England

What facts about England do you know?

Oh, England

Capital: London
Area: 130,395 km2
Found in: 927
Population (2008) : 51,446,000
Form of government: constitutional monarchy
Patron saint: Saint George
The Church of England or the Anglican
Church is the official state religion of England.
Fact file:

Flag
Symbols
Coat of arms
Royal Banner
Tudor rose

The flag of England is the St George's Cross (a red cross on a white background). The knights returning from the Crusades chose Saint George as their patron saint and a patron saint of England.
England's National Day is St George's Day, which is on 23 April.

The Tudor rose is the national floral emblem of England, and was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the Wars of the Roses. The Rose of England is a Royal Badge, and is a Tudor, or half-red-half-white rose, symbolising the end of the Wars of the Roses and the marriage between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.
Tudor rose badge, used by every British Monarch since Henry VII

Another symbol, often associated with England is the Three Lions. The three golden lions (often also called "leaopards") have been used to represent the English throne since the time of Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199), who used it during the Crusades. You can see this symbol on the Royal Standard, the Royal Coat of Arms of England and on some coins.

England occupies the central and southern part of Great Britain.
It shares land borders with: Scotland to the north and Wales to the west.
It shares sea borders with: the Irish Sea to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south (separating it from continental Europe)
Geographical position

Landscape and rivers
England is mostly a lowland country. The landscape of English Lowlands primarily consists of rolling hills. To the north there are uplands. The costal scenery of southern England is famous for chalk cliffs.
The longest river in England is the Thames. There are many lakes in England; the largest is Windermere.

Climate
The climate of England is temperate and humid. The Gulf Stream (a powerful, warm, swift Atlantic ocean current) and western winds affect the temperature regime.
The coldest month is January (+3°C - +7°C),
the warmest is July (+16°C - +20°C)
The weather is changeable. It is never very hot in summer and never very cold in winter. But it is often rainy, windy and foggy.

Regions of England
List of regions:
East Midlands
East of England
Greater London
North East England
North West England
South East England
South West England
West Midlands
Yorkshire and the Humber

London
London is the capital of England situated on the River Thames. It is its political, business and cultural centre. It is one of the largest cities in the world.

Places of interest
Big Ben is the name of the clock and the bell of the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament.
Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous and beautiful churches in London. It was founded in the 11th Century. Many famous English people are buried there.

Places of interest
Trafalgar square is the centre of London. The monument in the middle of the square is known as Nelson’s Column.
Buckingham palace is the official residence of the Royal family. The Queen Victoria Memorial is in front of the palace.

Places of interest
One of the greatest English churches is St. Paul’s cathedral. It’s a masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren.
The Tower of London is one of the most ancient buildings in London.
It was a fortress, a palace, a prison, a royal treasury. Now it is a museum.
The black ravens live on its territory.

Main attractions of the country
Stonehenge is the best known and remarkable of prehistoric remains in Britain. It has stood on Salisbury Plain for about 4,000 years. No written records exist of its origin. There have been many different theories, but still nobody knows why it was built.

Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world. Queen Elizabeth II lives there for part of the year. The castle, standing on a rock overlooking the River Thames was founded by William the Conqueror.

Hampton Court Palace
Hampton court is a royal residence which is associated with Henry VIII.
It is the oldest Tudor palace in Britain.

Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall is an ancient stone wall built across the North of England by the order of the Roman ruler Hadrian to defend the North border of Roman Britain from attacks by Scottish tribes.

The Lake District
It is the most picturesque place in England.
There are 16 lakes and about 100 mountains in the Lake District, including the highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike, and the largest lake, Windermere.
Its mountains, rivers and lakes have inspired generations of poets, writers and painters.

Canterbury
It is the religious capital of England because its cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury who is the head of the Church of England.

Bath
Bath stands on the site of Britain’s only hot springs and famous for the ruins of the Roman baths.

Oxford / Cambridge
Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest University cities in Britain.
Oxford
Cambridge

Manchester/Liverpool
Manchester and Liverpool are important industrial cities and ports.
Manchester
Liverpool

Stratford-upon-Avon
It is known internationally as the birthplace of the world’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare.

Food
Fish and chips is the classic English take-away food.
It is usually bought ready cooked at special shops and taken away wrapped in paper to be eaten at home or outside.

If you ask for a typical English breakfast, you’ll get bacon and eggs, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans and tea and toast.
When porridge or fruit juice are offered as well, the meal is called a “full English breakfast.”

The English are very fond of tea. They like to have “a nice cup of tea” several times a day.

On Christmas Day a roast turkey is traditionally cooked for dinner.
It is usually followed by Christmas pudding.

Gardening
Every Englishman is a countryman at heart, that’s why gardening
is a favourite pastime in England. As the weather is usually mild, English people manage to do the gardening almost all year round.

Culture
Literature: England is very rich in great national writers. Some of them are
George Byron (1788-1824),
William Blake (1757-1827),
Daniel Defoe (~ 1660-1731),
Charles Dickens (1812-1870),
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930),
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936),
Agatha Christie (1890-1976),
Lewis Carroll(1832-1898),
Walter Scott (1771-1832),
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900),
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946),
William Shakespeare (1564-1616),
Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).
George Byron
William Blake
Daniel Defoe
Charles Dickens
Arthur Conan Doyle
Rudyard Kipling
Agatha Christie
Lewis Carroll
Walter Scott
Oscar Wilde
Herbert George Wells
William Shakespeare
Bernard Shaw

England is also famous by its folklore, cinema and music.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Sir David Lean, Anthony Hopkins and many other actors and directors made a large impact on modern cinema.
The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of music, selling over a billion records internationally.

Sport
The most popular kinds of sport are football and cricket.

Wimbledon
Wimbledon is the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.
The first tennis competition was held at Wimbledon in 1877.
The games are played on grass and the players must wear all white.