British Towns and Villages Network

The History of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

You will find here an ever increasing amount of detail about British History and links to relevant websites around the country. This section displays information that is relevant to the whole of the British Isles, you will find nation specific information in the sections on England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

 
Historical and Architectural Periods of the British Isles
Age Period Commencing Concluding

Scotland and NW Ireland part of Laurentia.

England, Wales and Southern Ireland part of Gondwana.

Late Proterozoic

550,000,000 BC

 

Iapetus Ocaen begins to close, Gondwana rotate anti-clockwise.

Avalonia (England, Wales and Southern Ireland) separates from Gondwana.

Early Ordovician

490,000,000 BC

 

Two parts of what will be the British Isles are lined up.

Iapetus Ocean nearly closed up.

Early Silurian

440,000,000 BC

 

Iapetus Ocean vanished.

Baltica, Laurentia and Avalonia join up but still separated from Gondwana by Rheic Ocean.

Mid Devonian

375,000,000 BC

 

Rheic Ocean closes and Luarentia and Gondwana join together.

British Isles almost on the Equator but enveloped in the centre of the landmass

Carboniferous

302,000,000 BC

 

All the continents joined to form Pangea.

British Isles now at approx. 30N continue to drift northwards

Triassic

237,000,000 BC

 

Pangea begins to break apart

Jurassic

195,000,000 BC

 

North American and European plates separate

Early Tertiary

65,000,000 BC

 
       
Stone Age

Old Stone Age

Lower Palæolithic

2,500,000 BC

200,000 BC

Middle Palæolithic

200,000 BC

40,000 BC

Upper Palæolithic

40,000 BC

10,000 BC

Middle Stone Age

Mesolithic

10,000 BC

6,000 BC

New Stone Age

Neolithic

6000 BC

2300 BC
Early Bronze Age

 

2300 BC

1200 BC
Late Bronze Age

 

1200 BC

700 BC
Iron Age

 

700 BC

43 AD
Roman Britain

 

43 AD

446 AD
Anglo Saxons

 

446 AD

1060 AD
Early Norman

Romanesque

1060 AD

1100 AD
Late Norman

Romanesque

1100 AD

1145 AD
Transitional
  

1145 AD

1190 AD
Early English

Gothic

1190 AD

1245 AD
Decorated Early Geometrical

Gothic

1245 AD

1280 AD
Decorated Late Geometrical

Gothic

1280 AD

1315 AD
Decorated Curvilinear

Gothic

1315 AD

1360 AD
Rectilinear or Perpendicular

Gothic

1360 AD

1485 AD
Tudor

 

1485 AD

1558 AD
Elizabethan Tudor

Early Renaissance

1558 AD

1603 AD
Jacobean

Early Renaissance

1603 AD

1625 AD
Early Stuart

Early Renaissance

1625 AD

1649 AD
Commonwealth

Middle Renaissance

1649 AD

1660 AD
Late Stuart

Middle Renaissance

1660 AD

1689 AD
William and Mary

Middle Renaissance

1689 AD

1702 AD
Queen Anne

Middle Renaissance

1702 AD

1714 AD
Georgian

Late Renaissance

1714 AD

1830 AD
Regency

Late Renaissance

1811 AD

1830 AD
Victorian Gothic

Gothic Revival

1837 AD

1880 AD
Victorian
  

1880 AD

1901 AD
Edwardian

 

1901 AD

1910 AD
Neo-Georgian

 

1910 AD

 
 
      

 

  

 

 

 
 

The above dates are as they approximately relate to the United Kingdom. The periods are determined by a change in the use of specific materials by early humankind and are very arbitrary, one new dated find will cause an immediate realignment. In recent years the commencement of the Bronze Age in Britain has been pushed back around 700 years as a result of new Carbon14 dating techniques.

Pre-history, or the Prehistoric Age, is usually determined as being that period  of Human history prior to the discovery of written records therefore with regard to British history this must currently be aligned with the arrival of the Roman Legions is 43AD. Follow this link if you wish to find out what places where called in Roman times

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