EASY READ A timeline of British history

EASY READ Why was Stonehenge built?

Stonehenge was built on Salisbury Plain in southern England about 4500 years ago. It consists of two circles originally of more than 100 standing stones. One circle lies inside the...

EASY READ Who were the Celts?

The people who lived in Britain before the Roman conquest are known as Celts. They were actually a number of different tribes and often fought against one another. Around 700 BC...

EASY READ When did the Romans conquer Britain?

For almost 400 years, Britain was part of the Roman Empire. The province was governed from the capital, Londinium (London). Roman soldiers put down rebellions and defended the...

EASY READ Why was King Alfred known as the Great?

Alfred was the fifth son of King Aethelwulf of Wessex. He was born in Wantage, Berkshire, in 849. In those days, England was divided into a number of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Wessex...

EASY READ Why was the Battle of Hastings fought?

The Battle of Hastings was fought in October 1066 between the armies led by Harold II, King of England and William, Duke of Normandy. William invaded England to claim the crown...

EASY READ Who were Henry VIII's six wives?

Henry VIII (1509–47) had six wives. They were, in the order he married them, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr...

EASY READ When did Queen Elizabeth I reign?

Elizabeth I (ruled 1558–1603), Queen of England, was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She succeeded to the throne on the death of her half-sister...

EASY READ Why did the Spanish Armada sail?

In the 16th century, Spain was a powerful kingdom. It ruled over other parts of Europe as well as its vast new empire in the Americas. Its king, Philip II, was a Catholic. He was...

EASY READ What was the Gunpowder Plot?

The Gunpowder Plot was a plan to blow up James I, the first Stuart king of England, on 5th November 1605. English Catholics had been persecuted during the reign of Queen Elizabeth...

EASY READ What caused the Great Fire of London?

On 2nd September 1666, a fire broke out in a bakery in Pudding Lane in the City of London. Fanned by a breeze, the fire quickly spread throughout the whole city. Apart from pulling...

EASY READ What was the Industrial Revolution?

The Industrial Revolution is what we call the time when industry was changed hugely by the development of new machinery. It started during the late 18th and early 19th centuries...

EASY READ Why did the Titanic sink?

On the 10th April 1912, RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton across the Atlantic Ocean. She was bound for New York. Titanic, the largest and most luxurious passenger ship ever...