England
A Guide to Its History and Best Places to Visit
A Short History of England
England’s recorded history begins with the Roman conquest in AD 43, which brought roads, towns and Londinium itself into being. When Roman authority collapsed in the early 5th century, Angles, Saxons and Jutes settled the land, splitting it into competing kingdoms — Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and others — a period later chroniclers called the Heptarchy. Viking raids from the late 8th century forced these kingdoms toward unity, and by the 10th century a single English crown had emerged.
The Norman Conquest of 1066 reshaped England more than any event before or since, replacing the Anglo-Saxon nobility with a French-speaking ruling class and beginning centuries of castle- and cathedral-building still visible today. King John’s sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215 set an early limit on royal power, a document still referenced in constitutional law today. The medieval period that followed filled England with the cathedrals, abbeys and market towns that define its historic towns now.
The Tudor period brought the Reformation and a break from Rome under Henry VIII, reshaping the country’s churches and monasteries — many of the ruined abbeys visitors encounter today date their decline to this era. The Civil War of the 1640s deposed and executed a king, and briefly abolished the monarchy altogether under Cromwell’s Commonwealth. By the 18th and 19th centuries, England was the industrial and administrative centre of a global empire, a legacy still written into its cities, railways, and the museum collections built on the wealth and objects that empire brought home.
Each guide on this site picks up one thread of that history in detail — the sections below point to where.
Planning Your Visit to England
England is compact by international standards — most of the places above are within a 2–3 hour train journey of London, making day trips genuinely practical. National Rail connects the major cities directly; a car gives more flexibility for the Cotswolds and rural cathedral towns, where train stations often sit some distance from the village centre itself. Spring and early autumn tend to offer the best balance of weather and smaller crowds, though England’s major sites are worth visiting in any season — many, like the Tower of London, are indoor-heavy and unaffected by rain.
England at a Glance, by Region
South East
The seat of the Crown and the closest region to the Continent — royal London outward to the Kent coast.
London, Canterbury, Dover, Windsor
South West
Ancient Britain meets Georgian elegance — the region with the deepest prehistoric roots and the softest countryside.
Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury, Cotswolds
Midlands
Shakespeare’s England and the birthplace of the university town — market squares and medieval fortresses at the country’s centre.
Warwick, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon
North
Viking history and wild landscape — walled cities and the dramatic scenery that shaped England’s industrial and literary imagination.
York, the Lake District, Durham
Best Places to Visit in England
Landmarks
The Tower of London — nearly 1,000 years of royal history, executions, and the Crown Jewels. Westminster Abbey — the coronation church of English monarchs since 1066. Buckingham Palace — the working royal residence and the Changing of the Guard. St Paul’s Cathedral — Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, rebuilt after the Great Fire of London.
Cathedrals & Ancient Sites
Stonehenge — the prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain, older than the pyramids of Giza. Canterbury Cathedral — the seat of the Church of England and site of Thomas Becket’s murder. York Minster — one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe. Salisbury Cathedral — home to the best-preserved of the four surviving copies of Magna Carta.
Castles of England
Windsor Castle — the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world, still a working royal residence. Bodiam Castle — a picture-perfect 14th-century moated ruin in East Sussex, reachable by heritage steam train. Warwick Castle — a near-complete medieval fortress on the River Avon, with jousting, a working trebuchet and the UK’s largest bird of prey display. Dover Castle — the “Key to England,” guarding the Channel since the 12th century.
Historic Towns & Countryside
Bath — a UNESCO World Heritage City built around Roman baths and Georgian architecture. The Cotswolds — honey-stone villages and rolling countryside, England’s best-preserved rural landscape. York — a walled medieval city with Viking roots beneath its streets. Oxford — eight centuries of university history, spires, and quadrangles.
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Alnwick Castle
England’s second-largest inhabited castle, home to the same family for over 700 years, a genuine Wars of the Roses battleground, and — for a certain generation — the unmistakable exterior of Hogwarts itself.
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Westminster Abbey
Every English and British monarch since 1066 has been crowned inside Westminster Abbey, and its floors and walls hold the tombs of kings, scientists and poets alike — a working church first, a visitor attraction second, which is exactly why so many people arrive unsure whether they can actually go inside.
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St Paul’s Cathedral
Christopher Wren’s dome has watched over London since 1710, survived a direct hit during the Blitz that made it the single most famous image of wartime Britain, and hosted everything from Nelson’s funeral to a royal wedding watched by 750 million people.
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Canterbury Cathedral
England’s oldest cathedral has survived Viking raids, a devastating fire, an archbishop’s assassination, centuries of pilgrimage, the Reformation, and the Luftwaffe — and its stones still carry the carved names of the pilgrims who came to see all of it happen.