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TheUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as theUnited Kingdom (UK) orBritain, is a country inNorthwestern Europe, off the coast ofthe continental mainland. It comprisesEngland,Scotland,Wales andNorthern Ireland, with a population of over 69 million in 2024. The UK includes the island ofGreat Britain, the north-eastern part of the island ofIreland, and most ofthe smaller islands within theBritish Isles, covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2). It sharesa land border with theRepublic of Ireland and is otherwise surrounded by theAtlantic Ocean, theNorth Sea, theEnglish Channel, theCeltic Sea and theIrish Sea, while maintaining sovereignty over theBritish Overseas Territories. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK isLondon;Edinburgh,Cardiff andBelfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Britain has been inhabited since theNeolithic. In AD 43, theRoman conquest of Britain began. TheRoman departure was followed byAnglo-Saxon settlement. In 1066the Normans conquered England. With the end of theWars of the Roses theKingdom of England stabilised and began to flourish, resulting by the 16th century in theannexation of Wales and the establishment of theBritish Empire. Over the course of the 17th century the role of theBritish monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of theEnglish Civil War. In 1707 the Kingdom of England and theKingdom of Scotland united under theTreaty of Union to create theKingdom of Great Britain. In theGeorgian era the office ofprime minister became established. TheActs of Union 1800 incorporated theKingdom of Ireland to create theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Irelandseceded from the UK in 1922 as theIrish Free State, and theRoyal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom.
The UKbecame the first industrialised country and was the world'sforemost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during thePax Britannica between 1815 and 1914. The British Empire was the leadingeconomic power for most of the 19th century, a position supported byits agricultural prosperity, its role as a dominanttrading nation, a massive industrial capacity,significant technological achievements, and the rise of19th-century London as the world's principal financial centre. At its height in the 1920s the empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was thelargest empire in history. However,its involvement in the First World War andthe Second World War damagedBritain's economic power, and a global wave ofdecolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. (Full article...)
Bramall Hall is aTudor mansion inBramhall, within theMetropolitan Borough of Stockport,Greater Manchester, England. Dating to Saxon times, the manor of Bramall was first described in theDomesday Book in 1086. It was first held by the Masseys, then from the late 14th century by the Davenports, a wealthy family and a significant landowner in the north-west of England. The Davenports built the present house, and remained lords of the manor for about 500 years before selling the house to the Nevill family. It was subsequently purchased byJohn Henry Davies, and then acquired by the local council. Bramall Hall is owned by theStockport Metropolitan Borough Council, who describe it as "the most prestigious and historically significant building in the Conservation Area". It is atimber-framedmanor house surrounded by 70 acres (28 ha) of landscaped parkland featuring lakes, woodland, and gardens; its oak timber framing was originally infilled bywattle and daub. The oldest parts of the house date from the 14th century, with later additions from the 16th and 19th centuries. The house and grounds are open to the public, and the house functions as a museum where special events are held throughout the year. (Full article...)
Asser was a Welshmonk fromSt. David's,Dyfed, who becameBishop of Sherborne in the 890s. In about 885 he was asked byAlfred the Great to leave St. David's and join the circle of learned men which Alfred was recruiting for his court. After spending a year atCaerwent due to an illness, he accepted. In 893 Asser wrote a biography of Alfred, called theLife of King Alfred. The manuscript survived to modern times in only one copy, which was part of theCotton library. That copy was destroyed in a fire in 1731, but transcriptions that had been made earlier, allied with material from Asser's work that was included by other early writers, have enabled the work to be reconstructed. The biography is now the main source of information about Alfred's life, and provides far more information about Alfred than is known about any other early English ruler. Asser also assisted Alfred in his translation ofGregory the Great'sPastoral Care, and possibly with other works. Asser is sometimes cited as a source for the legend of Alfred having founded theUniversity of Oxford, which is now known to be false. A short passage making this claim was interpolated byWilliam Camden into his 1603 edition of Asser'sLife. Doubts have also been raised periodically about whether the entireLife is a forgery, written by a slightly later writer, but it is now almost universally accepted as genuine. (Full article...)
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