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Appendix B Significant dates in UK history
55 and 54 bc: Julius Caesar's expeditions to Britain
ad 43: Roman conquest begins under Claudius
122-38: Hadrian's Wall built
c.409: Roman army withdraws from Britain
450s onwards: foundation of the Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms
597: arrival of St Augustine to preach Christianity to
the Anglo-Saxons
664: Synod of Whitby opts for Roman Catholic rather
than Celtic church
789-95: first Viking raids
832-60: Scots and Piets merge under Kenneth
Macalpin to form what is to become the kingdom of
Scotland
860s: Danes overrun East Anglia, Northumbria and
eastern Mercia
871-99: reign of Alfred the Great in Wessex
1066: William the Conqueror defeats Harold
Godwinson at Hastings and takes the throne
1086: Domesday Book completed: a survey of English
landholdings undertaken on the orders of William I
1215: King John signs Magna Carta to protect feudal
rights against royal abuse
13th century: first Oxford and Cambridge colleges
founded
1301: Edward of Caernarvon (later Edward II) created
Prince of Wales
1314: Battle of Bannockburn ensures survival of
separate Scottish kingdom
1337: Hundred Years War between England and France
begins
1348-49: Black Death (bubonic plague) wipes out a
third of England's population
1381: Peasants' Revolt in England, the most significant
popular rebellion in English history
c.1387-c.1394: Geoffrey Chaucer writes The
Canterbury Tales
1400-C.1406: Owain Glyndwr (Owen Glendower)
leads the last major Welsh revolt against English rule
1411: St Andrews University founded, the first
university in Scotland
1455-87: Wars of the Roses between Yorkists and
Lancastrians
1477: first book to be printed in England, by William
Caxton
1534-40: English Reformation; Henry VIII breaks with
the Papacy
1536-42: Acts of Union integrate England and Wales
administratively and legally and give Wales
representation in Parliament
1547-53: Protestantism becomes official religion in
England under Edward VI
1553-58: Catholic reaction under Mary I
1558: loss of Calais, last English possession in France
1588: defeat of Spanish Armada
1558-1603: reign of Elizabeth I; moderate
Protestantism established
c.1590-c.1613: plays of Shakespeare written
1603: union of the crowns of Scotland and England
under James VI of Scotland
1642-51: civil wars between King and Parliament
1649: execution of Charles I
1653-58: Oliver Cromwell rules as Lord Protector
1660: monarchy restored under Charles II
1660: founding of the Royal Society for the Promotion
of Natural Knowledge
1663: John Milton finishes Paradise Lost
1665: the Great Plague, the last major epidemic of
plague in England
1666: the Great Fire of London
1686: Isaac Newton sets out his laws of motion and
the idea of universal gravitation
1688: Glorious Revolution; accession of William and
Mary
488
55 and 54 bc: Julius Caesar's expeditions to Britain
ad 43: Roman conquest begins under Claudius
122-38: Hadrian's Wall built
c.409: Roman army withdraws from Britain
450s onwards: foundation of the Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms
597: arrival of St Augustine to preach Christianity to
the Anglo-Saxons
664: Synod of Whitby opts for Roman Catholic rather
than Celtic church
789-95: first Viking raids
832-60: Scots and Piets merge under Kenneth
Macalpin to form what is to become the kingdom of
Scotland
860s: Danes overrun East Anglia, Northumbria and
eastern Mercia
871-99: reign of Alfred the Great in Wessex
1066: William the Conqueror defeats Harold
Godwinson at Hastings and takes the throne
1086: Domesday Book completed: a survey of English
landholdings undertaken on the orders of William I
1215: King John signs Magna Carta to protect feudal
rights against royal abuse
13th century: first Oxford and Cambridge colleges
founded
1301: Edward of Caernarvon (later Edward II) created
Prince of Wales
1314: Battle of Bannockburn ensures survival of
separate Scottish kingdom
1337: Hundred Years War between England and France
begins
1348-49: Black Death (bubonic plague) wipes out a
third of England's population
1381: Peasants' Revolt in England, the most significant
popular rebellion in English history
c.1387-c.1394: Geoffrey Chaucer writes The
Canterbury Tales
1400-C.1406: Owain Glyndwr (Owen Glendower)
leads the last major Welsh revolt against English rule
1411: St Andrews University founded, the first
university in Scotland
1455-87: Wars of the Roses between Yorkists and
Lancastrians
1477: first book to be printed in England, by William
Caxton
1534-40: English Reformation; Henry VIII breaks with
the Papacy
1536-42: Acts of Union integrate England and Wales
administratively and legally and give Wales
representation in Parliament
1547-53: Protestantism becomes official religion in
England under Edward VI
1553-58: Catholic reaction under Mary I
1558: loss of Calais, last English possession in France
1588: defeat of Spanish Armada
1558-1603: reign of Elizabeth I; moderate
Protestantism established
c.1590-c.1613: plays of Shakespeare written
1603: union of the crowns of Scotland and England
under James VI of Scotland
1642-51: civil wars between King and Parliament
1649: execution of Charles I
1653-58: Oliver Cromwell rules as Lord Protector
1660: monarchy restored under Charles II
1660: founding of the Royal Society for the Promotion
of Natural Knowledge
1663: John Milton finishes Paradise Lost
1665: the Great Plague, the last major epidemic of
plague in England
1666: the Great Fire of London
1686: Isaac Newton sets out his laws of motion and
the idea of universal gravitation
1688: Glorious Revolution; accession of William and
Mary
488
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The item on this page appears courtesy of Office for National Statistics and may be re-used under the Open Government Licence for Public Sector Information.
| Britain and UK handbooks > UK: The official yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland > 2003 > (538) |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/204930107 |
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| Attribution and copyright: |
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More information
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| Description | Three volumes of 'UK: The official yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland', published annually by the Office of National Statistics from 2002-2005. |
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| Shelfmark | GII.11 SER |
| Description | Three titles produced by the British Government from 1954-2005 describing 'how Britain worked'. They are: 'Britain: An official handbook' (1954-1998), 'Britain: The official yearbook of the United Kingdom' (1999-2001), and 'UK: The official yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' (2002-2005). These 50 reports provide an overview of Britain's economic, social and cultural affairs, its environment, international relations, and the systems of government. They give an impartial summary of government policies and initiatives, and explain how public services are organised. |
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