Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Short History of Britain Part 1
A Short History of Britain Part 1
By Tim Lambert
Prehistoric England
The first people lived in England about 450,000 BC. At that time England was much warmer than it
is today. Animals like elephants, lions and rhinoceros lived in England alongside deer, horses, bear
and wolves. The humans made simple stone tools and lived in caves.
In 15,000 BC people were still living in caves but they made much more sophisticated tools of bone
and stone. They also made clothes from animal skins and they made 'jewellery' of animal teeth and
shells. These early people hunted animals like horse, deer and wild cattle.
In those days England was covered in tundra but about 8,500 BC the climate grew much warmer.
Forests spread across England. At the same time England was cut off from Europe.
About 7,500 BC a group of humans lived at Star Carr in Yorkshire. They were hunter-gatherers.
They hunted deer, wild cattle, pigs and elk. They also ate birds, fish and shellfish. By this time
humans had also domesticated dogs. They may also have made boats.
Stone Age Farmers
Then about 4,500 BC farming was introduced into England. Using stone axes the farmers began
clearing the forests that covered England. They grew crops of wheat and barley and they raised
herds of cattle, pigs and sheep. However as well as farming they also hunted animals such as deer,
horse, and wild boar and smaller animals such as beavers, badgers and hares. They also gathered
fruit and nuts.
At the same time the early farmers mined flint for making tools. They dug shafts, some of them 15
metres (50 feet) deep. They used deer antlers as picks and oxen shoulder blades as shovels. They
also made pottery vessels but they still wore clothes made from skins. They erected simple wooden
huts to live in.
Moreover the early farmers made elaborate tombs for their dead. They dug burial chambers then
lined them with wood or stone. Over them they created mounds of earth called barrows. Although
were stone was easily available they made mounds of stones called cairns. Some of these barrows
still survive.
From about 2,500 BC England the Neolithic (new stone age) farmers made circular monuments
called henges. At first they were simple ditches with stones or wooden poles erected in them. The
most famous henge is, of course, Stonehenge. It began as a simple ditch with an internal bank of
earth. Outside the entrance stood the Heel Stone. The famous circles of stones were erected
hundreds of years later. Stonehenge was altered and added to over a thousand year period from
2250 BC to 1250 BC before it was finished.
After 2,500 BC a new culture had spread across England. The inhabitants are known as the Beaker
People because of the pottery beakers they made. They were bell shaped and were often decorated
with bone or cords. However it is not known if the Beaker People were a new race who migrated to
England from Europe or if the people of England simply adopted a new culture.
Bronze Age England
At any rate by 2,000 BC English society was changed by the invention of Bronze. Metal artefacts
appeared in England as early as 2,700 BC although it is believed they were imported. By about
2,000 BC bronze was being made in England.
In the late Bronze Age (1,000 BC-650 BC) forts were built on hills so warfare was, it seems,
becoming common. This may have been because the population was rising and fertile land was
becoming harder to obtain.
Meanwhile the Bronze Age people continued to build barrows, although cremation was practised.
The dead were buried with useful artefacts. Presumably the living believed the dead would need
these in the afterlife. Unfortunately since they had no written records nothing is known about the
Bronze Age religion.
We know that Bronze Age people lived in round wooden huts with thatched roofs but nothing is
known about their society or how it was organised.
Celtic England
Then about 650 BC iron was introduced into England by a people called the Celts and the first
swords were made.
Warfare was common during the iron age and many hill forts (fortified settlements) were built at
that time. (Although there were also many open villages and farms). The Celts fought from horses
or light wooden chariots. They threw spears and fought with swords. The Celts had wooden shields
and some wore chain mail.
Most of the Celts were farmers although were also many skilled craftsmen. Some Celts were
blacksmiths (working with iron), bronze smiths, carpenters, leather workers and potters. (The
potter’s wheel was introduced into Britain c.150 BC). Celtic craftsmen also made elaborate
jewellery of gold and precious stones. Furthermore objects like swords and shields were often finely
decorated. The Celts decorated metal goods with enamel. The Celts also knew how to make glass
and they made glass beads.
Celtic society was hierarchical. At the top was a class of nobles headed by a king or chieftain.
Below them were the craftsmen (of whom metalworkers were the most important). Then came the
farmers who provided the food supply and also fought for the chief. There was also a class of slaves
in Celtic England. However the Celts were divided into tribes. There was no political unity among
them and a great deal of fighting.
Trade with Europe was common. Metals like copper, tin, iron and lead were exported from
England. Wool, cloth, skins and grain were also exported. Luxury goods like fine pottery and
expensive metal goods were imported from Europe. At first the Celts used iron bars as a form of
currency but by about 50 BC they were using gold coins.
The Celts lived in round houses. They were built around a central pole with horizontal poles
radiating outwards from it. They rested on vertical poles. Walls were of wattle and daub and roofs
were thatched. Around the walls inside the huts were benches, which also doubled up as beds. The
Celts also used low tables.
Celtic men wore tunics and trousers and women wore long dresses and mantles. They used bronze
mirrors. Women wore belts around their dresses made of cloth, leather or bronze rings. Celtic men
soaked their hair in limewater to make it stand up straight. They wore moustaches but not beards.
Wealthy Celts wore gold ornaments around their necks called torcs or torques.
The Celts made dyes from plants, woad, for blue, madder, for red and weld for yellow.
For amusement Celts played board games. They were also very fond of music and played flutes and
lyres. In good weather they held horse or chariot races. The Celts also enjoyed hunting wild boar on
horseback.
The Celts had priests called Druids. The Druids were very important in Celtic society. As well as
being priests they were scholars, judges and advisors to the kings. The Celts were polytheists (they
worshipped many gods and goddesses). They did not build temples but instead worshipped at
natural sites such as groves of trees, springs, rivers and lakes. Sometimes the Celts sacrificed
valuable goods by throwing them into lakes and rivers.
In Celtic times the practice of building barrows died out. Instead people were interned in individual
graves. They were still buried with grave goods showing the Celts had a strong belief in an afterlife.
They believed that when you died your spirit went to a place called the Otherworld.
The Romans claimed the Druids practiced human sacrifice but this claim is doubtful. The main
Celtic festivals were Imbolc at the beginning of February at the start of the lambing season, Beltane
at the beginning of May, when cattle were sent out to graze in the fields after being kept indoors and
fed on hay during the Winter, Lughasad in August when the crops were growing ripe and Samhain
at the beginning of November. That was the time when animals were brought in from the fields for
the Winter. The Celts could not grow enough hay to feed them all so those not needed for breeding
were slaughtered.
The Celts grew crops in rectangular fields. They raised pigs, sheep and cattle. They stored grain in
pits lined with stone or wicker and sealed with clay.
The Celts also brewed beer from barley.
Although the Romans despised the Celts as barbarians they created a sophisticated and advanced
society. Women certainly had more rights than in Roman society and Celtic craftsmen were superb.
Prehistoric Scotland
During the ice age Scotland was uninhabited. However when the ice melted forests spread across
Scotland and stone age hunters moved there. By 6,000 BC small groups of people lived in Scotland
by hunting animals like red deer and seals and by gathering plants for food.
Then about 4,500 BC farming was introduced into Scotland. The early farmers continued to use
stone tools and weapons and this period is called the Neolithic (new stone age). The Neolithic
people used stone axes or fire to clear forests for farming and they grew wheat, barley and rye. They
also bred cattle and sheep. They lived in simple stone huts with roofs of turf or thatch.
The finest example of a Neolithic village was found in Orkney after a storm in 1850. The
inhabitants lived in stone huts with stone shelves and stone seats inside. They also had stone beds,
which were probably covered with straw or heather. The people of Skara Brae used pottery vessels.
By 1,800 BC people in Scotland had learned to make bronze. The Bronze Age people continued to
live in simple huts but they are famous for their stone monuments. They arranged huge stones in
circles. The fact that they were able to do so indicates they lived in an organised society.
The Roman Conquest of England
The written history of England really began in 55 BC when Julius Caesar led an expedition there.
Caesar returned in 54 BC. Both times he defeated the Celts but he did not stay. Both times the
Romans withdrew after the Celts agreed to pay annual tribute.
The Romans invaded England again in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius. The Roman invasion force
consisted of about 20,000 legionaries and about 20,000 auxiliary soldiers from the provinces of the
Roman Empire. Aulus Plautius led them. The Romans landed somewhere in Southeast England (the
exact location is unknown) and quickly prevailed against the Celtic army. The Celts could not
match the discipline and training of the Roman army. A battle was fought on the River Medway,
ending in Celtic defeat and withdrawal. The Romans chased them over the River Thames into Essex
and within months of landing in England the Romans had captured the Celtic hill fort on the site of
Colchester.
Meanwhile other Roman forces marched into Sussex, where the local tribe, the Atrebates were
friendly and offered no resistance. The Roman army then marched into the territory of another tribe,
the Durotriges, in Dorchester and southern Somerset. Everywhere the Romans prevailed and that
year 11 Celtic kings surrendered to Claudius.
Normally if a Celtic king surrendered the Romans allowed him to remain as a puppet ruler.
Aulus Plautius was made the first governor of Roman Britain.
By 47 AD the Romans were in control of England from the River Humber to the Estuary of the
River Severn.
However the war was not over. The Silures in South Wales and the Ordovices of North Wales
continued to harass the Romans. Fighting between the Welsh tribes and the Romans continued for
years.
Meanwhile the Iceni tribe of East Anglia rebelled. At first the Romans allowed them to keep their
kings and have some autonomy. However in c. 50 AD the Romans were fighting in Wales and they
were afraid the Iceni might stab them in the back. They ordered the Iceni to disarm, which provoked
a rebellion. However the Romans easily crushed it. In the ensuing years the Romans alienated the
Iceni by imposing heavy taxes. Then, when the king of the Iceni died he left his kingdom partly to
his wife, Boudicca and partly to Emperor Nero Soon, however Nero wanted the kingdom all for
himself. His men treated the Iceni very high-handedly and they provoked rebellion. This time a
large part of the Roman army was fighting in Wales and the rebellion was, at first, successful. Led
by Boudicca the Celts burned Colchester, St Albans and London. However the Romans rushed
forces to deal with the rebellion. Although the Romans were outnumbered their superior discipline
and tactics secured total victory.
After the rebellion was crushed the Celts of southern and eastern England settled down and
gradually accepted Roman rule.
Then in 71-74 AD the Romans conquered the north of England. In the years 74-77 they conquered
South Wales. Then in 77 AD Agricola was made governor of Britain. First he conquered North
Wales. Then he turned his attention to what is now Scotland. By 81 AD the Romans had captured
the area from the Clyde to the Forth. In 82 they advanced further north. In 83 the Romans won a
great victory at Mons Graupius (it is not known exactly where that was). However in 86 the
Romans withdrew from Scotland.
In 122-126 the Emperor Hadrian built a great wall across the northern frontier of Roman Britain to
keep out the people the Romans called the Picts. However under the Emperor Antonius Pius the
Romans again invaded Scotland. In 42-43 they defeated the Picts. The Romans then built a wall of
turf with a stone base to protect their conquests. However the Antonine Wall, as it was called, was
abandoned about 163. The Roman army withdrew to Hadrian's Wall.
The End of Roman Britain
By the middle of the 3rd century the Roman Empire was in decline. In the latter half of the 3rd
century Saxons from Germany began raiding the east coast of Roman Britain. The Romans built a
chain of forts along the coast, which they called the Saxon shore. The forts were commanded by an
official called the Count of the Saxon shore and they contained both infantry and cavalry.
However the Saxon raids were, at first, no more than pin pricks and most of Roman Britain
remained reasonably peaceful and prosperous.
Then in 286 an admiral named Carauius seized power in Britain. For 7 years he ruled Britain as an
emperor until Allectus, his finance minister, assassinated him. Allectus then ruled Britain until 296
when Constantius, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire invaded. Britain was then taken back
into the Roman fold.
In the 4th century the Roman Empire in the west went into serious economic and political decline.
The populations of towns fell. Public baths and amphitheatres went out of use.
In 367 Scots from Northern Ireland, Picts from Scotland and Saxons joined to raid Roman Britain
and loot it. They overran Hadrian's Wall and killed the Count of the Saxon shore. However the
Romans sent a man named Theodosius with reinforcements to restore order.
In 383 some Roman soldiers were withdrawn from Britain and the raiding grew worse.
The last Roman troops left Britain in 407. In 410 the leaders of the Romano-Celts sent a letter to the
Roman Emperor Honorius, appealing for help. However he had no troops to spare and he told the
Britons they must defend themselves.
Roman Britain split into separate kingdoms but the Romano-Celts continued to fight the Saxon
raiders.
Roman civilisation slowly broke down. In the towns people stopped using coins and returned to
barter. The populations of towns were already falling and this continued. Rich people left to be self-
sufficient on their estates. Craftsmen went to live in the countryside. More and more space within
the walls of towns was giving over to growing crops. Roman towns continued to be inhabited until
the mid-5th century. Then most were abandoned. Some may not have been deserted completely. A
small number may have still had a very small population who lived by farming land inside and
outside the walls. However town life as such came to an end.
In the 5th century Roman civilisation in the countryside faded away.
William I
William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England on 25 December 1066. However at
first his position was by no means secure. He had only several thousand men to control a population
of about 2 million. Furthermore Swein, king of Denmark also claimed the throne of England. At
first the Normans were hated invaders and they had to hold down a resentful Saxon population.
One method the Normans used to control the Saxons was building castles. They erected a mound of
earth called a motte. On top they erected a wooden stockade. Around the bottom they erected
another stockade. The area within was called the bailey so it was called a motte and bailey castle.
The Normans soon began building stone castles. In 1078 William began building the Tower of
London.
Rebellions Against the Normans
William stayed in Normandy from March to December 1067. When he returned to England his first
task was to put down an uprising in the Southwest. He laid siege to Exeter. Eventually the walled
town surrendered on honourable terms.
Although Southern England was now under Norman control the Midlands and North were a
different matter. In 1068 William marched north through Warwick and Nottingham to York. The
people of York submitted to him- for the moment and William returned to London via Cambridge
and York.
However in January 1069 the people of Yorkshire and Northumberland rebelled. William rushed
north and crushed the rebellion However the rising in the north fanned the flames of rebellion
elsewhere. There were local risings in Somerset and Dorset. There was also rebellion in the West
Midlands. Furthermore a Saxon called Edgar, the grandson of Edmund Ironside, a previous Saxon
ruler led a force of Irishmen to North Devon. However local Norman commanders crushed the
uprisings and drove out the Irish.
It was not over yet. In the autumn of 1069 King Swein of Denmark sent an expedition to England.
When the Danes arrived in Yorkshire the people of Yorkshire and rose in rebellion once again.
William marched north and captured York. The Danes withdrew from northern England. This time
William adopted a scorched earth policy. William was determined there would not be any more
rebellions in the north. In 1069-1070 his men burned houses, crops and tools between the Humber
and Durham. They also slaughtered livestock. There followed years of famine in the north when
many people starved to death. This terrible crime was called the harrying of the north and it took the
north of England years to recover.
Meanwhile the Danes sailed south. They plundered Peterborough and took the Isle of Ely as a base.
Many Saxons joined the Danes. These Saxon rebels were led by a man called Hereward the Wake.
Changes in Society
However in June 1070 King William made a treaty with King Swein and the Danes left. The Saxons
kept on fighting in the Fens but by 1071 they were forced to surrender. Hereward escaped. William
was now in control of all of England
After the Norman Conquest almost all Saxon nobles lost their land. William confiscated it and gave
it to his own followers. They held their land in return for providing soldiers for the king for so many
days a year.
William also changed the church in England. In those days the church was rich and powerful and
the king needed its support. William replaced senior Saxon clergymen with men loyal to himself.
Lanfranc, an Italian, replaced Stigand, the Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury. (With the agreement of
the Pope). Lanfranc then deposed Saxon bishops and abbots and replaced them with Normans.
Among the lower ranks of society there were also changes. In late Saxon times the peasants were
losing their freedom. This process continued under the Normans. On the other hand slavery
declined. (It died out by the middle of the 12th century).
In 1085 William decided to carry out a huge survey of his kingdom to find out how much wealth it
contained. The result was the Domesday Book of 1086.
William died in 1087 and he was succeeded by his son, also called William (he is sometimes called
William Rufus because of his reddish complexion). His brother Robert became Duke of Normandy.
William the Conqueror was a ruthless man. However a writer of the time did say this about him; 'he
kept good law'. The eleventh century was a lawless age when a strong ruler who kept order was
admired.