British History Timeline

While MythBank is primarily a place for ancient and modern mythologies, and not a history website, we do think that a basic understanding of history is important to the understanding of mythology and legends of that culture. This is the overview timeline of British history.

What’s important about the British history timeline?

British history is particularly important towards Arthurian and Celtic lore, as those legends were developed by the British throughout the ages. It is also related to Norse/Germanic mythology, as the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings were a huge part of the history of the British isles.

This timeline is a far cry from a comprehensive overview of British history, but it should give you the basic idea of the different eras and the most important events that took place. It covers time periods from pre-history all the way to the present.

#	Time	Description	Era
1	700,000 BCE	First people migrate to Britain from Europe over land bridge	Prehistoric Britain
2	25,000 BCE	Britain is submerged in the Ice Age.	Prehistoric Britain
3	12,000-8,500 BCE	Ice Age fades, forests grow in Britain, and humans recolonize the area.	Prehistoric Britain
4	6,000 BCE	Land bridge connecting Britain to Europe dissappears.	Prehistoric Britain
5	4,200 BCE	First evidence of agriculture in Britain.	Prehistoric Britain
6	3,000 BCE	Stone Age begins	Prehistoric Britain
7	2,800 BCE	The first phase of building Stonehenge begins.	Prehistoric Britain
8	2,100 BCE	Bronze Age begins in Britain	Prehistoric Britain
9	2,000 BCE	Stonehenge as it is currently known is completed.	Prehistoric Britain
10	750 BCE	Iron Age begins in Britain.	Prehistoric Britain
11	500 BCE	Celtic people and/or influence arrives in Britain from Central Europe around this time.	Prehistoric Britain
12	55 BCE	Julius Caesar makes his first invasion of Britain but is forced to withdraw	Roman Britain
13	54 BCE	Julius Caesar makes his second attempt to invade.	Roman Britain
14	43 CE	The Roman Invasion: parts of Britain officially join the Roman Empire after being conquered by Aulus Plautius.	Roman Britain
15	50 CE	Londinium or modern-day London is founded.	Roman Britain
16	61 CE	Boudica leads a revolte with Iceni and is defeated.	Roman Britain
17	70 CE	The Romans conquer Wales and parts of the North.	Roman Britain
18	122-128 CE	The Roman Emperor Hadrian builds Hadrian's wall on the north border of the Empire in Britain.	Roman Britain
19	197 CE	Britain is divided into Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior.	Roman Britain
20	209 CE	St. Alban is martyed, Britain's first Christian martyr.	Roman Britain
21	306 CE	Constantine the Great is declared Emperor of the Roman Empire at York	Roman Britain
22	350 CE	The Picts and Scots attack.	Roman Britain
23	401-410 CE	The Romans withdraw from Britain and Anglo-Saxons begin to settle.	Roman Britain
24	450 CE	First invasion of the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons from various Germanic countries. Britain divided into the Seven Kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Anglia, Wessex Essex, Sussex, and Kent.	Anglo-Saxon Britain
25	450 CE	Quasi-mythical Hengist and Horsa live in Kent	Anglo-Saxon Britain
26	460 CE	St. Patrick travels to Ireland to convert the populace.	Anglo-Saxon Britain
27	516 CE	Approximate date of the Battle of Mount Badon, where an unknown leader (possibly the source of the Arthur legends) defeats and Angles and Saxons.	Anglo-Saxon Britain
28	597 CE	St. Augustine brings Christianty to the Anglo-Saxons	Anglo-Saxon Britain
29	600 CE	Æthelberht becomes one of the most powerful kings in England.	Anglo-Saxon Britain
30	613 CE	Approximate date when the Anglo-Saxons conquered most of Britain and divided it into 30 kingdoms.	Anglo-Saxon Britain
31	627 CE	Edwin of Northumbria becomes the first Christian king in north England.	Anglo-Saxon Britain
32	779 CE	King Offa builds Offa's Dyke along the border between England and Wales.	Anglo-Saxon Britain
33	793 CE	First recorded Viking attack in Dorset	Viking Age
34	793 CE	The Vikings attack Lindisfarne, a monastery in Northumbria.	Viking Age
35	795 CE	The Vikings attack Iona, an island monastery in Scotland, the first of many attacks on the island.	Viking Age
36	829 CE	Egbert subdues Mercia and Northumbria, gaining dominance among the Anglo-Saxon nations for Wessex.	Viking Age
37	843 CE	Scots and Picts unite into the first Kingdom of Scotland.	Viking Age
38	866-877 CE	The Invasion of the Great Danish Army	Viking Age
39	867 CE	The Vikings capture York, which becomes Yorvik, the Viking capital in England.	Viking Age
40	878 CE	King Alfred goes into hiding in Somerset, he then defeats King Guthrum of the Vikings.	Viking Age
41	886 CE	King Alfred and the Vikings create a treaty that divided Briton between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings.	Viking Age
42	996 CE	The Anglo-Saxons reconquer the Danelaw, or the Viking territories.	Viking Age
43	927 CE	York is retaken for the Anglo-Saxons by Athelstan, king of Wessex. Athelstan becomes the first king of all England.	Viking Age
44	973 CE	Edgar crowned king of England, two years before his death.	Viking Age
45	975 CE	Edward, the oldest son of Edgar, crowned King of England, three years before his murder.	Viking Age
46	1013 CE	Æthelred the Unready is forced into exile by the Danish Swein Forkbeard. England comes under Danish control.	Viking Age
47	1017 CE	Cnut the Great is crowned king of England in London.	Viking Age
48	1042 CE	Edward the Confessor (Edward II) crowned king of England.	Viking Age
49	1055 CE	Construction on Westminster Abbey is finished.	Viking Age
50	1055 CE	Edward the Confessor succeeded by Harold Godwinson, earl of Wessex.	Viking Age
51	1066 CE	Norman Conquest: Anglo-Saxon king Harold II defeats the Vikings at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Is later defeated in the same year by William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings.	Norman Britain
52	1070 CE	First Norman castle built in Wales, the first of many.	Norman Britain
53	1070 CE	Construction on Canterbury Cathedral begins.	Norman Britain
54	1077 CE	The Bayeux Tapestry (depicting the Battle of Hastings) is finished.	Norman Britain
55	1078 CE	Construction on the Tower of London begins.	Norman Britain
56	1085 CE	The Domesday Book, the most complete record of any country at the time, is completed.	Norman Britain
57	1087 CE	William the Conqueror dies and is succeeded by his sone William II.	Norman Britain
58	1096 CE	Oxford University is founded.	Norman Britain
59	1100 CE	William II is killed, is succeeded by his brother Henry I	Norman Britain
60	1135 CE	Henry's nephew, Stephen, succeeds the thrown after Henry's death, instead of Henry's pick for succession, his daughter Matilda.	Norman Britain
61	1139 CE	Matilda makes a claim to the throne but is unable to take it.	Norman Britain
62	1154 CE	Matilda's son, Henry II, accedes to the throne, ruling England and much of Wales and large sections of France.	Norman Britain
63	1170 CE	Thomas Becket, the Archbishop fo Canterbury, is murdered by the knights of Henry II.	Norman Britain
64	1189 CE	Henry II dies and is succeeded by Richard I, his son.	Norman Britain
65	1190 CE	Richard I joins the Third Crusade.	Norman Britain
66	1199 CE	Richard I dies and is succeeded by his brother John.	Norman Britain
67	1209 CE	The University of Cambridge is established by scholars who seperated themselves from Oxford.	Norman Britain
68	1215 CE	The Magna Carta is signed by King John and his barons at Runnymede on the River Thames.	Norman Britain
69	1216 CE	Henry III is crowned king of England	Norman Britain
70	1272 CE	Henry III is succeeded by his son Edward I, or Edward Longshanks, following his death.	Norman Britain
71	1283 CE	Edward I defeats the Welsh and kills the last Welsh Prince, Llywelyn ap Gruffyd.	Norman Britain
72	1290 CE	Edward I removes all Jews from the country.	Norman Britain
73	1296 CE	Edward I invades Scotland	Norman Britain
74	1297 CE	The Scots, under William Wallace, defeat the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.	Norman Britain
75	1298 CE	The English beat the Scots at the Battle of Falkirk.	Norman Britain
76	1305 CE	William Wallace is executed.	Norman Britain
77	1306 CE	Robert the Bruce becomes King of the Scots	Norman Britain
78	1307 CE	Edward I dies and is succeeded by his son, Edward II.	Norman Britain
79	1314 CE	Robert the Bruce leads the Scots to defeat the English at the Battle of Bannockburn.	Norman Britain
80	1315-1322 CE	The Great European Famine	Norman Britain
81	1327 CE	Edward III usurps the English throne.	Norman Britain
82	1338 CE	Edward III claims the throne of France. The beginning of the Hundred Years' War.	Norman Britain
83	1338 - 1453 CE	The Hundred Years War	Norman Britain
84	1348 - 1349 CE	The Black Death wipes out nearly half of the population of Britain.	Norman Britain
85	1377 CE	Edward III is succeeded by Richard II upon his death. Richard II was only 10 years old.	Norman Britain
86	1381 CE	The Peasants' Revolt	Norman Britain
87	1387 CE	Geoffrey Chaucer begins writing The Canterbury Tales	Norman Britain
88	1399 CE	Henry IV becomes King of England after usurping the throne from RIchard II.	Norman Britain
89	1413 CE	Henry IV is succeeded by Henry V upon his death.	Norman Britain
90	1415 CE	Henry V defeats the French in the Battle of Agincourt	Norman Britain
91	1422 CE	Henry VI becomes king after his father's sudden death. He was less than a year old and the country was temporarily governed by a Regency Council until 1437 CE.	Norman Britain
92	1453 CE	The Hundred Years War ends.	Norman Britain
93	1455 CE	The Battle of St. Albans marks the beginning of the War of the Roses.	Norman Britain
94	1461 CE	Edward IV becomes king and Henry VI and his wife Margaret flee to Scotland.	Norman Britain
95	1470 CE	Henry VI briefly recovers the throne.	Norman Britain
96	1471 CE	Edward IV becomes king again after Henry VI and his heir are murdered.	Norman Britain
97	1477 CE	The first printed book is published by William Caxton.	Norman Britain
98	1483 CE	Edward V assumes the throne after the death of Edward IV. His reign is declared illegitimate by his uncle, Richard II, who then becomes King in the same year.	Norman Britain
99	1485 CE	Henry Tudor (Henry VII) defeats Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, marking the end of the War of the Roses.	Norman Britain
100	1509 CE	The reign of Henry VIII begins following his father's death.	Tudor Dynasty
101	1533 CE	Henry VIII marries Anne Bolyn after divorcing Catherin of Aragon	Tudor Dynasty
102	1534 CE	Henry VIII forms the Church of England with himself as its head.	Tudor Dynasty
103	1547 CE	Henry VIII dies and is succeeded by Edward VI at the age of nine.	Tudor Dynasty
104	1553 CE	Edward VI dies at a young age and the throne goes to Lady Jane Grey for only a handful of days before popular support made Mary, Queen of Scots the new ruler of England.	Tudor Dynasty
105	1558 CE	Elizabeth I takes the throne after Mary dies.	Tudor Dynasty
106	1570 CE	Sir Francis Drake takes off on his first voyage to the West Indies.	Tudor Dynasty
107	1588 CE	The English defeat the Spanish at the Battle of Gravelines.	Tudor Dynasty
108	1591 CE	First performance of a play by Shakespeare.	Tudor Dynasty
109	1603 CE	James I is crowned as king of England and Scotland, finally uniting the two kingdoms.	Stuart Dynasty
110	1604 CE	The war with Spain ends, James brands himself as King of Great Britain.	Stuart Dynasty
111	1605 CE	The Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is found out before he can blow up Parliament.	Stuart Dynasty
112	1606 CE	The Union Jack adopted as the national flag.	Stuart Dynasty
113	1607 CE	England establishes the first permanent colony in North America: Jamestown in Virginia.	Stuart Dynasty
114	1611 CE	The King James Bible is compiled and published.	Stuart Dynasty
115	1616 CE	William Shakespeare dies.	Stuart Dynasty
116	1624-1630 CE	There is another war with Spain.	Stuart Dynasty
117	1625 CE	Charles I acends to the throne after James I dies.	Stuart Dynasty
118	1626-1629 CE	There is a war with France.	Stuart Dynasty
119	1629 CE	Charles I dissolves parliament and begins 11 years of his own rule.	Stuart Dynasty
120	1641 CE	Rebeliions break out in Ireland.	Stuart Dynasty
121	1642 CE	Due to Charles I's repeated attempts to undermine parlianment, civil unrest leads to civil war.	Stuart Dynasty
122	1646 CE	Charles I surrenders to the Scots after they form an alliance with the Parliamentarians.	Stuart Dynasty
123	1649 CE	Charles I is executed. Britain temporarily becomes a republic for the next 11 years.	Stuart Dynasty
124	1649-1652 CE	Oliver Cromwell conquers Ireland and Scotland, defeating Charles II at the Battle of Worcester.	Stuart Dynasty
125	1653 CE	Cromwell declares himself as "Lord Protector" essentially establishing himself as a new monarch.	Stuart Dynasty
126	1660 CE	Cromwell dies and Charles II takes the throne, restoring the monarchy.	Stuart Dynasty
127	1664-1665 CE	The Great Plague kills a quarter of London's citizens.	Stuart Dynasty
128	1666 CE	The Great Fire of London destroyes two-thirds of the city.	Stuart Dynasty
129	1685 CE	Charles II dies and leaves the throne to James II.	Stuart Dynasty
130	1689 CE	King James II is overthrown in the Glorious Revolution, and William of Orange (William II) and his wife Mary II are declared king and queen.	Stuart Dynasty
131	1689 CE	Introduces the English bill of rights, establishing that the monarchs rule in parnership with Parliament.	Stuart Dynasty
132	1692 CE	William III massacres the Jacobites in Glencoe.	Stuart Dynasty
133	1694 CE	The Bank of England is formed.	Stuart Dynasty
134	1702 CE	William III dies and the throne goes to his sister-in-law Anne.	Stuart Dynasty
135	1707 CE	England and Scotland are officially established as one country, Great Britain. The Scottish parliament is dissolved.	Stuart Dynasty
136	1710 CE	St. Paul's Cathedral is completed by Sir Christopher Wren	Stuart Dynasty
137	1714 CE	George I takes the thrown after Anne's death. She had no surviving children, so the crown went to the Hanover line.	Stuart Dynasty
138	1721 CE	Sir RObert Walpole becomes the first British Prime Minister.	Georgian Period
139	1727 CE	George II takes the throne after his father's death.	Georgian Period
140	1739 CE	Britain goes to war with Spain.	Georgian Period
141	1756-1763 CE	The Seven Year War with France	Georgian Period
142	1759 CE	James Wolfe adds Canada to the British Empire after capturing Quebec.	Georgian Period
143	1760 CE	George III succeds his grandfather George II, upon his death.	Georgian Period
144	1769-1770	James Cook discovers New Zealand and Australia	Georgian Period
145	1773 CE	The Boston Tea Party: American revolutionaries throw British tea into the ocean as protest of taxes.	Georgian Period
146	1775 CE	The American War of Independence begins.	Georgian Period
147	1776 CE	The Declaration of Independence is written.	Georgian Period
148	1780s CE	The Industrial Revolution gets its start.	Georgian Period
149	1793 CE	Britain declares war on France.	Georgian Period
150	1796 CE	Edward Jenner invests the first vaccine against small pox.	Georgian Period
151	1800 CE	Act of Union creates the United Kingdom.	Georgian Period
152	1805 CE	The Battle of Trafalgar: Lord Nelson defeats Napoleon.	Georgian Period
153	1815 CE	Duke of Wellington defeats Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo	Georgian Period
154	1820 CE	George IV succeeds his father George III, after his death.	Georgian Period
155	1830 CE	George IV dies and is succeeded by his brother William IV.	Georgian Period
156	1837 CE	William IV dies and is succeeded by his niece, Queen Victoria.	Victorian Period
157	1838 CE	Britain abolishes slavery.	Victorian Period
158	1838 CE	The first railway line into London opens.	Victorian Period
159	1845-1849 CE	The Great Potato Famine causes the death of 800,000 in Ireland, and the migration of many more.	Victorian Period
160	1854-1856 CE	The Crimean War: A fight between the Russians and an alliance of the British, French, and Turks.	Victorian Period
161	1858 CE	India comes under direct British control.	Victorian Period
162	1859 CE	Charles Darwin publishes "On the Origin of Species."	Victorian Period
163	1861 CE	Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, dies at 42. She would remain in mourning for the rest of her life.	Victorian Period
164	1863 CE	The London Underground opens.	Victorian Period
165	1869 CE	The first Sainsbury shop opens in Dury Lane, London.	Victorian Period
166	1876 CE	Alexander Bell invents the telephone.	Victorian Period
167	1901 CE	Victoria dies and is succeeded by her son Edward VII.	Victorian Period
168	1910 CE	Edward VII dies and is succeeded by George V.	The Modern Age
169	1912 CE	The Titanic sinks.	The Modern Age
170	1914-1918 CE	The Great War (World War I)	The Modern Age
171	1918 CE	The Spanish Flu kills 200,000 people in Britain.	The Modern Age
172	1920 CE	The Republic of Ireland gains independence.	The Modern Age
173	1927 CE	The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is created.	The Modern Age
174	1928 CE	Women older than 21 gain the right to vote.	The Modern Age
175	1928 CE	The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming.	The Modern Age
176	1936 CE	George V dies and is succeeded by Edward VIII. He shortly therafter abdicates in order to marry the American Wallace Simpson. His brother George VI takes the throne.	The Modern Age
177	1939-1945 CE	World War II.	The Modern Age
178	1940 CE	Winston Churchill becomes prime minister.	The Modern Age
179	1947 CE	India gains independence from Britain.	The Modern Age
180	1952 CE	Elizabeth II succeeds to the British throne after the death of her father, George VI.	The Modern Age
181	1957 CE	Ghana becomes the first British colony in Africa to gain independence.	The Modern Age
182	1965 CE	The death penalty is abolished.	The Modern Age
183	1967 CE	Abortion and homosexuality are legalised.	The Modern Age
184	1979 CE	Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first female prime minister.	The Modern Age
185	1982 CE	The Falklands War: Argentina invades the British territory of the Falkland Islands.	The Modern Age
186	1997 CE	Princess Diana dies in a car crash.	The Modern Age
187	2011 CE	Marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton.	The Modern Age

1 thought on “An Overview of British History Timeline”

Richard Howells

January 23, 2021 at 12:01 pm

“24 450 CE First invasion of the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons from various Germanic countries. Britain divided into the Seven Kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Anglia, Wessex Essex, Sussex, and Kent.”

At this point I stopped reading.
A common mistake with those who do not know their history or geography and very unfortunate for a site like this.
ENGLAND was divided into the seven Kingdoms not Britain.
Please correct this error and check throughout the article.

An Overview of British History Timeline

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An Overview of British History Timeline

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