English Items

Cheddar

a kind of firm smooth yellow cheese, originally made in Cheddar in SW England.

thistle

National emblem of Scotland since the reign of Alexander III (1249-1286). It was used on silver coins issued by James III in 1470. It is the symbol of the Order of the Thistle, a high chivalric order of Scotland.

Caerleon

South Wales. Site of archaeological importance, being the location of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hillfort. It has one of the best-preserved amphitheatres.

Cardiff

South Welsh coast. Capital and largest city of Wales.

Portsmouth

South coast of the South-East. Home port of the Royal Navy, now much reduced but for a long time one of the institutions central to British identity. South is the Isle of Wight, famous for its yacht races.

Brighton

South coast of the South-East. Seaside resort known for its waterfront, its pier, for the Royal Pavilion (a beach palace built for George IV in a pastiche of Asian style), and now also for its homosexual subculture. It is the unofficial gay capital of the UK.

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)

Thread-like chain of nucleotides carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. Its molecular structure was first identified by James Watson and Francis Crick at the Cavendish Laboratory within the University of Cambridge in 1953.

Max Boyce (1943)

Welsh comedian, singer and entertainer. He rose to fame during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales.

St George

patron saint of England

St Patrick

patron saint of Ireland

St David

patron saint of Wales

stannaries

tin-mining districst in Cornwall or Devon (South-West of England)

Abu Hamza

Egyptian cleric known as the Hook Man who was the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in London, England, where he preached Islamic fundamentalism and militant Islamism. In 2004, Hamza was arrested by British police after the United States requested he be extradited to face charges. He was later charged by British authorities with sixteen offences for inciting violence and racial hatred. In 2006, a British court found him guilty of inciting violence, and sentenced him to 7 years' imprisonment. In 2012, after an 8 year legal battle, he was extradited from the UK to the US to face terrorism charges and in 2014 his trial began in New York. Hamza was found guilty of eleven terrorism charges by a federal jury in Manhattan. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

by-election

Elections used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections. In most cases these elections occur after the incumbent dies or resigns, but they also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office (because of a recall, ennoblement, criminal conviction, or failure to maintain a minimum attendance).

emigration

Emigration was an important feature of British society in the 19th century. Between 1815 and 1930 around 11.4 million people emigrated from Britain and 7.3 million from Ireland (many went to the United States). Estimates show that by the end of the 20th century some 300 million people of British and Irish descent were permanently settled around the globe.

Cricket

England's national summer sport, which is now played throughout the world. It is played with a bat and ball and involves two competing teams of 11 players.

Cardinal Manning (1808 - 1892)

English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He used this goodwill to promote a modern Roman Catholic view of social justice, was instrumental in settling the London dock strike of 1889, and he had a significant role in the conversion of notable figures.

William Booth (1829 - 1912)

English Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General. The Christian movement with a quasi-military structure and government founded in 1865 has spread from London, England, to many parts of the world and is known for being one of the largest distributors of humanitarian aid.

Puritans

English Reformed Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to "purify" the Church of England from its "Catholic" practices, maintaining that the Church of England was only partially reformed.

J.M.W. Turner (1775- 1851)

English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist, known for his expressive colourisation, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings. Intensely private, eccentric and reclusive, Turner was a controversial figure throughout his career. He did not marry, but fathered two daughters by his housekeeper Sarah Danby. He became more pessimistic and morose as he got older, especially after the death of his father, after which his outlook deteriorated, and his gallery fell into disrepair and neglect, and his art intensified. He lived in near poverty circumstances and in poor health. He left behind over 2,000 paintings and 19,000 drawings and sketches. He had been championed by the leading English art critic John Ruskin from 1840, and is today regarded as having elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivaling history painting.

John Constable (1776-1837)

English Romantic painter. He is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home — now known as "Constable Country" — which he invested with an intensity of affection. His most famous paintings include Wivenhoe Park of 1816, Dedham Vale of 1802 and The Hay Wain of 1821. Although his paintings are now among the most popular and valuable in British art, he was never financially successful. He did not become a member of the establishment until he was elected to the Royal Academy at the age of 52. His work was embraced in France, where he sold more works than in his native England and inspired the Barbizon school.

Rowan Atkinson

English actor, comedian, and screenwriter best known for his work on the sitcoms Blackadder and Mr. Bean.

public house

Establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, which traditionally include beer (such as ale) and cider. It is a relaxed, social drinking establishment and a prominent part of British culture. We now call them "pubs".

Utilitarianism

Ethical theory that states that the best action is the one that maximizes utility. "Utility" is defined in various ways, usually in terms of the well-being of sentient entities. Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, described utility as the sum of all pleasure that results from an action, minus the suffering of anyone involved in the action.

The UK Independence Party (UKIP)

Eurosceptic, conservative, right-wing, populist political party in the UK. It called for the UK's exit from the European Union (when Nigel Farage was leader). It promotes a British unionist and nationalist agenda, encouraging a unitary British identity in opposition to growing Welsh and Scottish nationalisms. It has also placed emphasis on lowering immigration, rejecting multiculturalism, and opposing what it calls the "Islamification" of Britain.

choral evensong

Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican tradition celebrated in the late afternoon or evening. It is also commonly known as Evensong, especially when the office is rendered chorally, that is, when most of the service is sung. It is roughly the equivalent of Vespers in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran churches.

Broadmoor Hospital

Famous high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in Berkshire, England. Most of the patients there have been diagnosed with severe mental illness; many also have schizophrenia and personality disorders. Most have either been convicted of serious crimes, or been found unfit to plead in a trial for such crimes.

Huguenots

French Protestants mainly from northern France, who were inspired by the writings of theologians in the early 1500s, and who endorsed the Reformed tradition of Protestantism. The term was used frequently to describe members of the Reformed Church of France from the early 1500s until around 1800.

Simon de Montfort (1208 - 1265)

French-English nobleman who inherited the title and estates of the earldom of Leicester in England. He led the rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-64, and subsequently became de facto ruler of England. During his rule, he called two famous parliaments. The first stripped the King of unlimited authority, while the second included ordinary citizens from the towns. For this reason, he is regarded today as one of the progenitors of modern parliamentary democracy. After a rule of just over a year, Montfort was killed by forces loyal to the King in the Battle of Evesham.

Loch Lomond

Freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.

Cotton mills

Factory housing powered spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution when the early mills were important in the development of the factory system.

Gunpowder Plot (1605)

Failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby. The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of England's Parliament on 5 November 1605.

Strangeways

HM Prison Manchester (commonly known as Strangeways) is a high-security men's prison in Manchester, England, operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. It is a local prison, holding prisoners remanded into custody from courts in the Manchester area and Category A prisoners (those whose escape would be highly dangerous).

Chariots of Fire

1981 British historical drama film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice. The film was conceived and produced by David Puttnam, written by Colin Welland, and directed by Hugh Hudson. The film's title was inspired by the line, "Bring me my chariot of fire," from the William Blake poem adapted into the popular British hymn "Jerusalem"; the hymn is heard at the end of the film.

Brideshead Revisited

1981 British television serial starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. It was produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. Most of the serial was directed by Charles Sturridge; a few sequences were directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The serial is an adaptation of the novel Brideshead Revisited (1945) by Evelyn Waugh. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles Ryder—including his friendship with the Flytes, a family of wealthy English Catholics who live in a palatial mansion called Brideshead Castle.

Full English breakfast

Breakfast meal that typically includes fried eggs, sausage, white and black pudding, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans, hash browns, toast, half a tomato and a beverage such as coffee or tea. (often shortened to "full English")

Iron Bridge

Bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron, and was greatly celebrated after construction owing to its use of the new material.

York

Capital of the county of Yorkshire. It is one of the ancient cities of Britain. It was called Eboracum in Roman times; the current name derives from the Norse Jorvik. York Minster is one of Europe's great medieval cathedrals - by some measurements the largest north of the Alps - and the city has retained parts of its walls and gates, giving it a medieval feel that makes it a popular tourist destination.

Crystal Palace

Cast-iron and plate-glass structure originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Church of Ireland

Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second-largest Christian church on the island after the Catholic Church.

Presbyterian

Christian who is a member of a Presbyterian church. Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism which traces its origins to the British Isles, particularly Scotland.

Lowlands

Cultural and historic region of Scotland. The Lowlands is not an official geographical or administrative area of the country. There are two main topographic regions: the Lowlands and the Southern Uplands. In normal usage it refers to those parts of Scotland not in the Highlands. The boundary is usually considered to be a line between Stonehaven and Helensburgh

Mills & Boon

Company who published romantic novels, or escapist fiction for women in the 1930s. The books that are considered low-brow and formulaic, although this has also been cited as one of the reasons for their success.

stout (drink)

Dark beer that includes roasted malt or roasted barley, hops, water and yeast. It is a generic term for the strongest or stoutest porters, typically 7% or 8% alcohol by volume (ABV), produced by a brewery.

libel

Defamation, calumny, vilification, or traducement is the communication of a false statement that, depending on the law of the country, harms the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government, religion, or nation. Under common law, to constitute defamation, a claim must generally be false and must have been made to someone other than the person defamed. Some common law jurisdictions also distinguish between spoken defamation, called slander, and defamation in other media such as printed words or images, called libel.

Falklands War (1982)

(Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas) Ten-week war between Argentina and the UK over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands, and its dependency of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It began on Friday, 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands (and, the following day, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it had claimed over them. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, returning the islands to British control.

Neil Jordan

Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, Night in Tunisia, won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game (1992). He also won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival for The Butcher Boy (1997). Jordan achieved renown for creating The Borgias for Showtime.

Brian Boru (941 - 1014)

Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated Leinster, eventually becoming High King of Ireland. He was the founder of the O'Brien dynasty.

The Financial Times

Japanese-owned, English-language international daily newspaper with a special emphasis on business and economic news.

Law Lords (full name: Lords of Appeal in Ordinary)

Judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters. The House of Lords lost its judicial functions upon the establishment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in October 2009.

Justice of the Peace

Judicial officer, of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace.

Offa's Dyke

Large linear earthwork that roughly follows the current border between England and Wales. The structure is named after the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to have ordered its construction. Although its precise original purpose is debated, it delineated the border between Anglian Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys.

Milton Keynes

Large town in the Borough of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It is a "new town" that was built beyond the Green Belt round London.

Loch Ness

Large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands, best known for alleged sightings of the cryptozoological monster known affectionately as "Nessie".

T-levels

New 2-year, level 3 technical study programme in the UK which include a qualification. They will enable students to secure skilled employment by providing a mixture of: practical skills and knowledge specific to their chosen industry or occupation.

Ernest Rutherford (1871 - 1937)

New Zealand-born British physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. He is a Nobel prize laureate. The chemical element rutherfordium (element 104) was named after him in 1997.

Battle of Culloden (1745)

The final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart were decisively defeated by loyalist troops commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.

Staffordshire hoard

The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found. It consists of over 3,500 items. The hoard was most likely deposited in the 7th century, and contains artefacts probably manufactured during the 6th and 7th centuries. It was discovered in 2009 in a field near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England. The location was in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia at the time of the hoard's deposition.

Pennines

Range of mountains and hills in England separating North West England from Yorkshire and North East England. Often described as the "backbone of England", the region is widely considered to be one of the most scenic areas of the United Kingdom.

Sherwood forest

Royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous by its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood.

Plantagenet

Royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The name is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angevins, who were also Counts of Anjou; the main body following the loss of Anjou; and the two cadet branches, the Houses of Lancaster and York. The family held the English throne from 1154, with the accession of Henry II, until 1485, when Richard III died. Under their influence, England was transformed - although this was only partly intentional. The kings from this house were often forced to negotiate compromises such as Magna Carta. These constrained royal power in return for financial and military support. The king was no longer just the most powerful man in the nation, holding the prerogative of judgement, feudal tribute and warfare. He now had defined duties to the realm, underpinned by a sophisticated justice system. A distinct national identity was shaped by conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish, and the establishment of English as the primary language. In the 15th century, they were defeated in the Hundred Years' War and beset with social, political and economic problems. Popular revolts were commonplace, triggered by the denial of numerous freedoms. English nobles raised private armies, engaged in private feuds and openly defied Henry VI. The rivalry between the House's two cadet branches of York and Lancaster brought about the Wars of the Roses, a decades-long fight for the English succession, culminating in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Henry VII, of Lancastrian descent, became king of England; five months later, he married Elizabeth of York, thus ending the Wars of the Roses, and giving rise to the Tudor dynasty. The Tudors worked to centralise English royal power, which allowed them to avoid some of the problems that had plagued the last Plantagenet rulers. The resulting stability allowed for the English Renaissance, and the advent of early modern Britain.

Darts

Sport in which small darts are thrown at a circular dartboard fixed to a wall. It is a traditional pub game, commonly played in Britain and Ireland.

Bowls

Sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green. It is normally played outdoors

Key stage

Stage of the state education system in England, Wales, Northern Ireland setting the educational knowledge expected of students at various ages. The National Curriculum sets out targets to be achieved in various subject areas at each of the Key Stages.

National Lottery

State-franchised national lottery in the UK. Of all money spent on National Lottery games, 50% goes to the prize fund, 28% to "good causes" as set out by Parliament, 12% to the UK Government as duty, 5% to retailers as commission, and a total of 5% to operator Camelot, with 4.5% to cover operating costs and 0.5% as profit. Lottery tickets and scratch cards may be bought only by people of at least 16 years of age.

The Mabinogion (12th-13th centuries)

They are the earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th-13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. The two main source manuscripts were created c. 1350-1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. These stories offer drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour, and were created by various narrators over time. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types. There is a classic hero quest, "Culhwch and Olwen"; historic legend in "Lludd and Llefelys" glimpses a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defies categorisation. The stories are so diverse that it has been argued that they are not even a true collection.

Vikings (AD 793 - 1066)

They first invaded Britain in AD 793 and last invaded in 1066 when William the Conqueror became King of England after the Battle of Hastings. They first raided the monastery at Lindisfarne, a small holy island located off the northeast coast of England. In the years that followed, villages near the sea, monasteries and even cities found themselves besieged by these sea-based foreign intruders. Soon no region of the British Isles (Britain and nearby islands) was safe from them. They attacked villages and towns in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and England. By 866 they had arrived in York. They made York (or Jorvik as they called it) the second biggest city in the country after London. No matter how many times they were beaten, they always came back, and in the end all their efforts paid off. It was the Norsemen of Normandy who finally conquered England in 1066 and changed British history for ever.

Remembrance Sunday (11 November)

This day commemorates the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in November, the Sunday nearest to 11 November, Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War in 1918. Wreaths of remembrance poppies are laid on the memorials and two minutes' silence is held.

High Court

Usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court (for example, Australia). In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts (for example, England and Wales).

Premier League

Top level of the English football league system. It comprises 20 clubs.

St Andrews

Town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is home to the third oldest university in the English-speaking world and the oldest in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. It is the birthplace of golf.

pork pie

Traditional British cold meat pie. It consists of roughly chopped pork and pork jelly sealed in a hot water crust pastry. It is normally eaten as a snack or with a salad.

Sunday roast

Traditional British main meal that is typically served on Sunday (hence the name), consisting of roasted meat, roast potato, and accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, vegetables and gravy. Vegetables such as roast parsnips, Brussels sprouts, peas, carrots, runner beans, and broccoli are included and can be cooked in different styles

toad in the hole

Traditional English dish consisting of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter, usually served with onion gravy and vegetables.

Punch & Judy

Traditional, popular, and usually violent puppet show featuring Pulcinella (Mr. Punch) and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character who usually falls victim to Punch's club, often provoking shocked laughter. The show is performed by a single puppeteer inside the booth, known since Victorian times as a "professor" or "punchman", and assisted sometimes by a "bottler" who corrals the audience outside the booth, introduces the performance, and collects the money ("the bottle").

Ulster Unionist Party

Unionist political party in Northern Ireland. Having gathered support in Northern Ireland during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the party governed Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. It was supported by most unionist voters throughout the conflict known as the Troubles, during which time it was often referred to as the Official Unionist Party.

first past the post (FPTP)

Voting method where voters indicate on a ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Newsnight

Weekday BBC Television current affairs programme which specialises in analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Newsnight has been broadcast on BBC Two since 1980. It goes out on weekday evenings between 10:30pm and 11:20pm.

The Spectator

Weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published on 6 July 1828. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture. Its editorial outlook is generally supportive of the Conservative Party. Past editor: Boris Johnson, incumbent Foreign Secretary.

Laura Ashley

Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s. She created her own brand. Everyone in her family (husband, kids) worked in the company.

Owen Glendower (1359 - 1415)

Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales. To to many, viewed as an unofficial king. He instigated a fierce and long-running but ultimately unsuccessful revolt against the English rule of Wales. With his death, he acquired a mythical status along with Cadwaladr, Cynan and Arthur as the hero awaiting the call to return and liberate his people. In the late 19th century the Cymru Fydd movement recreated him as the father of Welsh nationalism.

Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1563)

Work of Protestant history and martyrology by John Foxe, first published in English in 1563 by John Day. It is an account of the sufferings of Protestants under the Catholic Church, with particular emphasis on England and Scotland. The book was highly influential in those countries and helped shape lasting popular notions of Catholicism there.

act of parliament

Statutes passed by a parliament (legislature). Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is commonly known by its Irish name, Oireachtas. (It is comparable to an Act of Congress in the United States.)

Skara Brae (3180 BC to about 2500 BC)

Stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. Consisting of eight clustered houses, it was occupied from roughly 3180 BC to about 2500 BC. As Europe's most complete Neolithic village, it gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, it has been called the "Scottish Pompeii" because of its excellent preservation.

Thatcherism

The conservative policies, political philosophy, and leadership style of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, characterized especially by monetarism, privatization, and labor union reform. Thatcherism represents a belief in free markets and a small state. Rather than planning and regulating business and people's lives, government's job is to get out of the way. It should be restricted to the bare essentials: defence of the realm and the currency. Everything else should be left to individuals, to exercise their own choices and take responsibility for their own lives.

high-rise flat

a flat in a high-rise building

commuters

people who travel some distance to work on a regular basis.

to kneecap (verb)

to shoot someone in the kneecap

Jerusalem (Blake)

"And did those feet in ancient time" is a poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton: A Poem in Two Books, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date of 1804 on the title page is probably when the plates were begun, but the poem was printed c. 1808. Today it is best known as the hymn "Jerusalem", with music written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916. In the most common interpretation of the poem, Blake implies that a visit by Jesus would briefly create heaven in England, in contrast to the "dark Satanic Mills" of the Industrial Revolution.

Dick Whittington (based on Richard Whittington)

15th century English merchant and lord mayor of London who became a well-known figure in legend and traditional pantomime. In the 19th century, the pantomime called - - - and His Cat, very loosely based on the mayor, was popular.

Alice in Wonderland (1865)

1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre.

The Third Man

1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene. It stars Joseph Cotten, Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. The film takes place in post-World War II Vienna. It centres on Holly Martins, an American who is given a job in Vienna by his friend Harry Lime, but when Holly arrives in Vienna he gets the news that Lime is dead. Martins then meets with Lime's acquaintances in an attempt to investigate what he considers a suspicious death.

Britannia

A British cultural icon often found on coins, it is the name given to the female personification of the island, and it is a term still used to refer to the whole island. In the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a trident and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet.

Green Party

Green political party in the UK. Prior to 1985 it was called the Ecology Party, and before that PEOPLE. In 1990, it separated into three political parties: - the Green Party of England and Wales - the Scottish Green Party - the Green Party in Northern Ireland Despite the UK Green Party no longer existing as an entity, "Green Party" is still used in most media to refer collectively to the three separate parties

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848)

Group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The three founders were joined by William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens and Thomas Woolner to form the seven-member "brotherhood". The group's intention was to reform art by rejecting what it considered the mechanistic approach first adopted by Mannerist artists who succeeded Raphael and Michelangelo. Its members believed the Classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on the academic teaching of art, hence the name "Pre-Raphaelite". In particular, the group objected to the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds, founder of the English Royal Academy of Arts. The brotherhood sought a return to the abundant detail, intense colours and complex compositions of Quattrocento Italian art.

Snooker

Cue sport or billiard sport which originated among British Army officers stationed in India in the latter half of the 19th century. It is played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth with pockets at each of the four corners and in the middle of each long side. Using a cue and 22 coloured balls, players must strike the white ball to pot the remaining balls. An individual game, or frame, is won by the player who scores the most points. A match is won when a player wins a predetermined number of frames.

Midlands

Cultural and geographic area roughly spanning central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders South East England, South West England, North West England, Yorkshire and Humber, East of England and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and the region was important in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries.

new towns

A planned community, or planned city, is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped greenfield land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are less frequent in these communities.The term new town refers to planned communities of the new towns movement in particular, mainly in the United Kingdom.

allotment

A plot of land rented by an individual for growing vegetables or flowers.

Greenwich meridian

A prime meridian, based at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England, was established by Sir George Airy in 1851.

rationing

Rationing was introduced temporarily by the British government several times during the 20th century, during and immediately after a war. It was one of the principal strategies of the Germans in the Battle of the Atlantic to attack shipping bound for Britain, restricting British industry and potentially starving the nation into submission. To deal with sometimes extreme shortages, the Ministry of Food instituted a system of rationing. To buy most rationed items, each person had to register at chosen shops, and was provided with a ration book containing coupons. The shopkeeper was provided with enough food for registered customers. Purchasers had to take ration books with them when shopping, so that the relevant coupon or coupons could be cancelled.

Rising of the North (1569)

Also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion. It was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.

Coronation Street

Also known as Corrie. British soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on Coronation Street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford, its terraced houses, café, corner shop, newsagents, building yard, taxicab office, salon, restaurant, textile factory and the Rovers Return pub. In the show's fictional history, the street was built in 1902 and named in honour of the coronation of King Edward VII. Influenced by the conventions of the kitchen sink drama, Coronation Street is noted for its depiction of a down-to-earth, working-class community, combined with light-hearted humour and strong characters.

trainspotting

Amateur interest in railways/railroads, where they make an effort to "spot" all of a certain type of rolling stock. This might be a particular class of locomotive, a particular type of carriage or all the rolling stock of a particular company. To this end, they collect and exchange detailed information about the movements of locomotives and other equipment on the railway network, and become very knowledgeable about its operations. They use a data book listing the locomotives or equipment in question, in which locomotives seen are ticked off.

Irish Sea

Sea that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain

HMS Victory

Ship best known for its role as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.

Book of Common Prayer (1549)

Short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English Reformation following the break with Rome. Prayer books, unlike books of prayers, contain the words of structured services of worship. The work of 1549 was the first prayer book to include the complete forms of service for daily and Sunday worship in English. It contained Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, the Litany, and Holy Communion and also the occasional services in full: the orders for Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, "prayers to be said with the sick", and a funeral service. Many words and phrases from the Book of Common Prayer have entered common parlance. First version by Thomas Cranmer

off licence

Term used in the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand for a shop licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption off the premises, as opposed to a bar or public house which is licensed for consumption at the point of sale (on-licence). Prices are usually substantially lower than in bars or pubs.

football hooligans

Term used to describe disorderly, violent or destructive behaviour perpetrated by spectators at football events. It normally involves conflict between gangs, often known as football firms (the term derives from the British slang for a criminal gang), formed for the purpose of intimidating and physically attacking supporters of other teams. Other terms commonly used in connection with hooligan firms include "army", "boys", "casuals", and "crew". Certain clubs have long-standing rivalries with other clubs and hooliganism associated with matches between them (sometimes called local derbies) is likely to be more severe. Conflict may take place before, durincg or after matches. Participants often select locations away from stadia to avoid arrest by the police, but conflict can also erupt spontaneously inside the stadium or in the surrounding streets. In extreme cases, hooligans, police, and bystanders have been killed, and body-armoured riot police have intervened with tear gas, police dogs, armoured vehicles and water cannons. Hooligan-led violence has been called "aggro" (short for "aggravation") and "bovver" (the Cockney pronunciation of "bother", i.e. trouble).

Dunkirk spirit

The British press exploited the successful evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, and particularly the role of the "Dunkirk little ships", very effectively. These smaller vessels assisted in the official evacuation, acting as shuttles to and from the larger ships, lifting troops who were queuing in the water, many waiting shoulder-deep in water for hours. The term "Dunkirk Spirit" refers to the solidarity of the British people in times of adversity.

cholera (London)

The Broad Street cholera outbreak was a severe outbreak of cholera that occurred in 1854 near Broad Street in London. This outbreak, which killed 616 people, is best known for the physician John Snow's study of its causes and his hypothesis that contaminated water, not air, was the source of cholera. Human sewage contamination was the most probable disease vector. This discovery came to influence public health and the construction of improved sanitation facilities beginning in the mid-19th century.

Butler Education Act (1944)

The Education Act 1944 made numerous major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the Conservative politician R. A. Butler, who wrote the legislation. Historians consider it a "triumph for progressive reform," and it became a core element of the Post-war consensus supported by all major parties.

Dr Crippen (1910)

American homeopath hanged murder of his wife Cora, was the first person to be captured with the aid of wireless telegraphy. After a party at their home in 1910, Cora disappeared. He claimed that she had returned to the United States, and that she had died there. Meanwhile, his lover, Ethel "Le Neve" Neave, moved into their home and began openly wearing Cora's clothes and jewelry. Police investigated into the affair. The house was searched but nothing was found. The doctor was interviewed by the Chief Inspector. He admitted that he had fabricated the story about his wife having died and explained that he had made it up in order to avoid any personal embarrassment because she had in fact left him and fled to America with one of her lovers. After the interview (and a quick search of the house), the inspector was satisfied with the story. However, the doctor and his lover did not know this and fled in panic to Antwerp to board a ship to Canada. Their disappearance led the police to perform another search, where they found Cora's corpse under the basement. The captain of the boat recognized the fugitives; he had a telegraphist send a wireless telegram to the British authorities to have them arrested.

colour bar

The segregation of people of different colour or race, especially any barrier to black people participating in activities with white people.

Sutton Hoo

The site of two 6th and early 7th century cemeteries near Suffolk. One cemetery contained an undisturbed ship burial, including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance, most of which are now in the British Museum in London. The site is in the care of the National Trust. The site is of primary importance to early medieval historians because it sheds light on a period of English history that is on the margin between myth, legend, and historical documentation. Use of the site culminated at a time when Rædwald, the ruler of the East Angles, held senior power among the English people and played a dynamic if ambiguous part in the establishment of Christian rulership in England; it is generally thought most likely that he is the person buried in the ship. The site has been vital in understanding the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia and the whole early Anglo-Saxon period.

Alton Towers

Theme park resort located in Staffordshire, England.

Flamborough Head

8-mile-long promontory on the Yorkshire coast of England. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the oldest dating from 1669 and Flamborough Head Lighthouse built in 1806.

Shipping Forecast

A BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles.

Ridgeway

Ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road.

St Paul's cathedral

Anglican cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of London. It occupies a significant place in the national identity. Services held there have included the funerals of Admiral Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill and Baroness Thatcher; jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars and the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.

Sake Dean Mahomed (1759-1851)

Anglo-Indian traveller, surgeon and entrepreneur who was one of the most notable early non-European immigrants to the Western World. He introduced Indian cuisine to Europe.

Duke of Wellington (1769 - 1852)

Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman whose name was Arthur Wellesley, and who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as Prime Minister. His defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 puts him in the first rank of Britain's military heroes.

Wessex

Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 519 until England was unified by Æthelstan in the early 10th century. During the 8th century, it managed to retain its independence as the hegemony of Mercia grew. It was during this period that the system of shires was established. It was invaded by the Danes in 871. Cnut the Great, who conquered England in 1016, created the wealthy and powerful earldom of - - -, but in 1066 Harold Godwinson reunited the earldom with the crown and this kindom ceased to exist.

Law French

Archaic language originally based on Old Norman and Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England, beginning with the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Its use continued for several centuries in the courts of England and Wales and Ireland. Although Law it has become obsolete, many individual terms continue to be used by lawyers and judges in common law jurisdictions.

Thomas Becket (1119 - 1170)

Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He excommunicated some of the king's knights without asking the king's permission, and the dispute soon escalated into a wide-ranging debate about the relationship between Church and Crown. In 1170 he was murdered at the altar of the cathedral by four of Henry's knights. Revulsion at the archbishop's murder forced the king to downplay his claims and go through a ritual of public penitence. The archbishop was soon regarded as a saint and his tomb became an international pilgrimage shrine.

Channel Islands

Archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and some smaller islands. They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy and, although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands.

Orkney

Archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as "the Mainland".

Gothic (style)

Architectural style that flourished in Europe during the High and Late Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. Originating in 12th century France and lasting into the 16th century, this architecture was known during the period as Opus Francigenum ("French work") with the term first appearing during the later part of the Renaissance. Its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault (which evolved from the joint vaulting of Romanesque architecture) and the flying buttress.

Hyde Park Corner

Area in London located around a major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, said to be 'London's most vital junction' It was also used as a codeword to announce to the government the death of King George VI in 1952.

Cotswolds

Area in southwest portion of the West Midlands, England containing the Cotswold Hills. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat rare in the UK and that is quarried for the golden coloured Cotswold stone.

tea

Aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub (bush) native to Asia. In the UK, it is consumed daily and often by a majority of people, and indeed is perceived as one of Britain's cultural beverages. It is customary for a host to offer this drink to guests soon after their arrival. It is consumed both at home and outside the home, often in cafés or tea rooms. Afternoon -- with cakes on fine porcelain is a cultural stereotype. In some parts of Britain, 'tea' may also refer to the evening meal.

National Gallery

Art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. Its collection belongs to the government on behalf of the British public, and entry to the main collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Battle of Hastings (1066)

Battle fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England.

One Love Manchester

Benefit concert and British television special held on 4 June 2017, which was organised by American singer and actress Ariana Grande in response to the bombing after her concert at Manchester Arena two weeks earlier.

football pool

Betting pool based on predicting the outcome of top-level association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, with the potential to win a very large sum of money.

Stephen Lawrence (1993)

Black British man who was murdered in 1993 in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus. The case became a cause célèbre and one of the highest profile racial killings in UK history; its fallout included profound cultural changes to attitudes on racism and the police.

Shropshire blue

Blue cheese made from pasteurized cows' milk made in the UK. The orange colour comes from the addition of annatto, a natural food colouring. Made in a similar way to Stilton, it is a soft cheese with a sharp, strong flavour and a slightly tangy aroma. It is slightly sour but sharper than Stilton and generally creamier.

Ealing comedy

British 2008 comedy film, written by Jon Croker and directed by Neville Raschid. Plot: A second generation British Asian accountant (Alfie Singh) wants to be a film producer. He has an idea for a film called Ealing Comedy, about an accountant turned film producer called Alfie Singh. Alfie will play himself and his real son, Paul, will play his son in the film. Unable to raise finance he decides to make the film himself. The film chronicles his life with his Irish wife and teenage son and his struggles to finance and make the film while keeping his family together.

Robert Baden-Powell

British Army officer, writer, author of Scouting for Boys which was an inspiration for the Scout Movement, founder and first Chief Scout of The Boy Scouts Association and founder of the Girl Guides.

Bonnie Prince Charlie (1720 - 1788)

Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII and after 1766 the Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain. He was also known as "The Young Pretender" or "The Young Chevalier". He is best remembered for his role in the 1745 rising; defeat at Culloden in April 1746 effectively ended the Stuart cause and subsequent attempts such as a planned French invasion in 1759 failed to materialise. His escape from Scotland after the uprising led him to be portrayed as a romantic figure of heroic failure in later representations.

Leeds

City in Yorkshire. During the Industrial Revolution, it developed into a major mill town; wool was the dominant industry.

poppy appeal

Each year, an army of volunteers distribute our iconic paper poppies throughout the nation, collecting donations in return to help support the vital work we do for the Armed Forces community. Members of the public wear the paper poppy on their chest as a symbol of Remembrance: to remember the fallen Service men and women killed in conflict. A number of Remembrance events, such as Remembrance Sunday, are held during this time to commemorate the fallen. The first was held in 1921, the founding year of The Royal British Legion. Red silk poppies, inspired by the famous First World War poem In Flanders Fields, sold out instantly and raised more than £106,000. The funds helped WW1 veterans find employment and housing after the war.

East Anglia

Geographical area in the East of England. The area comprises the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, including the City of Peterborough, though definitions of what it constitues vary. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a tribe that originated in Angeln, northern Germany.

Ladbrokes

British-based betting and gambling company

ITN (Independent Television News)

British-based news and content provider. ITN produces content for ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, UK mobile phone operators, online outlets such as YouTube, MSN, Telegraph Media Group, Yahoo!, and film producers and researchers worldwide.

Anglesey

Island situated on the north coast of Wales. It is by far the largest island in Wales and the seventh largest in the British Isles. The Menai Suspension Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford in 1826, and the Britannia Bridge span the Menai Strait to connect Anglesey with the mainland.

Welsh rabbit

Dish made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese and various other ingredients and served hot, after being poured over slices (or other pieces) of toasted bread. Despite the name, the dish contains no rabbit meat.

roast beef

Dish of beef which is roasted in an oven. Essentially prepared as a main meal, the leftovers are often used in sandwiches and sometimes are used to make hash. It is one of the meats traditionally served at Sunday dinner, although it is also often served as a cold cut in delicatessen stores, usually in sandwiches. A traditional side dish is Yorkshire pudding.

Blitz (1940/1941)

German bombing offensive against Britain in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War (towards the end of the battle of Britain). The term was first used by the British press and is the German word for 'lightning'.

poorhouse

Government-run facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. They were often simple farms where the occupants dividing their times between working the farm and employed on maintaining local roads and other parish works.

Gordon Riots (1780)

It all began as an anti-Catholic protest in London against the Papists Act of 1778, which was intended to reduce official discrimination against British Catholics. The protest evolved into riots and looting. The Popery Act 1698 had imposed a number of penalties and disabilities on Roman Catholics in England; the 1778 Act eliminated some of these. An initial peaceful protest led on to widespread rioting and looting and was the most destructive in the history of London. Painted on the wall of Newgate prison was the proclamation that the inmates had been freed by the authority of "His Majesty, King Mob". The term "King Mob" afterwards denoted an unruly and fearsome proletariat. The Riots came at the height of the American War of Independence, when Britain was fighting American rebels, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic. They led to unfounded fears that the riots had been a deliberate attempt by France and Spain to destabilise Britain before an imminent invasion similar to the Armada of 1779.

Canute (995 - 1035)

King of Denmark, England and Norway, together often referred to as the North Sea Empire. He proved an effective ruler who brought internal peace and prosperity to the land. He became a strong supporter and a generous donor to the church, and his journey to Rome was inspired by religious as well as diplomatic motives.

Edward I [Longshanks] (1239 - 1307)

King of England from 1272 to 1307. He strengthened the crown and Parliament against the old feudal nobility. He subdued Wales, destroying its autonomy; and he sought (unsuccessfully) the conquest of Scotland. His reign is particularly noted for administrative efficiency and legal reform. He introduced a series of statutes that did much to strengthen the crown in the feudal hierarchy. His definition and emendation of English common law has earned him the name of the "English Justinian."

Henry V (1386 - 1422)

King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 36 in 1422. He was the second English monarch of the House of Lancaster. In 1415, he embarked on war with France in the ongoing Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between the two nations. His military successes culminated in his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) and saw him come close to conquering France. Taking advantage of political divisions within France, he conquered large portions of the kingdom, and Normandy became English for the first time in 200 years.

Richard III (1452 - 1485)

King of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the protagonist of one of William Shakespeare's history plays.

Henry VIII (1491 - 1547)

King of England from 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII. He is best known for his six marriages and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, annulled. His disagreement with the Pope on the question of such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries. Despite his resulting excommunication, he remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings. Domestically, he is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering into England the theory of the divine right of kings. Besides asserting the sovereign's supremacy over the Church of England, he greatly expanded royal power during his reign. Charges of treason and heresy were commonly used to quell dissent, and those accused were often executed without a formal trial, by means of bills of attainder. He achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour.

Robert Bruce (1274 - 1329)

King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. He was one of the most famous warriors of his generation, and eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England (Battle of Bannockburn). During his reign, he fought successfully to regain Scotland's place as an independent country and is today revered in Scotland as a national hero.

Alfred the Great (849 - 899)

King of Wessex from 871 to 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex. Taking the throne after the death of his brother Æthelred, he spent several years dealing with Viking invasions. After a decisive victory in the Battle of Edington in 878 he made an agreement with the Vikings, creating what was known as Danelaw in the North of England. He also oversaw the conversion of the Viking leader, Guthrum. He successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time of his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is one of only two English monarchs to be given the epithet "the Great", the other being the Scandinavian Cnut the Great. He had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in English rather than Latin, and improved his kingdom's legal system, military structure, and his people's quality of life.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)

Known as the Father of English literature, he is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages. He was the first poet to be buried in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. While he achieved fame during his lifetime as an author, philosopher, and astronomer, composing a scientific treatise on the astrolabe for his ten-year-old son Lewis, he also maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. Among his many works are The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde. He is best known today for The Canterbury Tales. His work was crucial in legitimizing the literary use of the Middle English vernacular at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin.

Mildenhall treasure (4th century AD)

Large hoard of masterpieces of Roman silver tableware from the 4th century AD. It is by far the most valuable Roman objects artistically and by weight of bullion in Britain. It was found at West Row, near Mildenhall, Suffolk, in the year 1942. It consists of over thirty items and includes the Great Dish weighing over 8kg alone.

Liberal Democrats

Liberal political party in the UK formed in 1988 as a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a splinter group from the Labour Party. The two parties had formed the SDP-Liberal Alliance for seven years before this. Often referred to as the "Lib dems"

Charing Cross

Locality in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated at the busy intersection of the streets called the Strand and Whitehall, just south of Trafalgar Square. It has has generally been accepted as the notional "centre of London" and is the point from which distances from London are calculated.

Jaguar

Luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England (now owned by the Indian company Tata Motors).

Edinburgh Medical School

Medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. It was established in 1726, during the Scottish Enlightenment, and is one of the oldest medical schools in the English-speaking world.

Northumbria

Medieval Anglian kingdom in what is now northern England and south-east Scotland. The name derives from the Old English Norþan-hymbre meaning "the people or province north of the Humber," which reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary. It started to consolidate into one kingdom in the early seventh century.

Palace of Westminster

Meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after its occupants, the Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London

Quaker

Member of a historically Christian group of religious movements formally known as the Religious Society of Friends or Friends Church. Members of the various Quaker movements are all generally united in a belief in the ability of each human being to experientially access "the light within", or "that of God in every person". The first Quakers lived in mid-17th-century England. The movement arose from the Legatine-Arians and other dissenting Protestant groups, breaking away from the established Church of England. The Quakers, especially the ones known as the Valiant Sixty, attempted to convert others to their understanding of Christianity, travelling both throughout Great Britain and overseas, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of these early Quaker ministers were women. They based their message on the religious belief that "Christ has come to teach his people himself", stressing the importance of a direct relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Jorvik Viking Centre

Museum and visitor attraction in York, England, containing lifelike mannequins and life-size dioramas depicting Viking life in the city.

Brixton riots (1980's)

Many young black men believed officers discriminated against them, particularly by use of the 'Sus' law under which anybody could be stopped and searched if officers merely suspected they might be planning to carry out a crime. In early April, Operation Swamp - an attempt to cut street crime in Brixton which used the Sus law to stop more than 1,000 people in six days - heightened tensions. The Brixton riots began. For three days, rioters - predominately young, black men - fought police, attacked buildings and set fire to vehicles. More than 300 people were injured and the damage caused came to an estimated value of £7.5m. What was most shocking to many people was the unexpectedness of events. On the surface it seemed that black people were well-integrated into the fabric of UK society.

Newmarket

Market town in the English county of Suffolk, approximately 65 miles north of London. It is generally considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred horse racing.

Plains of Abraham (1759)

Historic area within The Battlefields Park in Quebec City. The land is the site of a battle which took place in 1759. The battle was fought by the British Army and Navy against the French Army on a plateau just outside the walls of Quebec City, on land that was originally owned by a farmer named Abraham Martin. It was a deciding moment in the conflict between France and Britain over the fate of New France (the Seven Years War), influencing the later creation of Canada.

Tower of London

Historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite

The Eagle of the Ninth (1954)

Historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1954. The story is set in Roman Britain in the 2nd century AD, after the building of Hadrian's Wall.

The Daily Telegraph

National British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London. It is widely regarded as a national "newspaper of record" and it maintains an international reputation for quality, having been described by the BBC as being "one of the world's great titles".

Grand National

National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool.

British Library

National library of the UK and the largest library in the world by number of items catalogued. It holds over 170 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, it receives copies of all books produced in the UK and Ireland, including a significant proportion of overseas titles distributed in the UK. The Library is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The British Library was created on 1 July 1973 as a result of the British Library Act 1972. Prior to this, the national library was part of the British Museum.

fish and chips

Hot dish of English origin consisting of fried battered fish and hot potato chips.

Beowulf (produced between 975 and 1025)

Old English epic poem. It may be the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. A date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating pertains to the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet". The poem is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory. The full poem survives in the manuscript known as the Nowell Codex, which is currently housed in the British Library.

Leicester Square

Pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 and is named after the contemporary Leicester House.

Irish Mail (rail service)

Rail service between London and Dublin

meat pie

Pie with a filling of meat and often other savory ingredients. They are popular in the United Kingdom.

Prince Charles

Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II. He has been Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay since 1952, and is the oldest and longest-serving heir apparent in British history.

Sheriff Court

Principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland, with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary up to £100,000, and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason, murder, and rape which are in the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of Justiciary.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

Principal public prosecuting agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The main responsibilities are to provide legal advice to the police and other investigative agencies during the course of criminal investigations, to decide whether a suspect should face criminal charges following an investigation, and to conduct prosecutions both in the magistrates' courts and the Crown Court.

nationalisation

Process of transforming private assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownershipof a national government or state.

bard

Professional story teller, verse-maker and music composer in medieval Gaelic and British culture. They were employed by a patron (such as a monarch or noble), to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities. Originally a specific, lower class of poet, contrasting with the higher rank known as fili in Ireland and Highland Scotland, with the decline of living bardic tradition in the modern period the term acquired generic meanings of an author or minstrel, especially a famous one. For example, William Shakespeare, and Rabindranth Tagore, are known as "the Bard of Avon" and "the Bard of Bengal" respectively

Tesco

British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer

Heathrow Airport

Major international airport in London.

New Lanark

"Factory town" in Scotland. It was founded in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and housing for the mill workers. Dale built the mills there in a brief partnership with the English inventor and entrepreneur Richard Arkwright to take advantage of the water power provided by the only waterfalls on the River Clyde. It became a successful business and an early example of a planned settlement and so an important milestone in the historical development of urban planning. David Dale is an example of philanthropic employers who built factory towns to provide decent housing, with community activities to provide recreation.

Hengist & Horsa (5th century)

(the names mean Stallion and Horse: one clue that the history might have incorporated legends) Legendary brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. According to early, half-legendary accounts, the first Germanic settlers were mercenaries, invited to Britain to help defend it against the Picts. They were led by the two brothers and they were allowed to settle in Kent in return for their military service. Soon they began taking more territory, and within a few decades there were Anglo-Saxon settlements all up the east coast of what had been Roman Britain, and they were spreading inland. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, compiled after 870 (so more than 400 years later) talks about these two brothers.

Norman Conquest (11th-century)

11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army of Norman, Breton, and French soldiers led by Duke William II of Normandy, later styled William the Conqueror.

Bridget Jones' Diary

1996 novel by Helen Fielding written in the form of a personal diary. The novel chronicles a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single working woman living in London. She writes about her career, self-image, vices, family, friends, and romantic relationships. Bridget not only obsesses about her love life, but also details her various daily struggles with her weight, her over-indulgence in alcohol and cigarettes, and her career. The novel is based on Pride and Prejudice. Two sequels were published, and a film adaptation of the novel starring Renée Zellweger was released in 2001 (chick flick).

Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

19th century English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters. Best known for: David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations.

Joseph Bazalgette (1819 - 1891)

19th-century English civil engineer. His major achievement was the creation (in response to the Great Stink of 1858) of a sewer network for central London which was instrumental in relieving the city from cholera epidemics, while beginning the cleansing of the River Thames.

This is England

2006 British drama film written and directed by Shane Meadows. The story centres on young skinheads in England in 1983. The film illustrates how their subculture, which has its roots in 1960s West Indies culture, especially ska, soul, and reggae music, became adopted by the far-right, especially white nationalists and white supremacists, which led to divisions within the skinhead scene. The film's title is a direct reference to a scene where the character Combo explains his nationalist views using the phrase "this is England" during his speech.

Brighton hotel bombing (1984)

A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassination attempt against the top tier of the British government that occurred on 12 October 1984 at the Grand Brighton Hotel in Brighton. A long-delay time bomb was planted in the hotel by IRA member Patrick Magee, with the purpose of killing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet, who were staying at the hotel for the Conservative Party conference. Although Thatcher narrowly escaped injury, five people were killed including a sitting Conservative MP, and 31 were injured.

Covenanters

A Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland during the 17th century. They derived their name from the word covenant meaning a band, legal document or agreement, with particular reference to the Covenant between God and the Israelites in the Old Testament. There were two important covenants in Scottish history: the Scottish Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant.

UNESCO World Heritage

A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance, and is legally protected by international treaties. The sites are judged important to the collective interests of humanity.

The Somme

A battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and France against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front. More than three million men fought in this battle and one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.

HMS Beagle

A boat of the Royal Navy. It was the first ship to sail completely under the old London Bridge. There was no immediate need for it so she "lay in ordinary", moored afloat but without masts or rigging. She was then adapted as a survey barque and took part in three survey expeditions. Its second voyage is notable for carrying the recently graduated naturalist Charles Darwin around the world. While the survey work was carried out, Darwin travelled and researched geology, natural history and ethnology onshore. He gained fame by publishing his diary journal, best known as "The Voyage of the Beagle", and his findings played a pivotal role in the formation of his scientific theories on evolution and natural selection.

Jamie Bulger (1993)

A boy who was murdered in 1993, at the age of two. He was abducted, tortured and killed by two ten-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. The boy was led away from a shopping center whilst his mother took her eyes off him momentarily. His mutilated body was found on a railway line two days after his murder. Thompson and Venables were charged on 20 February 1993 with the abduction and murder of the boy. The case prompted widespread debate on the issue of how to handle young offenders when they are sentenced or released from custody. They were found guilty on 24 November 1993, making them the youngest convicted murderers in modern English history.

Forth Bridge

A cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. It is considered an iconic structure and a symbol of Scotland. It was designed by the English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker.

Cenotaph

A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. There is a Cenotaph in Whitehall, which was intended to commemorate specifically the victims of the First World War, but is used to commemorate all of the dead in all wars in which British servicemen and women have fought.

Charge of the Light Brigade (1854)

A charge of British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan, overall commander of the British forces, had intended to send the Light Brigade to prevent the Russians from removing captured guns from overrun Turkish positions, a task well-suited to light cavalry. However, there was miscommunication in the chain of command, and the Light Brigade was instead sent on a frontal assault against a different artillery battery, one well-prepared with excellent fields of defensive fire. They reached the battery under withering direct fire and scattered some of the gunners, but they were forced to retreat immediately. Thus, the assault ended with very high British casualties and no decisive gains. The events were the subject of Lord Tennyson's narrative poem published just six weeks after the event. Its lines emphasise the valour of the cavalry in bravely carrying out their orders, regardless of the obvious outcome.

Hadrian's Wall (AD 122)

A defensive fortification in the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the emperor Hadrian. It ran from the banks of the River Tyne near the North Sea to the Solway Firth on the Irish Sea, and was the northern limit of the Roman Empire, immediately north of which were the lands of the northern Ancient Britons, including the Picts. It is a common misconception that the wall marks the boundary between England and Scotland. In fact, the wall lies entirely within England and has never formed the Anglo-Scottish border.

Heritage Lottery Fund

A fund which distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the UK. Since it was set up in 1994, under the National Lottery Act, it has awarded over £7.1billion to more than 40,000 projects, large and small, helping people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect their heritage. It supports all kinds of projects, as long as they make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities. These vary from restoring natural landscapes to rescuing neglected buildings, from recording diverse community histories to providing life-changing skills training.

kilt

A garment resembling a knee-length skirt of pleated tartan cloth, traditionally worn by men as part of Scottish Highland dress and now also worn by women and girls. It has deep cultural and historical roots in the country of Scotland and is a sacred symbol of patriotism and honor for a true Scotsman.

General Strike (1926)

A general strike that lasted 9 days, from 3 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening conditions for 1.2 million locked-out coal miners. Some 1.7 million workers went out, especially in transport and heavy industry. The government was prepared and enlisted middle class volunteers to maintain essential services. There was little violence and the TUC gave up in defeat.

First World War (1914-1918)

A global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history and precipitated major political change. The war drew in all the world's economic great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the Russian Empire, France, and the UK) versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.

East India Docks

A group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin and listed perimeter wall remain visible.

Methodism

A group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their inspiration from the life and teachings of John Wesley, an Anglican minister in England. George Whitefield and John Wesley's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. It originated as a revival within the 18th century Church of England and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide. Wesley's theology focused on sanctification and the effect of faith on the character of a Christian.

Tolpuddle Martyrs (19th century)

A group of six 19th-century Dorset agricultural labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. At the time, friendly societies had elements of what is now considered the predominant role of trade unions. On 18 March 1834, they were sentenced to penal transportation to Australia.

Highlands

A historic region of Scotland. The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. Before the 19th century it was home to a much larger population, but due to a combination of factors including the outlawing of the traditional way of life following the Jacobite Rising of 1745, the infamous Clearances, and mass migration to urban areas during the Industrial Revolution, the area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe.

Hillsborough disaster (1980)

A human crush at Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield, England on 15 April 1989, during the 1988-89 FA Cup semi-final game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The resulting 96 fatalities and 766 injuries makes this the worst disaster in British sporting history. The crush occurred in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane stand, allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the entrance turnstiles, the police match commander, chief superintendent David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C to be opened, leading to an influx of even more supporters to the already overcrowded central pens. In the days and weeks following the disaster, police fed false stories to the press suggesting that hooliganism and drinking by Liverpool supporters were the root causes of the disaster.

Kenneth MacAlpine (810 - 858)

A king of the Picts who, according to national myth, was the first king of Scots. He was thus later known by the posthumous nickname of An Ferbasach, "The Conqueror". The dynasty that ruled Scotland for much of the medieval period claimed descent from him.

Colchester

A little to the south, in north Essex, this ancient town is reckoned to be the oldest city in Britain. Nearby there is Harwich, where there are ferries back to the continent from Harwich Harbour (pronounced Arijaba).

A-road

A main road. All together they form the primary route network.

Glencoe Massacre (1692)

A massacre that took place in Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland in 1692, following the Jacobite uprising of 1689-92. Thirty-eight members of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by government forces on the grounds they had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs, William III of England and II of Scotland and Mary II. An unknown number are alleged to have later died of exposure, estimates ranging from 40 to 100.

Foreign Secretary

A member of the Cabinet whose post is considered one of the Great Offices of State. It is considered a position similar to that of Foreign Minister in other countries. The post is occupied by Boris Johnson, the former Mayor of London, who was appointed by Prime Minister Theresa May in July 2016. He reports directly to the Prime Minister of the UK. Responsibilites include: relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations and the Overseas Territories in addition to the promotion of British interests abroad.

druid

A member of the high-ranking professional class in ancient Celtic cultures. While perhaps best remembered as religious leaders, they were also legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. While they are reported to have been literate, they are believed to have been prevented by doctrine from recording their knowledge in written form, thus they left no written accounts of themselves.

Finn MacCool

A mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man. He is portrayed as a magical, benevolent giant. The stories of Fionn and his followers the Fianna, form the Fenian Cycle, much of it narrated in the voice of Fionn's son, the poet Oisín.

Catholic Emancipation (18th - 19th century)

A process in the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century that involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws. Requirements to abjure (renounce) the temporal and spiritual authority of the Pope and transubstantiation placed major burdens on Roman Catholics. The penal laws started to be dismantled from 1766. The most significant measure was the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, which removed the most substantial restrictions on Roman Catholicism in the United Kingdom.

Public school

A public school in England and Wales is an older, student-selective, fee-charging independent secondary school that caters primarily for children aged between 11 or 13 and 18. The term "public" should not be misunderstood to mean that these schools are part of the public sector (that is, funded from public taxes); they are in fact part of the private sector. However in Scotland, where a state-funded education system began roughly 300 years prior to England's, the term "public school" is used in a different sense, to mean a school administered by the local government to serve the children of that area.

Wars of the Roses (1455 - 1487)

A series of English civil wars for control of the throne of England fought between supporters of two English rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the House of Lancaster (red rose), and the House of York (white rose). The conflict lasted through many sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1487. The power struggle ignited around social and financial troubles following the Hundred Years' War, combined with the mental infirmity and weak rule of Henry VI which revived interest in Richard of York's claim to the throne. With the Duke of York's death, the claim transferred to his heir, Edward, who later became the first Yorkist king of England, as Edward IV. His son reigned for 78 days as Edward V, but Parliament then decided that Edward and his brother Richard were illegitimate and offered the crown to Edward IV's younger brother, who became Richard III. The two young princes disappeared within the confines of the Tower of London. The final victory went to a claimant of the Lancastrian party, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who defeated the last Yorkist king, Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth Field. After assuming the throne as Henry VII, he married Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter and heir of Edward IV, thereby uniting the two claims. The House of Tudor ruled the Kingdom of England until 1603, with the death of Elizabeth I.

Gothic Revival

A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th century England, spread through 19th century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, into the 20th century. Increasingly serious and learned admirers of neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval Gothic architecture, in contrast to the neoclassical styles prevalent at the time. Gothic Revival draws features from the original Gothic style, including decorative patterns, finials, lancet windows, hood moulds and label stops.

punk

A subculture that emerged in the 1970's, largely characterised by anti-establishment views and the promotion of individual freedom, and centred on a loud, aggressive genre of rock music called punk rock. Its adherents are called "punks". Common punk ethos includes anti-authoritarianism, a do-it-yourself ethic, non-conformity, direct action and not "selling out". There is a wide range of punk fashion, including deliberately offensive T-shirts, leather jackets, Dr. Martens boots, etc., hairstyles such as brightly coloured hair and spiked mohawks, etc., cosmetics, tattoos, jewellery and body modification.

English Civil War (1642-1651)

A series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists ("Cavaliers") over, principally, the manner of England's government. The first (1642-1646) and second (1648-1649) wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third (1649-1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The war ended with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651. The overall outcome of the war was threefold: the trial and execution of Charles I (1649); the exile of his son, Charles II (1651); and the replacement of English monarchy with, at first, the Commonwealth of England (1649-1653) and then the Protectorate under the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658) and subsequently his son Richard (1658-1659). The monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England ended with the victors consolidating the established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. Constitutionally, the wars established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without Parliament's consent

Battle of Ypres

A series of engagements during the First World War, near the Belgian city of Ypres, between the German and the Allied armies (Belgian, French, British Expeditionary Force and Canadian Expeditionary Force). There were hundreds of thousands of casualties.

Notting Hill riots (1958)

A series of racially motivated riots that took place in Notting Hill, England, between 30 August-5 September 1958. The riot is popularly believed to have been triggered by an assault against Majbritt Morrison, a white Swedish woman, on 29 August 1958. Later that night a mob of 300 to 400 white people, many of them Teddy Boys, were seen on Bramley Road attacking the houses of West Indian residents. The disturbances, rioting and attacks continued every night until 5 September. The Metropolitan Police Service arrested more than 140 people during the two weeks of the disturbances, mostly white youths but also many black people found carrying weapons. A report to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner stated that of the 108 people charged with crimes such as grievous bodily harm, affray and riot and possessing offensive weapons, 72 were white and 36 were black.

James Bond

A series which focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelizations.

Battle of Bannockburn (1314)

A significant Scottish victory in the First War of Scottish Independence, and a landmark in Scottish history. Stirling Castle, a Scots royal fortress occupied by the English, was under siege by the Scottish army. The English king, Edward II, assembled a formidable force to relieve it. This attempt failed, and his army was defeated in a pitched battle by a smaller army commanded by the King of Scots, Robert the Bruce.

hot cross bun

A spiced sweet bun made with currants or raisins, marked with a cross on the top, and traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the British Isles. The cake marks the end of Lent and different parts of the hot cross bun have a certain meaning, including the cross representing the crucifixion of Jesus, and the spices inside signifying the spices used to embalm him at his burial.

Irish Free State (1922 - 1937)

A state established in 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. That treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic, the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and British Crown forces. The Free State was established as a Dominion of the British Commonwealth of Nations. It comprised 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland. Northern Ireland, which comprised the remaining six counties, exercised its right under the Treaty to opt out of the new state. In 1931, with the passage of the Statute of Westminster, the Parliament of the United Kingdom relinquished its remaining authority to legislate for the Free State and the other dominions. This had the effect of making the dominions fully sovereign nations. The Free State thus became the first internationally recognised independent Irish state.

hang, draw and quarter

A statutory penalty in England for men convicted of high treason from 1352. Convicts were fastened to a wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where they were hanged almost to the point of death, emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded, and chopped into four pieces. Their remains were often displayed in prominent places across the country, such as London Bridge. For reasons of public decency, women convicted of high treason were instead burned at the stake.

Grievous bodily harm (GBH)

A technical term used in English criminal law which has become synonymous with the offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The distinction between these two sections is the requirement of specific intent for section 18; the offence under section 18 is variously referred to as "wounding with intent" or "causing grievous bodily harm with intent", whereas the offence under section 20 is variously referred to as "unlawful wounding", "malicious wounding" or "inflicting grievous bodily harm". The offence is the most serious form of assault anyone can commit.

scrumpy

A term for certain types of cider originating in the West of England, particularly Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. Traditionally, the dialect term was used to refer to what was otherwise called "rough", a harsh cider made from unselected apples. Today the term is more often used to distinguish locally made ciders produced in smaller quantities and using traditional methods, from mass-produced branded ciders

Picts

A tribal confederation of peoples who lived in what is today eastern and northern Scotland during the Late Iron Age and Early Medieval periods. They are assumed to have been the descendants of the Caledonii, and are thought to have been ethnolinguistically Celtic. The Romans called them "painted people", but we don't know what they called themselves.

Boxer Rebellion (1899 and 1901)

A violent anti-foreign, anti-colonial and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, toward the end of the Qing dynasty. It was initiated by the Militia United in Righteousness (Yihetuan), known in English as the "Boxers", for many of their members had been practitioners of Chinese martial arts, also referred to in the west as "Chinese Boxing". They were motivated by proto-nationalist sentiments and by opposition to Western colonialism and the Christian missionary activity that was associated with it.

coaching inn

A vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point for people and horses. The inn served the needs of travellers, for food, drink, and rest. The attached stables, staffed by hostlers, cared for the horses, including changing a tired team for a fresh one. Coaching inns were used by private travellers in their coaches, the public riding stagecoaches between one town and another, and (in England at least) the mail coach. Just as with roadhouses in other countries, although many survive, and some still offer overnight accommodation, in general coaching inns have lost their original function and now operate as ordinary pubs. (also called coaching house or staging inn)

General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)

Academic qualification, generally taken in a number of subjects by pupils in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each qualification is in a particular subject, and stands alone, but a suite of such qualifications (or their equivalents) are generally accepted as the record of achievement at the age of 16, in place of a leaving certificate or baccalaureate qualification in other territories.

Scouse

Accent and dialect of English found primarily in the Metropolitan county of Merseyside, and closely associated with the city of Liverpool.

Received Pronunciation (RP)

Accent of Standard English in the United Kingdom and is defined in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as "the standard accent of English as spoken in the south of England". Formerly, colloquially called "the King's English", It enjoys high social prestige in Britain, being thought of as the accent of those with power, money, and influence

Cockney

Accent or dialect of English spoken by working-class Londoners. Originally a pejorative term applied to all city-dwellers, it was gradually restricted to Londoners.

Human Rights Act (1998)

Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. The Act makes a remedy for breach of a Convention right available in UK courts, without the need to go to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg. In particular, the Act makes it unlawful for any public body to act in a way which is incompatible with the Convention.

Slave Trade Act (1807)

Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the slave trade in the British Empire. Although it did not abolish the practice of slavery, it did encourage British action to press other nations states to abolish their own slave trades. Many of the supporters thought the Act would lead to the end of slavery. Slavery on English soil was unsupported in English law, but it remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.

Welsh male voice choir

All-male choirs are part of a centuries-old musical tradition in Wales. They emerged in the 19th century out of the singing in Nonconformist chapels and the groups that, because of the Industrial Revolution, came together to work in the country's mines, shipyards, factories and docks. Their accents are clearly audible in the rolled Rs and lilting cadences of the music. It's a sound that is synonymous with Welsh culture and life - heard everywhere from the area's chapels to its rugby fields. Yet in the valleys, being in a choir such as this is an increasingly unpopular occupation.

Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 - 1587)

Also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I, she reigned over Scotland from 1542 to 1567. She married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, but their union was unhappy. In February 1567, his residence was destroyed by an explosion, and Darnley was found murdered in the garden. James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was generally believed to have orchestrated Darnley's death, but he was acquitted of the charge; he later married Mary. Following an uprising against the couple, Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle. She was forced to abdicate in favour of James VI, her one-year-old son by Darnley. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, she fled southwards seeking the protection of her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Mary had once claimed Elizabeth's throne as her own, and was considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English Catholics, including participants in a rebellion known as the Rising of the North. Perceiving her as a threat, Elizabeth had her confined in various castles and manor houses in the interior of England. After eighteen and a half years in custody, Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth in 1586. She was beheaded the following year.

Punch

Also known as The London Charivari. British weekly magazine of humour and satire. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 1850s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. After the 1940s, when its circulation peaked, it went into a long decline, closing in 1992. It was revived in 1996, but closed again in 2002.

King James Bible (1611)

Also known as the Authorized Version, it is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, begun in 1604 and completed in 1611. The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha and the 27 books of the New Testament.It was first printed by the King's Printer Robert Barker and was the third translation into English approved by the English Church authorities. The first had been the Great Bible, commissioned in the reign of King Henry VIII (1535), and the second had been the Bishops' Bible of 1568.

Bill of Rights

Also known as the Declaration of Rights, it is a document written to detail the wrongs committed by the King of England, James II, and specify the rights that all citizens of England should be entitled to and that all English monarchs should abide by. The English Parliament read the Declaration aloud to William of Orange and his wife, Mary in 1689 when the formal offer of the throne was made to them jointly.

The Troubles

Also known as the Northern Ireland conflict. The conflict began in the late 1960s and ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The conflict was primarily political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events. The key issue was the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Unionists/loyalists, who were mostly Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the UK. Irish nationalists/republicans, who were mostly Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join a united Ireland.

Irish (language)

Also referred to as Gaelic, it is a Goidelic language (Gaelic) of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. It is spoken as a first language by a small minority of Irish people, and as a second language by a larger group of non-native speakers.

Edward the Confessor (1003 - 1066)

Among the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Although he is often portrayed as a listless, ineffectual monarch overshadowed by powerful nobles, he preserved much of the dignity of the crown and managed to keep the kingdom united during his reign of 24 years. His close ties to Normandy prepared the way for the conquest of England by the Normans under William, duke of Normandy (later King William I). When he died in 1066, he was succeeded by Harold Godwinson, who was defeated and killed in the same year by the Normans under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.

country house

An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry that ruled rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832. Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses.

Bayeux Tapestry (1070's)

An embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres long and 50 centimetres tall, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years after the battle. It supposedly tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo, William's half-brother, and made in England—not Bayeux—in the 1070s

Notting Hill carnival (the August bank holiday Monday and the preceding Sunday)

Annual event that has taken place in London since 1966 on the streets of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, each August over two days. It is led by members of the British West Indian community, and attracts around one million people annually, making it one of the world's largest street festivals, and a significant event in Black British culture. Despite its name, it is not part of the global Carnival season preceding Lent.

FA Cup

Annual football competition in men's domestic English football. It is one of the oldest association football competitions in the world.

Six Nations Championship

Annual international rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions are Ireland, having won the 2018 tournament.

Boat Race

Annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed on the River Thames in London.

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (August)

Annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealthand international military bands and artistic performance teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of Scotland. The event is held each August as part of the Edinburgh Festival. The term "tattoo" derives from a 17th-century Dutch phrase "doe den tap toe" ("turn off the tap"), a signal to tavern owners each night, played by a regiment's Corps of Drums, to turn off the taps of their ale kegs so that the soldiers would retire to their lodgings at a reasonable hour. With the establishment of modern barracks and full military bands later in the 18th century, the term "tattoo" was used to describe the last duty call of the day, as well as a ceremonial form of evening entertainment performed by military musicians.

Banksy

Anonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. His works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

Irish Republican Army (IRA)

Any of several paramilitary movements in Ireland in the 20th and 21st centuries dedicated to Irish republicanism, the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic. It was also characterised by the belief that political violence was necessary to achieve that goal. The first known use of the term occurred in the Fenian raids on many British landmarks, towns, and forts in the late 1700s and 1860s. The original Irish Republican Army formed in 1917 from those Irish Volunteers who did not enlist in the British Army during World War I, members of the Irish Citizen Army and others.

Gorbals

Area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived there because their jobs provided worker housing and they could not afford their own. Poor sanitation and poverty contributed to problems. As industrial jobs declined during restructuring, this area became widely known as a dangerous slum associated with drunkenness and crime. In the late twentieth century, it was subject to efforts at redevelopment, but poorly designed and constructed tower blocks of social housing contributed to further problems. Since the late twentieth century, much of the area has been demolished and redeveloped with a mixture of market and social housing.

West End

Area of Central and West London in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings and entertainment venues, including West End theatres, are concentrated. While the City of London, or the Square Mile, is the main business and financial district in London, this is the main commercial and entertainment centre of the city. It is the largest central business district in the UK.

Giant's Causeway

Area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland. According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. In one version of the story, Fionn defeats Benandonner. In another, Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realises that his foe is much bigger than he is. Fionn's wife, Oonagh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn would be unable to chase him down.

Westminster

Area of central London within the City of Westminster, part of the West End, on the north bank of the River Thames. Most of the attractions and historic landmarks of London are in this area, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.

Dartmoor

Area of moorland in southern Devon, England. It is a popular tourist destination.

downland

Area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. These areas are often referred to as downs, deriving from a Celtic word for "hills".

Greenwich

Area of south east London, England, located 5.5 miles of Charing Cross. It is located within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, to which it lends its name. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time. The town became the site of a royal palace, the Palace of Placentia from the 15th century, and was the birthplace of many Tudors, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Coalfield

Area where coal is mined.

Iraq War (2003)

Armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. The invasion occurred as part of a declared war against international terrorism and its sponsors under the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Bush administration based its rationale for the war principally on the assertion that Iraq, which had been viewed by the U.S. as a rogue state since the Persian Gulf War, possessed weapons of mass destruction and that the Iraqi government posed an immediate threat to the United States and its coalition allies. After the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs, while claims of Iraqi officials collaborating with al-Qaeda were proven false. The rationale and misrepresentation of U.S. prewar intelligence faced heavy criticism both domestically and internationally, with President Bush declining from his record-high approval ratings following 9/11 to become one of the most unpopular presidents in U.S. history.

Easter Rising (1916)

Armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week, April 1916, which was launched by Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish Republic while the UK was heavily engaged in the First World War. It was the most significant uprising in Ireland since the rebellion of 1798, and the first armed action of the Irish revolutionary period. It lasted six days. With much greater numbers and heavier weapons, the British Army suppressed it: 485 people were killed, and 2,600 were wounded. Many of the civilians were killed as a result of the British using artillery and heavy machine guns, or mistaking civilians for rebels.

Songs of Praise

BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns which first aired in October 1961.

Battle of Waterloo (1815)

Battle fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. A French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: a British-led Allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prince of Wahlstatt. The battle marked the end of the 26 year French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars period.

Battle of the Boyne (1690)

Battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England, and those of Dutch Prince William of Orange who had acceded to the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1688. The battle took place across the River Boyne near the town of Drogheda in the east of Ireland, and resulted in a victory for William. This turned the tide in James's failed attempt to regain the British crown and ultimately aided in ensuring the continued Protestant ascendancy in Ireland.

Rorke's Drift (1879)

Battle in the Anglo-Zulu War. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal Engineers and Gonville Bromhead, immediately followed the British Army's defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, and continued into the following day.

Battle of Clontarf (1014)

Battle that took place in 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted the forces of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, against a Norse-Irish alliance (Vikings and Leinster). It lasted from sunrise to sunset, and ended in the retreat of the Viking and Leinster forces. It is estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 men were killed. Although Brian's forces were victorious, Brian himself was killed, as were his son Murchad and his grandson Toirdelbach. Leinster king Máel Mórda and Viking leaders Sigurd and Brodir were also slain. After the battle, the Vikings of Dublin were reduced to a secondary power. Brian's family was temporarily eclipsed, and there was no undisputed High King of Ireland until the late 12th century. The battle was an important event in Irish history and is recorded in both Irish and Norse chronicles. In Ireland, the battle came to be seen as an event that freed the Irish from foreign domination, and Brian was hailed as a national hero.

Battle of Ethandune/Edington (AD 878)

Battle where an army of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May AD 878, soon resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year.

common law

Body of law derived from judicial decisions of courts and similar tribunals. The defining characteristic is that it arises as precedent. In cases where the parties disagree on what the law is, a court looks to past precedential decisions of relevant courts, and synthesizes the principles of those past cases as applicable to the current facts. If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is usually bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision. If, however, the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct from all previous cases, and legislative statutes are either silent or ambiguous on the question, judges have the authority and duty to resolve the issue. (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law)

Kew Gardens

Botanical garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". It is one of London's top tourist attractions.

Lee Rigby (2013)

British Army soldier of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers who was attacked and killed by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale on the afternoon of 22 May 2013, near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, southeast London. Rigby was off duty and walking along Wellington Street when he was attacked. Adebolajo and Adebowale ran him down with a car, then used knives and a cleaver to stab and hack him to death. The men dragged Rigby's body into the road and remained at the scene until police arrived. They told passers-by that they had killed a soldier to avenge the killing of Muslims by the British armed forces. The assailants charged at the police, who fired shots that wounded them both. They were apprehended and taken to separate hospitals. Adebolajo and Adebowale are British of Nigerian descent, were raised as Christians, and converted to Islam.

Scott of the Antarctic (1868 - 1912)

British Royal Navy officer and explorer whose name was Robert Falcon Scott was, and who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition. On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Polar (Antarctic) Plateau, on which the South Pole is located. On the second venture, he led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912. On their return journey, his party discovered plant fossils, proving Antarctica was once forested and joined to other continents. A planned meeting with supporting dog teams from the base camp failed, despite written instructions, and the party died at a distance of 150 miles from their base camp and 11 miles from the next depot.

HMS Endeavour

British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Australia and New Zealand on his first voyage of discovery from 1769 to 1771.

Dawn French (1957)

British actress, writer, and comedian. She is best known for starring in and writing for the comedy sketch show French and Saunders with comedy partner Jennifer Saunders and for playing the lead role as Geraldine Granger in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley.

Nadiya Hussain

British baker, columnist, author and television presenter. She rose to fame after winning the sixth series of BBC's The Great British Bake Off in 2015.

shortbread

British biscuit traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. It is widely associated with Christmas.

Trainspotting

British black comedy film directed by Danny Boyle and starring Ewan McGregor. Based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh, the film was released in the UK in 1996. The screenplay follows a group of heroin addicts in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life. Beyond drug addiction, other themes in the film are exploration of the urban poverty and squalor in "culturally rich" Edinburgh.

Eddie Stobart

British businessman who started an agriculture business in the late 1940s.

Jamie Oliver

British celebrity chef and restaurateur. His typically English cuisine has garnered him numerous television shows and restaurants. In 2005, he initiated a campaign originally called Feed Me Better to move British schoolchildren towards eating healthy foods and cutting out junk food; this campaign was eventually backed by the British government.

Wallace and Gromit

British clay animation comedy series created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and a feature-length film. The series centres on a good-natured, eccentric, cheese-loving inventor (who is always silent, communicating only with facial expressions), along with his companion, a silent yet loyal and intelligent dog. Because of their widespread popularity, the characters have been described as positive international icons of both modern British culture and British people in general.

Cutty Sark

British clipper ship. Built on the River Clyde in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of design development, which halted as sailing ships gave way to steam propulsion.

Cape Colony

British colony in present-day South Africa, named after the Cape of Good Hope. The British colony was preceded by an earlier Dutch colony of the same name, the Kaap de Goede Hoop, established in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 ceded the colony to the British. The Cape of Good Hope then remained in the British Empire, becoming self-governing in 1872, and uniting with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa in 1910.

Co-operative Group

British consumer co-operative with a diverse family of retail businesses including food retail; electrical retail; financial services; insurance services; legal services and funeralcare, with in excess of 4,200 locations. It is the largest consumer co-operative in the UK. The business has long established itself as an ethical retailer, allowing women the same democratic rights within the society as men since its founding and was the first major UK retailer to champion Fairtrade.

The Daily Mail

British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust and published in London. It is the UK's second-biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. It has been widely criticized for its unreliability, as well as printing of sensationalist and inaccurate scare stories of science and medical research and of copyright violations.

The Times

British daily national newspaper based in London, England. It began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register. In 1959, the historian of journalism Allan Nevins analysed the importance of The Times in shaping the views of events of London's elite. The Times is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as The Times of India and The New York Times. The Times is the originator of the widely used Times Roman typeface. (political alignment: center-right)

The Guardian

British daily newspaper. The paper's readership is generally on the mainstream left of British political opinion. The newspaper's reputation as a platform for liberal and left-wing editorial has led to the use of the "Guardian reader" and "Guardianista" as often (but not always) pejorative epithets for those of left-leaning or politically correct tendencies.

Captain James Cook (1728 - 1779)

British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

Pinewood Studios

British film and television studio. The studios have been the base for many productions over the years from big-budget films to television shows, commercials, and pop promos. It is well known as the home of the James Bond and Carry On film franchises.

Admiral Nelson (1758 - 1805)

British flag officer in the Royal Navy. He was noted for his inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics, which together resulted in a number of decisive British naval victories, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was wounded several times in combat, losing the sight in one eye in Corsica and most of one arm in the unsuccessful attempt to conquer Santa Cruz de Tenerife. He was shot and killed during his final victory at the Battle of Trafalgar near the port city of Cádiz in 1805.

Katharine Gun (2003)

British former translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a British intelligence agency. In 2003, she became publicly known for leaking top-secret information to the press concerning illegal activities by the USA in their push for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Some of these activities include the US National Security Agency's eavesdropping operation on countries tasked with passing a second United Nations resolution on the invasion of Iraq.

Private Eye

British fortnightly satirical and current affairs news magazine founded in 1961. The publication is widely recognised for its prominent criticism and lampooning of public figures such as politicians and media tycoons, and of organisations that it considers incompetent, inefficient, corrupt, pompous or self-important; it has established itself as a thorn in the side of the British establishment. It is also known for its in-depth investigative journalism into under-reported scandals and cover-ups. Private Eye is Britain's best-selling current affairs magazine, and such is its long-term popularity and impact that many of its recurring in-jokes have entered popular culture.

Rolls Royce

British luxury car and aero engine manufacturing business founded in 1904 by Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce.

Carillion

British multinational facilities management and construction services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the UK. The company was liquidated in 2017, causing major job losses.

British Petroleum

British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. It is one of the world's seven oil and gas "supermajors". Its origins date back to the founding of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1908, which exploited petrol in Iran.

Isle of Wight festival (21-24 June)

British music festival which takes place annually on the Isle of Wight in Newport, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest and most famous of these early festivals. The event was revived in 2002.

The Daily Mirror

British national daily tabloid newspaper. The paper has consistently supported the Labour Party since the 1945 general election. Originally pitched to the middle-class reader, it was transformed into a working-class newspaper after 1934, in order to reach a larger audience.

The Independent

British online newspaper. Established in 1986 as an independent national morning newspaper published in London. The last printed edition was published Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only its digital editions. Nicknamed "the Indy". The newspaper describes itself as "free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence". It tends to take a pro-market stance on economic issues. (political alignment: liberal)

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist and Nobel laureate. In the early 20th century, he led the British revolt against idealism. He is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy,. and one of the 20th century's premier logicians. He wrote Principia Mathematica, an attempt to create a logical basis for mathematics. His work has had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science and philosophy. He was a prominent anti-war activist, championed anti-imperialism, and was an outspoken proponent of nuclear disarmament.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

British philosopher, political economist and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory and political economy. Dubbed "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century", His conception of libertyjustified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control. He was a proponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by his predecessor Jeremy Bentham. He contributed to the investigation of scientific methodology, though his knowledge of the topic was based on the writings of others, notably William Whewell, John Herschel and Auguste Comte, and research carried out for Mill by Alexander Bain. He engaged in written debate with Whewell. A member of the Liberal Party, he was also the first Member of Parliament to call for women's suffrage.

Emmeline Pankhurst (1858 - 1928)

British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement who helped women win the right to vote.

New Statesman

British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was connected then with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members of the socialist Fabian Society. The magazine, which today is a print-digital hybrid, has, according to its present self-description, a liberal, sceptical political position.

Profumo scandal (1961)

British political scandal that originated with a brief sexual relationship in 1961 between John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, and Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old model. In the House of Commons, Profumo denied any improper conduct but later admitted that he had lied. This incident discredited the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan in 1963. When the affair was first revealed, public interest was heightened by reports that Keeler may have been simultaneously involved with a Soviet naval attaché, thereby creating a possible security risk.

Jeremy Corbyn

British politician serving as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition since 2015. Ideologically, he identifies as a democratic socialist. He advocates reversing austerity cuts to public services and welfare funding made since 2010, and proposes renationalisation of public utilities and the railways. An anti-war and anti-nuclear campaigner since his youth, he broadly supports a foreign policy of military non-interventionism and unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Theresa May

British politician serving as Prime Minister of the UK and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2016. She served as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016. Ideologically, she identifies herself as a one-nation conservative. As Prime Minister, she began the process of withdrawing the UK from the European Union, triggering Article 50 in March 2017

Tony Blair

British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He supported the foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration, and ensured that the British Armed Forces participated in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and, more controversially, the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He has faced criticism for his role in the invasion of Iraq, including calls for having him tried for war crimes and waging a war of aggression. He was succeeded as Leader of the Labour Party and as Prime Minister by Gordon Brown.

Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

British politician, army officer, and writer, who was Prime Minister of the UK from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. As Prime Minister, Churchill led Britain to victory in the Second World War. Ideologically an economic liberal and British imperialist, he was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924 before joining the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955.

Great Western Railway

British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England, the Midlands, and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833.

WH Smith

British retailer which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers and entertainment products.

Dan Dare

British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson. The stories were set in the late 1990s, but the dialogue and manner of the characters is reminiscent of British war films of the 1950s.

Doctor Who

British science-fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963. The programme depicts the adventures of an alien Time Lord called "the Doctor", who explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Accompanied by a number of companions, the Doctor combats a variety of foes, while working to save civilisations and help people in need. Twelve actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show with the concept of regeneration: when a Time Lord is too badly harmed to heal normally, he transforms into a new body.

Rosemary West (1995)

British serial killer convicted of ten murders in 1995. Her husband, Fred, who committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial, is believed to have collaborated with her in the torture and murder of at least nine young women between 1973 and 1987, whereas Rose was judged to have murdered her 8-year-old stepdaughter, Charmaine, in 1971. The majority of these murders were committed at the couple's home. She is now in prison.

Spitfire

British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. During the Battle of Britain, from July to October 1940, the public perceived the aircraft to be the main RAF fighter.

EastEnders

British soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since 1985. Set in Albert Square in the East End of London in the fictional Borough of Walford, the programme follows the stories of local residents and their families as they go about their daily lives. It tackled many controversial and taboo issues in British culture and social life previously unseen on United Kingdom mainstream television.

Raj

British sovereignty in India.

Robert Peel

British statesman of the Conservative Party who served twice as Prime Minister of the UK and twice as Home Secretary. He is regarded as the father of modern British policing and as one of the founders of the modern Conservative Party.

Clement Attlee (1883 - 1967)

British statesman of the Labour Party who served as Prime Minister of the UK from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. The government he led built the post-war consensus. His government undertook the nationalisation of public utilities and major industries, as well as the creation of the National Health Service. He supervised the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, and arranged the independence of Burma (Myanmar), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). His government ended the British Mandates of Palestine and Jordan. He is considered to be one of the greatest British Prime Ministers, thanks to his roles in leading the Labour Party, creating the welfare state and building the coalition opposing Stalin in the Cold War.

Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013)

British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the UK from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to have been appointed. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism. She introduced a series of political and economic initiatives intended to reverse high unemployment and Britain's struggles in the wake of the Winter of Discontent and an ongoing recession.

Monty Python (1969)

British surreal comedy group who created their sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, including touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books, and musicals. The Pythons' influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music.

Upstairs, Downstairs

British television drama series that ran on ITV. Set in a large townhouse in Belgravia in West London, the series depicts the servants "downstairs" and their masters-the family "upstairs" between the years 1903 to 1930, and shows the slow decline of the British aristocracy. The series stands as a document of the social and technological changes that occurred between those 27 years, including the Edwardian period, the Suffragettes, First World War, the Roaring Twenties and the Wall Street Crash.

Rumpole of the Bailey

British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an elderly London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, often underdogs. The TV series led to the stories being presented in other media including books and radio. The "Bailey" of the title is a reference to the Central Criminal Court, the "Old Bailey".

Fawlty Towers

British television sitcom broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979.

Shell

British-Dutch multinational oil and gascompany headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom. It is one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"

Camelot

Castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, it first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world. The stories locate it somewhere in Great Britain and sometimes associate it with real cities, though more usually its precise location is not revealed. Most scholars regard it as being entirely fictional, its geography being perfect for chivalric romance writers. Nevertheless, arguments about its location have occurred since the 15th century and continue to rage today in popular works and for tourism purposes.

York minster

Cathedral of York, in England. It is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. It is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England.

Kate Middleton

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is a member of the British royal family. Her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is expected to become king of the United Kingdom and of 15 other Commonwealth realms, making Catherine a likely future queen consort.

St Augustine of Canterbury (6th century)

Catholic Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the Catholic Church in England.

Bonfire Night (5 november)

Celebrates the failure of Guy Fawkes' actions on 5 November 1605. Its sectarian significance has generally been lost: it is now usually just a night of revelry with a bonfire and fireworks. An effigy of Guy Fawkes is burned on the fire.

Halloween (31 October)

Celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. Many believe that Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Samhain; that Halloween has pagan roots; and that Samhain was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, apple bobbing, divination games, pranks, haunted attractions, scary stories, and horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration.

Burns Night (25 January)

Celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, the author of many Scots poems, on 25 January, the poet's birthday. Burns Suppers are held around this date. They typically include haggis, Scotch whisky and the recitation of Burns's poetry.

Scottish Gaelic

Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, it developed out of Middle Irish, like Modern Irish and Manx. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language placenames. It is not an official language of either the European Union or the United Kingdom.

Britons (ancient)

Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from the British Iron Age into the Middle Ages, at which point their culture and language diverged into the modern Welsh, Cornish and Bretons. They spoke the Common Brittonic language, the ancestor to the modern Brittonic languages. With the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement and Gaelic Scots in the 5th century, their culture and language fragmented and much of their territory was taken over by the Anglo-Saxons and Scots Gaels. During this period some of them migrated to mainland Europe and established significant settlements in Brittany (now part of France) as well as Britonia in modern Galicia, Spain.

Edinburgh New Town

Central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning and, together with the Old Town, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of the original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its most famous street is Princes Street, facing Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town across the geographical depression of the former Nor Loch.

Bank of England

Central bank of the UK and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in operation today. The Bank of England is the world's 8th oldest bank. It was established to act as the English Government's banker and is still one of the bankers for the Government of the United Kingdom. The Bank was privately owned by stockholders from its foundation in 1694 until it was nationalised in 1946. The Bank is one of eight banks authorised to issue banknotes in the United Kingdom.

Bletchley Park

Central site for British and Allied codebreakers during World War II. It housed the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), which regularly penetrated the secret communications of the Axis Powers - most importantly the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman the bombe, a device designed to discover some of the daily settings of the Enigma machines on the various German military networks. The "Ultra" intelligence produced at Bletchley shortened the war by two to four years, and without it the outcome of the war would have been uncertain.

Labour Party

Centre-left political party in the UK. It has been described as a broad church, bringing together an alliance of social democratic, democratic socialist and trade unionist outlooks. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights. It was founded in 1900, having grown out of the trade union movement and socialist parties of the nineteenth century. It overtook the Liberal Party to become the main opposition to the Conservative Party in the early 1920s,

Conservative Party

Centre-right political party in the UK. It is currently the governing party. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the UK, the other being its modern rival, the Labour Party. It was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party—giving rise to the Conservatives' colloquial name of Tories.

Trooping the Colour (Saturday in June)

Ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies. It has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, although the roots go back much earlier. On battlefields, a regiment's colours, or flags, were used as rallying points. Consequently, regiments would have their ensigns slowly march with their colours between the soldiers' ranks to enable soldiers to recognise their regiments' colours. Since 1748, this ceremony has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign. It is held in London annually on a Saturday in June on Horse Guards Parade by St. James's Park, and coincides with the publication of the Birthday Honours List. Among the audience are the Royal Family, invited guests, ticket holders and the general public. The ceremony is broadcast live by the BBC within the UK and is also shown in Germany and Belgium. The Queen travels down the Mall from Buckingham Palace in a royal procession with a sovereign's escort of Household Cavalry (mounted troops or horse guards).

Selfridges

Chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The flagship store on London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK (after Harrods) and opened in 1909.

John Lewis

Chain of high-end department stores operating throughout the United Kingdom. The chain is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, which was created by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis, in 1929. The first John Lewis store was opened in 1864 in Oxford Street, London.

Myra Hindley (1960's)

Characterised by the press as "the most evil woman in Britain", she carried out the Moors murders with her husband Ian Brady between July 1963 and October 1965, around Manchester. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—at least four of whom were sexually assaulted. She has made several appeals against her life sentence, claiming she was a reformed woman and no longer a danger to society, but was never released.

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)

Charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare.

Magna Carta (1215)

Charter agreed to by King John of England in 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. The charter became part of English political life and was typically renewed by each monarch in turn. It influenced the early American colonists in the Thirteen Colonies and the formation of the American Constitution in 1787.

Lord Advocate

Chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament. He or she is the chief public prosecutor for Scotland and all prosecutions on indictment are conducted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, nominally in the Lord Advocate's name.

An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO)

Civil order made in the United Kingdom against a person who had engaged in anti-social behaviour. The orders were introduced by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998 and continued in use until 2015. They addressed behavior like intimidation, drunkenness, and violence by individuals and families, using civil orders rather than criminal sanctions. The orders restricted behaviour in some way, such as prohibiting a return to a certain area or shop, or restricting public behaviour such as swearing or drinking alcohol.

tort

Civil wrong that causes someone else to suffer loss or harm resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. The person who commits the act is called a tortfeasor.

Lincolnshire Fens

Coastal plain in eastern England known as "the Fens". Despite being a natural marshy region, most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system of drainage channels and man-made rivers (dykes and drains) and automated pumping stations. A fen is the local term for an individual area of marshland or former marshland and also designates the type of marsh typical of the area, which has neutral or alkaline water chemistry and relatively large quantities of dissolved minerals, but few other plant nutrients.

Canterbury Tales (between 1387 and 1400)

Collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is revered as one of the most important works in English literature. He uses the tales and descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. It has been suggested that they contributed to the popularisation of the English vernacular in mainstream literature, as opposed to French, Italian or Latin.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899). Taken as a whole, however, it is the single most important historical source for the period in England between the departure of the Romans and the decades following the Norman conquest. Much of the information given in the Chronicle is not recorded elsewhere. In addition, the manuscripts are important sources for the history of the English language.

The Paston letters

Collection of correspondences between members of the Paston family of Norfolk gentry and others connected with them in England between the years 1422 and 1509. The collection also includes state papers and other important documents.

Crown Estate

Collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch.

Heptarchy

Collective name applied to the seven petty kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in 5th century until their unification into the Kingdom of England in the early 10th century. The term alludes to the tradition that there were seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, usually enumerated as: East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex and Wessex. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms eventually unified into the Kingdom of England.

Trinity College Dublin

College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin, a research university located in Dublin, Ireland. The college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother" of a new university, modelled after the collegiate universities of Oxford and Cambridge. It is one of the seven ancient universities of Britain and Ireland, as well as Ireland's oldest surviving university.

Cambridge University

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by King Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's fourth-oldest surviving university.

Oxford University

Collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. It has no known date of foundation, but there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in continuous operation. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two "ancient universities" are frequently jointly referred to as "Oxbridge". The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges and a full range of academic departments which are organised into four divisions. All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities.

Tower Bridge

Combined bascule and suspension bridge in London built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic symbol of London. Because of this, Tower Bridge is sometimes confused with London Bridge.

ITV

Commercial TV network in the United Kingdom. (Stands for Independent Television)

village green

Common open area within a village or other settlement. Traditionally, it was common grassland at the centre of a rural settlement used for grazing with a pond for watering cattle and other stock. It also provided an open-air meeting place for the local people, which may be used for public celebrations such as May Day festivities.

welfare state

Concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the social and economic well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. The modern welfare state in Great Britain began operations with the Liberal welfare reforms of 1906-1914, which included the passing of the Old-Age Pensions Act in 1908, the introduction of free school meals in 1909, the 1909 Labour Exchanges Act, the Development Act 1909, which heralded greater Government intervention in economic development, and the enacting of the National Insurance Act 1911 setting up a national insurance contribution for unemployment and health benefits from work. The minimum wage was introduced in Great Britain in 1909. In 1942, the Beveridge Report proposed a series of measures to aid those who were in need of help, or in poverty and recommended that the government find ways of tackling what the report called "the five giants": Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness.

National Trust

Conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, that works to preserve and protect historic places and spaces. It was founded in 1895 and given statutory powers, starting with the National Trust Act 1907. Historically, it tended to focus on English country houses, which still make up the largest part of its holdings, but it also protects historic landscapes such as in the Lake District, historic urban properties, and nature reserves. The Trust has special powers to prevent land being sold off or mortgaged, although this can be over-ridden by Parliament. It owns over 350 heritage properties, which includes many historic houses and gardens, industrial monuments, and social history sites. The Trust is one of the largest landowners in the UK, owning over 247,000 hectares of land, including many characteristic sites of natural beauty, most of which are open to the public free of charge. In recent years, it has sought to broaden its activities by acquiring historic properties such as former mills, early factories, workhouses, and the childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. There is an independent National Trust for Scotland.

Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs)

Constitutional convention in the UK, held every Wednesday at noon when the House of Commons is sitting, where the Prime Minister spends around half an hour answering questions from Members of Parliament.

Tyneside

Conurbation in North East England which includes a number of settlements on the banks of the River Tyne.

National Parks

Counted together, the United Kingdom has fifteen national parks with ten in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland. All fifteen national parks share two statutory purposes; To conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage of the area, and to promote understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the national park by the public.

Scotland

Country that is part of the UK and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. The Kingdom emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. The kingdom subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801, Great Britain itself entered into a political union with the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Wales

Country that is part of the UK and the island of Great Britain. It has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. Its national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century;it is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations. It was conquered by Edward I of England in 1282 (after Llywelyn ap Gruffudd's death), though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored its independence in the early 15th century. The whole country was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Although it closely shares its political and social history with the rest of Great Britain, and a majority of the population in most areas speaks English as a first language, the country has retained a distinct cultural identity and is officially bilingual. From the late 19th century onwards, it acquired its popular image as the "land of song", in part due to the eisteddfod tradition.

William and Mary

Couple who declared themselves king and queen after chasing James II out of the country after the Glorious Revolution. During the Glorious Revolution, William invaded Britain. The commanders of the army sent to oppose him switched sides, and the Dutch army marched up to London, occupied the capital, and decreed martial law. This was the last successful invasion of England, but in English history books it is not treated as an invasion at all - more as a sort of rescue mission. James II went abroad to regroup, and the couple declared themselves joint king and queen, arguing that by leaving the country James II had implicitly surrendered the crown. They issued the Bill of Rights, explicitly limiting royal power. Both Protestants, they decreed freedom of religion for all Christians except Catholics. (It is still legally impossible in the UK for anyone in line to the throne to become a Catholic or to marry a Catholic)

hovercraft

Craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. The first practical design was derived from a British invention in the 1950s to 1960s. They are now used throughout the world as specialised transports in disaster relief, coastguard, military and survey applications, as well as for sport or passenger service. Very large versions have been used to transport hundreds of people and vehicles across the English Channel, whilst others have military applications used to transport tanks, soldiers and large equipment in hostile environments and terrain.

Lord's Cricket Ground

Cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Lord's is widely referred to as the Home of Cricket. Also known as "Lord's"

St Patrick's (17 March)

Cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. For Christians, the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol were lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption.

Bloody Sunday (1972)

Demonstration in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on Sunday, January 30, 1972, by Roman Catholic civil rights supporters that turned violent when British paratroopers opened fire, killing 13 and injuring 14 others. Bloody Sunday precipitated an upsurge in support for the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which advocated violence against the United Kingdom to force it to withdraw from Northern Ireland. The incident remained a source of controversy for decades, with competing accounts of the events.

Customs and Excise

Department of the British Government formed in 1909; its primary responsibility was the collection of customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes. With effect from 18 April 2005, HMCE merged with the Inland Revenue (which was responsible for the administration and collection of direct taxes) to form a new department: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Inland Revenue

Department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation until April 2005.

taking and driving away

Describes any unauthorised use of a car or other conveyance that does not constitute theft. Also called "Taking without owner's consent" (TWOC), and "unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle" (UTMV). Since the taking need not involve an intention to permanently deprive the owner of the car, it is easier to prove than theft. The term came to prominence with a sharp rise in car crime in the early 1990s. In police slang usage, twoc became a verb, with twocking and twockers (also spelled twoccing and twoccers) used respectively to describe car theft and those who perpetrate it: these usages subsequently filtered into general British slang.

Covent Garden

District of Westminster associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and with the Royal Opera House, which is also known by that name.

Wimbledon

District of southwest London, England. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

City of London

Dubbed "the square mile" or "the city", it is the historic centre and the primary central business district (CBD) of London. The City is only a tiny part of the metropolis of London. The City is also a metonym for the UK's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City.

Prince Philip

Duke of Edinburgh (born a prince of Greece and Denmark) and the husband and consort of Queen Elizabeth II.

Pilgrim Fathers

Early European settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. The Pilgrims' leadership came from the religious congregations of Brownist separatist Puritans who had fled the volatile political environment in England for the relative calm and tolerance of 17th-century Holland in the Netherlands. They held Puritan Calvinist religious beliefs but, unlike other Puritans, they maintained that their congregations needed to be separated from the English state church. They were also concerned that they might lose their English cultural identity if they remained in the Netherlands, so they arranged with English investors to establish a new colony in North America. The colony was established in 1620 and became the second successful English settlement in North America (after the founding of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607). The Pilgrims' story became a central theme of the history and culture of the United States.

Stephenson's Rocket (1829)

Early steam locomotive. It was built for, and won, the Rainhill Trials held by the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1829 to choose the best design to power the railway. It became the template for most steam engines in the following 150 years. Rocket was designed by Robert Stephenson in 1829.

Cambridge

East England. Home to a world-renowned University which was founded in 1209. Unlike Oxford, this medieval university town is not enlivened (or marred) by modern industry. There is not much there except the university.

Leicester

East Midlands. One of the biggest city in the East Midlands, once famous for its shoe industry (it is now the U.K. headquarters of Brantano). It is also the only city in the UK where the population descended from post-war immigrants comes anywhere close to outnumbering the population of native descent. The main reason for this is the large Indian population (partly immigrants from India, and partly from Indian communities in East Africa). In most UK towns the Christmas lights go up around the end of November. The city lights up much earlier, with the illuminations for Diwali. The celebration of Diwali in this city claims to be the largest outside India itself.

Aberdeen

East coast of Scotland. Scotland's third most populous city. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, it has been known as the off-shore oil capital of Europe. Formerly famous for its granite that glitters in the sun (nicknamed Granite City during the 18th to 20th centuries). It has a medieval university.

Dublin

East coast. Largest city and capital of Ireland. Known for its Georgian and Victorian architecture, and for Trinity College, one of the seven "ancient" universities in the British Isles, it has become one of the most expensive capitals in Europe.

George Formby (1904-1961)

English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he sang light, comical songs, usually playing the ukulele or banjolele, and became the UK's highest-paid entertainer. During the Second World War Formby worked extensively for the Entertainments National Service Association, and entertained civilians and troops.

East India Company

English and later British joint-stock company, formed to trade with the East Indies, but ended up trading mainly with Qing China and seizing control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent. Originally chartered as the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies", the company rose to account for half of the world's trade, particularly in basic commodities including cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea, and opium. The company also ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.

L.S. Lowry (1887-1976)

English artist famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of North West England in the mid-20th century. He developed a distinctive style of painting and is best known for his urban landscapes peopled with human figures often referred to as "matchstick men". He painted mysterious unpopulated landscapes, brooding portraits and the unpublished "marionette" works, which were only found after his death.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015)

English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. Best known for: Discworld series of 41 novels. He wrote two books a year on average. He was the best-selling author of the 90's in the UK.

Stilton (cheese)

English cheese, produced in two varieties: Blue - known for its characteristic strong smell and taste - and the lesser-known White. Both have been granted the status of a protected designation of origin by the European Commission, which requires that only cheese produced in the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire and made according to a strict code may be called by that name.

John Wesley (1703 - 1791)

English cleric and theologian who, with his brother Charles and fellow cleric George Whitefield, founded Methodism.

coffee house

English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries were public social places where men would meet for conversation and commerce. For the price of a penny, customers purchased a cup of coffee and admission. Travellers introduced coffee as a beverage to England during the mid-17th century; previously it had been consumed mainly for its supposed medicinal properties. Coffeehouses also served tea and chocolate. The absence of alcohol created an atmosphere in which it was possible to engage in more serious conversation than in an alehouse. Coffeehouses also played an important role in the development of financial markets and newspapers. Topics discussed included politics and political scandals, daily gossip, fashion, current events, and debates surrounding philosophy and the natural sciences. Historians often associate English coffeehouses, during the 17th and 18th centuries, with the intellectual and cultural history of the Age of Enlightenment: they were an alternate sphere, supplementary to the university. Political groups frequently used coffeehouses as meeting places.

Andrew Lloyd Webber

English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Some songs are hits outside of the musicals, for example: "The Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita, "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and "Memory" from Cats.

William Byrd (1543-1623)

English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard (the so-called Virginalist school), and consort music. He produced sacred music for Anglican services, although in later life he became Roman Catholic and wrote Catholic sacred music.

Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)

English composer who occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music, and is considered one of England's greatest composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English musicianship. No contemporary portrait of him survives, and little is known about his life, but there seems to be agreement that he was born in the early 16th century, toward the close of the reign of Henry VII.

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. Best known for: Peter Grimes, the War Requiem, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924. Although he is often regarded as a typically English composer, most of his musical influences were not from England but from continental Europe. He felt himself to be an outsider, not only musically, but socially. He has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously. Known for: Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, The Dream of Gerontius.

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

English composer. Although incorporating Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music. He is considered to be one of the greatest English composers; no later native-born English composer approached his fame until Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, William Walton and Benjamin Britten in the 20th century.

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over nearly fifty years. Strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk-song, his output marked a decisive break in British music from its German-dominated style of the 19th century. He is among the best-known British symphonists, noted for his very wide range of moods, from stormy and impassioned to tranquil, from mysterious to exuberant. Among the most familiar of his other concert works are Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910) and The Lark Ascending (1914).

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

English composer. His works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. Best know for: The Planets

Alan Turing (1912 - 1954)

English computer scientist and mathematician who was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science; the Turing machine can be considered a model of a general purpose computer. He is widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. During the Second World War, he worked for the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, Britain's codebreaking centre that produced Ultra intelligence. He devised a number of techniques for speeding the breaking of German ciphers, including improvements to the pre-war Polish bombe method, an electromechanical machine that could find settings for the Enigma machine. He played a pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements. He was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts. He accepted chemical castration treatment, then committed suicide. A 2017 law that retroactively pardoned men cautioned or convicted under historical legislation that outlawed homosexual acts was informally named after him.

Tracey Emin (1963)

English contemporary artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and sewn appliqué. Once the "enfant terrible" of the Young British Artists in the 1980s, she is now a Royal Academician of the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1997, her work Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995, a tent appliquéd with the names of everyone the artist had ever shared a bed with was shown at Charles Saatchi's Sensation exhibition held at the Royal Academy in London. The same year, she gained considerable media exposure when she swore repeatedly in a state of drunkenness on a live discussion programme called The Death of Painting on British television.

Delia Smith

English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style.

Glyndebourne

English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Initially, operas were presented within the house but there is now a free-standing opera house on its grounds. The house itself, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundred years old.

Brummie

English dialect of Birmingham. The term derives from Brummagem or Bromwichham, historical variants of the name Birmingham. It is also a demonym for people from Birmingham.

Estuary (accent)

English dialect or accent associated with South East England, especially the area along the River Thames and its estuary, centering around London.

Ken Loach

English director of television and independent film. He is known for his socially critical directing style and for his socialist ideals, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (Poor Cow), homelessness (Cathy Come Home) and labour rights (Riff-Raff, and The Navigators). His film Kes was voted the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute. Two of his films, The Wind That Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. A social campaigner for most of his career, he believes the current criteria for claiming benefits in the UK are "a Kafka-esque, Catch 22 situation designed to frustrate and humiliate the claimant to such an extent that they drop out of the system and stop pursuing their right to ask for support if necessary".

Edgar Wright

English director, screenwriter, producer, best known for The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (which includes Shaun Of the Dead, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. His latest film, the action comedy Baby Driver, was released in 2017.

Tim Berners-Lee

English engineer and computer scientist, best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. He is currently a professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford.

Jack the Giant-Killer

English fairy tale and legend about a young adult who slays a number of giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterised by violence, gore and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklore, Breton mythology and Welsh Bardic lore.

Gurinder Chadha

English film director of Kenyan Asian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. This common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in England and how they reconcile their converging traditional and modern cultures. Her movies address many social and emotional issues, especially ones faced by immigrants caught between two worlds. Much of her work also consists of adaptations from book to film, but with a different flare. She is best known for the hit films Bhaji on the Beach (1993), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride and Prejudice (2004), Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008), and the comedy film It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010). Her latest feature is the partition drama Viceroy's House (2017).

Yorkshire pudding

English food made from batter consisting of eggs, flour, and milk or water. It is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on the choice of ingredients, the size of the pudding and the accompanying components of the dish. As a first course it can be served with onion gravy. For a main course it is often served with beef and gravy and is part of the traditional Sunday roast, but can also be filled with foods such as bangers and mash to make a meal. Jam and sugar can be added instead if served as a dessert.

Dick Turpin (1705 - 1739)

English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Though he may have followed his father's trade as a butcher early in his life but, by the early 1730s, he had joined a gang of deer thieves and, later, became a poacher, burglar, horse thief and killer. He is also known for a fictional 200-mile overnight ride from London to York on his horse Black Bess, a story that was made famous by the Victorian novelist William Harrison Ainsworth almost 100 years after his death. He became the subject of legend after his execution, romanticised as dashing and heroic in English ballads and popular theatre of the 18th and 19th centuries and in film and television of the 20th century.

County grounds

There are several stadiums in England called the County Ground.

Eton College

English independent boarding school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It educates more than 1,300 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor". Following the public school tradition, it is a full boarding school, which means all pupils live at the school, and it is one of four such remaining single-sex boys' public schools in the United Kingdom to continue this practice. The school has educated 19 British prime ministers, as well as members of the Royal family.

Richard Arkwright (1732 - 1792)

English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution, known as the "father of the modern industrial factory system." His achievement was to combine power, machinery, semi-skilled labour and the new raw material of cotton to create mass-produced yarn.

Nigella Lawson

English journalist, broadcaster, television personality, gourmet, and food writer. In 1999 she hosted her own cooking show series, Nigella Bites, on Channel 4, accompanied by another best-selling cookbook.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. His works of fiction include The Jungle Book, Kim, and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King. He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature. He was one of the most popular writers in the UK, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the age of 42, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize and its youngest recipient to date.

Thomas Cromwell (1485 - 1540)

English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540. He was one of the strongest and most powerful advocates of the English Reformation. He helped engineer an annulment of the king's marriage to Queen Catherine so that Henry could lawfully marry Anne Boleyn. He was later executed for treason and heresy.

Thomas More (1478 - 1535)

English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist who is now venerated as a saint. He was also a councillor to Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of England. He opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of Martin Luther and William Tyndale. He also opposed the king's separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason and beheaded. Known for: Utopia (about the political system of an imaginary, ideal island nation)

Ada Lovelace (1815 - 1852)

English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as and the first computer programmer. She was the only legitimate child of the poet Lord Byron.

John Dee (1527 - 1609)

English mathematician, astronomer, and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy. He was also an advocate of England's imperial expansion into a "British Empire", a term he is generally credited with coining. One of the most learned men of his age, he had been invited to lecture on the geometry of Euclid at the University of Paris while still in his early twenties. Dee was an ardent promoter of mathematics and a respected astronomer, as well as a leading expert in navigation, having trained many of those who would conduct England's voyages of discovery.

Isaac Newton (1642 - 1726)

English mathematician, astronomer, theologian, author and physicist who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time, and a key figure in the scientific revolution. He formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation that dominated scientists' view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. He was the president of the Royal Society at one point.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806 - 1859)

English mechanical and civil engineer who built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering. He is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th century engineering giants", and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions".

William Caxton (15th century)

English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and was the first English retailer of printed books.

Oliver Cromwell (1599 - 1658)

English military and political leader. He served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1653 until his death, acting simultaneously as head of state and head of government of the new republic. As one of the generals on the parliamentary side in the English Civil War against King Charles I, he helped to bring about the overthrow of the Stuart monarchy, and, as lord protector, he raised his country's status once more to that of a leading European power from the decline it had gone through since the death of Queen Elizabeth I. A man of outstanding gifts and forceful character, he was one of the most remarkable rulers in modern European history. He is one of the most controversial figures in the history of the British Isles, considered a regicidal dictator by historians such as David Sharp, a military dictator by Winston Churchill, but a hero of liberty by John Milton, Thomas Carlyle, and Samuel Rawson Gardiner, and a class revolutionary by Leon Trotsky.

Bede (672 - 735)

English monk well known as an author and scholar. His most famous work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People gained him the title "The Father of English History".

Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)

English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

English writer. She is known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

John of Gaunt (1340 - 1399)

English nobleman and member of the House of Plantagenet, the third of five sons of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was called by that name because he was born in Ghent. When he became unpopular later in life, scurrilous rumours and lampoons circulated that he was actually the son of a Ghent butcher, perhaps because Edward III was not present at the birth. This story always drove him to fury. His legitimate male heirs, the Lancasters, include English kings Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI.

Jane Austen (1775-1817)

English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Her plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her use of biting irony, along with her realism and social commentary, have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars. Known for: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma

George Orwell (1903-1950)

English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic whose name was Eric Arthur Blair. However, he was better known by his pen name. His work is marked by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism. He wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction, and polemical journalism. His work continues to influence popular and political culture, and the term Orwellian - descriptive of totalitarian or authoritarian social practices - has entered the language together with many of his neologisms, including Big Brother, Thought Police, Room 101, memory hole, newspeak, doublethink, proles, unperson, and thoughtcrime. Best known for: Animal Farm, 1984.

Royal Oak

English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. Charles told Samuel Pepys in 1680 that while he was hiding in the tree, a Parliamentarian soldier passed directly below it. The story was popular after the Restoration, and is remembered every year in the English traditions of Royal Oak Day.

William Hogarth (1697-1764)

English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic, and editorial cartoonist. Best known being his moral series "A Harlot's Progress", "A Rake's Progress" and "Marriage A-la-Mode". Knowledge of his work is so pervasive that satirical political illustrations in this style are often referred to as "Hogarthian". Influenced by French and Italian painting and engraving, Hogarth's works are mostly satirical caricatures, sometimes bawdily sexual, mostly of the first rank of realistic portraiture. They became widely popular and mass-produced via prints in his lifetime, and he was by far the most significant English artist of his generation.

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism, an ethical theory that states that the best action is the one that maximizes utility.

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was heavily influenced by his mentor Siegfried Sassoon, and stood in stark contrast both to the public perception of war at the time and to the confidently patriotic verse written by earlier war poets such as Rupert Brooke. Among his best-known works - most of which were published posthumously - are "Dulce et Decorum est", "Insensibility", "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Futility", "Spring Offensive" and "Strange Meeting".

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". He produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language.

William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833)

English politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to stop the slave trade.

Charles Babbage (1791 - 1871)

English polymath: mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, who originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Considered by some to be a "father of the computer", he is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer that eventually led to more complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found in his analytical engine.

Beatles

English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniquesin innovative ways. In 1963 their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania"; as the group's music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the band were integral to pop music's evolution into an art form and to the development of the counterculture of the 1960s.

Rolling Stones

English rock band formed in London, England in 1962. The first stable line-up consisted of Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Ian Stewart. The Rolling Stones were at the forefront of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the United States in 1964, and identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s.

William Tyndale (16th century)

English scholar who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execution. He is well known for his translation of the Bible into English.

Michael Faraday (1791 - 1867)

English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis. He is one of the greatest scientific discoverers of all time.

Francis Drake (1540 - 1596)

English sea captain, slave trader, and privateer of the Elizabethan era who carried out the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580, and was the first to complete the voyage as captain while leading the expedition throughout the entire circumnavigation. With his incursion into the Pacific Ocean, he claimed what is now California for the English and inaugurated an era of conflict with the Spanish on the western coast of the Americas, an area that had previously been largely unexplored by western shipping. Elizabeth I awarded him a knighthood in 1581. As a Vice Admiral, he was second-in-command of the English fleet in the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588. His exploits made him a hero to the English, but led the Spanish to brand him a pirate, known to them as El Draque. King Philip II allegedly offered a reward for his capture or death of 20,000 ducats, about £6 million in modern currency.

Peter Sutcliffe (1981)

English serial killer who was dubbed the "Yorkshire Ripper" by the press. In 1981, he was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting to murder 7 others. He had regularly used the services of prostitutes in Leeds and Bradford. His outbreak of violence towards them seems to have occurred because he was swindled out of money by a prostitute and her pimp. When interviewed by authorities, however, he claimed that the voice of God had sent him on a mission to kill prostitutes. Sutcliffe carried out his murder spree over five years, during which time the public were especially shocked by the murders of women who were not prostitutes. After his arrest for driving with false number plates in January 1981, the police questioned him about the killings and he confessed that he was the perpetrator.

Mayflower

English ship that famously transported the first English Puritans, known today as the Pilgrims, from Plymouth, England to the New World in 1620. There were 102 passengers, and the crew is estimated to have been about 30, but the exact number is unknown. This voyage has become a cultural icon in the history of the United States, with its story of death and survival in the harsh New England winter environment.

Amy Winehouse (1983 - 2011)

English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. She died of alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011, aged 27. Her album Back to Black posthumously became, for a time, the UK's best-selling album of the 21st century.

Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910)

English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing.

William Morris (1834-1896)

English textile designer, poet, novelist, translator, and socialist activist. Associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement, he was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production. His literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, while he played a significant role in propagating the early socialist movement in Britain. He is recognised as one of the most significant cultural figures of Victorian Britain; though best known in his lifetime as a poet, he posthumously became better known for his designs.

Ronnie Biggs (1960's)

English thief, known for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, for his escape from prison in 1965, for living as a fugitive for 36 years and for his various publicity stunts while in exile. In 2001, he returned to the UK and spent several years in prison, where his health rapidly declined. He was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2009 and died in a nursing home in December 2013.

Mike Leigh

English writer and director of film and theatre. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid-1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s his career moved between theatre work and making films for BBC Television, many of which were characterised by a gritty "kitchen sink realism" style. Best known for: "Life is Sweet", Career Girls", "the Gilbert and Sullivan", "Topsy-Turvy", "All or Nothing", "Naked", "Secrets & Lies", "Vera Drake", and "Mr. Turner". Some of his notable stage plays include "Smelling A Rat", "It's A Great Big Shame","Greek Tragedy", "Goose-Pimples", "Ecstasy", and "Abigail's Party".

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. He was a devout Anglican and committed Tory, and is described as "the most distinguished man of letters in English history". After nine years of work, Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755. It had a far-reaching effect on Modern English and has been acclaimed as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship". This work brought Johnson popularity and success. Until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary 150 years later, Johnson's was the pre-eminent British dictionary.

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943)

English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Born into an upper-class household, she was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets and spent holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developing a love of landscape, flora, and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Her study and watercolours of fungi led to her being widely respected in the field of mycology. In her thirties, she self-published the highly successful children's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Following this, she began writing and illustrating children's books full-time. She is credited with preserving much of the land that now constitutes the Lake District National Park.

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book. Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason. (Her daughter was the author of Frankenstein, under the pen name Mary Shelley)

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor who is best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. He was at one time a close friend of C. S. Lewis—they were both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings. While many other authors had published works of fantasy before him, the great success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused him to be popularly identified as the "father" of modern fantasy literature.

Great Stink (1858)

Event in central London in July and August 1858 during which the hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the River Thames. The problem had been mounting for some years, with an ageing and inadequate sewer system that emptied directly into the Thames. The river was thought to transmit contagious diseases, and three outbreaks of cholera prior to the Great Stink were blamed on the ongoing problems with the river. The authorities accepted a proposal from the civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette to move the effluent eastwards along a series of interconnecting sewers that sloped towards outfalls beyond the metropolitan area. Bazalgette's work ensured that sewage was no longer dumped onto the shores of the Thames and brought an end to the cholera outbreaks; his actions probably saved more lives than any other Victorian official. His sewer system operates into the 21st century, servicing a city that has grown to a population of over eight million.

Historic Scotland

Executive agency of the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. Under the terms of a Bill of the Scottish Parliament published on 3 March 2014, Historic Scotland was dissolved and its functions were transferred to Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on 1 October 2015. It had direct responsibility for maintaining and running over 360 monuments in its care, about a quarter of which are manned and charge admission entry.

Flying Scotsman

Express passenger train service that has operated between Edinburgh and London, the capitals of Scotland and England, via the East Coast Main Line. The service began in 1862; the name was officially adopted in 1924. It is currently operated by Virgin Trains East Coast.

St David's Day (1 March)

Feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, which falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death. It is not a national holiday in the UK. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, recognised symbols of Wales and Saint David, eating traditional Welsh food like cawl and Welsh rabbit, and women wearing traditional Welsh dress. An increasing number of cities and towns across Wales including Cardiff, Swansea and Aberystwyth also put on parades throughout the day.

Sweeney Todd

Fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls (1846-47). The tale became a staple of Victorian melodrama and London urban legend, and has been retold many times since. In the original version of the tale, Todd is a barber who dispatches his victims by pulling a lever as they sit in his barber chair. His victims fall backward down a revolving trap door into the basement of his shop, generally causing them to break their necks or skulls. In case they are alive, Todd goes to the basement and "polishes them off" (slitting their throats with his straight razor). In some adaptations, the murdering process is reversed, with Todd slitting his customers' throats before dispatching them into the basement through the revolving trap door. After Todd has robbed his dead victims of their goods, Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime assists him in disposing of the bodies by baking their flesh into meat pies and selling them to the unsuspecting customers of her pie shop.

Sherlock Holmes

Fictional private detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. First appearing in print in 1887 (in A Study in Scarlet), the character's popularity became widespread with the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine, beginning with "A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891; additional tales appeared from then until 1927, eventually totalling four novels and 56 short stories. All but one are set in the Victorian or Edwardian eras, between about 1880 and 1914. Most are narrated by the character's friend and biographer Dr. Watson, who usually accompanies him during his investigations and often shares quarters with him at the address of 221B Baker Street, London, where many of the stories begin.

Thomas the Tank Engine

Fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and is the title character in the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas & Friends.

British Film Institute (BFI)

Film and charitable organisation founded in 1933 which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. It has the world's largest film archive. The majority of the collection is British material. It runs the annual London Film Festival along with BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival and the youth-orientated Future Film Festival.

Rochdale Pioneers

First successful cooperative retail store by working class members of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, in 1844. This came at a time of chronic unemployment, poverty, hunger and social inequality, and it was met with prejudice and opposition. The Rochdale Pioneers' co-operative became the prototype for societies in Great Britain. The Rochdale Pioneers are most famous for designing the Rochdale Principles, a set of principles of co-operation that provide the foundation for the principles on which co-ops around the world operate to this day.

Glastonbury festival (5 days at the end of June)

Five day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England. Leading pop and rock artists have headlined, alongside thousands of others appearing on smaller stages and performance areas. Glastonbury is the largest greenfield festival in the world. Regarded as a major event in British culture, the festival is inspired by the ethos of the hippie, counterculture, and free festival movements. Glastonbury Festival was held intermittently from 1970 until 1981; since then, it has been held every year, except for "fallow years" taken mostly at five year intervals, intended to give the land, local population, and organisers a break. 2018 is a "fallow year" and the next festival is scheduled for June 26 to 30, 2019.

News at Ten

Flagship evening news programme on British television network ITV. The bulletin was the first permanent 30-minute news broadcast in the UK, and although initially scheduled for only thirteen weeks due to fears that its length would turn viewers off, the bulletin proved to be highly popular with audiences and became a fixture of the ITV schedule.

Wembley Stadium

Football stadium in Wembley, London, which opened in 2007, on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002-2003. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the England national football team, and the FA Cup Final.

Morris dancing

Form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers. The origins of the practice remain unclear and are a matter of ongoing debate.

Council house

Form of public or social housing built by local municipalities in the UK and Ireland. A council estate is a building complex containing a great many council houses and other amenities like schools and shops.

clog dancing

Form of step dance characterised by the wearing of inflexible, wooden soled clogs. It developed into its most intricate form in the North of England, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham and the Lake District. The main focus and skill of a step dancer is in the footwork: dancers can create many different types of sound using their feet alone. The famous comedian Charlie Chaplin started his career in music hall as a clog dancer.

Blaenavon Ironworks

Former industrial site. The ironworks was of crucial importance in the development of the ability to use cheap, low quality, high sulphur iron ores worldwide. It was the site of the experiments by Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and his cousin Percy Gilchrist that led to "the basic steel process" or "Gilchrist-Thomas process".

Royal Pavilion

Former royal residence located in Brighton. It was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, who became the Prince Regent in 1811. It is built in the Indo-Saracenic style prevalent in India for most of the 19th century. Its current appearance, with its domes and minarets, is the work of architect John Nash, who extended the building starting in 1815.

Rugby

Full-contact sport that comes in two flavours; League and Union. It is a rapidly moving game with the emphasis on skilful passing and kicking, where interference and forward passing are not permitted, and kicking, dribbling, lateral passing, and where tackling are featured.

school-leaving age

Full-time employment is illegal before the last Friday in June of Year Eleven even if the child is already 16. Part-time employment may be undertaken from 14 and in certain cases, for example delivering newspapers, at 13. Rules coming into application in 2011 require all young people to continue with some kind of education or training until 18. Young people aged 16 or 17 may leave school if they enter training or an apprenticeship.

school assembly

Gathering of all or part of a school for any variety of purposes, such as special programs or communicating information on a daily or weekly basis. In some schools, students gather to perform a common song or prayer, and to receive common announcements. A routine attendance checks may also be done in such gatherings.

G.F. Handel (1685-1759)

German, later British, Baroque composer who spent most of his career in London, becoming well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. He received important training in Halle-upon-Saale and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in 1727. Within 15 years, he had started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera. Known for: Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks

Scots (language)

Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language which was historically restricted to most of the Highlands, the Hebrides and Galloway after the 16th century. The Scots language developed during the Middle English period as a distinct entity.

Beveridge Report (1942)

Government report published in November 1942, officially entitled Social Insurance and Allied Services, which was influential in the founding of the welfare state in the UK. It was drafted by the Liberal economist William Beveridge, who proposed widespread reforms to the system of social welfare to address what he identified as five "Giant Evils" in society: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness, and disease. Published in the midst of World War II, the report promised rewards for everyone's sacrifices. Overwhelmingly popular with the public, it formed the basis for the post-war reforms known as the Welfare State, which include the expansion of National Insurance and the creation of the National Health Service.

Lake Poets

Group of English poets who all lived in the Lake District of England, in the first half of the 19th century. As a group, they followed no single "school" of thought or literary practice then known. They are considered part of the Romantic Movement. The three main figures of what has become known as the Lakes School were William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey. They were associated with several other poets and writers, including Dorothy Wordsworth, Charles Lamb, Charles Lloyd, Hartley Coleridge, John Wilson, and Thomas De Quincey.

Penicillin

Group of antibiotics that were among the first medications to be effective against many bacterial infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci. They are still widely used today. Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming.

Lewis chessmen (12th century)

Group of distinctive 12th century chess pieces, along with other gaming pieces, most of which are carved from walrus ivory. They were discovered in 1831 on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. They may constitute some of the few complete, surviving medieval chess sets.

Caledonians

Group of indigenous peoples of what is now Scotland during the Iron Age and Roman eras. The Romans called the tribes of the north the 'Caledones' or 'Caledonii' and named their land 'Caledonia'. The Caledonian Britons were enemies of the Roman Empire, which was the occupying force then administering most of Great Britain as the Roman province of Britannia. Like many Celtic tribes in Britain, they were hillfort builders and farmers who defeated and were defeated by the Romans on several occasions. The Romans never fully occupied Caledonia, though several attempts were made.

Welsh Valleys

Group of industrialised valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run north-south, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys", they stretch from eastern Carmarthenshire to western Monmouthshire; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport.

Jacobites

Group of mostly Scottish people in the late 17th and 18th centuries, who believed that the Catholic James VII of Scotland (James II of England) and his Stuart descendants should be restored to the throne of Scotland and England. The widely unpopular James had been deposed by the Protestant-leaning Parliament in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and he was then forced into exile. His Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange jointly assumed the throne and put Britain back into Protestant rule.

Sky Sports

Group of sports television channels. It has played a major role in the increased commercialisation of British sport since 1991, sometimes playing a large role in inducing organisational changes in the sports it broadcasts, most notably when it encouraged the Premier League to break away from the Football League in 1992.

Prime Minister

Head of the United Kingdom government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate. The office is not established by any statute or constitutional document but exists only by long-established convention, which stipulates that the monarch must appoint as Prime Minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber. The current holder of the office, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016.

Land's End

Headland and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England.

Broadcasting House

Headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.

Duke of Cambridge

Hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British Royal Family. The title is hereditary among male agnatic descendants of the titleholder by primogeniture, and has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. The wife of the titleholder is called Duchess of Cambridge. The title goes back to the 17th century, and superseded an earlier title of Earl of Cambridge. The title became extinct several times, before being revived after a hiatus of over a hundred years in 2011, when it was bestowed upon Prince William on 29 April 2011 upon his marriage on the same day to Catherine Middleton.

priest hole

Hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were several Catholic plots designed to remove her and severe measures were taken against Catholic priests. Many great houses had a priest hole built so that the presence of a priest could be concealed when searches were made of the building.

Court of Appeal

Highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and second only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Part of the courts of the United Kingdom, it was created in 1875, and today comprises 39 Lord Justices of Appeal and Lady Justices of Appeal. The court has two divisions, Criminal and Civil, led by the Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls respectively.

East End

Historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London, and north of the River Thames. It does not have universally accepted boundaries, though the various channels of the River Lea are often considered to be the eastern boundary. It comprises areas of Central London, East London and London Docklands.

Danelaw (9th century AD)

Historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The areas that constituted the Danelaw lie in northern and eastern England. The Danelaw originated from the Viking expansion of the 9th century AD.

Downton Abbey

Historical period drama television series set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey between 1912 and 1926 that depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era—with the great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy (Titanic, World War I, Spanish Influenza, Irish War of Independance).

Wind of Change Speech

Historically significant address made by the UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan to the Parliament of South Africa, on 3 February 1960 in Cape Town. He had spent a month in Africa visiting a number of what were then British colonies. The speech signalled clearly that the Conservative-led UK Government had no intention to block the independence to many of these territories. The Labour government of 1945-51 had started a process of decolonisation, but this policy had been halted by the Conservative governments from 1951 onwards. The speech acquired its name from a quotation embedded in it. Macmillan said: "The wind of change is blowing through this continent. Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact."

sheriff

Historically, a legal official with responsibility for a "shire" or county. In modern times, the specific combination of legal, political and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country. In England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, they are the chief executive officer of the Crown in a county, having various administrative and judicial functions. In Scotland, they are judges. (In the United States, they are sworn law enforcement officers)

manor house

Historically, it was the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with manorial tenants and great banquets. The term is today loosely applied to various country houses, frequently dating from the late medieval era, which formerly housed the gentry. They were sometimes fortified, but this was frequently intended more for show than for defence. These houses existed in most European countries where feudalism existed, where they were sometimes known as castles, palaces, and so on. Many buildings, such as schools, are named Manor; the reason behind this is because the building was or is close to a manor house.

minster

Honorific title given to particular churches in England, most famously York Minster in York, Westminster in London and Southwell Minster in Southwell. Although it corresponds to the Latin monasterium or monastery, it then designated any settlement of clergy living a communal life and endowed by charter with the obligation of maintaining the daily office of prayer. Widespread in 10th-century Anglo-Saxon England, they declined in importance with the systematic introduction of parishes and parish churches from the 11th century onwards. It continued as a title of dignity in later medieval England, for instances where a cathedral, monastery, collegiate church or parish church had originated with an Anglo-Saxon foundation. Eventually a minster came to refer more generally to "any large or important church, especially a collegiate or cathedral church"

Book of Kells

Illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland and may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created c. 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure. The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells, which was its home for centuries. Today, it is on permanent display at Trinity College Library, Dublin.

Lindisfarne Gospels (+- 715-720)

Illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715-720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the British Library in London. The manuscript is one of the finest works in the unique style of Hiberno-Saxon or Insular art, combining Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements. The Lindisfarne Gospels are presumed to be the work of a monk named Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and died in 721. Current scholarship indicates a date around 715, and it is believed they were produced in honour of St. Cuthbert. However, some parts of the manuscript were left unfinished so it is likely that Eadfrith was still working on it at his time of death. The Gospels are richly illustrated in the insular style and were originally encased in a fine leather treasure binding covered with jewels and metals made by Billfrith the Anchorite in the 8th century.

atomic bomb

In October 1952, the UK became the third country to independently develop and test nuclear weapons. It is one of the five nuclear-weapon states under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Since the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement, the United States and the UK have cooperated extensively on nuclear security matters. The special relationship between the two countries has involved the exchange of classified scientific data and materials such as plutonium

mead hall

In ancient Scandinavia and Germanic Europe a mead hall or feasting hall was initially simply a large building with a single room. From the fifth century to early medieval times such a building was the residence of a lord and his retainers. The mead hall was generally the great hall of the king.

Empiricism

In philosophy: theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism and skepticism. It emphasizes the role of empirical evidence in the formation of ideas, over the idea of innate ideas or traditions. In the philosophy of science, this theory emphasizes evidence, especially as discovered in experiments. It is a fundamental part of the scientific method that all hypotheses and theories must be tested against observations of the natural world rather than resting solely on a priori reasoning, intuition, or revelation. Empiricism, often used by natural scientists, says that "knowledge is based on experience" and that "knowledge is tentative and probabilistic, subject to continued revision and falsification."Empirical research, including experiments and validated measurement tools, guides the scientific method.

Old Age Pensioner (O.A.P.)

In the UK, a person who has stopped working because they have reached a particular age and who receives a pension from the state.

constituency

In the UK, they are electoral areas or divisions; they each elect one member to a parliament or assembly. The UK is currently divided into 650 of these areas, each of which is represented by one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons.

silk (Queen's Counsel)‎

In the late 16th century, Queen's Counsels were barristers who were appointed to assist the law officers of the crown. During the 18th century, they lost their close connection with the crown and the title became merely a mark of honor for distinguished barristers. Now, a Queen's Counsel is a senior barrister of at least ten years' practice who is appointed by an independent selection panel as "one of Her Majesty's counsel learned in the law." According to a former solicitor, "QCs are sort of higher paid consultants brought in by a junior barrister." In court, they sit within the bar and wear silk gowns. Thus they are said to "take silk" and are familiarly referred to as "silks." Junior barristers traditionally wear "stuff" (worsted wool) gowns. If the monarch is a king, silks are known as King's Counsel (KC)

Cheltenham Ladies' College

Independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.

Madhur Jaffrey

Indian-born actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the Americas with her debut cookbook, An Invitation to Indian Cooking (1973)

Maori

Indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. The arrival of Europeans to New Zealand, starting in the 17th century, brought enormous changes to their way of life. They gradually adopted many aspects of Western society and culture. Initial relations with the Europeans were largely amicable, and with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the two cultures coexisted as part of a new British colony. Rising tensions over disputed land sales led to conflict in the 1860s. Social upheaval, decades of conflict and epidemics of introduced disease took a devastating toll on the indigenous population. By the start of the 20th century, their population had begun to recover, and efforts have been made to increase their standing in wider New Zealand society and achieve social justice. Their traditionnal culture has thereby enjoyed a significant revival, which was further bolstered by a protest movement that emerged in the 1960s

Tiddlywinks

Indoor game played on a flat felt mat with sets of small discs called "winks", a pot, which is the target, and a collection of squidgers, which are also discs. Players use a "squidger" (nowadays made of plastic) to shoot a wink into flight by flicking the squidger across the top of a wink and then over its edge, thereby propelling it into the air. The offensive objective of the game is to score points by sending your own winks into the pot.

Staffordshire potteries

Industrial area encompassing the six towns, Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton that now make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ceramic production in the early 17th century, due to the local availability of clay, salt, lead and coal. Hundreds of companies produced decorative or industrial items.

London Dock Strike (1889)

Industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in a victory for the 100,000 strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of which became the nationally important Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union. The strike is was a milestone in the development of the British labour movement. The strike helped to draw attention to the problem of poverty in Victorian Britain and the dockers' cause attracted considerable public sympathy.

Lloyd's

Insurance market located in London. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company. Rather, it is a corporate body governed by the Lloyd's Act 1871 and subsequent Acts of Parliament and operates as a partially-mutualised marketplace within which multiple financial backers, grouped in syndicates, come together to pool and spread risk.

The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)

Intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance to the government and armed forces of the UK. Based in "The Doughnut" in the suburbs of Cheltenham, GCHQ is the responsibility of the country's Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, but it is not a part of the Foreign Office and its director ranks as a Permanent Secretary. It was originally established after the First World War as the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) and was known under that name until 1946. During the Second World War it was located at Bletchley Park, where it was famed for its role in the breaking of the German Enigma codes. In 2013, GCHQ received considerable media attention when the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the agency was in the process of collecting all online and telephone data in the UK via the Tempora programme. Snowden's revelations began a spate of ongoing disclosures of global surveillance.

Commonwealth of Nations

Intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories.

War Graves Commission

Intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars. To this end, the war dead are commemorated by name on a headstone, at an identified site of a burial, or on a memorial. War dead are commemorated uniformly and equally, irrespective of military or civil rank, race or creed.

2012 Olympic Games

International multi-sport event that was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London. London became the first city to host the modern Olympics three times. Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment, with an emphasis on sustainability. The main focus was a new Olympic Park.

Royal Ballet

Internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. The largest of the four major ballet companies in Great Britain, it was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois. It became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in 1946 and was granted a royal charter in 1956, becoming recognised as Britain's flagship ballet company. It was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century, and continues to be one of the world's most famous ballet companies to this day, generally noted for its artistic and creative values.

Suez crisis (1956)

Invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the UK and France. The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had just nationalized the canal. After the fighting had started, political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Nations led to a withdrawal by the three invaders. The episode humiliated Great Britain and France and strengthened Nasser.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, he became one of the best-known personalities of his day. He was imprisoned for "gross indecency" (i.e. being gay). Best known for: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest

James Connolly (1868 - 1916)

Irish republican and socialist leader. He was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World and founder of the Irish Socialist Republican Party. With James Larkin, he was centrally involved in the Dublin lock-out of 1913, as a result of which he formed the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) that year. He opposed British rule in Ireland, and was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, when the ICA, along with the larger Irish Volunteers, seized Dublin and held it for six days.

Edmund Burke (1730 -1797)

Irish statesman born in Dublin, as well as an author, orator, political theorist and philosopher, who after moving to London in 1750 served as a member of parliament between 1766 and 1794 in the House of Commons with the Whig Party. He was a proponent of underpinning virtues with manners in society and of the importance of religion in moral life. These views were expressed in his "A Vindication of Natural Society". He criticized British treatment of the American colonies, including through its taxation policies. In the nineteenth century, He was praised by both conservatives and liberals. Subsequently, in the 20th century he became widely regarded as the philosophical founder of modern conservatism. Notable work: "Reflections on the Revolution in France"

Ireland (island)

Island in the North Atlantic separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. It is the third-largest island in Europe. Politically, the territory is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. The earliest evidence of human presence is dated at 10,500 BCE. The island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the 12th century Norman invasion, England claimed sovereignty. However, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th-17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century. With the Acts of Union in 1801, the island became a part of the UK. A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island, creating the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades, and Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the UK. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s. This subsided following a political agreement in 1998. Its culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, a strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, music and language. The island's culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing, and golf.

Restoration (1660)

It designates both a series of events in April-May 1660 and the period that followed it in British history. In 1660 the monarchy was restored to the kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland in the person of Charles II. The period that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms was officially declared an Interregnum.

cabinet (of ministers)

It is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and 21 cabinet ministers, the most senior of the government ministers.

National Archives

It is the official archive of the UK government and for England and Wales; and "guardian of some of the nation's most iconic documents, dating back more than 1,000 years."[4] There are separate national archives for Scotland (the National Records of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland). Formed in 2003 as a merger of the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission.

Domesday Book (1086)

It was a sort of census (or survey) of who owned the land in England, what resources were on it, and what taxes had been owed during the reign of Edward the Confessor, compiled in 1087 for William the Conqueror so he could have an overview of exactly what it was that he had conquered. It was such a detailed account that it was compared to the Day of Judgment ("Domesday"). It was written in Medieval Latin, and was highly abbreviated. It enables amateur historians to find out exactly what was in their locality almost a thousand years ago. Nothing like it exists for any other medieval kingdom, so it is one more strand tying the English to their past in a unique way.

Siege of Derry (1688)

It was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. In 1690 James II returned to the attack, landing in Ireland with French support and raising an army there. The apprentice boys of shut the gates of the city to prevent James II's army from entering the city. The siege lasted nearly three and a half months, ending on 30 July 1689 when relief ships bringing an English army sailed down Lough Foyle. The siege is commemorated each year by the Protestant Apprentice Boys of Derry

Normandy landings (1944)

Landing operations in June of 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.

Balmoral Castle

Large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has been one of the residences for members of the British Royal Family since 1852, when the estate and its original castle were purchased privately by Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria. They remain as the private property of the royal family and are not the property of the Crown.

Lough Neagh

Large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. It is the largest lake by area in the British Isles

Westminster abbey

Large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the UK's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have been in Westminster Abbey. Prince William and Kate Middleton married at Westminster abbey.

British Airways

Largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, or the second largest, behind easyJet, when measured by passengers carried. In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia, creating the International Airlines Group (IAG)

Isle of Wight

Largest and second-most populous island in England. It is in the English Channel. The island has resorts that have been holiday destinations since Victorian times, and is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland and chines. The island has been home to the poets Swinburne and Tennyson and to Queen Victoria, who built her much-loved summer residence and final home Osborne House at East Cowes. It has a maritime and industrial tradition including boat-building, sail-making, the manufacture of flying boats, the hovercraft, and Britain's space rockets.

Lake Windermere

Largest natural lake in England. It has been one of the country's most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere Railway's branch line in 1847. Historically forming part of the border between Lancashire and Westmorland, it is now within the county of Cumbria and the Lake District National Park.

ramblers

Largest walkers' rights organisation in Great Britain, which aims to represent the interests of walkers (or ramblers)

Wat Tyler (1381)

Leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He marched a group of rebels from Canterbury to the capital to oppose the institution of a poll tax and demand economic and social reforms. While the brief rebellion enjoyed early success, he was killed by officers loyal to King Richard II during negotiations at Smithfield, London.

Thomas Cranmer (1489 - 1556)

Leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which was one of the causes of the separation of the English Church from union with the Holy See. Along with Thomas Cromwell, he supported the principle of Royal Supremacy, in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm. When Edward came to the throne, the archbishop was able to promote major reforms. He wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, a complete liturgy for the English Church. After the accession of the Roman Catholic Mary I, he was put on trial for treason and heresy, then executed.

Royal Society (full name: The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge)

Learned society founded in November 1660. It is the oldest national scientific institution in the world. It is the United Kingdom's and Commonwealth of Nations' Academy of Sciences and fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, recognising excellence in science, supporting outstanding science, providing scientific advice for policy, fostering international and global co-operation, education and public engagement.

Sinn Féin‎

Left-wing Irish republican political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It has historically been associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). It is the third-largest party, and the largest party on the left, in the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland.

solicitor

Legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions.

Arthur (king)

Legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. The details of his story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot and the Holy Grail to the story, began the genre of Arthurian romance that became a significant strand of medieval literature. In these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from the king himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed until it experienced a major resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the legend lives on, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics and other media.

Merlin

Legendary Welsh figure best known as the wizard or warlock featured in Arthurian legend and medieval Welsh poetry. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. Geoffrey's rendering of the character was immediately popular, especially in Wales. In the story, Merlin engineers the birth of Arthur through magic and intrigue. Later writers expanded the account to produce a fuller image of the wizard: they have Merlin serve as the king's advisor and mentor to the knights until he is bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake.

Robin Hood

Legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. He is said to have robbed from the rich and given to the poor. He is a champion of the common people fighting against injustice, whilst remaining loyal to the rightful ruler.

Wapping dispute

Lengthy failed strike by print workers in London in 1986. Print unions tried to block distribution of The Sunday Times, along with other newspapers in Rupert Murdoch's News International group, after production was shifted to a new plant in Wapping in January 1986. At the new facility, modern computer facilities allowed journalists to input copy directly, rather than involving print union workers who insisted on using outdated "hot-metal" Linotype printing methods. All of the workers were dismissed. The failure of the strike was devastating for the print union workers, and it led both to a general decline in trade union influence in the UK, and to a widespread adoption of modern newspaper publishing practices.

Cheddar Gorge

Limestone gorge near the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be over 9,000 years old, was found in 1903.

Hampstead Heath

Locally known simply as the Heath, it is a large, ancient London park. The Heath is rambling and hilly, embracing ponds, recent and ancient woodlands, a lido, playgrounds, and a training track, and it adjoins the former stately home of Kenwood House and its estate.

Buckingham Palace

London residence and administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.

Gardeners' Question Time

Long-running BBC Radio 4 programme in which amateur gardeners can put questions to a panel of experts.

Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453)

Long-running struggle from 1337 to 1453 between two royal dynasties, the Plantagenets of England and the Valois of France, for the throne of France.

Beano

Longest running British children's comic, published by DC Thomson. The comic first appeared in 1938 and was published weekly. One of the best selling comics in British popular culture, along with The Dandy. Its characters include Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, The Bash Street Kids, The Numskulls, Roger the Dodger, Billy Whizz and Ball Boy.

West Country

Loosely defined area of south western England. The term usually encompasses the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and often the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The region is host to distinctive regional dialects and accents.

Wealth of Nations

Magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1776, the book offers one of the world's first collected descriptions of what builds nations' wealth, and is today a fundamental work in classical economics. By reflecting upon the economics at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the book touches upon such broad topics as the division of labour, productivity, and free markets.

Oxford English Dictionary (1884)

Main historical dictionary of the English language, published by the Oxford University Press. It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers, as well as describing usage in its many variations throughout the world. Published in 1884. Second edition published in 1989.

Sheffield

Main town in South Yorkshire, another coalmining area. Renowned for its steel industry, still active but employing far fewer workers than previously.

Marks & Spencer

Major British multinational retailer founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.It specialises in the selling of clothing, home products and luxury food products.

Royal Shakespeare Company

Major British theatre company based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. They perform regularly in London, Newcastle upon Tyne and on tour across the UK and internationally. They perform Shakespeare's plays, as well as works by Shakespeare's contemporaries and plays by today's writers.

Battle of Agincourt (1415)

Major English victory in the Hundred Years' War. The battle took place on 25 October 1415. It was one of the most important English triumphs in the conflict. England's victory against a numerically superior French army crippled France, and started a new period in the war during which the English began enjoying massive military successes

Great Fire of London (1666)

Major fire that swept through the central parts of the English city of London in 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall. It threatened but did not reach the aristocratic district of Westminster, Charles II's Palace of Whitehall, and most of the suburban slums. It consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St Paul's Cathedral, and most of the buildings of the City authorities. It is estimated to have destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City's 80,000 inhabitants.

Bristol Channel

Major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city of Bristol. Until Tudor times it was known as the Severn Sea.

Good Friday Agreement (GFA)

Major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s, also called the Belfast Agreement. Northern Ireland's present devolved system of government is based on the agreement, which created a number of institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and between the Republic of Ireland and the UK. Issues relating to sovereignty, civil and cultural rights, decommissioning of weapons, demilitarisation, justice and policing were central to the agreement. It was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums held on 22 May 1998.

Dartford crossing

Major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent to the south with Thurrock in Essex to the north. It consists of two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

Peasants' Revolt (1381)

Major uprising across large parts of England in 1381, also called Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black Death in the 1340s, the high taxes resulting from the conflict with France during the Hundred Years' War, and instability within the local leadership of London. The final trigger for the revolt was the intervention of a royal official, John Bampton, in Essex on 30 May 1381. His attempts to collect unpaid poll taxes in Brentwood ended in a violent confrontation, which rapidly spread across the south-east of the country. A wide spectrum of rural society, including many local artisans and village officials, rose up in protest, burning court records and opening the local gaols. The rebels sought a reduction in taxation, an end to the system of unfree labour known as serfdom and the removal of the King's senior officials and law courts.

Scotch whisky

Malt whisky or grain whisky made in Scotland. It must be made in a manner specified by law.

Princess Diana (1961 - 1997)

Member of the British royal family: first wife of Charles and mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. She was born into the Spencer family, a family of British nobility with royal ancestry. As Princess of Wales, she undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions overseas. She was celebrated for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. She was involved with dozens of charities including London's Great Ormond Street Hospital for children, of which she was president from 1989. She also raised awareness and advocated ways to help people affected with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and mental illness. She was the object of worldwide media scrutiny during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce in 1996. After her death in a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997, the UK went into national mourning.

Welsh (language)

Member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by few in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has also been known in English as "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric".

Suffragettes

Members of women's organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which advocated the extension of the "franchise", or the right to vote in public elections, to women. It particularly refers to militants in the UK such as members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). "Suffragist" is a more general term for members of the suffrage movement, particularly those advocating women's suffrage.

stop and search

Method used by the metropolitan police, among others, to intimidate and alienate most black people in their communities. People are stopped at random and have their clothing searched, in public, in the most humiliating way possible, usuallyaccompanied by a large amount of sarcasm and unecessary physical force. Is based on the incorrect assumption that most black people in inner city london are criminals.

Scotland Yard

Metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the territorial police force responsible for policing most of London. The name derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard.

Battle of Britain

Military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force defended the UK against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It has been described as the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The Battle of Britain takes its name from a speech by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June: "What General Weygand has called The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin."

Glastonbury abbey

Monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, which is now in ruins. The abbey was founded in the 7th century and enlarged in the 10th. It was destroyed by a major fire in 1184, but subsequently rebuilt and by the 14th century was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England. The abbey was suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII of England. The last abbot, Richard Whiting (Whyting), was hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor. The Glastonbury area has been associated with the legend of King Arthur.

Lake District

Mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests and mountains (or fells), and its associations with William Wordsworth and other Lake Poets and also with Beatrix Potter and John Ruskin. The National Park was established in 1951 and covers an area of 2,362 square kilometres. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017. It is located entirely within the county of Cumbria.

Captain Swing (1830)

Name given to several threatening letters during the rural English Swing Riots of 1830, when labourers rioted over the introduction of new threshing machines and the loss of their livelihoods. Captain Swing was described as a hard-working tenant farmer driven to destitution and despair by social and political change in the early nineteenth century.

White Cliffs of Dover

Name given to the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint.

The National Health Service (NHS)

Name used for each of the public health services in the UK - the National Health Service in England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland - as well as a term to describe them collectively. They were established together in 1948 as one of the major social reforms following the Second World War. The founding principles were that services should be comprehensive, universal and free at the point of delivery.

Ordnance Survey (OS)

National mapping agency in the UK which covers the island of Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose, which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was also a more general and nationwide need in light of the potential threat of invasion during the Napoleonic Wars.

God Save the Queen

National or royal anthem in a number of Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown, but an attribution to John Bull is sometimes made.

John Bull

National personification of the UK in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country dwelling, jolly, matter-of-fact man.

Trades Union Congress

National trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are fifty affiliated unions

Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805)

Naval engagement fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies, during the War of the Third Coalition (August-December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1796-1815).

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in north east Wales. The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure, which took ten years to design and build, was completed in 1805. It is now the oldest and longest navigable aqueduct on Great Britain and the highest in the world.

Avebury stone circle

Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in the world. It is both a tourist attraction and a place of religious importance to contemporary pagans. Constructed over several hundred years in the Third Millennium BC, during the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, the monument comprises a large henge (a bank and a ditch) with a large outer stone circle and two separate smaller stone circles situated inside the centre of the monument. Its original purpose is unknown, although archaeologists believe that it was most likely used for some form of ritual or ceremony. The monument is a part of a larger prehistoric landscape containing several older monuments nearby, including West Kennet Long Barrow and Silbury Hill.

Wayland's Smithy (around 3500 BC)

Neolithic long barrow and chamber tomb site near the Uffington White Horse and The Ridgeway, an ancient road running along the Berkshire Downs.

Brontë sisters (19th century)

Nineteenth-century literary family associated with the village of Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte (1816-1855), Emily (1818-1848), and Anne (1820-1849), are well known as poets and novelists. Like many contemporary female writers, they originally published their poems and novels under male pseudonyms: Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Their stories immediately attracted attention for their passion and originality. Charlotte's Jane Eyre was the first to know success, while Emily's Wuthering Heights, Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and other works were later to be accepted as masterpieces of literature.

Arts Council

Non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales.

Caernarfon

North Wales. Its Castle is one of the medieval fortresses built by Edward I to maintain his power in North Wales.

Manchester

North West England. Another centre of the industrial revolution, particularly famous for its cotton mills (in this context "mill" means factory). The Marxist analysis of industrial capitalism drew very heavily on Friedrich Engels's experience of industrial conditions in this city, where the efforts of industrialists to keep wages low meant constant struggle between owners and workers, and a growth in "class consciousness" that saw conflict between the two as inevitable. The great artist of the industrial landscape around this city was the painter L. S. Lowry. Since the 1990s it has been best known for its music scene, dance clubs, and shopping centres. For decades there has been talk of building a high speed rail link to London, but agreement about exactly where to build it has taken a long time to achieve, with work only starting in 2017.

Liverpool

North West England. Major Atlantic port of the 18th and 19th centuries, and its waterfront on the river Mersey is now listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The city has a highly distinctive local accent, partly because of large-scale Irish immigration in the nineteenth century, and a mixed reputation as a very cheerful, lively place with high rates of unemployment and petty crime. The local accent and dialect are called "Scouse", and those who speak them "Scousers".

Belfast

North-East. The capital of Northern Ireland, which was the only major industrial city in 19th century Ireland. It was famous for linen, and for the shipyards that built such great vessels as the Titanic and the Olympic.

Northern Ireland

North-eastern part of the island of Ireland, which is a part of the UK. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland. Itwas created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between the North and the South by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Unlike Southern Ireland, which would become the Irish Free State in 1922, the majority of the northern population were unionists, who wanted to remain within the UK. Most of these were the Protestant descendants of colonists from Great Britain. However, a significant minority, mostly Catholics, were nationalists who wanted a united Ireland independent of British rule.

Armagh

Northern Ireland. There are two cathedrals: one going back to the Middle Ages, and since the Reformation in use by the Church of Ireland (the Irish branch of the Anglican communion); and a Catholic cathedral built in the nineteenth century, after a couple of centuries in which Catholics were not allowed to build churches.

Derry/Londonderry

Northern Ireland. This city retains its city walls in memory of the siege they withstood in 1689.

Radar

Object-detection system that uses radio waves to determine the range, angle, or velocity of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. It was developed secretly for military use by several nations in the period before and during World War II. A key development was the cavity magnetron in the UK, which allowed the creation of relatively small systems. The term RADAR was coined as an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging.

Royal Observatory

Observatory situated on a hill in Greenwich Park, overlooking the River Thames. It played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian, and thereby gave its name to Greenwich Mean Time.

Holyrood House

Official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining

English Heritage

Officially named the English Heritage Trust, it is a registered charity that manages the National Heritage Collection. This comprises over 400 of England's historic buildings, monuments and sites spanning more than 5,000 years of history. Within its portfolio are Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle and the best preserved parts of Hadrian's Wall. English Heritage also manages the London Blue Plaques scheme, which links influential historical figures to particular buildings.

2005 attacks

Often referred to as 7/7, they were a series of coordinated terrorist suicide attacks in London which targeted commuters travelling on public transport system during the morning rush hour. Four Islamic terrorists separately detonated three bombs in quick succession aboard London Underground trains across the city and, later, a fourth on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square. Fifty-two people were killed and more than 700 were injured in the attacks.

Edinburgh festival (4-28 August)

Often referred to as The Fringe, it is the world's largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the month of August. It is an open access (or "unjuried") performing arts festival, meaning there is no selection committee, and anyone may participate, with any type of performance.

Newcastle

On the opposite side of the Pennines from the rural Lake District is another of the great industrial cities of the British Isles. It was a city that combined shipbuilding and coalmining, and the abundance of coal there led to the expression "to carry coals to - - -" (meaning to make needless effort). Like so many industrial cities, it has magnificent civic buildings and art collections, paid for by nineteenth-century industrialists. One of the few British shipyards still in operation is on the river Tyne. People from the area are known as "Geordies" and speak a distinctive dialect, also called Geordie.

Salisbury Plain

One of Great Britain's best-known open spaces, consisting of a plateaulike area covering about 300 square miles, in the county of Wiltshire, England. The largely treeless tract, drained to the south by the River Avon and its tributaries, is developed upon chalk. Its northern edge is defined by an escarpment overlooking the Vale of Pewsey. Its other boundaries are less clear. The area was settled in early times and abounds in prehistoric monuments, of which the best known is Stonehenge. A large part of the plain is used for military exercises, and one of the largest army camps, founded in 1902, is situated at Tidworth.

Grammar school

One of several different types of school in the history of education in the UK and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school. Their original purpose of was the teaching of Latin. Over time the curriculum was broadened, first to include Ancient Greek, and later English and other European languages, natural sciences, mathematics, history, geography, and other subjects. They later became the selective tier of the Tripartite System of state-funded secondary education operating in England and Wales from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s.

Mercia

One of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. The name is a Latinisation of the Old English Mierce or Myrce, meaning "border people". The kingdom was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries, in the region now known as the English Midlands. The kingdom's "capital" was the town of Tamworth, which was the seat of the Mercian Kings from at least c. 584, when King Creoda built a fortress at the town. For 300 years (between 600 and 900), having annexed or gained submissions from five of the other six kingdoms of the Heptarchy (East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Wessex), Mercia dominated England south of the River Humber: this period is known as the Mercian Supremacy.

Black Death (14th century)

One of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia and peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351. The plague created a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history. The bacterium Yersinia pestis, which results in several forms of plague, is believed to have been the cause.

Stonehenge (3000 BC to 2000 BC)

One of the most famous landmarks in the UK. It is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, consisting of a ring of standing stones. The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. It could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings.

Canterbury cathedral

One of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Founded in 597, the cathedral was completely rebuilt between 1070 and 1077. The east end was greatly enlarged at the beginning of the 12th century, and largely rebuilt in the Gothic style following a fire in 1174, with significant eastward extensions to accommodate the flow of pilgrims visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170.

Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews

One of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in the world. It is based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is regarded as the worldwide "Home of Golf".

Liberal Party

One of the two major parties in the UK - with the opposing Conservative Party - in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The party arose from an alliance of Whigs and free trade Peelites and Radicals favourable to the ideals of the American and French Revolutions in the 1850s. It passed the welfare reforms that created a basic British welfare state. Liberal H. H. Asquith was Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916, followed by David Lloyd George from 1916 to 1922. Although Asquith was Leader of the Liberal Party, the dominant figure was Lloyd George. Asquith was overwhelmed by the wartime role of coalition Prime Minister and Lloyd George replaced him as Prime Minister in late 1916, but Asquith remained as Liberal Party leader. The pair fought for years over control of the party, badly weakening it in the process. By the end of the 1920s, the Labour Party had replaced the Liberals as the Conservatives' main rival. Prominent intellectuals associated with the Liberal Party include the philosopher John Stuart Mill, the economist John Maynard Keynes and social planner William Beveridge.

Duchy of Cornwall

One of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits possession of the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at birth or when his parent succeeds to the throne. If the monarch has no male children, the rights and responsibilities of the duchy belong to The Crown and there is no duke. The current duke is Charles, Prince of Wales.

BBC radio

Operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering the majority of musical genres, as well as local radio stations covering local news, affairs and interests.

Jarrow march (1930s)

Organised protest against the unemployment and poverty suffered in the English Tyneside town of Jarrow during the 1930s. Around 200 men marched from Jarrow to London, carrying a petition to the British government requesting the re-establishment of industry in the town following the closure in 1934 of its main employer, Palmer's shipyard. The petition was received by the House of Commons but not debated, and the march produced few immediate results. The Jarrovians went home believing that they had failed. Despite the initial sense of failure among the marchers, in subsequent years, the march became recognised by historians as a defining event of the 1930s. It helped to foster the change in attitudes which prepared the way to social reform measures after the Second World War, which their proponents thought would improve working conditions. The town holds numerous memorials to the march. Re-enactments celebrated the 50th and 75th anniversaries, in both cases invoking the "spirit of Jarrow" in their campaigns against unemployment. In contrast to the Labour Party's coldness in 1936, the post-war party leadership adopted the march as a metaphor for governmental callousness and working-class fortitude.

Act of Uniformity (1549)

Over the course of English parliamentary history there were a number of these acts. All had the basic object of establishing some sort of religious orthodoxy within the English church. The first one, in 1549, established the Book of Common Prayer as the only legal form of worship.

Act of Union (1801)

Parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The acts came into force on 1 January 1801, and the merged Parliament of the United Kingdom had its first meeting on 22 January 1801. Both acts remain in force, with amendments, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and have been repealed in the Republic of Ireland.

Must Farm

Part of a Bronze Age settlement was uncovered at Must Farm quarry, at Whittlesey, near Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire, England. The site has been described as "Britain's Pompeii" due to its relatively good condition, including the "best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found" there, which all appear to have been abandoned suddenly following a catastrophic fire.

Clause IV (Labour Party)

Part of the 1918 constitution of the Labour Party in Britain which set out the aims and values of the party. The clause stated: "To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service." For the first time, the party officially stated its socialist element in an official document. This clause was seen by supporters as a straightforward commitment to nationalisation or the "common ownership". Its application was the subject of considerable debate and dispute. It was revised in 1995 by Tony Blair.

Empire Windrush

Passenger liner and cruise ship launched in Germany in 1930. She was operated as a German cruise ship under the name Monte Rosa in the 1930s, and as a German navy troopship during World War II. At the end of the war, she was acquired by the United Kingdom Government as a prize of war and renamed. In British service, she continued to be used mainly as a troopship until March 1954, when the vessel caught fire and sank in the Mediterranean Sea with the loss of four crew. It is best remembered today for bringing one of the first large groups of post-war West Indian immigrants to the UK, carrying 1027 passengers and two stowaways on a voyage from Jamaica to London in 1948. British Caribbean people who came to the United Kingdom in the period after World War II are sometimes referred to as the Windrush generation.

St Andrew

Patron Saint of Scotland. Several legends state that his relics were brought by divine guidance from Constantinople to the place where the modern Scottish town of St Andrews stands today.

tartan

Pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. They originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. It is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have such patterns.

Bradford

Pennines. This city rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture, particularly wool. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the earliest industrialised settlements, rapidly becoming the "wool capital of the world". More recently it has become infamous for ethnic tensions and the de facto segregation of Muslim neighbourhoods and schools — although the latest news is that social studies show the city is not as divided as commonly thought.

Anglo-Saxons

People who inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century. They comprise people from Germanic tribes who migrated to the island from continental Europe, their descendants, and indigenous British groups who adopted some aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture and language. Historically, their period in Britain is between about 450 and 1066, after their initial settlement and up until the Norman conquest. During this period, Christianity was established and there was a flowering of literature and language. Charters and law were also established.

Scottish Enlightenment (18th and early 19th century)

Period in 18th and early 19th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Lowlands and four universities. The Enlightenment culture was based on close readings of new books, and intense discussions took place daily at such intellectual gathering places in Edinburgh as The Select Society and, later, The Poker Club as well as within Scotland's ancient universities. Sharing the humanist and rationalist outlook of the European Enlightenment of the same time period, the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment asserted the importance of human reason combined with a rejection of any authority that could not be justified by reason. In Scotland, the Enlightenment was characterised by a thoroughgoing empiricism and practicality where the chief values were improvement, virtue, and practical benefit for the individual and society as a whole. Among the Scottish thinkers and scientists of the period were Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Adam Smith, Dugald Stewart, Thomas Reid, Robert Burns, Adam Ferguson, John Playfair, Joseph Black and James Hutton.

Georgian era (1714-1737)

Period in British history from 1714 to c. 1830-37, named eponymously after kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The term "Georgian" is typically used in the contexts of social and political history and architecture. It was a time of immense social change in Britain, with the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution which began the process of intensifying class divisions, and the emergence of rival political parties like the Whigs and Tories.

Jacobean era (1567-1625)

Period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI of Scotland (1567-1625), who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I. This era succeeds the Elizabethan era and precedes the Caroline era.

Edwardian era (1901 - 1910)

Period of British history which covers the brief reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victorian era. The new king Edward VII was already the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by the art and fashions of continental Europe. The Liberals returned to power in 1906 and made significant reforms. Below the upper class, the era was marked by significant shifts in politics among sections of society that were largely excluded from wielding power in the past, such as common labourers. Women became increasingly politicised.

Irish Potato Famine (1845 - 1849)

Period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1849. During the Great Famine, about one million people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland, causing the island's population to fall by between 20% and 25%. The proximate cause of famine was potato blight, which ravaged potato crops throughout Europe during the 1840s. However, the impact in Ireland was disproportionate, as one third of the population was dependent on the potato.

Home Secretary

Person responsible for the internal affairs of England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the UK. A high profile position, it is widely recognised as one of the most prestigious and important roles in the British Cabinet. The position has been held by Sajid Javid since April 2018.

Plantation of Ireland (16th and 17th century)

Plantations in 16th and 17th century Ireland involved the confiscation of land by the English crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from the island of Great Britain. There had already been smaller-scale immigration to Ireland as far back as the 12th century, which had resulted in a distinct ethnicity in Ireland known as the Old English, or Hiberno-Normans. The plantations changed the demography of Ireland by creating large communities with a British and Protestant identity.

Cardinal Newman (1801 - 1890)

Poet and theologian, first an Anglican priest and later a Catholic priest and cardinal, who was an important and controversial figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. Originally an evangelical Oxford University academic and priest in the Church of England, he then became drawn to the high-church tradition of Anglicanism. He became known as a leader of, and an able polemicist for, the Oxford Movement, an influential and controversial grouping of Anglicans who wished to return to the Church of England many Catholic beliefs and liturgical rituals from before the English Reformation. In this the movement had some success. In 1845, joined by some but not all of his followers, he officially left the Church of England and his teaching post at Oxford University and was received into the Catholic Church. He was quickly ordained as a priest and continued as an influential religious leader, based in Birmingham. In 1879, he was created a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his services to the cause of the Catholic Church in England. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland which evolved into University College Dublin, today the largest university in Ireland

Green Belt

Policy for controlling urban growth. The idea is for a ring of countryside where urbanisation will be resisted for the foreseeable future, maintaining an area where agriculture, forestry and outdoor leisure can be expected to prevail.

Pilgrimage of Grace (1536)

Popular uprising that began in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland and north Lancashire, under the leadership of lawyer Robert Aske. The "most serious of all Tudor rebellions", it was a protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the policies of the King's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances.

Royal Mail

Postal service and courier company in the UK, originally established in 1516. The company provides mail collection and delivery services throughout the country. Deliveries are made at least once every day except Sundays and bank holidays.

Speaker of the House of Commons

Presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. He is a Member of Parliament (MP) and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. He presides over the House's debates, determining which members may speak. He is also responsible for maintaining order during debate, and may punish members who break the rules of the House. Unlike presiding officers of legislatures in many other countries, he remains strictly non-partisan, and renounces all affiliation with his or her former political party when taking office as well as when leaving the office. He does not take part in debate or vote (except to break ties; and even then, the convention is that the speaker casts the tie-breaking vote according to Speaker Denison's rule). Aside from duties relating to presiding over the House, he also performs administrative and procedural functions, and remains a constituency Member of Parliament (MP). He has the right and obligation to reside in Speaker's House at the Palace of Westminster. The office is currently held by John Bercow.

Apprentice Boys of Derry

Protestant fraternal society with a worldwide membership of over 10,000, founded in 1814 and based in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. The society aims to commemorate the 1689 Siege of Derry when Catholic James II of England and Ireland and VII of Scotland laid siege to the walled city, which was at the time a Protestant stronghold. Apprentice Boys parades once regularly led to virulent opposition from the city's Irish nationalist majority, but recently a more conciliatory approach has taken place and now the parades are virtually trouble-free.

Nonconformist

Protestant who did not "conform" to the governance and usages of the established Church of England. Broad use of the term was precipitated after the Restoration of the British monarchy in 1660, when the Act of Uniformity 1662 re-established the opponents of reform within the Church of England.

Legal Aid

Provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. It is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.

May Day (1 May)

Public holiday usually celebrated on May 1. It is a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities. Traditional English rites include crowning a May Queen, Morris dancing and celebrations involving a maypole, around which traditional dancers circle with ribbons. Origin of the holiday: Towns and villages celebrated springtime fertility (of the soil, livestock, and people) and revelry with village fetes and community gatherings. Seeding has been completed by this date and it was convenient to give farm labourers a day off. /!\ International Workers' Day may also be referred to as "May Day", but it is a different celebration from the traditional May Day.

British Museum

Public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture, located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection numbers some 8 million works, and is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence having been widely sourced during the era of the British Empire, and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present

Procurator Fiscal

Public prosecutor in Scotland (who, despite the title, has little to do with fiscal issues). Sometimes called PF or fiscal. They investigate all sudden and suspicious deaths in Scotland (similar to a coroner in other legal systems), conduct fatal accident inquiries (a form of inquest unique to the Scottish legal system) and handle criminal complaints against the police.

University College London (UCL)

Public research university in London, England, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment. Established in 1826 as London University by founders inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham, it was the first university institution to be established in London, and the first in England to be entirely secular and to admit students regardless of their religion.

London School of Economics (LSE)

Public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895. Despite its name, the school is organised into 25 academic departments and institutes which conduct teaching and research across a range of legal studies and social sciences.

Imperial College London

Public research university located in London. Its founder, Prince Albert, envisioned an area composed of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, Royal Albert Hall, and the Imperial Institute.

Dictionary of the English Language (1755)

Published in 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson, it is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language. There was dissatisfaction with the dictionaries of the period, so a group of London booksellers contracted Johnson to write a dictionary. Johnson took seven years to complete the work. Until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary 173 years later, Johnson's was viewed as the pre-eminent English dictionary.

Fleet Street

Publishing started in this street around 1500 when William Caxton's apprentice, Wynkyn de Worde, set up a printing shop near Shoe Lane, while at around the same time Richard Pynson set up as publisher and printer next to St Dunstan's Church. More printers and publishers followed. By the 20th century, this street and the area surrounding it were dominated by the national press and related industries. The name is synonymous with the printing and publishing industry.

Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603)

Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. She was the last monarch of the House of Tudor. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Anne's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and their daughter was declared illegitimate, but she still acceded to the throne after her half-siblings. She had her rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, imprisoned and executed as she was found guilty of plotting to assassinate her. After the short reigns of Elizabeth's half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir to continue the Tudor line. She never did, despite numerous courtships. As she grew older, Elizabeth became celebrated for her virginity. Her reign is famous for the flourishing of English drama, led by playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, and for the seafaring prowess of English adventurers such as Francis Drake.

Anne Boleyn (1501 - 1536)

Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII. Henry's marriage to her, and her subsequent execution by beheading, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation. Henry wanted to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he would be free to marry her. When it became clear that Pope Clement VII would not annul the marriage, the breaking of the Catholic Church's power in England began. She formally married Henry in 1533, but the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine's marriage null and void. Five days later, he declared Henry and Anne's marriage valid. Shortly afterwards, the Pope decreed sentences of excommunication against Henry and Cranmer. As a result of this marriage and these excommunications, the first break between the Church of England and Rome took place and the Church of England was brought under the King's control. She gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was disappointed to have a daughter rather than a son but hoped a son would follow. However his wife subsequently had three miscarriages, and by March 1536, Henry was courting Jane Seymour. In order to marry Jane Seymour, Henry had to find reasons to end the marriage, so he had his wife investigated for high treason and beheaded.

Katherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536)

Queen of England from June 1509 until May 1533 as the first wife of King Henry VIII; she was previously Princess of Wales as the wife of Henry's elder brother Arthur. She is the daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. By 1525, Henry VIII was infatuated with Anne Boleyn and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter, the future Mary I of England, as heir presumptive at a time when there was no established precedent for a woman on the throne. He sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events that led to England's schism with the Catholic Church.

Boudicca (AD 60 or 61)

Queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61, and died shortly after its failure, having supposedly poisoned herself. She is considered a British folk hero.

Elizabeth II

Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she has four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Andrew, Duke of York; and Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Victoria (1819 - 1901)

Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death. In 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. Her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than that of any of her predecessors, and is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the UK, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.

Lady Chatterley trial

R v Penguin Books Ltd was the public prosecution in the UK at the Old Bailey of Penguin Books under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 for the publication of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. The jury found for the defendant in a result that ushered in the liberalisation of publishing, and which some saw as the beginning of the permissive society in Britain.

Regency (style)

Refers to classical buildings built in Britain during the Regency era in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to earlier and later buildings following the same style. The period coincides with the Biedermeierstyle in the German-speaking lands, Federal style in the United States and the French Empire style. Regency style is also applied to interior design and decorative arts of the period, with elegant furniture and vertically striped wallpaper, and to styles of clothing; for males, as typified by the dandy Beau Brummell, for women the Empire silhouette.

Geordie

Refers to the people from North East England, and their accent.

Clydeside

Region around Glasgow in the Central Belt of Scotland.

Greater London

Region of England which forms the administrative boundaries of London.

Black Country

Region of the West Midlands in England, west of Birmingham. During the Industrial Revolution, it became one of the most industrialised parts of Britain with coal mines, coking, iron foundries, glass factories, brickworks and steel mills producing a high level of air pollution. The name is believed to come from the soot from the heavy industries that covered the area.

Cornish (language)

Revived language that became extinct as a first language in the late 18th century. It is a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language that was native to Cornwall in south-west England. A revival began in the early 20th century. The language is considered to be an important part of Cornish identity, culture and heritage.

Warwick the Kingmaker (1428 - 1471)

Richard Neville was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander. He was the wealthiest and most powerful English peer of his age, with political connections that went beyond the country's borders. One of the leaders in the Wars of the Roses, originally on the Yorkist side but later switching to the Lancastrian side, he was instrumental in the deposition of two kings, which led to his epithet of "Kingmaker".

Strongbow (1130 - 1176)

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland was a Welsh-Norman lord notable for his leading role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. Like his father, Richard fitz Gilbert has since become commonly known by his nickname, which may be a mistranscription or mistranslation of Striguil.

Mersey

River in the North West of England. Its name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon language and translates as "boundary river". The river may have been the border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria and for centuries it formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Thames

River that flows through southern England, most notably through London.

Whitehall

Road in the City of Westminster, Central London. The street is recognised as the centre of the Government of the UK and is lined with numerous departments and ministries, including the Ministry of Defence, Horse Guards and the Cabinet Office. Consequently, the name is used as a metonym for the British civil service and government, and as the geographic name for the surrounding area. As well as government buildings, the street is known for its memorial statues and monuments, including Britain's primary war memorial, the Cenotaph.

Piccadilly Circus

Road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.

Hampton Court

Royal palace in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, London, England. Building of the palace began in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the King seized the palace for himself and later enlarged it. Along with St James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII.

Windsor Castle

Royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is notable for its long association with the English and later British royal family and for its architecture. The original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I, it has been used by the reigning monarch and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. It is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits, and the preferred weekend home of Elizabeth II

Twickenham Stadium

Rugby union stadium in Twickenham, south west London, England (also called Twickers)

haggis

Savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal's stomach

David Livingstone (1813 - 1873)

Scottish Christian Congregationalist, pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of the late-19th-century Victorian era. He had a mythical status that operated on a number of interconnected levels: Protestant missionary martyr, working-class "rags-to-riches" inspirational story, scientific investigator and explorer, imperial reformer, anti-slavery crusader, and advocate of commercial and colonial expansion. His fame as an explorer and his obsession with learning the sources of the Nile River was founded on the belief that if he could solve that age-old mystery, his fame would give him the influence to end the East African Arab-Swahili slave trade.

Flora MacDonald (1722 - 1790)

Scottish Jacobite heroine made famous by her part in the Young Pretender's escape after his defeat at Culloden.

Thomas Telford (1757 - 1834)

Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well as harbours and tunnels. Such was his reputation as a prolific designer of highways and related bridges, he was dubbed The Colossus of Roads (a pun on the Colossus of Rhodes), and, reflecting his command of all types of civil engineering in the early 19th century, he was elected as the first President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Billy Connolly (1942)

Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor from Glasgow. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the nickname "The Big Yin" ("The Big One"). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer, firstly in the Humblebums alongside friend Gerry Rafferty until 1971, and subsequently as a solo artist. In the early 1970s, Connolly made the transition from folk-singer with a comedic persona to fully fledged comedian, for which he has received numerous awards. He is also an actor.

Adam Smith (1723-1790)

Scottish economist, philosopher and author as well as a moral philosopher, a pioneer of political economy and a key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment era. He is best known for two classic works: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) and The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759). The former, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith laid the foundations of classical free market economic theory. The Wealth of Nations was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics. In this and other works, he developed the concept of division of labour and expounded upon how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity.

Walter Scott (1771-1832)

Scottish historical novelist, playwright, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Although primarily remembered for his extensive literary works and his political engagement, he was an advocate, judge and legal administrator by profession, and throughout his career combined his writing and editing work with his daily occupation as Clerk of Session and Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire. --> Known for: Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor

William Wallace (13th century)

Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, he defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, he was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians. Since his death, he has obtained an iconic status far beyond his homeland.

Scottish National Party (SNP)

Scottish nationalist and social-democratic political party in Scotland. It supports and campaigns for Scottish independence. The current leader is Nicola Sturgeon.

David Hume (1711-1776)

Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, who is best known today for his highly influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. His empiricist approach to philosophy places him with John Locke, Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes as a British Empiricist. Beginning with his "A Treatise of Human Nature" (1739), he strove to create a total naturalistic science of man that examined the psychological basis of human nature. Against philosophical rationalists, he held that passion rather than reason governs human behaviour. He argued against the existence of innate ideas, positing that all human knowledge is founded solely in experience. His opposition to the teleological argument for God's existence, the argument from design, is generally regarded as the most intellectually significant attempt to rebut the argument prior to Darwinism.

Robert Burns (1759-1796)

Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a light Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world. As well as making original compositions, he also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. His poem (and song) "Auld Lang Syne" is often sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year), and "Scots Wha Hae" served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country.

Flower of Scotland

Scottish song, used frequently at special occasions and sporting events. Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland, this song fulfils this role, along with the older "Scots Wha Hae", and "Scotland the Brave", amongst others. Roy Williamson of the folk group the Corries wrote both the words and music for the song. The lyrics refer to the victory of the Scots, led by Robert the Bruce, over England's Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Harlech

Seaside resort in Gwynedd, in north-west Wales. Its best-known landmark, Harlech Castle, was begun in 1283 by Edward I of England, captured by Owain Glyndŵr, and later a stronghold of Henry Tudor.

Durham cathedral

Seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The cathedral is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle

Sainsbury's

Second largest chain of supermarkets in the UK. Founded in 1869, by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company became the largest grocery retailer in 1922. In 1995, Tesco overtook Sainsbury's to become the market leader.

Cadbury's

Second-largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars. It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box. One of the best-known British brands and best-known British exports.

Comprehensive school

Secondary school that is a state school and does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to England and Wales, where these schools were introduced on an experimental basis in the 1940s and became more widespread from 1965. About 90% of British secondary school pupils now attend these schools. They correspond broadly to the public high school in the United States and Canada.

Isle of Man

Self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. Defence is the responsibility of the UK. The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, emerged.

Russell Group

Self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in London and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to government and parliament.

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Senior official within the Government of the United Kingdom and head of Her Majesty's Treasury. The office is a British Cabinet-level position currently held by Philip Hammond. He is responsible for all economic and financial matters, equivalent to the role of finance minister in other nations. The position is considered one of the four Great Offices of State, and in recent times has come to be the most powerful office in British politics after the Prime Minister.

Burke and Hare murders (1828)

Series of 16 murders committed in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Dr Robert Knox for dissection at his anatomy lectures. Edinburgh was a leading European centre of anatomical study in the early 19th century, in a time when the demand for cadavers led to a shortfall in legal supply. Scottish law required that corpses used for medical research should only come from those who had died in prison, suicide victims, or from orphans. The shortage of corpses led to an increase in grave robbing by what were known as resurrection men. The men went on a murder spree to sell corpses to Dr Knox, probably with the knowledge of their wives. Burke and Hare's actions were ultimately uncovered and they were arrested. The murders raised public awareness of the need for bodies for medical research and contributed to the passing of the Anatomy Act 1832.

BBC television

Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936.

Colossus machine (1945)

Set of computers developed by British codebreakers in the years 1943-1945 to help crack the Lorenz cipher. It is thus regarded as the world's first programmable, electronic, digital computer. Alan Turing's use of probability in cryptanalysis contributed to its design.

London Bridge

Several bridges with that name have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel.

Maid of Norway (1283 - 1290)

She is a Norwegian princess called Margaret who was recognised as Queen of Scots following the death of her grandfather, King Alexander III, in March 1286. Her death in Orkney while travelling to Scotland sparked off the disputed succession which led to the Wars of Scottish Independence.

Lady Godiva (13th century)

She was an English noblewoman who was Countess of Mercia, and according to a legend dating at least to the 13th century, she rode naked - covered only in her long hair - through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Thomas watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.

Top Gear

Show that started in April 1977, as a half hour motoring programme on the BBC. The programme covered motoring related issues, such as new car road tests, fuel economy, safety, the police, speeding, insurance, second hand cars and holiday touring. (Jeremy Clarkson: famous presenter)

Siege of Drogheda (3-11 September 1649)

Siege which took place on 3-11 September 1649, at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The coastal town of Drogheda was held by the Irish Catholic Confederation and English Royalists under the command of Sir Arthur Aston when it was besieged by Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell. After Aston rejected an offer to surrender, the town was stormed and much of the garrison was executed and an unknown but "significant number" of civilians were killed by the Parliamentarian troops. The outcome of the siege and the extent to which civilians were targeted is a significant topic of debate among historians.

immigration

Since 1945, immigration to the UK under British nationality law has been significant, in particular from the Republic of Ireland and from the former British Empire especially India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Hong Kong. Other immigrants have come as asylum seekers, seeking protection as refugees under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, or from member states of the European Union, exercising one of the European Union's Four Freedoms. Migration to and from Central and Eastern Europe has increased since 2004 with the accession to the European Union of eight Central and Eastern European states, since there is free movement of labour within the EU.

scones

Single-serving quick bread/cake, usually made of wheat, or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent and baked on sheet pans. It is often lightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. IT is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea. It differs from teacakes and other sweet buns that are made with yeast.

Stormont

Site of Northern Ireland's main government buildings in Belfast, which are surrounded by woods and parkland. It is frequently used as a metonym for the Government of Northern Ireland.

Birmingham Six (1974)

Six men: Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker, who, in 1975, were each sentenced to life imprisonment following their false convictions for the Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unjust and unsatisfactory and quashed by the Court of Appeal on 14 March 1991. The six men were later awarded compensation ranging from £840,000 to £1.2 million. The Birmingham pub bombings took place on 21 November 1974 and were attributed to the Provisional IRA. Explosive devices were placed in two central Birmingham pubs: the Mulberry Bush at the foot of the Rotunda, and the Tavern in the Town - a basement pub in New Street. The resulting explosions, at 20:25 and 20:27, collectively were the most injurious attacks in Great Britain since World War II (until surpassed by the 7 July 2005 London bombings); 21 people were killed (ten at the Mulberry Bush and eleven at the Tavern in the Town) and 182 people were injured.

Mini (car)

Small economy car produced by the English-based British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture. It is a small, space-saving, two-door car, famous for being owned by Mr. Bean. (Ancestor of the Mini Cooper)

Iona

Small island in the Inner Hebrides off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaelic monasticism for three centuries and is today known for its relative tranquility and natural environment. It is a tourist destination and a place for spiritual retreats.

HMS Bounty

Small merchant vessel purchased by the Royal Navy for a botanical mission. The ship was sent to the Pacific Ocean under the command of William Bligh to acquire breadfruit plants and transport them to British possessions in the West Indies. That mission was never completed due to a mutiny led by Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian. This incident is now popularly known as the Mutiny on the Bounty. The ship was later burned while moored at Pitcairn Island by the mutineers. The remains were rediscovered in 1957 by an American adventurer and various parts of it have been salvaged since then.

corner shop

Small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, tobacco products, over-the-counter drugs, toiletries, newspapers, and magazines. (US) convenience store

Ascot

Small town in East Berkshire, England. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting, and is reportedly one of the most 'valuable' towns in England when taking into account the average house price. It is also one of the most expensive towns in Britain to rent a property.

Caerphilly

South Wales. Its Castle was built by a Norman lord as part of his campaign to conquer Glamorgan (Welsh county).

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

Social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the UK. During the Troubles, it was the most popular Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland, but since the Provisional IRA ceasefire in 1994, it has lost ground to the republican party Sinn Féin, which in 2001 became the more popular of the two parties for the first time. Established during the Troubles, a significant difference between the two parties was its rejection of violence, in contrast to Sinn Féin's support for the Provisional IRA and physical force republicanism.

Plaid Cymru

Social-democratic political party in Wales advocating for Welsh independence from the United Kingdom within the European Union.

(The Society of) United Irishmen

Society founded as a liberal political organisation in 18th-century Ireland that initially sought Parliamentary reform. However, it evolved into a revolutionary republican organisation, inspired by the American Revolution and allied with Revolutionary France. It launched the Irish Rebellion of 1798 with the objective of ending British monarchical rule over Ireland and founding a sovereign, independent Irish republic.

James VI & I (1566 - 1625)

Son of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was King of Scotland from 1567 and King of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and English crowns in 1603 until his death in 1625. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, with their own parliaments, judiciaries, and laws, though both were ruled by one king. In his reign, the Plantation of Ulster and British colonisation of the Americas began. He was strongly committed to a peace policy, and tried to avoid involvement in religious wars.

Christmas carols

Song whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, and which is traditionally sung on Christmas itself or during the surrounding holiday season. Also called Noëls.

Oxford

South East England. Beyond the eastern edge of the Cotswolds, in the valley of the upper Thames, with its ancient university, some of which is housed in buildings dating back to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (location for the Harry Potter films). The city has also been one of the centres of British car production for over a hundred years, most famously as home of the mini.

Dover

South East England. Major ferry port in the home county of Kent. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel. The surrounding chalk cliffs are known as the White Cliffs of Dover.

Edinburgh

South-East coast. The capital of Scotland. Since devolution (in 1999) been the seat of the Scottish Parliament, as well as the location of Holyrood House and its Castle, two impressive royal palaces. The city is built over an extinct volcano, a particularly striking location, and is the centre not only of Scottish politics and administration but also of legal, banking and literary life.

Bristol

South-West. Famous old city and the main commercial centre of the SouthWest. For a long time it was a busy Atlantic port, and the city's harbour gave rise to the expression "Ship-shape and - - - fashion" (meaning to be in good order). Like most medieval harbours, it was not built directly on the sea, but on a river flowing into the sea: the Avon (one of several British rivers with that name, from the ancient Celtic word for 'river')

Bath

South-West. The best-known Roman town (Aquae Sulis), with its Roman baths

United Kingdom

Sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, which includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and many smaller islands. It is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy.

Republic of Ireland

Sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern part of the island, and whose metropolitan area is home to around a third of the country's inhabitants. The state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the UK. The state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948

South Sea Bubble (1920s)

Speculation mania that ruined many British investors in 1720. The hoax centred on the fortunes of the South Sea Company (founded in 1711 to trade mainly in slaves with Spanish America) on the assumption that the War of the Spanish Succession would end with a treaty permitting such trade. The peace treaty was less favorable than expected. The company offered to take over a large portion of the national debt previously managed by the Bank of England. There was an incredible boom in South Sea stock, as a result of the company's proposal, accepted by Parliament, to take over the national debt. The market collapsed, dragging other, including government, stock with them. Many investors were ruined, and the House of Commons ordered an inquiry. The scandal brought Robert Walpole, generally considered to be the first British prime minister, to power.

Rivers of Blood Speech

Speech made byBritish MP Enoch Powell in 1968 as he addressed a meeting of the Conservative Political Centre in Birmingham. The speech strongly criticised mass immigration, especially Commonwealth immigration to the UK and the proposed Race Relations Bill. The expression "rivers of blood" did not appear in the speech but is an allusion to a line from Virgil's Aeneid which he quoted: "As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood." The speech caused a political storm, making Powell one of the most talked about and divisive politicians in the country, and leading to his controversial dismissal from the Shadow Cabinet by Conservative Party leader Edward Heath. According to most accounts, the popularity of Powell's perspective on immigration may have played a decisive factor in the Conservatives' surprise victory in the 1970 general election, and he became one of the most persistent rebels opposing the subsequent Heath government.

Millennium Bridge

Steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, linking Bankside with the City of London. It is located between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge. It was inaugurated in 2000. Londoners nicknamed the bridge the "Wobbly Bridge" after pedestrians experienced an alarming swaying motion.

Marmite

Sticky, dark brown food paste made from yeast extract with a distinctive, powerful flavour, which is extremely salty. This distinctive taste is reflected in the British company's marketing slogan: "Love it or hate it." Such is its prominence in British popular culture that the product's name has entered British English as a metaphor for something that is an acquired taste or tends to polarise opinions.

London Stock Exchange

Stock exchange located in the City of London. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world.

Downing Street

Street in London known for housing the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is used as a metonym for the Government of the UK.

Wensleydale

Style of cheese originally produced in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England, but now mostly made in large commercial creameries throughout the UK.

Highland dance

Style of competitive solo dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games. It was 'created from the Gaelic folk dance repertoire, but formalized with the conventions of ballet', and has been subject to influences from outside the Highlands. It is often performed to the accompaniment of Highland bagpipe music and dancers wear specialised shoes called ghillies. It is now seen at nearly every modern-day Highland games event. It is a competitive and technical dance form requiring technique, stamina, and strength, and is recognised as a sport by the Sport Council of Scotland.

Shetland (Islands)

Subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies northeast of Great Britain. The islands lie some 80 km to the northeast of Orkney. The Shetland pony and Shetland Sheepdog are two well-known animal breeds from the island.

A-levels (Advanced Levels)

Subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom. Obtaining A Level or equivalent qualifications is generally required for university entrance, with universities granting conditional offers based on grades achieved

county

Subnational divisions of the UK, used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. By the Middle Ages counties had become established as a unit of local government, at least in England. By the early 17th century, all of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland had been separated into countries. The older term shire was historically equivalent to "county".

Newgate Calendar

Subtitled The Malefactors' Bloody Register, it was a popular work of literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally a monthly bulletin of executions produced by the Keeper of Newgate Prison in London, it was appropriated by other publishers, who wrote about notorious criminals such as Sawney Bean, Dick Turpin, John Wilkes and Moll Cutpurse. It was one of the top three works most likely to be found in the average home, along with the Bible and John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. While many of its accounts are highly embellished, they are lively and full of incident, and often refer to contemporary events and social issues.

Court of Session

Supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh, and is both a trial court and a court of appeal. Decisions of the Court can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

mince pies

Sweet pie of British origin, filled with a mixture of dried fruits and spices called "mincemeat", that is traditionally served during the Christmas season.

leek

Symbol of Wales. Shakespeare, refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an "ancient tradition" in Henry V. In the play, Henry tells the Welsh officer Fluellen that he, too, is wearing a leek "for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman."

Tudor rose

Symbol of the Tudor family represented by the union of a red and white rose, the red rose being the House of Lancaster and the white the House of York. The Lancastrian Henry Tudor's marriage to Elizabeth of York brought to an end the bitter civil war which is commonly referred to as 'The War of the Roses'. It was adopted as the national emblem of England, and was a symbol of peace and unity.

National Insurance

System of taxes paid by workers and employers, used primarily to fund state benefits. It was initially a contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment, and later also provided retirement pensions and other benefits.

The Sun

Tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The Sun has the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in the United Kingdom.

Bloody Code

Term used to refer to the system of crimes and punishments in England in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It was not referred to as such in its own time, but the name was given later owing to the sharply increased number of people given the death penalty, even for crimes considered minor by today's society.

Severn crossing

Term used to refer to the two motorway crossings over the River Severn estuary between England and Wales operated by Highways England. The two crossings are Severn Bridge and Second Severn Crossing.

Metropolitan Police

Territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London, which is the responsibility of the City of London Police. The Met also has significant national responsibilities, such as co-ordinating and leading on UK-wide national counter-terrorism matters, and the protection of the senior members of the British Royal Family, and also members of The Cabinet and other ministerial members of Her Majesty's Government.

The Ashes

Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The Ashes are regarded as being held by the team that most recently won the Test series. If the test series is drawn, the team that currently holds the Ashes retains the trophy. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, their first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".

First Fleet (1787)

The 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports, carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts, marines, seamen, civil officers and free people. [Convicts were originally transported to the Thirteen Colonies in North America, but after the American War of Independence ended in 1783, the newly formed United States refused to accept further convicts.]

London riots (2011)

The 2011 England riots occurred between 6 and 11 August 2011, when thousands of people rioted in several London boroughs and in cities and towns across England. The resulting chaos generated looting, arson, and mass deployment of police and resulted in the deaths of five people. Protests started in Tottenham, London, following the death of Mark Duggan, a local man who was shot dead by police on 4 August. Several violent clashes with police ensued, along with the destruction of police vehicles, a double-decker bus and many homes and businesses, thus rapidly gaining attention from the media. From 8 to 10 August, other towns and cities in England (including Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Derby, Wolverhampton, Northampton, Nottingham, West Bromwich, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, and Salford) saw what was described by the media as "copycat violence". By 10 August, more than 3,000 arrests had been made across England, with more than 1,000 people issued with criminal charges for various offences related to the riots.

Lords Spiritual

The 26 bishops of the established Church of England who serve in the House of Lords along with the Lords Temporal. The Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, and the Anglican churches in Wales and Northern Ireland, which are no longer established churches, are not represented.

Norfolk Broads

The Broads National Park is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The lakes, known as broads, were formed by the flooding of peat workings. The Broads, and some surrounding land, were constituted as a special area with a level of protection similar to a national park by the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988. The Broads Authority, a special statutory authority responsible for managing the area, became operational in 1989. Although the terms Norfolk Broads and Suffolk Broads are used to identify specific areas within the two counties respectively, the whole area is frequently (if mistakenly) referred to as the "Norfolk Broads".

Old Bailey

The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey from the street on which it stands, is a court in London and one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court. The Central Criminal Court deals with major criminal cases from within Greater London and in exceptional cases, from other parts of England and Wales. Trials at the Old Bailey, as at other courts, are open to the public; however, they are subject to stringent security procedures.

Commonwealth of England (1649 to 1660)

The Commonwealth was the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, was ruled as a republic following the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I. The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth", adopted by the Rump Parliament on 19 May 1649. Power in the early Commonwealth was vested primarily in the Parliament and a Council of State. During the period, fighting continued, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them, as part of what is now referred to as the Third English Civil War.

Indian Mutiny (1857)

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India between 1857-58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The Indian rebellion was fed by resentment that had emerged from British rule, including invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes, and broader scepticism about the improvements brought about by British rule.

harp

The Irish harp, though not as popularly well-known around the world as the shamrock for being an Irish symbol, is the official emblem of Ireland. This status dates back several centuries and the instrument's history tells much about the history of the island. Today, a representation of the traditional harp is to be found on the Presidential Seal and on many official documents, on passports, on the flag of Leinster (but not the national flag), on Irish euro coins and as a logo for a number of prominent state-supported organisations such as the National University of Ireland. There are a number of names for the Irish harp. It is also known as the Celtic harp and the Gaelic harp.

Welsh Assembly

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved parliament with power to make legislation in Wales.

Last Night of the Proms (Summer)

The Proms, more formally known as the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, is an 8 week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts held annually in the Royal Albert Hall in central London since 1895. Many people's perception of the Proms is based on the Last Night, which usually takes place on the second Saturday in September. The concert is traditionally in a lighter, 'winding-down' vein, with popular classics followed by a second half of British patriotic pieces. It includes Edward Elgar's "Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1" and Henry Wood's "Fantasia on British Sea Songs", followed by Thomas Arne's "Rule, Britannia!". The concert concludes with Hubert Parry's "Jerusalem", and the British national anthem. The Prommers have made a tradition of singing "Auld Lang Syne" after the end of the concert.

Abolition of Slavery (1772)

The Somersett Case in 1772, in which a fugitive slave was freed in England with the judgement that slavery did not exist under English common law and was thus prohibited in England, helped launch the British movement to abolish slavery. William Wilberforce, a member of the House of Commons as an independent, became intricately involved in the abolition of the slave trade in Britain. Wilberforce's Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished the slave trade in the British Empire, but it was not until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 that the institution finally was abolished, but on a gradual basis. Since land owners in the British West Indies were losing their unpaid labourers, they received compensation.

Straits of Dover

The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows (French: pas de Calais), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and North Sea, separating Great Britain from continental Europe. On a clear day, it is possible to see the opposite coastline of England from France and vice versa with the naked eye, with the most famous and obvious sight being the white cliffs of Dover from the French coastline.

White Horse Hill

The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised prehistoric hill figure formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The figure is situated on the upper slopes of White Horse Hill in the English civil parish of Uffington. The figure presumably dates to "the later prehistory", i.e. the Iron Age (800 BC-AD 100) or the late Bronze Age (1000-700 BC).

Royal Armouries

The United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and Armour, National Artillery Collection, and National Firearms Collection. Its historic base is in the Tower of London, but today the collection is split across three sites, in London, Leeds and Portsmouth.

Royal Air Force (RAF)

The United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world. Following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 , it emerged as the largest air force in the world. It played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.

The Royal Navy (RN)

The United Kingdom's naval warfare force. It exists since the 16th century. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the Kingdom of France.

land girls

The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created during the First and Second World Wars so women could work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls.

British car industry

The automotive industry in the UK is now best known for premium and sports car marques including Aston Martin, Bentley, Caterham Cars, Daimler, Jaguar, Lagonda, Land Rover, Lister Cars, Lotus, McLaren, MG, Mini, Morgan and Rolls-Royce. The origins of the UK automotive industry date back to the final years of the 19th century. By the 1950s the UK was the second-largest manufacturer of cars in the world (after the United States) and the largest exporter. However, in subsequent decades the industry experienced considerably lower growth than competitor nations such as France, Germany and Japan and by 2008 the UK was the 12th-largest producer of cars measured by volume. Since the early 1990s many British car marques have been acquired by foreign companies.

Wild Geese Exiles (1691)

The departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland. More broadly, the term "Wild Geese" is used in Irish history to refer to Irish soldiers who left to serve in continental European armies in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

Scottish Parliament

The devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood.

Partition of India (1947)

The division of British India in 1947 which accompanied the creation of two independent dominions, India and Pakistan. The Dominion of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is today the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh. British India was divided of three provinces, Assam, Bengal and the Punjab, based on district-wide Hindu or Muslim majorities. The boundary demarcating India and Pakistan became known as the Radcliffe Line. It also involved the division of the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian Civil Service, the railways, and the central treasury, between the two new dominions. The partition was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj. The two self-governing countries of Pakistan and India legally came into existence at midnight on 14-15 August 1947.

Partition of Ireland (1921)

The division of the island of Ireland into two distinct jurisdictions, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. It took place on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Today the former is still known as Northern Ireland and forms part of the United Kingdom, while the latter is now a sovereign state also named Ireland and sometimes called the Republic of Ireland.

House of Commons

The elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom. It holds much more legislative power than the respective upper house of parliament. The leader of the majority party in the - - - usually becomes the prime minister. Since 2010 it has had 650 elected members. Its functions are to consider through debate new laws and changes to existing ones, authorise taxes, and provide scrutiny of the policy and expenditure of the Government. It has the power to give a Government a vote of no confidence.

William the Conqueror (11th century)

The first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. In the 1060s, he became a contender for the throne of England, then held by the childless Edward the Confessor, his first cousin once removed. There were other potential claimants, including the powerful English earl Harold Godwinson, who was named the next king by Edward. He argued that Edward had previously promised the throne to him, and that Harold had sworn to support his claim to the throne. He built a large fleet and invaded England in September 1066, decisively defeating and killing Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands and by difficulties with his eldest son.

Highland clearances

The forced eviction of inhabitants of the Highlands and western islands of Scotland, beginning in the mid-to-late 18th century and continuing intermittently into the mid-19th century. The removals cleared the land of people primarily to allow for the introduction of sheep pastoralism. They resulted in the destruction of the traditional clan society and began a pattern of rural depopulation and emigration from Scotland. In the early 21st century, the descendants of the Highland diaspora far outnumber the population in Scotland. The Highlands themselves now have a population density of about 9 persons per square kilometre.

Home Rule

The government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. In the British Isles, it traditionally referred to self-government, devolution or independence of its constituent nations—initially Ireland, and later Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Ben Nevis

The highest mountain in the British Isles, which is in Scotland.

Routemaster

The iconic red double-decker bus found in London.

Harold Godwinson (1022 - 1066)

The last Anglo-Saxon king of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England. His death marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England.

Battle of Bosworth (1485)

The last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, by his victory became the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty. His opponent, Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed in the battle. Historians consider Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, making it a defining moment of English and Welsh history.

Westminster cathedral

The mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of Westminster was purchased by the Diocese of Westminster in 1885. Westminster Cathedral is the largest Catholic church building in England and Wales and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster.

Britannia (province)

The name is a Latinisation of the native Brittonic word for the island, Pretanī. By the 1st century BC, it came to be used for Great Britain specifically. After the Roman conquest in 43 AD, it meant Roman Britain, a province covering the island south of Caledonia (roughly Scotland). When Roman Britain was divided into four provinces in 197 AD, two of them were called Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. It is also the name given to the female personification of the island, and it is a term still used to refer to the whole island

daffodil

The national flower of Wales, and is worn on St David's Day each March 1. In Welsh, the daffodil is known as "Peter's leek"

Vindolanda tablets (1st and 2nd centuries AD)

The oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. They are a rich source of information about life on the northern frontier of Roman Britain. Written on fragments of thin, post-card sized wooden leaf-tablets with carbon-based ink, the tablets date to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD (roughly contemporary with Hadrian's Wall). The documents record official military matters as well as personal messages to and from members of the garrison of Vindolanda, their families, and their slaves. Highlights of the tablets include an invitation to a birthday party held in about 100 AD, which is perhaps the oldest surviving document written in Latin by a woman.

Glorious Revolution (1688)

The overthrow of King James II of England (James VII of Scotland) by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III, Prince of Orange, who was James's nephew and son-in-law. William's successful invasion of England with a Dutch fleet and army led to his ascension to the throne as William III of England jointly with his wife, Mary II, James's daughter, after the Declaration of Right, leading to the Bill of Rights 1689.

Lindow Man

The preserved bog body of a man discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss near Wilmslow in Cheshire, North West England. The human remains were found in 1984 by commercial peat-cutters. However, it is not the only bog body to have been found in the moss;a woman was discovered the year before, and other body parts have also been recovered. The find, described as "one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 1980s", caused a media sensation. It helped invigorate study of British bog bodies, which had previously been neglected in comparison to those found in the rest of Europe.

Duchy of Lancaster

The private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the Sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properties and assets held in trust for the Sovereign and is administered separately from the Crown Estate.

Canadian Confederation

The process by which the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into one Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.

penal transportation

The relocation of convicted criminals to specifically established penal colonies. While the prisoners may have been released once the sentence was served, they generally did not have the resources to get themselves back home. England transported its convicts, political prisoners as well as prisoners of war from Scotland and Ireland to its overseas colonies in the Americas from the 1610s until early in the American Revolution in 1776, when transportation to America was temporarily suspended by the Criminal Law Act 1776. Transportation on a large scale resumed with the departure of the First Fleet to Australia in 1787, and continued there until 1868.

Glasgow

The south-west of Scotland, over against Northern Ireland, is dominated by the largest city in Scotland, on the river Clyde. It was one of the great industrial cities of the nineteenth century, known as "the second city of the Empire", with (like Newcastle) both shipbuilding and a nearby coalfield. The city has fine buildings (some by the Art Nouveau architect Rennie Mackintosh, Scotland's Horta) and impressive art collections. It has also had some of the most notorious slums in Britain, and the highest rates of knife crime and heart disease.

Church of England

The state church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury (currently Justin Welby) is the most senior cleric, although the monarch is the supreme governor. It is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion.

devolution

The statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. England is the only country of the United Kingdom to not have a devolved Parliament or Assembly and English affairs are decided by the Westminster Parliament.

Costume drama

The term refers to a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. It is an informal crossover term that can apply to several genres and is often heard in the context of historical fiction and romances, adventure films and swashbucklers. It may be set in a vague or general era such as the middle ages or a specific period such as the Roaring Twenties. (also called a period piece)

Perpendicular style (1350-1550)

The third historical division of English Gothic architecture. It is characterised by an emphasis on vertical lines. It began to emerge around 1350, with royal architects William Ramsey and John Sponlee, and fully developed in the prolific works of Henry Yevele and William Wynford.

Hong Kong Handover (1997)

The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China, referred to as "the Handover" took place on 1 July 1997, ending 156 years of British rule The landmark event marked the end of British administration in Hong Kong, and is often regarded as marking the end of the British Empire. After a formal handover ceremony on July 1, the colony became the Hong Kong special administrative region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China. The agreement stipulated that under Chinese rule the HKSAR would enjoy a high degree of autonomy, and that the social and economic systems as well as the lifestyle in Hong Kong would remain unchanged for 50 years after 1997. .

Tintagel

The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The village has, in recent times, become attractive to day-trippers and tourists, and is one of the most-visited places in Britain.

Winter of Discontent (1978-79)

The winter of 1978-79 in the UK, during which there were widespread strikes by public sector trade unions demanding larger pay rises, following the ongoing pay caps of the Labour Party government led by James Callaghan against Trades Union Congress opposition to control inflation, during the coldest winter for 16 years. The phrase is from the opening line of William Shakespeare's Richard III: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun [or son] of York",

Highland clans

The word "clann" comes from the Gaelic and means children, and its members claimed kinship from the common ancestor whose name they bore. In the 17th century the chief of the clan was both a gentleman and a barbarian. He held his territory by consent of the clan whose members were his tenants, and they gave their loyalty to the chief. The clans were distinguished by the badges in their bonnets. The MacDonalds wore a sprig of heather, the Grants fir, and the Macintoshes wore holly. For centuries the sovereign had no authority in the Highlands, and therefore, safe in their mountain fortresses, the clans escaped retribution. This kind of independence led to clan feuds and the consequences were often tragic. Stories abound of jealousies, atrocities, and endless raiding of cattle, goods and women. The clan system was the basis of highland life. Massacres were commonplace but the one that took place at Glen Coe in 1692 will never be forgotten. The clan system was already dying by the 18th century; it was extraordinary that this 'tribal' system had survived so long. The clans lived by the sword and perished by the sword, and the last feeble embers flickered out at the battle of Culloden in 1746. Even though the clan system has lost the power it had over the years, people still wear the tartan of their clan, usually either a tie or a kilt, to proclaim their pride in their ancestry and in a vanished world.

Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)

The world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world.

Windscale fire (1957)

The worst nuclear accident in Great Britain's history, ranked in severity at level 5 out of a possible 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The fire burned for three days and there was a release of radioactive contamination that spread across the UK and Europe.

recusants

Those who refused to attend Anglican services during the history of England and Wales and of Ireland. The "Recusancy Acts" began during the reign of Elizabeth I and were repealed in 1650. They imposed various types of punishment on those who did not participate in Anglican religious activity, such as fines, property confiscation, and imprisonment.

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne

Tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important centre of Celtic Christianity

marine chronometer

Timepiece that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard; it can therefore be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation. When first developed in the 18th century, it was a major technical achievement, as accurate knowledge of the time over a long sea voyage is necessary for navigation, lacking electronic or communications aids. The first true chronometer was the life work of John Harrison. He revolutionized naval navigation and enabled the Age of Discovery and Colonialism to accelerate.

to glass (verb)

To hit someone (usually in the head or face) with a pint glass.

Kray twins (1950's-60's)

Twin brothers Ronald "Ronnie" and Reginald "Reggie" were English gangsters who were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s. With their gang, "the Firm", they were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, assaults and murder. As West End nightclub owners, they mixed with politicians and prominent entertainers suck as Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. They were much feared within their social environment; they became celebrities, being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television. They were arrested, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1969.

Act of Union (1707)

Two Acts of Parliament: - the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England - the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. By the two Acts, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland—which at the time were separate states with separate legislatures, but with the same monarch—were, in the words of the Treaty, "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain".

Act of Supremacy (1534 and 1559)

Two acts that the Parliament of England passed in 1534 and 1559 which established King Henry VIII of England and subsequent monarchs as the supreme head of the Church of England. Prior to 1534, the supreme head of the English Church was the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

Supreme Court

Ultimate court for criminal and civil matters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and for civil matters in Scotland. (The supreme court for criminal matters in Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary.)

Opium Wars (1839-42 and 1856-60)

Two armed conflicts in China in the mid-19th century between the forces of Western countries and of the Qing dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1911/12. The first (1839-42) was fought between China and Britain, and the second (1856-60), also known as the Arrow War or the Anglo-French War in China, was fought by Britain and France against China. In each case the foreign powers were victorious and gained commercial privileges (treaty ports) and legal and territorial concessions in China (Hong Kong). The conflicts marked the start of the era of unequal treaties and other inroads on Qing sovereignty that helped weaken and ultimately topple the dynasty in favour of republican China in the early 20th century.

longbow

Type of bow that is tall - roughly equal to the height of the user - allowing the archer a fairly long draw, at least to the jaw.

hill fort

Type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period. The fortification usually follows the contours of a hill.

Value-added tax (VAT)

Type of general consumption tax that is placed on a product whenever value is added at a stage of production and at the point of retail sale

moorland (or moor)

Type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Nowadays it generally means uncultivated hill land (such as Dartmoor in South West England).

barrister

Type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions who mostly specialises in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the philosophy, hypothesis and history of law, and giving expert legal opinions.

Pantomime

Type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is still performed throughout the UK, generally during the Christmas and New Year season. It includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing, employs gender-crossing actors and combines topical humour with a story loosely based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale. The audience is expected to sing along and shout out phrases to the performers. Outside Britain, the word "pantomime" is usually understood to mean miming, rather than the theatrical form discussed here.

North Sea oil

Type of oil called "Brent Crude" which is extracted from the North Sea. It serves as a major benchmark price for purchases of oil worldwide.

Secondary modern school

Type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland, from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System and still persists in Northern Ireland. They were designed for the majority of pupils between 11 and 15. Those who achieved the highest scores in the 11-plus were allowed to go to a selective grammar school which offered education beyond 15. They were replaced in most of the UK by the Comprehensive School system.

Britpop

UK based music and culture movement in the mid 1990s which emphasised "Britishness", and produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music, an alternative rock genre, and to the UK's own shoegazing music scene. The most successful bands linked with the movement are Oasis, Blur, Suede and Pulp; those groups would come to be known as its "big four".

Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)

Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It emerged in 1966 and is named after the original UVF of the early 20th century. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British soldier. The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during the Troubles. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. The group is classified as a terrorist organisation by the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and United States. The UVF's declared goals were to combat Irish republicanism - particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA) - and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. It was responsible for more than 500 deaths.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

Unionist political party in Northern Ireland. Ian Paisley founded the DUP in 1971, during the Troubles, and led the party for the next 37 years. The DUP evolved from the Protestant Unionist Party and has historically strong links to the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, the church Paisley founded. During the Troubles, the DUP opposed attempts to resolve the conflict that would involve sharing power with Irish nationalists or republicans, and rejected attempts to involve the Republic of Ireland in Northern Irish affairs. It is right-wing and socially conservative, being anti-abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. The DUP sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism. The party is Eurosceptic and during the UK European Union referendum it supported the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Special Relationship

Unofficial term for the political, diplomatic, cultural, economic, military, and historical relations between the UK and the US. It was used in a 1946 speech by Winston Churchill. The two nations have been close allies in many conflicts in the 20th and 21st centuries, including World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and the War on Terror. Although the UK and US have close relationships with many other nations, the level of cooperation between them in economic activity, trade and commerce, military planning, execution of military operations, nuclear weapons technology, and intelligence sharing has been described as "unparalleled" among major powers.

House of Lords

Upper house of the Parliament of the UK. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed. The membership is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England. Of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. The number of members is not fixed (unlike the House of Commons which has a defined 650-seat membership). There are currently 780 sitting Lords. Its responsibilities include scrutinising bills that have been approved by the House of Commons, and reviewing and amending Bills from the Commons. While it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, it acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process.

Hanoverian (1714 - 1901)

Used to describe British monarchs or supporters of the House of Hanover, the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 to 1901. The House of Hanover is a German royal dynasty that ruled the Electorate and then the Kingdom of Hanover, and then also provided monarchs of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 to 1800 and ruled the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from its creation in 1801 until the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. Upon Victoria's death, the British throne passed to her eldest son Edward VII, a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha through his father.

village fête

Usually outdoor shows held on village greens or recreation grounds with a variety of activities. They are very common in Britain. Attractions seen at village fêtes include tombolas, raffles, coconut shies, bat a rat stalls, white elephant stalls, cakes, and home produce such as jams and pickles. Competitive baking, such as making Victoria sponge cake, is part of the classic British fête. Entertainment at fêtes may include Morris dancing, tug of war, fancy dress, and pet shows. The fête itself is a variation of a fair.

John Fisher (1469 - 1535)

Venerated as a saint by Roman Catholics, he was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. He was also an academic, and eventually served as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was executed by order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept the King as Supreme Head of the Church of England and for upholding the Catholic Church's doctrine of papal primacy. He was named a cardinal shortly before his death. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church. He shares his feast day with St Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and on 6 July in that of the Church of England.

David Attenborough

Veteran English broadcaster and naturalist. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural history documentary series that form the Life collection. This collection of programmes collectively form a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth. He is widely considered a national treasure in Britain.

Gilbert & Sullivan (19th century)

Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan. They collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known. Gilbert, who wrote the libretti for these operas, created fanciful "topsy-turvy" worlds where each absurdity is taken to its logical conclusion—fairies rub elbows with British lords, flirting is a capital offence, gondoliers ascend to the monarchy, and pirates emerge as noblemen who have gone astray. Sullivan, six years Gilbert's junior, composed the music, contributing memorable melodies that could convey both humour and pathos. Their operas have enjoyed broad and enduring international success and are still performed frequently throughout the English-speaking world.

Aintree

Village and civil parish in the North West of England. It is best known as the site of Aintree Racecourse, which since the 19th century has staged the Grand National horserace.

Battle of Orgreave (18 June 1984)

Violent confrontation on 18 June 1984 between police and pickets at a British Steel Corporation (BSC) coking plant in Orgreave, South Yorkshire. It was a pivotal event in the 1984-85 UK miners' strike, and one of the most violent clashes in British industrial history.

drystone wall

Wall constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. These walls are traditionally used as the boundaries of fields and churchyards, or as retaining walls for terracing. This method of construction is also used to build sculptures, buildings, bridges, and other structures.

Boer War (11 October 1899 - 31 May 1902)

War fought between the British Empire and two Boer states, the South African Republic (Republic of Transvaal) and the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa. Initial Boer attacks were successful, and although British reinforcements later reversed these, the war continued for years with Boer guerrilla warfare, until harsh British counter-measures brought them to terms.

In Flanders Fields (1915)

War poem written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it after the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres. According to legend, fellow soldiers retrieved the poem after McCrae, initially dissatisfied with his work, discarded it. It was first published on December 8 of that year in the London magazine Punch. It is one of the most popular and most quoted poems from the war. As a result of its immediate popularity, parts of the poem were used in efforts and appeals to recruit soldiers and raise money selling war bonds. Its references to the red poppies that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers resulted in the remembrance poppy becoming one of the world's most recognized memorial symbols for soldiers who have died in conflict. The poem and poppy are prominent Remembrance Day symbols throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, particularly in Canada, where this poem is one of the nation's best-known literary works. The poem is also widely known in the United States, where it is associated with Memorial Day.

French and Indian War (1754-63)

War that pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France in the United States. Both sides were supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France, as well as by American Indian allies. At the start of the war, the French North American colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British North American colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on the Indians. The European nations declared war on one another in 1756 following months of localized conflict, escalating the war from a regional affair into an intercontinental conflict. The name is used mainly in the United States. It refers to the two main enemies of the British colonists: the royal French forces and the various American Indian forces allied with them.

Gulf War (1990 - 1991)

War waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. Together with the UK's prime minister Margaret Thatcher, George Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the coalition, forming the largest military alliance since World War II. Victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN.

Mary Rose

Warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 19 July 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a French invasion fleet, she sank in the Solent, the straits north of the Isle of Wight. The wreck was rediscovered in 1971. It was raised in 1982 in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology. The surviving section of the ship and thousands of recovered artefacts are of immeasurable value as a Tudor-era time capsule.

Birmingham

West Midlands. One of the birthplaces of British industry. It was here that the steam engine was invented in 1770. The city's glorious past is reflected in its 19th-century public buildings and squares, and galleries with art collections endowed by industrialists. The current symbol of civic identity is the largest city library in Europe, housed in an ultra-modern building that opened in 2013. After the Second World War, this city was rather a gloomy place. What the German bombs had missed, the local council tore down to make way for new and modern structures, which in those days meant lots of concrete, and relegating pedestrians to tunnels under the roads. It is only now beginning to recover from having been at the forefront of post-war planning. Birmingham has a very distinctive local accent, known as Brum or Brummie (from 'Brumagen', the local name for the city). J.R.R. Tolkien grew up in the surrounding area, which inspired the Shire; the nearby industrial areas also influenced the conception of Saruman's Isengard.

Irish whiskey

Whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word "whiskey" is an Anglicisation of the first word in the Gaelic phrase, uisce beatha, meaning "water of life"

Vera Lynn

Widely known as "the Forces' Sweetheart", she is an English singer of traditional pop, songwriter and actress, who was very popular during the Second World War. During the war she travelled the world giving concerts for the troops. The songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again", "The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England". She has devoted much time and energy to charity work connected with ex-servicemen, disabled children, and breast cancer. She is held in great affection by veterans of the Second World War to this day and in 2000 was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the 20th century.

Hebrides

Widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic, and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive influences of Celtic, Norse, and English-speaking peoples. This diversity is reflected in the names given to the islands, which are derived from the languages that have been spoken there in historic and perhaps prehistoric times.

Chartism (1838 - 1857)

Working-class movement for political reform in Britain that existed from 1838 to 1857. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, with particular strongholds of support in Northern England, the East Midlands, the Staffordshire Potteries, the Black Country, and the South Wales Valleys. Support for the movement was at its highest in 1839, 1842, and 1848, when petitions signed by millions of working people were presented to the House of Commons. The strategy employed was to use the scale of support which these petitions and the accompanying mass meetings demonstrated to put pressure on politicians to concede manhood suffrage. Thus, it relied on constitutional methods to secure its aims, though there were some who became involved in insurrectionary activities, notably in south Wales and in Yorkshire. The People's Charter called for six reforms to make the political system more democratic: 1. A vote for every man twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and not undergoing punishment for a crime. 2. The secret ballot to protect the elector in the exercise of his vote. 3. No property qualification for Members of Parliament in order to allow the constituencies to return the man of their choice. 4. Payment of Members, enabling tradesmen, working men, or other persons of modest means to leave or interrupt their livelihood to attend to the interests of the nation. 5. Equal constituencies, securing the same amount of representation for the same number of electors, instead of allowing less populous constituencies to have as much or more weight than larger ones. 6. Annual Parliamentary elections, thus presenting the most effectual check to bribery and intimidation, since no purse could buy a constituency under a system of universal manhood suffrage in each twelve-month period. Chartists saw themselves fighting against political corruption and for democracy in an industrial society, but attracted support beyond the radical political groups for economic reasons, such as opposing wage cuts and unemployment.

Cromford Mill

World's first water-powered cotton spinning mill, developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 in Cromford, Derbyshire, England.

Olaudah Equiano (1745 - 1797)

Writer and abolitionist from the Igbo region of what is today southeastern Nigeria according to his memoir, or from South Carolina according to other sources. He was known in his lifetime as Gustavus Vassa. Enslaved as a child, he purchased his own freedom in 1766. He was a prominent abolitionist in the British movement to end the Atlantic slave trade. His autobiography, published in 1789, helped in the creation of the Slave Trade Act 1807 which ended the transatlantic slave trade for Britain and its colonies.

shamrock

Young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity.

Prince Harry

Younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, and is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne.

Swinging Sixties

Youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the UK during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its epicentre. It saw a flourishing in art, music and fashion, and was symbolised by the city's "pop and fashion exports". Among its key elements were the Beatles, as leaders of the British Invasion; Mary Quant's miniskirt; popular fashion models such as Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton; the mod subculture; the iconic status of popular shopping areas; the political activism of the anti-nuclear movement; and sexual liberation

curry

a dish of meat, vegetables, etc., cooked in an Indian-style sauce of strong spices.

Zulu

Zulu = South African ethnic group During the second half of the 19th century, the British were interested in Zululand for several reasons, including their desire for the Zulu population to provide labour in the diamond fields of Southern Africa, their plan to create a South Africa federation in the region, and Boer land claims (supported by the British) on territory held by the Zulu kingdom. Cetshwayo, who became king of the Zulus in 1872, was unwilling to submit to British hegemony. The British high commissioner for South Africa, issued an ultimatum to Cetshwayo that was designed to be impossible to satisfy. As expected, the ultimatum was not met, and in January 1879 British troops invaded under the leadership of Lord Chelmsford. However, the Zulus defeated the British army. The arrival of the news of the defeat was one of the major shocks to British prestige in the 19th century— it galvanized the British government into a full-scale campaign to save face, which ultimately resulted in British victory over the Zulus.

Cornish pasty

a pasty containing seasoned meat and vegetables, especially potato.

Christmas pudding

a rich boiled pudding eaten at Christmas, made with flour, suet, and dried fruit.

hedgerow

a rough or mixed hedge of wild shrubs and occasional trees, typically bordering a road or field.

free school

a type of publicly financed but independently run school in England since 2011.

bitter (drink)

alcohol flavoured with bitter plant extracts, used as an additive in cocktails or as a medicinal substance to promote appetite or digestion.

last orders

an announcement made in a pub or bar before serving drinks is stopped

oyster card

form of electronic ticket used on public transport in Greater London in the United Kingdom

DIY (Do It Yourself)

method of building, modifying, or repairing things without the direct aid of experts or professionals.

petrodollars

money earned by a country from the export of petroleum.

privatisation

the transfer of a business, industry, or service from public to private ownership and control.