Chapter 3 · A long and illustrious history
Early Britain: Life in the UK test study notes
Britain's first people were Stone Age hunter-gatherers. At that time, land joined Britain to mainland Europe, so they could walk here. About 6,000 years ago, farming came to Britain. Early communities left behind places we can still see. One is Stonehenge, a monument in Wiltshire. Another is Skara Brae, a village on Orkney, in Scotland. In the Bronze Age, people were skilled metal workers. They buried their dead in round barrows. A round barrow is a type of tomb. Iron Age Britons built hill forts, such as Maiden Castle in Dorset. They spoke a Celtic language. They also made the first British coins. In 55 BC, Julius Caesar tried to invade Britain, but he failed. In AD 43, Emperor Claudius's Roman army arrived. Some Britons, such as Queen Boudicca, fought against the Romans. The Romans built Hadrian's Wall in northern England. The Romans left in AD 410. They left behind roads, buildings, laws and early Christian communities. After the Romans, the Jutes, Angles and Saxons set up kingdoms. They came from northern Europe. Missionaries spread Christianity. From AD 789, Vikings attacked Britain and settled there. King Alfred the Great fought back. King Kenneth MacAlpin united the people of northern Britain. In 1066, William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Later, William ordered the Domesday Book to be written.
Key facts to remember
- Stone Age – hunter-gatherers reach Britain across a land bridge that joined it to mainland Europe.
- About 10,000 years ago – rising seas cut Britain off from mainland Europe for good, making it an island.
- About 6,000 years ago – the first farmers arrive in Britain.
- Stonehenge (Wiltshire) and Skara Brae (Orkney) are famous prehistoric sites; no prehistoric village in northern Europe survives in better condition than Skara Brae.
- Stonehenge was built by early farmers and was most likely a meeting place for ceremonies held at certain times of year.
- Bronze Age (from about 4,000 years ago) – people live in roundhouses, bury their dead in round barrows and make fine objects in bronze and gold.
- Iron Age – hill forts such as Maiden Castle in Dorset, a language from the Celtic family, and the first coins made in Britain.
- 55 BC – Julius Caesar's invasion fails.
- AD 43 – the Roman invasion under Emperor Claudius begins nearly 400 years of Roman rule.
- Boudicca, queen of the Iceni in eastern England, fights the Romans; her statue stands on Westminster Bridge in London.
- Hadrian's Wall guards the northern frontier of Roman Britain; Roman forts on or near it, such as Housesteads and Vindolanda, can still be visited.
- AD 410 – the Roman army leaves, having brought roads, public buildings, a structure of law, new plants and animals, and the first Christian communities, which formed in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.
- Jutes, Angles and Saxons settle after the Romans leave, and their languages are the basis of modern English; an Anglo-Saxon king is buried in a ship at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.
- Missionaries from Ireland spread Christianity in the north of Britain: St Patrick becomes patron saint of Ireland, and St Columba founds a monastery on Iona.
- St Augustine leads a mission from Rome to the south of Britain and becomes the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
- AD 789 – Vikings from Denmark and Norway begin raiding coastal towns.
- Later, Alfred the Great defeats the Vikings; many of them settle in the Danelaw, in the north and east of England.
- Viking place names – towns such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe take their names from Viking languages.
- Kenneth MacAlpin unites the people of the north under one king; later, Danish kings including Cnut rule England for a time.
- 1066 – William, Duke of Normandy, defeats and kills King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, an event shown in the Bayeux Tapestry.
- The Domesday Book, ordered by William the Conqueror, records England's towns, villages, landowners and livestock.
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These notes summarise the official handbook, Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents (3rd edition), which all the test questions come from. Try the free chapter 3 questions.