the country is widespread; major companies include, and. The red in London have become a symbol of England.

There is a network in two English cities: the; and the in Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland. There are several tram networks, such as the,, and, and the system centred on Croydon in South London. The, now part of the was the first underground railway in the world is the oldest in the world: passenger railways originated in England in 1825. Much of Britain's 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of rail network lies in England, covering the country fairly extensively, although a high proportion of railway lines were closed in the second half of the 20th century. There are plans to reopen lines such as the between Oxford and Cambridge.

These lines are mostly standard gauge (, or ) though there are also a few. There is rail transport access to France and Belgium through an undersea rail link, the, which was completed in 1994. England has extensive domestic and international aviation links. The largest airport is, which is the. Other large airports include,, and. By sea there is ferry transport, both local and international, including to Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium. There are around 4,400 miles (7,100 km) of navigable waterways in England, half of which is owned by the, however water transport is very limited.

The is the major waterway in England, with imports and exports focused at the in the Thames Estuary, one of the United Kingdom's three major ports. An NHS hospital, has the largest single floor critical care unit in the world The (NHS) is the in England responsible for providing the majority of healthcare in the country. The NHS began on 5 July 1948, putting into effect the provisions of the. It was based on the findings of the, prepared by economist and social reformer. The NHS is largely funded from general taxation including payments, and 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. The government department responsible for the NHS is the, headed by the, who sits in the.

Most of the expenditure of the Department of Health is spent on the NHS—£98.6 billion was spent in 2008–2009. In recent years the private sector has been increasingly used to provide more NHS services despite opposition by doctors and trade unions.

The average of people in England is 77.5 years for males and 81.7 years for females, the highest of the four. Population of England and Wales by administrative areas.

Their size is approximately in proportion to their population. Colours by quints (1/5th) of number of districts classified by population density with division of extreme quints With over 53 million inhabitants, England is by far the most populous country of the United Kingdom, accounting for 84% of the combined total. England taken as a unit and measured against international states has the fourth largest population in the European Union and would be the 25th largest in the world.

With a density of 407 people per square kilometre, it would be the second most densely populated country in the European Union after. Some genetic evidence suggests that 75–95% descend in the paternal line from prehistoric settlers who originally came from the, as well as a 5% contribution from and, and a significant Scandinavian () element. However, other geneticists place the estimate up to half. Over time, various cultures have been influential:,,,, (North Germanic), cultures, as well as a large influence from. There is an English diaspora in former parts of the British Empire; especially the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Since the late 1990s, many English people to Spain. 2009 estimates of In 1086, when the was compiled, England had a population of two million. About 10% lived in urban areas. By 1801, the population was 8.3 million, and by 1901 30.5 million.

Due in particular to the economic prosperity of, it has received many economic migrants from the other parts of the United Kingdom. There has been. The proportion of ethnically European residents totals at 87.50%, including and. Other people from much further afield in the former British colonies have arrived since the 1950s: in particular, 6% of people living in England have family origins in the, mostly India, and. 2.90% of the population are black, from Africa and the, especially former British colonies. There is a significant number of Chinese and. In 2007, 22% of primary school children in England were from families, and in 2011 that figure was 26.5%.

About half of the population increase between 1991 and 2001 was due to immigration. Debate over immigration is politically prominent; according to a 2009 poll, 80% of people want to cap it. The has projected that the population will grow by nine million between 2014 and 2039. England contains one indigenous national minority, the, recognised by the UK government under the in 2014. Delivery Driver Spreadsheet.

Official, but not majority language Note: English is also an As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue spoken by 98% of the population. It is an language in the branch of the family. After the, the language was displaced and confined to the as and were used by the aristocracy. By the 15th century, English was back in fashion among all classes, though much changed; the form showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins. Has extended this custom of flexibility, when it comes to incorporating words from different languages.

Thanks in large part to the, the English language is the world's unofficial. Is an important, and includes, tourism spending, and publishing.

There is no mandating an for England, but English is the only language used for official business. Despite the country's relatively small size, there are many distinct, and individuals with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood everywhere in the country. As well as English, England has two other, and.

Cornish died out as a community language in the 18th century but is being revived, and is now protected under the. It is spoken by 0.1% of people in, and is taught to some degree in several primary and secondary schools. When the modern border between Wales and England was established by the, many Welsh-speaking communities found themselves on the English side of the border. Welsh was spoken in in Herefordshire into the nineteenth century.

Welsh was spoken by natives of parts of western until the middle of the twentieth century if not later. Teach students a, usually French, German or Spanish. Due to immigration, it was reported in 2007 that around 800,000 school students spoke a at home, the most common being and. However, following the 2011 census data released by the, figures now show that Polish is the main language spoken in England after English. Further information: In the 2011 census, 59.4% of the population of England specified their religion as Christian, 24.7% answered that they had no religion, 5% specified that they were, while 3.7% of the population belongs to other religions and 7.2% did not give an answer. Christianity is the most widely practised religion in England, as it has been since the Early Middle Ages, although it was first introduced much earlier in Gaelic and Roman times.

This was gradually joined to the hierarchy following the 6th-century to led. The of England is the, which left communion with in the 1530s when was unable to annul his divorce to of the. The church regards itself as both Catholic and. Is the of England There are and traditions, and some Anglicans regard themselves as, following the.

The monarch of the United Kingdom is the of the church, which has around 26 million baptised members (of whom the vast majority are not regular churchgoers). It forms part of the with the acting as its symbolic worldwide head. Many and parish churches are historic buildings of significant architectural importance, such as,,, and. The 2nd-largest Christian practice is the of the Catholic Church. Since its reintroduction after the, the Church has organised ecclesiastically on an basis where there are 4.5 million members (most of whom are English).

There has been one Pope from England to date,; while saints and are regarded as. Is a notable example of. The traditionally takes place at the Abbey A form of known as is the third largest Christian practice and grew out of Anglicanism through.

It gained popularity in the of and, and amongst tin miners in. There are other minorities, such as,,, and. The patron saint of England is; his symbolic cross is included in the flag of England, as well as in the Union Flag as part of a combination.

There are many other English and associated saints; some of the best-known are:,,,,,,,,,, and. There are non-Christian religions practised. Jews have a history of a small minority on the island since 1070. They were expelled from England in 1290 following the, only to be allowed back in 1656.

Especially since the 1950s, religions from the have grown in numbers, due to immigration. Islam is the most common of these, now accounting for around 5% of the population in England., and are next in number, adding up to 2.8% combined, introduced from India and. A small minority of the population practise ancient.

Is primarily represented by and,, and. According to the, there are roughly 53,172 people who identify as Pagan in England, and 3,448 in, including 11,026 in England and 740 in Wales. The frontage of, one of the oldest independent schools in England The is the government department responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including education. State-run and state-funded schools are attended by approximately 93% of English schoolchildren. Of these, a minority are (primarily or schools).

Children who are between the ages of 3 and 5 attend nursery or an 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.

After finishing compulsory education, students take examinations. Students may then opt to continue into for two years. (particularly ) often form part of a secondary school site. Examinations are sat by a large number of further education students, and often form the basis of an application to university. Although most English secondary schools are, in some areas there are selective intake, to which entrance is subject to passing the exam. Around 7.2% of English schoolchildren attend, which are funded by private sources. Standards in state schools are monitored by the, and in private schools by the.

University of Cambridge Higher education students normally attend university from age 18 onwards, where they study for an. There are over 90 universities in England, all but one of which are. The is the government department responsible for higher education in England.

Students are generally entitled to to cover the cost of and living costs. The first degree offered to undergraduates is the, which usually takes three years to complete. Students are then able to work towards a postgraduate degree, which usually takes one year, or towards a doctorate, which takes three or more years. 's, the biggest university library in the UK include some of the highest-ranked universities in the world;,,, and are all ranked in the global top 30 in the 2018. The has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research. The is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2010 its MBA programme was ranked best in the world by the. In England are usually split into classes: first class (1st), upper second class (2:1), lower second class (2:2), third (3rd), and unclassified.

And are the oldest schools in the English-speaking world. Many of England's most well-known schools, such as,,, and are fee-paying institutions. A in front of, one of the most important buildings of the period Many ancient monuments were erected during the prehistoric period, amongst the best-known are,, and.

With the introduction of there was a development of,,,,,,,, and. 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 stretching right across northern England. Another well-preserved example is the. Secular buildings were simple constructions mainly using timber with for roofing. Ecclesiastical architecture ranged from a synthesis of —, to and architecture characterised by pilaster-strips, blank arcading, baluster shafts and triangular headed openings.

After the Norman conquest in 1066 various were created so law lords could uphold their authority and in the north to protect from invasion. Some of the best-known medieval castles are the,, and. Is a 14th-century near in East Sussex Throughout the Plantagenet era an flourished—the such as, and are prime examples. Expanding on the there was also,,, universities and. Medieval architecture was completed with the 16th-century; the four-centred arch, now known as the, was a defining feature as were houses domestically.

In the aftermath of the a form of architecture echoing classical antiquity, synthesised with Christianity appeared—the style, architect was particularly championed. Followed in a more refined style, evoking a simple Palladian form; the at Bath is one of the best examples of this. With the emergence of during Victorian period, a was launched—in addition to this around the same time the Industrial Revolution paved the way for buildings such as. Since the 1930s various forms have appeared whose reception is often controversial, though traditionalist resistance movements continue with support in influential places. Illustrated in 1912 wearing 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,,,,, and. While many legends and folk-customs are thought to be ancient, for instance the tales featuring and, others date from after the Norman invasion; and his of and their battles with the being, perhaps, the best known. During the tales originating from Brythonic traditions entered English folklore—the. These were derived from, Welsh and French sources, featuring,,, and the such as. These stories are most centrally brought together within 's ( History of the Kings of Britain). Another early figure from,, may have been based on a real figure from Sub-Roman Britain.

Many of the tales and make up part of the wider, a collection of shared British folklore. Some folk figures are based on semi or actual historical people whose story has been passed down centuries; for instance was said to have ridden naked on horseback through, was a heroic English figure resisting the Norman invasion, is an ghost associated with Forest and and is the archetypal witch. On 5 November people make bonfires, set off and eat in of the foiling of the centred on.

The chivalrous bandit, such as, is a recurring character, while is the archetypal pirate. There are various national and regional folk activities, participated in to this day, such as,, in the North East, in Yorkshire,, in Leicestershire, and. There is no official national costume, but a few are well established such as the associated with cockneys, the, the and. Is a very popular dish in England Since the the food of England has historically been characterised by its simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce. During the and through the Renaissance period, English cuisine enjoyed an excellent reputation, though a decline began during the with the move away from the land and increasing urbanisation of the populace. The cuisine of England has, however, recently undergone a revival, which has been recognised by the food critics with some good ratings in 's charts. An early book of English recipes is the from the royal court of.

Has been consumed in England since the Traditional examples of English food include the, featuring a (usually beef,, chicken or pork) served with assorted vegetables,, and. Other prominent meals include and the (generally consisting of,, grilled tomatoes, fried bread,,,, and eggs). Various are consumed such as,,, (the latter usually eaten cold) and the.

Sausages are commonly eaten, either as. Is a well known stew in the northwest.

Some of the more popular cheeses are, and together with. Many hybrid dishes,, have been created such as and. Traditional English dessert dishes include or other fruit pies; – all generally served with; and, more recently,. Sweet pastries include (either plain or containing dried fruit) served with jam and/or cream, dried fruit loaves, and as well as a wide range of sweet or spiced biscuits. Common drinks include tea, whose popularity was increased by, whilst frequently consumed alcoholic drinks include wines, and, such as,,, and. By in the style The earliest known examples are the prehistoric rock and pieces, most prominent in, Northumberland and, but also feature further south, for example. With the arrival of 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 and. 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 discovered in 2009. Some of these blended styles, such as the and. Later was popular at Winchester and Canterbury, examples survive such as and. The Tudor era saw as part of their court, portrait painting which would remain an enduring part of English art, was boosted by German, natives such as built on this.

Under the Stuarts, Continental artists were influential especially the Flemish, examples from the period include—,, and. The 18th century was a time of significance with the founding of the, a based on the prevailed— and became two of England's most treasured artists. The continued the landscape tradition, while the with their vivid and detailed style revived the style—, and were leaders. Prominent amongst 20th-century artists was, regarded as the voice of British sculpture, and of British modernism in general. Contemporary painters include, whose work in 2008 set a world record for sale value of a painting by a living artist. Literature, poetry and philosophy. Was an English author, poet and philosopher, best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative Early authors such as and wrote in Latin.

The period of provided the epic poem and the secular prose of the, along with Christian writings such as, 's and. Following the Norman conquest continued amongst the educated classes, as well as an. Emerged with, author of, along with, the and.

And, who were, were major philosophers of the Middle Ages., who wrote, was a prominent Christian mystic. With the literature in the style appeared., whose works include,,, and, remains one of the most championed authors in English literature.,,,,, and are other established authors of the. And wrote on and, including and. Wrote on the. Was the best-known poet of the, while authored during the. 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.. Some of the most prominent philosophers of the were,, and. More radical elements were later countered by who is regarded as the founder of conservatism. The poet with his satirical verse became well regarded.

The English played a significant role in:,,,,, and were major figures. In response to the, agrarian writers sought a way between and tradition;, and were main exponents, while the founder of,, and advocate are somewhat related. Empiricism continued through and, while was involved in.

Authors from around the include, the,,,,, and. Since then England has continued to produce novelists such as,,,,,,,,, and.

Are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in popular music. Early English composers in classical music include Renaissance artists and, followed up by from the.

German-born became a British subject and spent most of his composing life in London, creating some of the most well-known works of classical music,,, and. One of his four,, composed for the coronation of, has been performed at every subsequent, traditionally during the sovereign's anointing. There was a revival in the profile of composers from England in the 20th century led by,,,, and others. Present-day composers from England include, best known for, and, whose musicals have achieved enormous success in the and worldwide. In the field of, many English bands and solo artists have been cited as the most influential and best-selling musicians of all time. Acts such as,,,,, and are among the highest selling recording artists in the world. Many musical genres have origins in (or strong associations with) England, such as,,,,,,,,,,,,, and.

Large outdoor in the summer and autumn are popular, such as,, and the. The most prominent in England is the. – a season of classical concerts held at the in London – is a major cultural event in the English calendar, and takes place yearly. Is one of the world's foremost classical ballet companies, its reputation built on two prominent figures of 20th-century dance, and choreographer.

Was among a group of English filmmakers, including,, and, who emerged from making 1970s UK television commercials. England (and the UK as a whole) 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,,,,,,,,,,, and. Hitchcock and Lean are among the most critically acclaimed filmmakers. Hitchcock's first thriller, (1926), helped shape the genre in film, while his 1929 film,, is often regarded as the first British feature film. Major film studios in England include, and.

Some of the most commercially successful films of all time have been produced in England, including two of the ( and ). In London has a claim to being the oldest continuously working film studio in the world. Famous for recording many motion picture, the first performed film music in 1935. The includes (1979), a film regularly voted the funniest of all time by the UK public. English producers are also active in and English actors, directors and crew feature regularly in American films. The UK film council ranked,,, and the five most commercially successful English directors since 2001.

Other contemporary English directors include, and. Current actors include,, and. Acclaimed for his motion capture work, opened in London in 2011. The visual effects company in London has produced some of the most critically acclaimed special effects in modern film. Many successful Hollywood films have been based on English people, or events.

The of Disney animated films include, and. Museums, libraries, and galleries. The in London is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. It is currently sponsored by the. The charity holds a contrasting role. 17 of the 25 United Kingdom UNESCO fall within England.

Some of the best-known of these are:,,,,,, and various others. There are many museums in England, but perhaps the most notable is London's. Its collection of more than seven million objects is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world, sourced from every continent, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.

The in London is the and is one of the world's largest, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; including around 25 million books. The most senior art gallery is the in, which houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.

The galleries house the national collections of British and international modern art; they also host the famously controversial. Queen presenting the to 1966 World Cup winning England captain England has a strong sporting heritage, and during the 19th century codified many sports that are now played around the world.

Sports originating in England include association football,,,,,, badminton,,,,,,, table tennis,,, horseracing, and. It has helped the development of, sailing and. Football is the of these sports. The, whose home venue is, played in the first ever international football match in 1872. Referred to as the 'home of football' by, England hosted the, and won the tournament by defeating 4–2 in the, with scoring a. With a British television audience peak of 32.30 million viewers, the final is the in the UK.

Home of the, has a 90,000 capacity. It is the biggest stadium in the UK At club level England is recognised by FIFA as the birthplace of club football, due to founded in 1857 being the world's oldest club. Is the oldest governing body in the sport, with the of football first drafted in 1863.

The and were the first cup and league competitions respectively. In the modern day the is the world's most-watched football league, most lucrative, and amongst the elite.

As is the case throughout the UK, football in England is renowned for the intense rivalries between clubs and the passion of the supporters, which includes a tradition of football chants, such as, ' (or its variant 'We Can See You Sneaking Out!' ), sung by jubilant fans towards the opposition fans who have gone silent (or left early). The (now ) has been won by,,, and, while, and have reached the final. Other English clubs have enjoyed success,,, Chelsea, and Liverpool have won the UEFA Cup, renamed. On the way to victory against in the at is generally thought to have been developed in the early medieval period among the farming and metalworking communities of the. The is a composite England and Wales team. One of the game's top rivalries is series between England and, contested since 1882.

The climax of the was viewed by 7.4 million as it was available on terrestrial television. England has hosted four (1975, 1979, 1983, 1999) and will host the, but never won the tournament, reaching the final 3 times. However they have hosted the in, winning this format in 2010 beating rivals Australia in the final. In the domestic competition, the, are by far the most successful club having won the competition 31 times. Situated in London is sometimes referred to as the 'Mecca of Cricket'. Was prominent in organising the format for the modern.

In 1994, then President of the,, laid a wreath on Brooke's grave, and said, 'I came to pay homage and tribute to Dr Brookes, who really was the founder of the modern Olympic Games'. London has hosted the three times, in,, and. England competes in the, held every four years. Is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England. The during their victory parade after winning the originated in, Warwickshire in the early 19th century. The won the, with scoring the winning in the last minute of extra time against Australia. England was one of the host nations of the competition in the and also hosted the.

The top level of club participation is the.,, and have had success in the Europe-wide. Was born in in 1895.

Since 2008, the has been a full test nation in lieu of the, which won three but is now retired. Club sides play in, the present-day embodiment of the. Rugby League is most popular among towns in the northern English counties of, Yorkshire and. All eleven English clubs in Super League are based in the north of England. Some of the most successful clubs include,, and; the former three have all won the previously. Has been prominent in England; due in part to its cultural and geographical ties to Scotland, the. There are both professional tours for men and women, in two main tours: the and the.

England has produced grand slam winners:,,, and in the men's and,, and in the women's. The world's oldest golf tournament, and golf's first major, is, played both in England and Scotland. The biennial golf competition, the, is named after English businessman who sponsored the event and donated the trophy. Nick Faldo is the most successful Ryder Cup player ever, having won the most points (25) of any player on either the European or US teams. First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. Was created in Birmingham, England in the late 19th century, and is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and widely considered the most prestigious. Wimbledon is a tournament that has a major place in the British cultural calendar.

Was the last Englishman to win Wimbledon in 1936. He was the first player to win all four singles titles and helped lead the team to four wins. English women who have won Wimbledon include: in 1969 and in 1977. In, under the, England has produced many world champions across the weight divisions internationally recognised by the governing bodies. World champions include,,,,,,,,,,, and. In women's boxing, became the world's first woman to win an Olympic boxing Gold medal at the. Originating in 17th and 18th-century England, the is a horse breed best known for its use in.

The horse race the, is held annually at in early April. It is the most watched horse race in the UK, attracting casual observers, and three-time winner is the most successful racehorse in the event's history.

Red Rum is also the best-known racehorse in the country. Former world champion driving at in 1990. The circuit hosted the in 1950 The at was the first race in the newly created. Since then, England has produced some of the greatest drivers in the sport, including;,, (only driver to have won the ), (only man to hold F1 and IndyCar titles at the same time),, and. It has manufactured some of the most technically advanced racing cars, and many of today's racing companies choose England as their base of operations for its engineering knowledge and organisation.,,,,,,, and are all, or have been, located in the south of England.

England also has a rich heritage in, the premier championship of motorcycle, and produced several World Champions across all the various class of motorcycle:,,,, and. Is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, winning the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at two Olympic Games is a widely popular sport in England; a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional. The sport is governed by the, one of its member organisations is the, which annually stages the Lakeside World Professional Championship, the other being the (PDC), which runs its own world championship at in London. Is widely regarded as the best darts player of all time, having won 187 professional tournaments, and a record 16. Is the ten-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the.

Another popular sport commonly associated with pub games is, and England has produced several world champions, including and. The English are keen sailors and enjoy competitive; founding and winning some of the worlds most famous and respected international competitive tournaments across the various race formats, including the, a regatta, and the.

England has produced some of the world's greatest sailors, including,,,,,,,, and the most successful Olympic sailor ever. National symbols.

The The St George's Cross has been the national since the 13th century. Originally the flag was used by the maritime. The English monarch paid a tribute to the 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 in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with, along with countries and cities, which claimed him as their and used his cross as a banner. Since 1606 the St George's Cross has formed part of the design of the, a Pan-British flag designed by King. The, England's There are numerous other symbols and symbolic artefacts, both official and unofficial, including the, the nation's, and the Three Lions featured on the. The Tudor rose was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the as a symbol of peace. It is a symbol in that it merged the white rose of the and the red rose of the —cadet branches of the who went to war over control of the nation. It is also known as the Rose of England.

The tree is a symbol of England, representing strength and endurance. The symbol and commemorate the escape of King from the grasp of the parliamentarians after his father's execution: he hid in an oak tree to avoid detection before safely reaching exile. The Royal Arms of England, a national featuring three lions, originated with its adoption by in 1198. It is as gules, three lions passant guardant or and it provides one of the most prominent symbols of England; it is similar to the traditional arms of. England does not have an official designated national anthem, as the United Kingdom as a whole has. However, the following are often considered unofficial English national anthems:, (used for England during the ), and. England's is 23 April which is: St George is the patron saint of England.

• According to the, London is the largest in the EU, a measure of metropolitan area which comprises a city's urban core as well as its surrounding commuting zone. • As 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.' • Figure of 550,000 military deaths is for England and Wales • For instance, in 1980 around 50 million claimed. In Canada there are around 6.5 million who claim. Around 70% of in 1999 denoted their origins as, a category which includes all peoples from Great Britain and Ireland. Chileans of are somewhat of an anomaly in that itself was never part of the British Empire, but today there are around 420,000 people of English origins living there.

• ^ People who strictly identified as 'Pagan'. Other Pagan paths, such as Wicca or Druidism, have not been included in this number. • People who strictly identified as 'Wiccan'. Other Pagan paths, such as Druidism, and general 'Pagan' have not been included in this number. • 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. • While people such as and represent the modernist movement, since the 1980s has voiced strong views against it in favour of traditional architecture and put his ideas into practice at his development in Dorset.

Architects like, and continued to practise in the classical style. • 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 history ill-suited to the task during an era when members of the deposed, especially and his nephews of the Scottish, were still active in the isles. Also 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.'