The name of the country and the term”English”come from the old English word for one of the three Germanic peoples that invaded the British Isles in the fifth century C.E., The Angles “Britain” and “British” come from a Roman term for the inhabitants’ language of the British Isles, called “Brythenic” or p- Celtic.England is a host to a rich heritage and exciting lifestyle and has other interesting places and facts such as the Tudors who were a Welsh- English family that ruled England and Wales from 1485 to 1603 one of the most exciting periods of British history. They ruled for 118 years and during their reign encouraged new religious ideas, overseas exploration and colonisation.
England more or less constantly makes up 84% of the population, Wales around 5% Scotland roughly 8.5% and Northern Ireland less than 3% ( since 1921) England is also made up of 48 counties here are just a few of them Devonshire, Gloucestshire, Somerset, Greater London and Wiltshire
DEVON
Devon is a large shire county in the south western peninsula of England famous for its clotted cream, picture postcards, thatched cottages and cider. Devon is perhaps best known today for its scenic unspoilt beaches. The Romans left their mark on Exeter and portions of the Roman city walls are still there and the Normans followed with Exeter Cathedral.
Photo is by: David Spender
Wiltshire
Stonehenge is about 2 miles west of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire and only 90 miles west of London here are some interesting facts about the mysterious stones.
- Stonehenge was built between 3100 – 1100 BCE.
- The circle of stones was aligned with the midsummer sunrise, the midwinter sunset and most southerly rising and northerly setting of the moon.
- More than 900 stone rings exist in the British Isles, of these, Stonehenge is the most well known.
Photo By: Gbaku
Gloucestershire/ Somerset
Bristol is situated between Gloucestershire and Somerset, and has a long interesting history dating back to Anglo – Saxon times when a settlement grew up between the rivers Avon and Frome known as Brigstowe( A place of settlement by the bridge) The settlement grew as trading with Ireland and the ports of South Wales developed. In the mid 18th centuary Bristol became England’s second largest city. During this time Britain was flooded with goods imported via Bristol including sugar cane, tobacco, rum and cocoa all of which were products of the slave trade. By the 19th centuary the success of Bristol’s Port was beginning to decline. However, the arrival of a new chief engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, helped to attract further investment into Bristol. His legacy includes The Clifton Bridge, The SS Great Britain and Temple Meads old railway station.
Photo by: millakon
Greater London
The 18th Centuary was a period of rapid growth for London, reflecting an increasing national population, the early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution, and London’s role at the centre of the evolving British Empire. Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch located in the city of Westminister, it has been a rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis.
Photo by: Ajagendorf25
The name Big Ben is often used to describe The Tower, The Clock and The Bell but the name was first given to the Great Bell, The Clock Tower was completed in 1859 and The Great Clock started 31st May 1859. Big Ben is the largest four faced chiming clock and the third tallest Free – Standing Clock Tower in the world. It celebrates its 151st birthday on May 31st 2010.
Photo by: Lawrie cate
Photo by: Stew Bl@ck
The Red Telephone box is arguably an endangered design these days.It was created by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and is considered a design icon, one of those items instantly marked the nation’s indentity to overseas vistors. Nothing that has been created since to fulfil the same purpose has been anywhere near so fondly regarded. And since so many people use mobile phones today, we could be forgiven for hardly noticing.
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