England Historical Facts

In the 1973 Hovis bread TV ad filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, the young lad pushing his bicycle up the hill was 13 year old Carl Barlow. He went on to a 30 year career with the London Fire Brigade.

The Wiltshire village of Maiden Bradley was named after a leper colony for maidens, and a broad (Brad)clearing (Ley) in a wood.

St. Giles Church, Hampton Gay. This tiny church serves the people of the hamlet of Hampton Gay, Oxfordshire. It has not heating or lighting, so on dark nights, services are held by candlelight.

The name Canterbury - a cathedral city in southeast England - is derived from the French Caen. Canterbury Cathedral has a lot of Caen stone.

The Peak District was Britain's first designated National Park, created in 1951, followed closely by The lake District and Dartmoor

'Dora's Field' at the village of Rydal near the town of Ambleside in Cumbria's Lake District, is named after Wordsworth's daughter and is a mass of daffodils that were planted in her memory by Wordsworth, his wife and their gardener after Dora died from tuberculosis in 1847. She was devoted to her father William, and was a significant influence on his poetry. The field was given to the National Trust by Gordon Wordsworth (William's Grandchild) in 1935 for the benefit of the public.

Hull Fair which traditionally started on the nearest Saturday to 11th October but now starts on the Friday, is the biggest traveling fair in Europe. 'Traveling Fair' meaning that all rides, sideshows etc travel to Hull for the week and depart afterwards.

The Humber Bridge opened in 1981 was the longest single span suspension bridge in the world for 16 years.

One of the most beautiful natural sights in England and a sign of springtime, is when the bluebells appear in April and May. There are many places to see them, as Britain's woodlands are home to almost half of the global population of Hyacinthoides non-scripta, our native bluebell.

The Church of St Martin's in Canterbury was the private chapel of Queen Bertha of Kent, whose influence led to the introduction of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England. Queen Bertha was canonized as a saint for her part in its establishment.