England Historical Facts

In the medieval period, the village of Lavenham in Suffolk was among the 20 wealthiest settlements in England.

The wife of author Graham Greene once owned the Queens House in Linton. The house was bought in 1947 and sold in 1948 as Greenes wife didn't like the house. But Greene wanted to keep the house because he wanted to be close to his mistress.

When King Stephen, who was holding John Marshal's young son 'William' hostage outside the besieged Newbury Castle, sent word that if John did not surrender he would hang the young boy, John responded by saying that he did not care about the child, since he still had the anvils and hammers to produce even finer sons! However, the king could not bring himself to harm the boy (who was just 5 yrs old), and the young William Marshal would live and grow up to become England's Greatest ever Knight.

The biggest waterfall in Northumberland is Crammel Linn waterfall, near Gilsland.

John Rees of Tenby, in Wales, became arguably the greatest opium smuggler in history, acting as Commodore of the Jardine Mattheson opium fleet, which shipped enormous quantities of opium between China and India in the 1830's.

The Eastgate Clock in Chester, is said to be the most photographed clock in England after Big Ben.

It was written in the 'History of the Kings of Britain' by Geofrey of Monmouth in 1136, that the Wizard Merlin built Stonehenge at request of Arthur as a monument to the Princes of Briton who lay buried there after they had been betrayed and slaughtered by the Saxons led by Hengist. This story was widely accepted until around the 16th century.

Warwick Castle is the most complete Medieval castle in England.

The trebuchet - the world's most powerful catapult - is based at Warwick Castle, England. It weighs 22 tonnes and is nearly 60 feet tall.

Over its colourful and often bloody history, owners of Warwick Castle have included eleven people under the age of 20, which includes a girl aged just two, and a boy aged three. Three of the castles owners died in battle, two were executed, and one was murdered!