England

I

Introduction

England (in Latin, Anglia), country and constituent part of the island of Great Britain, comprising, with the principality of Wales, the principal division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England occupies all of the island east of Wales and south of Scotland, another country and division of the United Kingdom. United as an independent monarchy in the 10th century, England in time achieved political control over the rest of the island, all the British Isles, and vast sections of the world, becoming the nucleus of one of the largest empires in history. The capital, largest city, and chief port of England is London, with a population of 7,172,036 (2001). It is also the capital of the United Kingdom, and the site of the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations.

England is very roughly triangular in shape, with its apex at the mouth of the River Tweed on the north-eastern border with Scotland. The eastern side, bounded by the North Sea, extends generally south-east, via East Anglia, to the North Foreland in Kent, the northern extremity of the chalk uplands in south-eastern England called the Downs. The western side of the triangle extends generally south-west from the mouth of the Tweed along the border with Scotland, via the Irish Sea coast, the border with Wales, and the Atlantic Ocean coast to Land’s End, the westernmost extremity of mainland England and of the island of Great Britain. The northern frontier with Scotland extends from the Solway Firth in the west along the Cheviot Hills to the mouth of the Tweed on the east. The base of the triangle fronts the English Channel and the Strait of Dover along the south-western and southern coast of England. The total area of England is 130,410 sq km (50,352 sq mi), equivalent to 57 per cent of the area of Great Britain and 54 per cent of the area of the United Kingdom. This total includes the region of the Scilly Isles, located south-west of Land’s End in the Atlantic Ocean; the Isle of Wight, located off the southern coast; and the Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea between England and Northern Ireland.

II

Land and Resources

One of the principal physiographical features of England, as well as of the entire island of Great Britain, is the deeply indented coastline. This has created an abundance of excellent natural harbours, easily accessible to deep-water shipping, a factor that was decisive in the economic development and imperial expansion of England. The high tides that prevail along the eastern coast mean that a number of rivers and estuaries in this region provide safe anchorages. The most important historically include ports such as Newcastle upon Tyne, on the River Tyne; Middlesbrough, on the River Tees; and Hull and Grimsby, on the Humber Estuary and North Sea respectively, all on the north-east coast; Great Yarmouth, on the estuary of the River Yare and Harwich on the estuary of the rivers Stour and Orwell, both on the East Anglian coast; and London, on the River Thames in the south-east. Historically, the most important ports on the south coast include Dover, Folkestone, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Poole. The western coast, including the south-western peninsula, is considerably more broken than either the eastern or southern coasts, and has numerous anchorages, both large and small. The most important are Plymouth, on the estuary of the River Tamar on the southern coast of the south-western peninsula; Bristol, on the Bristol Channel; and the port of Liverpool, at the mouth of the River Mersey on the north-west coast.

The terrain of England is very diverse relative to the size of the country, and can change quite dramatically within short distances. The main uplands are in the north and west of the country. The principal highland region, the Pennines (or Pennine Hills), forms the backbone of northern England. It is composed of several ranges extending south from the Cheviot Hills to the Peak District, just north of the valley of the River Trent as well as numerous spurs and extensions that radiate in all directions. The highest point in England is Scafell Pike (978 m/3,210 ft above sea level) in the Lake District, in Cumbria, which forms one of the most scenically beautiful regions of England. The land lying between the Welsh border and the southern extremities of the Pennines and Bristol Channel is an extension of the rolling plain that occupies most of the rest of England. The central region of England is known as the Midlands. The flattest part of England lies to the east of the Pennines and the Midlands, running south from the Yorkshire Moors (an upland outlier of the Pennines) through Lincolnshire to the rich farming lands of East Anglia. The lowlands include the Fens, a vast, drained marsh area created over centuries by the silting up of The Wash, the broad estuary of a number of rivers, including the Ouse and the Witham. To the south of the Bristol Channel an elevated plateau slopes upward, culminating in the bleak uplands and moors of Cornwall and Devon on the south-west peninsula. Dartmoor (610 m/2,000 ft above sea level), one of the wildest areas of England, is the largest of the south-western uplands. Successive ranges of hills radiate in all directions from Salisbury Plain in southern England. They include the Mendip Hills, the Cotswold Hills, the Chiltern Hills, and the Downs. The Downs are a series of chalk hills in south-eastern England, running down to the sea. The South Downs reach the coast near Brighton, the North Downs at Dover, where they end in the famous white cliffs, which are the first sight of England for travellers by sea from continental Europe.

A

Climate

Tempered by the surrounding seas, and especially by the warm Gulf Stream, the climate of England is mild relative to the country’s latitude, which is similar to that of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. It is rarely marked by extremes of heat or cold. The mean annual temperature ranges between 11.1° C (52° F) in the south and 8.9° C (48° F) in the north-east. Seasonal mean temperatures vary between about 16.1° C (61° F) during July, the hottest month of the year, and 4.4° C (40° F) during January, the coldest month. The average January and July temperatures for London, which has its own, warmer, microclimate, are 4.5° C (40° F) and 18° C (64° F), respectively. Mists and overcast skies (and in some areas fog) are frequent, particularly in the Pennines and inland regions. Precipitation, heaviest during October, averages about 760 mm (30 in) annually in most of England, although the west coast tends to be wetter than the east. Snow can fall over any part of England during the winter, but tends to be most common and to lie longest in the north-eastern Pennines.

B

Natural Resources

The soils of England vary from the thin, often acidic, soils of the highlands, such as in the uplands of the Pennines and the moors of the south-west peninsula, to the rich loams of East Anglia. Most of England is suitable for agriculture, although the largest area is reserved for pasture and grazing land. Sheep and cattle are reared throughout the country, and especially in northern and south-western England. The main area of arable farming is eastern and central-southern England.

England has relatively few mineral resources. Zinc, tin, iron ore, and copper are all produced in small quantities. Non-metallic minerals produced include limestone, slate, talc, kaolin and other clays, fuller’s earth, chalk, sandstone, salt, and gypsum. In contrast, England (with the island of Great Britain as a whole) has the richest energy resources of the EU. England has large deposits of coal, mined for more than 300 years, as well as natural gas found in the British sector of the North Sea, offshore eastern England. Production of natural gas began in 1967; today the United Kingdom is one of the world’s largest gas producers.

Although England’s mineral resources are limited, they have been important historically. The coal deposits of north-central England and the iron ore deposits of the Pennines area played an important role in its very early industrialization. Together with other mineral resources, coal and iron ore also helped determine the location and development of many of England’s towns and its largest cities. During the Middle Ages, Cornwall’s ancient tin mines were so important to the prosperity of England that the miners were granted special legal and other privileges by the Crown. However, since the end of World War II, the iron ore, coal, and tin-mining industries have been hard hit—by the exhaustion of reserves, by competition from cheaper overseas producers, and by changes in government policy. Iron-ore production in the Pennines area has virtually ceased; and the vast majority of coal mines have also closed down. South Crofty, the last surviving Cornish tin mine, was closed in March 1998, but reopened in September 2001; it is hoped that new excavation techniques will make the mine viable again.