England Historical Facts

The conspirators of the famous England Gunpowder Plot of 1605 stole horses from the stables of Warwick Castle as they fled.

Warwick Castle is one of the most visited stately homes in the whole of the UK.

Warwick Castle was named one of Britain's Top 10 historic houses and monuments in 2001 by the British Tourist Authority.

The county of Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England, with over 70 castle sites.

The English county of Northumberland has Europe's largest area of protected night sky - The Northumberland International Dark Sky Park, which is 572 sq miles in size. With such low levels of light pollution it is officially the best place to stargaze in England, on a clear night allowing you to see 2,000 night time objects at any one time, including the Andromeda galaxy, which is over 2.5 million light years from earth.

The famous British Landscape Architect 'Capability Brown' who is known as England's greatest gardener, was born in Kirkharle, Northumberland, in 1716. He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure today.

Dorset was the first county in England to cultivate cabbages, when it was brought across from Holland in 1539 by Sir Anthony Ashley (1551 - 1628). His beautiful ornate tomb can be seen in the church at the village of Wimborne St Giles, Dorset. The Polyhedron at the feet of the effigies of Sir Anthony and his wife, is believed by many to represent a cabbage.

In the market square in the town of Dover, is a timber-framed building called 'Dickens Corner Cafe'. So called as Charles Dickens placed his fictional character, David Copperfield, on the steps of the building that at the time was a bakery.

In 849, King Alfred the Great was born in the market town of Wantage, Oxfordshire. He was one of only two kings to be given the epithet "The Great", the other being King Canute.

In 1651 after losing the battle of Worcester, Charles II stayed in Bridport before fleeing to France.