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British isles cities
This document provides information about several major cities in England and Scotland. It details the populations and notable landmarks, industries or cultural aspects of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. London is highlighted as the capital of England and UK, located on the River Thames with a population of over 7 million people. Key landmarks mentioned include Buckingham Palace, Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, Kew Gardens, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, and various parks.
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British isles cities
- 1.
- 2. Capital of England and UK Located on River Thames Population: 7.8 million
- 3. Buckingham Palace Residence and office of British monarch Queen Victoria was the first monarch to reside there
- 4. Palace of Westminster Westminster means monastery Meeting place of the two houses of Parliament
- 5. Westminster Abbey Gothic church Place of coronation Burial site for English and British monarchs
- 6. Kew Gardens Royal Botanical Gardens World’s largest collection of living plants 30,000 different kinds of plants Over 7 million preserved plant specimens
- 7. St. Paul’s Cathedral
- 8. Tower Bridge
- 9. Tower of London
- 10. London Eye
- 11. Trafalgar Square
- 12. Parks St. James’s Park Green Park Hyde Park Regent’s Park
- 13. The Underground Double Decker Bus
- 14. Population: 498,000 (2011) Metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester
- 15. Mamucium Fort in the Roman province of Britannia 79 A.D.
- 16. Textile manufacturing Industrial Revolution Cotton became the most important textile
- 17. Manchester Ship Canal Port of Manchester Opened in 1894, it was the largest river navigation canal in the world
- 18. Manchester United English professional football club Has won the most trophies in English football One of the wealthiest and most widely supported football teams in the world Valued at $1.86 billion
- 19. World’s first inter-city passenger railway station
- 20. Ernest Rutherford splits the first atom in 1917 New Zealand born, British chemist and physicist “Father of nuclear physics”
- 21. Population: 1 million 2nd most populous British city
- 22. City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
- 23. Birmingham Royal Ballet Founded in 1947
- 24. Barber Institute of Fine Art Established in 1932 “Outstanding collections of international significance”
- 25. Cadbury World Explore and discover chocolate’s history
- 26. Population: 445,000 The Beatles
- 27. Population: 306,000 Legend of Robin Hood
- 28. Population: 25,000 Shakespeare
- 29. Population: 486,000 Capital of Scotland 2nd largest city in Scotland
- 30. Athens of the North Historical centre of the Enlightenment
- 31. Edinburgh Castle Human habitation is dated back to the 9th c. B.C.
- 32. Edinburgh Festival Arts and cultural festivals in August Established in 1947 in a post-war effort to “provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit”
- 33. Population: 1.7 million Largest city in Scotland 3rd most populous in UK
- 34. Scottish Enlightenment Major centre in 18th century Intellectual and scientific accomplishments By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe
- 35. Ship building and marine engineering
Editor's Notes
- #4 Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch.[1] Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focus for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis. Queen Victoria, the first monarch to reside at Buckingham Palace, moved into the newly completed palace upon her accession in 1837.
- #5 The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons. It lies on the north bank of theRiver Thames[note 1] in the heart of the London borough of the City of Westminster, close to the historic Westminster Abbey and the government buildings of Whitehall and Downing Street. The first royal palace was built on the site in the eleventh century, and Westminster was the primary London residence of the Kings of England until a fire destroyed much of the complex in 1512. After that, it served as the home of Parliament, which had been meeting there since the thirteenth century, and the seat of the Royal Courts of Justice, based in and around Westminster Hall. In 1834, an even greater fire ravaged the heavily rebuilt Houses of Parliament, and the only structures of significance to survive were Westminster Hall, the Cloisters of St Stephen's, the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft and the Jewel Tower.
- #6 The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in theCity of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place ofcoronation and burial site for English, later British and later still (and currently) monarchs of the Commonwealth realms. The abbey is aRoyal Peculiar and briefly held the status of a cathedral from 1540 to 1550. Flag of Westminster Abbey, featuring theTudor arms between Tudor Roses above the supposed arms of Edward the Confessor
- #7 The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares[1] of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is an internationally important botanical research and education institution with 700 staff and an income of £56 million for the year ended 31 March 2008, as well as a visitor attraction receiving almost two million visits in that year.[2]Created in 1759,[3] the gardens celebrated their 250th anniversary in 2009. The Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is responsible for the world's largest collection of living plants. The organisation employs more than 650 scientists and other staff. The living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over seven million preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. The Kew site includes four Grade I listed buildings and 36 Grade II listed structures in an internationally significant landscape
- #8 St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostledates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London, with its dome, framed by the spires of Wren's City churches, dominating the skyline for 300 years. St Paul's Cathedral occupies a significant place in the national identity of the English population.[5] It is the central subject of much promotional material, as well as postcard images of the dome standing tall, surrounded by the smoke and fire of the Blitz.[5] Important services held at St Paul's include the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; Jubilee celebrations forQueen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales, andLady Diana Spencer, the launch of the Festival of Britain and the thanksgiving services for both the Golden Jubilee and 80th Birthday ofQueen Elizabeth II. St Paul's Cathedral is a busy working church, with hourly prayer and daily services.
- #9 Tower Bridge (built 1886-1894) is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name.[1] It has become an iconic symbol of London. The bridge consists of two towers tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical component of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge's present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee. Originally it was painted a chocolate brown colour.
- #10 Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of theNorman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison since at least 1100, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. Today the Tower of London is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. It is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site.
- #11 The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England. The entire structure is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft). It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually.
- #12 Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of contemporary art. The square is also used for political demonstrations and community gatherings, such as the celebration of New Year's Eve. The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars over France.
- #14 The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world[30] and the second-most extensive (after the Shanghai Metro).[
- #15 Manchester i/ˈmæntʃɛstər/ is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan areas; the Greater Manchester Urban Area has a population of 2.2 million, whilst the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester has an estimated population of 2.6 million.
- #16 Mamucium, also known as Mancunium, was a fort in the Roman province of Britannia.[1] The remains of the fort are protected as aScheduled Ancient Monument, and are located within the Castlefield area of the City of Manchester, in North West England (grid reference SJ833977).[2] Founded c. AD 79, Mamucium was garrisoned by a cohort of auxiliary soldiers and guarded the road running from Chester to York. A vicus, or civilian settlement made up of traders and the families of the soldiers, grew outside the fort and was an area of industrial activity.
- #17 The industrial revolution changed the nature of work and society. Opinion varies as to the exact date, but it is estimated that the First Industrial Revolution took place between 1750 and 1850, and the second phase or Second Industrial Revolution between 1860 and 1900.[1][2] [3][4] The three key drivers in these changes were textile manufacturing, iron founding and steam power. The geographical focus of Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution in Britain was Greater Manchester and the small towns of the Pennines and southernLancashire.Prior to the 17th century, the manufacture of goods was performed on a limited scale by individual workers. This was usually on their own premises (such as weavers' cottages) – and goods were transported around the country by horse, or by river. Rivers navigations has been constructed, and some contour following canals, and, in the early 18th century, artisans were inventing ways to become more productive. Silk, Wool, Fustian, were being eclipsed by Cotton which was becoming the most important textile. This set the foundations for the changes. Historians agree that the Industrial Revolution was one of the most important events in history.
- #18 The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles (58 km) long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties ofCheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 feet (18 m) up to Manchester where the canal's terminus was built. Construction began in 1887; it took six years and cost about £15 million. When the ship canal opened in January 1894 it was the largest river navigation canal in the world. Although it enabled the newly created Port of Manchester to become Britain's third busiest port—despite the city being about 40 miles (64 km) inland—the canal never achieved the commercial success its sponsors had hoped for. Ships often returned to sea loaded with ballast rather than goods for export, and gradually the balance of traffic moved to the west, resulting in the closure of the terminal docks at Salford. Although able to accommodate a range of vessels from coastal ships to inter-continental cargo liners, the canal is not large enough for all modern vessels.
- #19 Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Manchester United has won the most trophies in English football, including a record 19 league titles, a record 11 FA Cups,[5]four League Cups and 19 FA Community Shields. The club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the club won a "Treble" of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, an unprecedented feat for an English club.Manchester United is one of the wealthiest and most widely supported football teams in the world.[6][7][8][9] As of July 2011, the club is number one in Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's 50 most valuable sports teams, valued at $1.86 billion.[10] After being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was purchased by Malcolm Glazer in May 2005 in a deal valuing the club at almost £800 million.
- #20 Manchester Liverpool Road is a former railway station on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in Manchester, England which opened on 15 September 1830.[1] The L&MR station was the terminus of the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all services were hauled by timetabledsteam locomotives. It is now the world's oldest surviving terminal railway station.
- #21 Before leaving Manchester in 1919 to take over the Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge, Rutherford became in 1917 the first person to deliberately transmute one element into another, when he converted nitrogen into oxygen through the nuclear reaction 14N + α -> 17O + proton.Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS[1] (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand-bornBritish chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics.[He is widely credited with first "splitting the atom" in 1917 in a nuclear reaction between nitrogen and alpha particles, in which he also discovered (and named) the proton.[
- #22 Birmingham (i/ˈbɜrmɪŋəm/ bur-ming-əm, locally /ˈbɜrmɪŋɡəm/ bur-ming-gəm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 (2010 estimate)
- #24 Founded in 1947 as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company was established under the direction of John Field, and was formed to continue ballet performances at Sadler's Wells Theatre, after its predecessor (today's Royal Ballet) moved to become the resident ballet company at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. The company was later granted a Royal Charter, becoming the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and following relocation to Birmingham in 1990, the name was changed to Birmingham Royal Ballet, with the company becoming the resident ballet company at the Birmingham Hippodrome theatre. It is now independent of the Royal Ballet in London, although it retains strong links with the company and the Royal Ballet School. As a resident company, Birmingham Royal Ballet has extensive custom-built facilities, including a suite of dance studios, the Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries and a studio theatre known as the Patrick Centre. In 2002, the need for Birmingham Royal Ballet to have its own school led to a new association with Elmhurst School for Dance, which is now its official ballet school.
- #25 The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham.In the 2005 Penguin Books publication Britain's Best Museums and Galleries, the Barber Institute was one of only five galleries outside London to receive five stars for having "Outstanding collections of international significance"
- #26 Cadbury World is a visitor attraction created and run by the Cadbury chocolate company.Cadbury World has gone on to become one of Birmingham's largest leisure attractions - welcoming over 500,000 visitors each year, and delivering a respected education programme (linking back directly to the educational advancements and interests of the company's original founding fathers).Whilst not a factory tour, Cadbury World offers its visitors the opportunity to explore and discover chocolate's history, to learn about the origins and story of the Cadbury business - one of the world's largest confectionery manufacturers.
- #27 The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music.[1] Formed in Liverpool, by late 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the group later worked in many genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. The nature of their enormous popularity, which first emerged as "Beatlemania", transformed as their songwriting grew in sophistication. They came to be perceived as the embodiment of ideals of the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.
- #28 Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor",[1] assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men".[2] Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln greenclothes.[3] The origin of the legend is claimed by some to have stemmed from actual outlaws, or from ballads or tales of outlaws.[4]Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the medieval period continuing through to modern literature, films and television. In the earliest sources, Robin Hood is a yeoman, but he was often later portrayed as an aristocrat wrongfully dispossessed of his lands and made into an outlaw by an unscrupulous sheriff.[
- #29 Stratford-upon-Avon ( /ˌstrætfəd əpɒn ˈeɪvən/) is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, 22 miles (35 km) south east of Birmingham and 8 miles (13 km) south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers a much larger area than the town itself.[1] Four electoral wards make up the urban town of Stratford; Alveston, Avenue and New Town, Mount Pleasant and Guild and Hathaway. The estimated total population for those wards in 2007 was 25,505.[2]The town is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, receiving about three million visitors a year from all over the world.[3] The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre, one of Britain's most important cultural venues.
- #30 Edinburgh (i/ˈɛdɪnbʌrə/ ed-in-burr-ə; Scottish Gaelic: DùnÈideann) is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom
- #31 Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Parliament. The city is one of the historical major centres of the Enlightenment, led by theUniversity of Edinburgh, helping to earn it the nickname Athens of the North.
- #32 Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanicCastle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear.
- #33 The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August. Though the festivals are put on by various organizations unrelated to each other, and so are officially separate events, they are regarded by many visitors as part of the same event; and together they form the largest annual cultural festival in the world.The original, and still the largest, component festivals are the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; the latter is in its own right larger than any other similar event in the world.The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) was established in 1947 in a post-war effort to "provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit"
- #34 Glasgow (i/ˈɡlæzɡoʊ/, locally /ˈɡlazɡo/, glaz-goh; Scots: Glesga listen (help·info); Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu ([ˈkɫ̪as̪əxu] listen(help·info))) is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian.
- #35 The Scottish Enlightenment (Scots: Scottis Enlightenment) was the period in 18th century Scotlandcharacterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy.
- #36 With the Industrial Revolution, the city and surrounding region shifted to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of Heavy Engineering,[3] most notably in the Shipbuilding and Marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels