62 Facts About England

1.

England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century.

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2.

The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation.

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3.

England's terrain is chiefly low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England.

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4.

Name "England" is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means "land of the Angles".

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5.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the Domesday Book of 1086 covered the whole of England, meaning the English kingdom, but a few years later the Chronicle stated that King Malcolm III went "out of Scotlande into Lothian in Englaland", thus using it in the more ancient sense.

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6.

The Black Death epidemic hit England; starting in 1348, it eventually killed up to half of England's inhabitants.

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7.

England began to develop naval skills, and exploration to the West intensified.

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8.

Elizabethan England represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of art, poetry, music and literature.

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9.

England styled himself King of Great Britain, although this had no basis in English law.

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10.

Domestically it drove the Industrial Revolution, a period of profound change in the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of England, resulting in industrialised agriculture, manufacture, engineering and mining, as well as new and pioneering road, rail and water networks to facilitate their expansion and development.

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11.

England maintained relative stability throughout the French Revolution; William Pitt the Younger was British Prime Minister for the reign of George III.

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12.

England is part of the United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system.

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13.

Today England is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, although other countries of the United Kingdom have devolved governments.

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14.

Originally it was planned that various regions of England would be devolved, but following the proposal's rejection by the North East in a 2004 referendum, this has not been carried out.

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15.

Subdivisions of England consist of up to four levels of subnational division controlled through a variety of types of administrative entities created for the purposes of local government.

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16.

At the most localised level, much of England is divided into civil parishes with councils; in Greater London only one, Queen's Park, exists as of 2014 after they were abolished in 1965 until legislation allowed their recreation in 2007.

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17.

Geographically England includes the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus such offshore islands as the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly.

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18.

England is closer than any other part of mainland Britain to the European continent.

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19.

England has shores on the Irish Sea, North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

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20.

Important influences on the climate of England are its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, its northern latitude and the warming of the sea by the Gulf Stream.

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21.

Fauna of England is similar to that of other areas in the British Isles with a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate life in a diverse range of habitats.

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22.

England has a temperate oceanic climate in most areas, lacking extremes of cold or heat, but does have a few small areas of subarctic and warmer areas in the South West.

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23.

England's climate is very suitable for lagomorphs and the country has rabbits and brown hares which were introduced in Roman times.

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24.

The fauna of England has to cope with varying temperatures and conditions, although not extreme they do pose potential challenges and adaptational measures.

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25.

English fauna has however had to cope with industrialisation, human population densities amongst the highest in Europe and intensive farming, but as England is a developed nation, wildlife and the countryside have entered the English mindset more and the country is very conscientious about preserving its wildlife, environment and countryside.

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26.

England's economy is one of the largest and most dynamic in the world, with an average GDP per capita of £28, 100.

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27.

England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the manufacturing side of the software industry.

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28.

Bank of England, founded in 1694, is the United Kingdom's central bank.

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29.

England is highly industrialised, but since the 1970s there has been a decline in traditional heavy and manufacturing industries, and an increasing emphasis on a more service industry oriented economy.

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30.

England was a leading centre of the Scientific Revolution from the 17th century.

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31.

Rail transport in England is the oldest in the world: passenger railways originated in England in 1825.

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32.

Much of Britain's 10, 000 miles of rail network lies in England, covering the country fairly extensively, although a high proportion of railway lines were closed in the second half of the 20th century.

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33.

England taken as a unit and measured against international states would be the 25th largest country by population in the world.

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34.

England contains one indigenous national minority, the Cornish people, recognised by the UK government under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 2014.

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35.

Patron saint of England is Saint George; his symbolic cross is included in the flag of England, as well as in the Union Flag as part of a combination.

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36.

England's universities include some of the highest-ranked universities in the world; University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London and King's College London are all ranked in the global top 30 in the 2018 QS World University Rankings.

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37.

Academic degrees in England are usually split into classes: first class, upper second class (2:1), lower second class (2:2), third (3rd), and unclassified.

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38.

Since the early modern period the food of England has historically been characterised by its simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce.

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39.

The cuisine of England has, however, recently undergone a revival, which has been recognised by food critics with some good ratings in Restaurants best restaurant in the world charts.

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40.

Traditional folk music of England is centuries old and has contributed to several genres prominently; mostly sea shanties, jigs, hornpipes and dance music.

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41.

Present-day composers from England include Michael Nyman, best known for The Piano, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose musicals have achieved enormous success in the West End and worldwide.

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42.

England was at the forefront of the illegal, free rave movement from the late 1980s, which led to pan-European culture of teknivals mirrored on the UK free festival movement and associated travelling lifestyle.

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43.

England is home to numerous major orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra.

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44.

In 19th century England it acquired its present form, which includes songs, slapstick comedy and dancing, employing gender-crossing actors, combining topical humour with a story loosely based on a well-known fairy tale.

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45.

England has had a considerable influence on the history of the cinema, producing some of the greatest actors, directors and motion pictures of all time, including Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, David Lean, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, John Gielgud, Peter Sellers, Julie Andrews, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet and Daniel Day-Lewis.

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46.

Some of the most commercially successful films of all time have been produced in England, including two of the highest-grossing film franchises.

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47.

Magazines and journals published in England that have achieved worldwide circulation include Nature, New Scientist, The Spectator, Prospect, NME and The Economist.

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48.

England has a strong sporting heritage, and during the 19th century codified many sports that are now played around the world.

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49.

Sports originating in England include association football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, tennis, boxing, badminton, squash, rounders, hockey, snooker, billiards, darts, table tennis, bowls, netball, thoroughbred horseracing, greyhound racing and fox hunting.

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50.

At club level, England is recognised by FIFA as the birthplace of club football, due to Sheffield F C founded in 1857 being the world's oldest club.

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51.

The England cricket team is a composite England and Wales, team.

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52.

England has hosted five Cricket World Cups, winning the 2019 edition in a final regarded as one of the greatest one day internationals ever played.

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53.

England competes in the Commonwealth Games, held every four years.

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54.

Sport England is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England.

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55.

England was one of the host nations of the competition in the 1991 Rugby World Cup and hosted the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

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56.

England has produced grand slam winners: Cyril Walker, Tony Jacklin, Nick Faldo, and Justin Rose in the men's and Laura Davies, Alison Nicholas, and Karen Stupples in the women's.

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57.

England was the first player to win all four Grand Slam singles titles and helped lead the Great Britain team to four Davis Cup wins.

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58.

In boxing, under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, England has produced many world champions across the weight divisions internationally recognised by the governing bodies.

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59.

Since then, England has produced some of the greatest drivers in the sport, including; John Surtees, Stirling Moss, Graham Hill, Nigel Mansell (only man to hold F1 and IndyCar titles at the same time), Damon Hill, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

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60.

England has a rich heritage in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, the premier championship of motorcycle road racing, and produced several World Champions across all the various class of motorcycle: Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Phil Read, Geoff Duke, and Barry Sheene.

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61.

Darts is a widely popular sport in England; a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional pub game.

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62.

England has produced some of the world's greatest sailors, including Francis Chichester, Herbert Hasler, John Ridgway, Robin Knox-Johnston, Ellen MacArthur, Mike Golding, Paul Goodison, and the most successful Olympic sailor ever Ben Ainslie.

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