27 Fun Facts About England: Weird, Shocking & Just Plain Odd!

With a rich tapestry of colourful – and often bloody – history, it’s no surprise that there are simply oodles of fun facts about England!

Did you know that the monarch owns all dolphins in British waters or that all spiral staircases in English castles wind in the same direction? Or just how important tea is to Brits?

Whether you’re looking for tips about English etiquette, hilarious facts about English culture, or fun facts about England for kids, we’ve got you covered here.

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27 Fun Facts About England

Let’s dive into 27 of the most exciting and fun facts about England, my home country.

1. Spiral staircases in English castles wind upwards clockwise

One of the weird facts about England dates back to medieval times. Every spiral staircase in every English castle has the same design!

All of these staircases wind upwards clockwise, because most people in England are right-handed. This gave soldiers defending a castle an advantage, as they could use their swords on the enemy. In contrast, enemy soldiers could not draw their own swords!

🏰 Love castles? Check out all the best castle hotels in England – from luxury to surprisingly affordable.

2. England is one part of the United Kingdom

England is one of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom – the others being Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The English flag features the red cross of St George on a white background, which becomes the Union flag when combined with the flags of the other nations.

Some people call the Union flag the Union Jack, but that’s incorrect, as it’s actually the flagpole that is the Jack, while the flag on its own is the Union flag 🙂

3. England’s nickname is Blighty or Old Blighty

The term ‘Blighty’, meaning an English visitor, was coined in India in the 19th century. It became popular in the trenches in World War One, where ‘Blighty’ was used as an affectionate way to refer to England.

4. Queue jumping is the height of rudeness

Queuing is hard-wired into Brits, and if you try it, you will endure much passive-aggressive tutting and harumphing!

Pro Tip: Whatever you do, don’t try to jump the queue to buy tickets at London Transport ticket machines. You could end up with a whopping fine of up to £1000 if you are caught!

5. Jaywalking happens A LOT!

If you’re planning to drive in England, watch for pedestrians leaping off pavements (sidewalks) at you and popping out between parked cars. 👀

Rule 8 of the British Highway Code clearly states that pedestrians should ‘cross at a place where drivers can see you,’ but many people ignore the rule!

6. Some English placenames are weird, funny or rude

Imagine living in a village called Ugley, a town called Penistone, or the Piddle Valley! Many funny English place names hark back to the time of the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons, and there are plenty of absolute corkers.

7. England uses both metric and imperial measurements

One of the most fun facts about England is how speed and distance are stated in imperial, as are drinks (a pint of beer or milk, for example). Temperature and many other things, however, use metric measurements. It’s completely illogical and can get confusing!

British schoolchildren have been taught metric measurements for decades. However, measures like height and weight are still typically quoted in imperial!

8. England is home to bizarre traditions and sports

Wife carrying, cheese rolling, and bed racing are some of the strange sports occurring yearly around England. Then there’s sheep show-jumping, bog snorkelling and Morris dancing.

In the Knaresborough bed race, up to 90 teams of 6 competitors push a bed and rider around a punishing 2.4-mile route through the town’s steep streets before plunging into the River Nidd for a short traverse to the finish line. It’s enormous fun to go and watch.

9. Brits drive on the left – for a very odd reason

Most vehicles are right-hand drive, and around 70% of cars are manual (stick shift). According to Historic Britain, there is a perfectly logical historical reason for this, all to do with keeping your sword hand free!

10. TV was invented in England

Scottish inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated the first-ever television at 22 Frith Street in Soho on January 26 1926.

11. The Internet was an English invention

Where would you be today without the World Wide Web? But did you know that a Brit invented it?

Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, while working at CERN as a computer scientist in 1989. And in case you’re wondering, “why is Tim Berners-Lee not a billionaire?”, it’s because he gave his invention to the world for free, with no patent and no royalties due!

Fun facts about England and the monarchy

12. The monarch owns all of the dolphins in British waters

Here’s another fun fact about England. King Charles III legally owns all the dolphins in British waters 🐋🐳 and all the sturgeons, porpoises, and whales. They are known as “fishes royal”, thanks to a statute (law) from 1324!

And in case you’re wondering, “Does the king own all the swans in England?” the answer is that the monarch has a prerogative over all swans in England and Wales. Read more>>

13. Monarchs cannot enter the House of Commons

British monarchs cannot enter the UK parliament’s House of Commons except for the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament.

This dates back to the turbulent time when King Charles I burst into the House of Commons in 1642 to arrest five Members of Parliament. The King’s attempt was unsuccessful. Later, he was tried and executed for treason. He remains the only British monarch to have met his end this way.

14. Queen Elizabeth II bred designer dogs

The late Queen’s love of dogs is well documented, and most people know her special love was Welsh corgis. Fewer people know that the Queen and her sister, Princess Margaret, bred dachshund-corgi crossbreed dogs and named them dorgis!

As reported by PEOPLE, one thing led to another when one of the Queen’s corgis, Tiny, was left unsupervised with Princess Margaret’s dachshund, Pipkin, and nature took its course!

The royal sisters loved their dorgis so much that they continued to breed them for decades.

Creepy facts about England

15. The last English workhouses closed in 1948

Looking through a 21st-century lens, it seems incredible that the last British workhouses were still operating after the Second World War.

Wondering, “What is a workhouse?” These were harsh institutions where people who could not support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment.

When the National Health Service was introduced in 1948, alongside the National Assistance Act in the same year, many former workhouses were converted into retirement homes for the elderly and public hospitals.

The Workhouse Museum in Ripon, is a fascinating place to visit to understand life in a Victorian workhouse.

16. Debtors prisons were legal in England until 1869

The Debtors Act of 1869 finally abolished the long-standing and brutal practice of imprisoning poor people for debt. It’s no wonder Charles Dickens had so much material to inspire his novels – his own father was imprisoned in a debtors’ prison at one stage.

17. The deadliest river in the world is in Yorkshire, England

The infamous Strid at Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire has the dubious honour of being the most dangerous river in the world. You wouldn’t want to fall in, as it has a 100% fatality rate! Amazingly, it’s only 6 feet wide, but the roar of the water thundering between the rocks is incredible.

Read more random facts about England and Bolton Abbey and discover why the Strid is so deadly (especially after heavy rainfall).

Fun facts about England and food

18. Afternoon Tea is an English institution

Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, is credited with inventing afternoon tea in the early 1800s. She wanted a bite to eat around four or five in the afternoon, as waiting for dinner at 8 pm made her feel hungry!

This habit was rapidly adopted as an excellent excuse for social gatherings and is still very much a part of British life.

READ NEXT: The Best Places For Afternoon Tea in Harrogate

19. Sparkling wine was invented in England (not France)

Here’s one of the fun facts about England that few people know!

In 1662, English scientist, naturalist and physician Christopher Merritt discovered ‘how to put the fizz into sparkling wine’ in the pretty Cotswolds town of Winchcombe.

That was more than 30 years before French monk Dom Perignon ‘discovered’ how to make Champagne in France in 1697. But sparkling wine can only be called champagne if produced in France’s Champagne region.

20. Meal names differ across the country

Midday meals at school in England are called ‘school dinners’, while workers break at midday for lunch (or luncheon if you’re posh). Many ‘southerners’ eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, while northerners tuck into breakfast, dinner and tea.

To complicate matters further, some people stop for ‘high tea’ at 4 pm, then have supper as a later light meal. And then, of course, there’s brunch!

21. Jam first or cream on scones?

Scones are an English teatime treat, served with butter and slathered with jam and cream. But there’s a never-ending debate about whether first to spread the jam or cream. The jam goes first in Cornwall, while it’s the opposite in Devon.

Then, once you’ve decided what to do with your jam and cream, you have to wrestle with how to pronounce scone! (Is it scone as in bone or as in gone?)

22. When is a bread roll not a bread roll?

The humble bread roll has so many regional names across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales that it can be hard to keep up. The variety of names is bewildering, from breadcakes in Yorkshire to oggies in Cornwall and stotties in the Northeast!

23. A ‘proper brew’ sorts everything out

Tea is England’s national drink, with around 100 million cups consumed daily! You only need to watch a British movie or soap opera to see that a ‘cuppa’ is the first thing many Brits turn to in a crisis.

While coffee drinking is increasing in England, 95% of UK homes own a kettle, so tea looks like the favoured option for some time.

24. The national favourite dish isn’t even English

Even though there are many different traditional dishes in England, such as Yorkshire Pudding, Fish and Chips and Shepherd’s Pie, Chicken Tikka Masala is widely considered the country’s national dish.

Some believe that the dish originated in India. In reality Chicken Tikka Masala was invented in England (many cities claim this honour) by Indian immigrants who had made England their home.

Fun facts about London

25. The City of London is the smallest in England

You probably already know that London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom and that it has the largest population in the United Kingdom – over 13 million people.

However, one of the most fun facts about London is that the City of London is the smallest in England. Confused?

The City of London – also known as the Square Mile – covers just over 1.1 square miles! It’s the historic part of London settled by the Romans from 1 AD until the Middle Ages. It is home to the Bank of England and the popular tourist attractions, including the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

26. London’s Marble Arch is moments from the site of an ancient gallows

Tyburn Hill, on London’s outskirts, was the site of public hangings for around 650 years from the Middle Ages until the late 18th century. The infamous gallows, known as the ‘Tyburn Tree’, stood on the site and could hang up to 24 felons (!!) at the same time.

In 1783 robber John Austin was the last person hanged at Tyburn Hill, as Newgate Prison became the new place for (non-public) hangings.

The gruesome gallows, located in the centre of a busy roadway, which overlooked Hyde Park, were hard to miss and a real draw for spectators – like the Marble Arch, which stands almost in the same spot today!

27. The world’s first ‘test-tube baby’ was born in England

English doctor Robert G. Edwards won the Nobel Prize for medicine for his contribution to advances in medical science after the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’, Louise Brown, was born at Oldham and District Hospital, Manchester, on July 25, 1978.