Timeline- History of Britain

Ice Age

25,000 BCE

Northern Europe and most of modern Britain is plunged into a deep Ice Age

Re-colonization

12,000 BCE

Beginning of the end of the Ice Age
Re-colonization of Britain by home sapiens.

Re-forestation

8500 BCE

Warmer climate led to the growth of forests all over Britain.

Forming of the British Isles

6000 BCE

The British Isles are formed as water levels rise separating them from mainland Europe.

Farming people arrive from Europe.

4200 BCE

First evidence of farming
Farming quickly spread all across the British Isles. Land is cleared, wheat and barley planted , and herds of domesticated sheep, cattle, and pigs raised.

Stonehenge

2800 BCE

First phase of building Stonehenge

Copper age

2700 BCE

Tools and weapons made from copper

Bronze Age begins

2100 BCE

First metal workers
People learn to make bronze weapons and tools.
Introduction of cremation of the dead and burials in round barrows. Beaker culture - their name is thought to originate from the distinctive beakers that accompanied their burials. They were farmers and archers. They lived in round huts (similar to the Celts) with a low stone wall for a base. The roof was made of thatch, turf, or hides.

Stonehenge

2000 BCE

Stonehenge completed

Trade routes

1650 BCE

Trade routes began to form

Small Villages

1200 BCE

Small Villages were first formed

Iron Age

750 BCE

Iron replaces bronze as most useful metal. Population about 150,000.

The Celts

500 BCE

The Celtic people arrive from Central Europe.
The Celts were farmers and lived in small village groups in the centre of their arable fields. They were also warlike people. The Celts fought against the people of Britain and other Celtic tribes.

First Roman Invasion

55 BCE

Julius Caesar heads first Roman Invasion but later withdraws

Romans invade

43

Romans invade and Britain becomes part of the Roman Empire

Queen Boadicea

61

Boadicea leads the Iceni in revolt against the Romans

Romans conquer

70

Romans conquer Wales and the North

Hadrian`s Wall

Period: 122 to 128

Emperor Hadrian builds a wall on the Scottish Border

Romans conquer

140

Romans conquer Scotland

Romans withdraw

Period: 401 to 410

The Romans withdraw from Britain: Anglo Saxons migrants begin to Settle

Anglo-Saxons

450

First invasions of the Jutes from Jutland, Angles from South of Denmark and Saxons from Germany.
Britain is divided up into the Seven Kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Anglia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex and Kent

Christianity

597

St Augustine brings Christianity to England from Rome King Æthelberht of Kent gave him land in Canterbury to build a church. Æthelberht became the first Anglo-Saxon king to turn his back on paganism and become Christian.

Æthelberht

600

Æthelberht is now one of the most powerful kings in England

Northumbria

617

Northumbria becomes the Supreme Kingdom

First Christian king

627

Edwin of Northumbria becomes the first Christian king in the north of England

Mercia

779

Mercia becomes the Supreme Kingdom and King Offa builds a Dyke along the Welsh Border

Viking attack

793

First recorded Viking attack happens in Dorset

Wessex

829

Wessex becomes the Supreme Kingdom.
Egbert, King of the West Saxons, conquers Mercia and forces the Northumbrians to submit as well. From then on, Wessex retained its dominance in England. Egbert's grandson, Alfred, initiated the creation of the single kingdom of England

Kingdom of Scotland

843

Kingdom of Scotland was formed.
Some sources suggest that around 843 AD the kingdom of the Scots and the Picts was amalgamated, and that from this date historians can speak of a 'kingdom of Scotland'.

Athelstan

851

Athelstan, son of the king of Wessex, defeats a Viking fleet in battle.
Egbert, king of Wessex, had made his second son Athelstan king of Kent. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Athelstan fought a sea battle against the Vikings off Sandwich, capturing nine ships and putting the rest to flight.

Viking Army

Period: 866 to 877

Invasion of the Great Danish (Viking) Army.

Yorvik

867

The Vikings kill rival kings of Northumbria and capture York
The city became Yorvik, the Viking capital in England.

Edmund

869

Edmund, King of the East Angles, is killed by the Vikings
He was beheaded and his head thrown away to prevent proper burial. Much later, his head was finally reunited with the body, and both were buried in the royal residence, which later became known as Bury St Edmunds, a town in East Anglia

Rhodri Mawr

877

Welsh king Rhodri Mawr is defeated by the Vikings and flees to Ireland

King Alfred

878

Wessex is overrun by Vikings, and King Alfred goes into hiding in the marshes of Athelney (Somerset). After Easter, he called up his troops and defeated the Viking king Guthrum, who he persuaded to be baptised. He later brought Guthrum to terms and created a settlement that divided England.

England is Divided

886

England is Divided
Alfred, King of Wessex, agrees a treaty with Vikings to divide England
The Saxons retain the west, while the east (between the Thames and Tees rivers) was to be Viking territory - later known as the 'Danelaw' - where English and (Danish) Vikings were equal in law.

Anglo Saxon Chronicle

889

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle starts

Danelaw

926

Eastern England (Danelaw) is conquered by the Saxons

Athelstan

927

Athelstan, king of Wessex, takes York (Yorvik) from the Vikings, and forces the submission of Constantine of the Scots and of the northern kings.

Death of a king

939

Athelstan, first king of all England, dies

The last Viking king in England

954

Eric Bloodaxe, the last Viking king in England, is forced out of Yorvik (York)
Eric Bloodaxe was invited to take over the kingdom of Yorvik (York) around 946 AD. He was welcomed by Athelstan, king of Wessex, who wanted Eric to protect his kingdom from Scots and Irish invaders.

Crowned king

973

Edgar is crowned king of England at Bath, 14 years after taking power
Edgar ruled England from 959 to 975 AD, but it was not until 973 AD - two years before his death - that he organised a solemn coronation and anointing.

Murdered at Corfe

975

Edward, oldest son of Edgar crowned King of England.
He was not popular and was treacherously murdered at Corfe in Dorset three years later.

Æthelred

978

Edward's half-brother Æthelred becomes the new king.

Æthelred the Unready

1013

Swein Forkbeard, son of the Danish king Harold Bluetooth, forces Æthelred the Unready into exile
England now under Danish control

King Canute

1016

King Canute of Denmark captures the English Crown

Edward II

1042

Edward the Confessor (Edward II) becomes king of England

Westminster Abbey

1055

Westminster Abbey is completed

Saxon victory

1066

Saxon victory over invading Vikings at the Battle of Stamford Bridge
Harold II defeats and kills Harald Hardrada

Harald Hardrada, King of Norway

Period: 1066 to Sep 20, 1066

September: Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, invades England.
20 September: He defeats the English at the Battle of Fulford

Harold Godwinson

Jan 6, 1066

Edward the Confessor dies and is succeed by Harold Godwinson.
Harold, earl of Wessex, was crowned king of England on 6 January 1066. He was immediately faced with powerful threats from William, duke of Normandy, and Harold Hardrada, king of Norway, both of whom laid claim to the English throne.