Talk:England

The issue whether England is a country or not has been repeatedly raised. The outcome of discussion is that England is a country. This has been confirmed in formal mediation with respect to Wales, though the general issues are common amongst England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The discussion about Wales is summarised in this archive. Further information on the countries within the UK for the different terms used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales can be found at Countries of the United Kingdom, and Subdivisions of the United Kingdom. A table of reliable sources can be found at Talk:Countries of the United Kingdom/refs. Additional material and debates can also be found on the archived talk and FAQs at Talk:United Kingdom.

This article is written in British English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, travelled, centre, defence, artefact, analyse) and some terms may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

England was one of the Geography and places good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones Date Process Result April 25, 2006 Featured article candidate Not promoted February 13, 2008 Featured article candidate Not promoted March 22, 2009 Good article nominee Listed June 14, 2009 Good article reassessment Delisted August 4, 2009 Peer review Reviewed October 17, 2009 Good article nominee Listed September 22, 2024 Good article reassessment Delisted Current status: Delisted good article

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This article has been viewed enough times in a single year to make it into the Top 50 Report annual list. This happened in 2007 and 2010. Text or other creative content from England was copied or moved into Outline of England with this edit. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

Archives

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Cornwall

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Titles of government officials/ministers could all be put in lowercases, considering secretory of state for education is already.

Under media, tidy up the paragraph so it looks more tidy on desktop. Currently, the text alongside the image looks scruffy. ~2026-30736-84 (talk) 21:32, 22 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. You need to be much more specific. It isn't clear what titles you're referring to or how the text looks "scruffy". Day Creature (talk) 05:47, 23 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

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Under Early modern period, it is stated England started to develop naval skills under the Tudors.

But this isn't actually correct. England already had a history of naval skills and naval fighting. Indeed, there were naval battles in the Middle Ages.

A way to rephrase this could be:

During the Tudor period, the Renaissance reached England, the English Royal Navy became a professional seafaring force, and exploration intensified in the Age of Discovery.

Sources:

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Navy_of_Henry_VIII_Elizabeth_I/z1ydswEACAAJ?hl=en https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Tudor_Navy/7l1nAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=During+the+Tudor+period,+the+English+Royal+Navy+became+a+professional+seafaring+force,+and+exploration+intensified+in+the+Age+of+Discovery&dq=During+the+Tudor+period,+the+English+Royal+Navy+became+a+professional+seafaring+force,+and+exploration+intensified+in+the+Age+of+Discovery&printsec=frontcover [1] https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Tudor_Navy/YQyoDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=During+the+Tudor+period,+the+English+Royal+Navy+became+a+professional+seafaring+force,+and+exploration+intensified+in+the+Age+of+Discovery&printsec=frontcover [2] ~2026-30837-18 (talk) 16:38, 24 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want made. Day Creature (talk) 17:12, 24 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Sure. Just did. ~2026-30863-41 (talk) 17:43, 24 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

It looks like you searched within these books for the text you want to add to the article, which isn't really helpful. Please provide page numbers at the very least. Day Creature (talk) 18:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Sources:

https://jmvh.org/article/tudor-ships-warfare-and-medicine/

https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FL004062%2F1

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/English-Renaissance/

Also, the English Navy began to develop during the 12th and 13th centuries, King John having a fleet of 500 sails. So England didn't start to gain naval skills in the Tudor era, it became a professional naval force. ~2026-31215-86 (talk) 09:59, 25 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

The English Renaissance, an era of cultural revival and poetic evolution starting in the late 15th century and spilling into the revolutionary years of the 17th century, stands as an early summit of poetry achievement, the era in which the modern sense of English poetry begins.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/154826/an-introduction-to-the-english-renaissance#:~:text=The%20English%20Renaissance%2C%20an%20era,sense%20of%20English%20poetry%20begins.

The English Renaissance started in the late 1400s, but there's no mention of that. Some readers may think it started in the Elizabethans age only. ~2026-31215-86 (talk) 10:08, 25 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

With respect to the beginning of the Renaissance, the article likely doesn't mention this specifically because it's written in summary style, so it's only giving a very brief overview of English history. A more detailed treatment is available at History of England, where I see that it's mentioned that the Renaissance reached England during Henry VII's reign. As for the Navy, I do think the current phrasing of England developing "naval skills" is vague and unsatisfactory. I'm also not sure about your wording of a "professional seafaring force", though, particularly whether it would be appropriate to call the Tudor-era Royal Navy "professional". Perhaps something along the lines of "England began to develop a standing navy" could work. Day Creature (talk) 17:26, 25 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

I agree with you completely.

Although, what I'm trying to say is that the Royal Navy was founded in the Tudor era, so that was when it started to become a professional force. England had naval skills before the Tudor period, it just never had a professional navy. The Tudor era's navy wasn't as professional as the 17th-19th centuries but it was the foundation for a professional navy force for England. It was in the Tudor era that England set up naval schools, shipyards, and powerful warships. But England had naval skills as far back as the early Middle Ages.

Also, I would suggest adding the fact William III ruled England with his wife, Mary II, as joint monarchs. She was also the Queen of England in her own right alongside William. Currently, the text under Union with Scotland makes no mention of this. The sub-section should be renamed Union with Scotland and English Civil Wars.

I think the claim that 'Under the Stuart dynasty England expanded in trade, finance and prosperity' could be slightly changed to 'The Stuart era was marked by significant growth in trade and the rise of joint-stock companies, leading to increased prosperity. This period also witnessed important advancements associated with the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution.'

Source for the above:

https://boydellandbrewer.com/book/common-law-and-enlightenment-in-england-1689-1750-pdf/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41273738

https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article-abstract/133/560/189/4756045

https://www.victorianweb.org/religion/judaism/gossman3.html

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1110068.pdf --~2026-31252-87 (talk) 18:06, 25 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

I've changed "naval skills" to "standing navy" and added "English Civil War" to the section heading. I'm reluctant to implement your other proposed changes because they provide a bit too much detail. As I said, the History section is intentionally a very brief summary, with more detail at the separate History of England article. Other editors may feel differently, and I welcome them to comment. Day Creature (talk) 15:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

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Under education, change secretary of state for education to 'Secretary of State for Education'. Add Skills England. ~2026-31197-48 (talk) 14:05, 26 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Not done: Capitalization of the office is not done per MOS:JOBTITLE, and it's not clear where or how you would like Skills England to be added. Day Creature (talk) 16:00, 26 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

I would suggest going through each job title in the page and changing them to lower case. I've listed them all below that need changing:

Chancellor of the exchequer

Secretary of state for justice

Secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs

Secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, and minister of state for science, research and innovation

Secretary of state for transport

Secretary of state for health

Secretary of state for culture, media and sport

And Skills England could be placed here:

Although most English secondary schools are comprehensive, there are selective intake grammar schools to which entrance is subject to passing the eleven-plus exam. Around 7.2 per cent of English schoolchildren attend private schools, which are funded by private sources. Standards in state schools are monitored by the Office for Standards in Education, and in private schools by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. Skills England is a devolved skills and training body, with responsibility for apprenticeships, adult further education, skills, training and careers.https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/skills-england ~2026-31424-53 (talk) 16:37, 26 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Also, there's a grammar issue at the end of the history section:

England will celebrate it's 2000th year since it's formation in 2027, being founded in 927 from the union of the Unification of Angle (tribe), Saxons (tribe) and Danes (tribe) by King Æthelstan.

Should be:

England will celebrate its 2000th year since its formation in 2027, being founded in 927 from the union of the Unification of Angle (tribe), Saxons (tribe) and Danes (tribe) by King Æthelstan.

Would suggest perhaps removing this as its unsourced anyway. ~2026-31424-53 (talk) 16:45, 26 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

I've lowercased all the job titles and removed the unsourced sentence. I don't think Skills England should be added as it's likely too much detail, but it could go in Education in England instead. Day Creature (talk) 17:47, 26 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

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Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and The Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth need to be in lower case.

Under sport, Cricket, Rugby and Association Football need to be in lower case.

Under ancient history, the image could be moved to the left. On desktop it looks a bit sandwiched with the above images on the same position. I suggest changing the image to this one here. The text next to the current image states 'In the 3rd century, Emperor Septimius Severus died at Eboracum (now York), where Constantine was subsequently proclaimed emperor a century later', so this would be a great replacement. ~2026-32091-05 (talk) 02:13, 29 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Partly done: I have done the second part of the request. The rest is not very clear to me Happy editing, Slomo666 (talk) 14:56, 8 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

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Education:

Standards in state schools are monitored by the Office for Standards in Education, and in private schools by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

Change this to:

Standards in state schools and some independent schools are monitored and inspected by the Office for Standards in Education, and other private schools by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

Ofsted covers independent schools as well. Make it clear Ofsted inspect schools. Passionflavours (talk) 12:38, 1 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want made. happy editing, Slomo666 (talk) 18:12, 3 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

I have added an efn to the Infobox that accurately describes the current devolution settlement in England and have added two cites

England has devolution under the legal category of Strategic Authority containing Combined Authorities & County Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority. This system of devolution is sui generis within the UK, and the process is still ongoing with further work required to complete it in England.^[1][2]

this should remain as it fills the gap in the Infobox which is incorrect to say that everything is UK level.ChefBear01 (talk) 20:26, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ChefBear01 (talk) 20:26, 1 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

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In the section Early modern period, there are pictures of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. For Henry VIII, it says, "1491-1547", and for Elizabeth I, it says, "1558-1603". Henry lived from 1491-1547, but reigned from 1509-1547. Elizabeth lived from 1533-1603, but reigned from 1558-1603. Therefore, for Henry, you put his birth year, but for Elizabeth, you put the start of her reign. You should be consistent. Please change 1558 to 1533. Thanks. Math Maniac (talk) 10:49, 2 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Done I have updated this to be consistent. Thanks! Strugglehouse (talk) 14:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

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The 'Categories of Governance' is currently a bit of a mess... the map has no caption, the text is poorly phased and planned out, and there's a random full stop at the end which looks out of place. Please tidy this up. ~2026-32721-84 (talk) 11:54, 2 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate.

Feel free to draft your "tidy" request per WP:EDITXY. Then, afterwards, you may reopen your request. Until then, I fear I cannot help you. happy editing, Slomo666 (talk) 18:17, 3 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

Currently the headings have an underline, which is against Wikipedia style standards. There's way too much focus on devolution and too many sub headings. I think @ChefBear01 themselves could work to tidy their edits up. The inclusion of devolution is a very sound idea, but the way it's been done is very untidy and excessive.

Devolution should be under one heading in a cleaner format. ~2026-33042-23 (talk) 22:35, 3 June 2026 (UTC)—  Blocked sockpuppet of Lam312321321, see investigation. Belbury (talk) 10:20, 18 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

I have tried to clean up the text into clear sections and remove the above underlining.

I would also say that the section is called “Governance” so I am confused as to why there would not be focus on devolution in England or more specially as it has evolved in England governance at at local level as there is not an English Parliament/Government akin to that in other parts of the U.K.ChefBear01 (talk) 11:28, 4 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

Are there any sources to confirm that London or any city is the capital city of England? Onetwothreeip (talk) 12:09, 25 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

{{geodata-check}}

The following coordinate fixes are needed for

—~2026-41716-59 (talk) 23:25, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

You haven't said how the coordinates are erroneous, and they appear to be correct. If you still think that there is an error, you'll need to explain clearly what it is. Deor (talk) 00:42, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

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Add in the ww2 section in order to help Poland Hophopbugi (talk) 21:18, 6 August 2026 (UTC)Reply

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Cannolis (talk) 21:33, 6 August 2026 (UTC)Reply