Literature The United Kingdom inherited the literary traditions of England, Scotland and Wales. These include
Arthurian literature and its Welsh origins, Norse-influenced
Old English literature, the works of English authors
Geoffrey Chaucer and
William Shakespeare, and Scots works such as
John Barbour's
The Brus. is regarded as the
national poet of Scotland.|alt=
Augustan Age The early 18th century period of British literature is known as the
Augustan Age and included the development of the novel.
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) and
Moll Flanders (1722) are often seen as the first English novels. Alongside these works,
poetry also flourished, with notable examples such as
The Rape of the Lock (1712) by
Alexander Pope, a mock-heroic poem that satirized the social mores of the time. However, the development of the novel took place in a wider literary context that included the rise of prose satires – which reached a high point with ''
Gulliver's Travels (1729) by Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift, and earlier foreign works like the Spanish Don Quixote. Other novels by Jonathan Swift include A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity'' (1712), and
A Modest Proposal (1729). It is among the most influential
dictionaries, or among most authoritative, in the history of the
English language and considered to be a monumental achievement in
lexicography. A group of London booksellers contracted Johnson to write a dictionary for the sum of 1,500
guineas (£1,575), equivalent to about £ in . Johnson took seven years to complete the work, although he had claimed he could finish it in three. A warm reception greeted Johnson's Dictionary as it was the first dictionary that could be read with pleasure. The definitions full of wit and depth of thought supported by passages from beloved poets and philosophers, meant a reader could be content spending an evening poring over its pages. Johnson's choice of structure and format has certainly shaped future English dictionaries and lexicons and the role they play in language development.
Richard Steele, another famous author known for
comedies and
pamphlets during the Augustan Period, began his literary career with "The Christian Hero" (1701), a moral pamphlet that was criticized due to his personal lifestyle, followed by the successful comedy
The Funeral later that year. In 1703, he wrote
The Lying Lover, an early sentimental comedy that failed on stage. In 1705, he collaborated with
Joseph Addison on
The Tender Husband and contributed the prologue to
John Vanbrugh's
The Mistake. Steele's major breakthrough came in 1709 with the creation of
The Tatler, a tri-weekly
periodical in which he wrote the majority of the essays under the pseudonym
Isaac Bickerstaff, aiming to expose societal vices and promote simplicity. Despite its success,
The Tatler was shut down in 1711 due to political pressure, prompting Steele and Addison to co-found
The Spectator in 1711 and
The Guardian in 1713, solidifying Steele's role as a leading figure in early British journalism.
Romantic Period The
Romantic Period was marked by a revival of
poetry and a focus on emotion, nature, and individualism, responding to the growing rationalism of the Enlightenment. This era gave rise to many literary works that explored the tension between reason and imagination.
William Wordsworth and
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's
Lyrical Ballads (1798) is considered a landmark collection, emphasizing the beauty of nature and the primacy of emotion, and marking the official start of the
Romantic Movement.
Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), one of the earliest science fiction novels, delves into themes of creation, responsibility, and the consequences of unchecked scientific ambition, framed within Gothic conventions.
Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice (1813) offered a brilliant social satire, critiquing class structures and the courtship rituals of
Regency England, and remains one of the most beloved novels in
British Literature.
Lord Byron's
Don Juan (1819–1824) is a satirical epic poem that details the adventures of the legendary lover, displaying Byron's wit, irony, and irreverence toward societal norms.
Sir Walter Scott's
Waverley (1814), widely considered the first historical novel, vividly recreates the
Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, cementing Scott's place as a major figure in British literature. William Blake's
Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) blends art and poetry to explore themes of innocence, experience, and societal corruption, providing a unique vision of the Romantic spirit. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s
Prometheus Unbound (1820), a lyrical drama, explores themes of rebellion, tyranny, and human freedom, standing as one of his most radical and imaginative works.
Robert Burns, the famed Scottish poet, revived interest in Scots literature with works such as
Auld Lang Syne, which celebrated the vernacular tradition. Lastly,
Mary Wollstonecraft's "
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (1792) stands as one of the earliest and most influential works of feminist philosophy, advocating for women's education and equal rights in a male-dominated society. Although primarily associated with the
Victorian Era,
Lewis Carroll's
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) emerged from the later part of this broader Romantic tradition, blending imaginative fantasy with playful wordplay. This whimsical novel follows young Alice's journey through a dreamlike world populated by peculiar characters, exploring themes of logic, absurdity, and identity. ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' remains a pioneering work of literary nonsense, captivating readers with its inventive narrative and surreal exploration of the boundaries between reality and imagination. was held by literary critic
Harold Bloom to be one of the
greatest Western writers of all time.
Victorian Era The late
Georgian Era and
Victorian era saw a renewed focus on the novel. A key theme of these novels was social commentary. Early in the period
Jane Austen satirised the lifestyle of the gentry and nobility, while the later novels of
Charles Dickens often used humour and keen observations to criticise poverty and social stratification. One of his novels,
Oliver Twist, describes
Victorian Times and the sordid lives of criminals and exposes the cruel treatment of the many orphans in
London. Another novel by Charles Dickens,
Great Expectations (1861), is a
bildungsroman that follows the life of
Pip, an orphan navigating ambition, love, and personal growth while critiquing social mobility and class divisions.
Charlotte Brontë's
Jane Eyre (1847) blends
Gothic romance with social commentary, focusing on a young woman's quest for independence against the rigid structures of
Victorian society. The three
Brontë sisters and
George Eliot commented on
Northern England and the
Midlands respectively, though all four women wrote under male pen names during their lifetimes, partly to deflect anti-feminist criticism. Nevertheless, openly female authors achieved considerable success in the period, such as the predominantly religious poems of
Elizabeth Barrett Browning and
Christina Rossetti.
George Eliot's
Middlemarch (1871–1872), often regarded as one of the greatest English novels, explores themes of politics, marriage, and ambition in the setting of a provincial English town.
Elizabeth Gaskell's
North and South (1854–1855) contrasts the industrial north with the agricultural south, addressing issues such as class conflict, industrialization, and gender roles.
Thomas Hardy's
Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) offers a tragic critique of Victorian society's treatment of women, sexuality, and class, while
Oscar Wilde's
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) examines themes of aestheticism, morality, and vanity in a Gothic narrative where the protagonist's portrait ages as his soul corrupts. In
Robert Louis Stevenson's
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), the novella delves into themes of duality, identity, and morality through the split personality of its protagonist.
Arthur Conan Doyle's
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), a group of short stories, which popularised the detective genre and introduced one of literature's most iconic characters: Sherlock Holmes.
Rudyard Kipling's literature exemplifies the
British Empire's influence on
British literature through his works that often reflect the ethos of
imperialism and
colonialism. His novels
The Jungle Book, which is considered to be classic piece of literature, and
The Man Who Would Be King are both set in
British India, showcasing the cultural and political impact of British rule in the region. His poem 'If—' famously captures the concept of the "stiff upper lip," a British ideal of stoicism and self-discipline. Kipling's works, while celebrated for their literary qualities, remain controversial for their imperialist themes. is frequently ranked the best children's author in British polls.|alt=
World War and Modern Literature World War I gave rise to British
war poets and writers such as
Wilfred Owen,
Siegfried Sassoon, and
Rupert Brooke, who wrote (often
paradoxically) of their expectations of war, and their experiences in the
trenches. Initially idealistic and patriotic in tone, as the war progressed the tone of the movement became increasingly sombre and pacifistic. The beginning of the twentieth century also saw the
Celtic Revival stimulate a new appreciation of traditional
Irish literature, while the
Scottish Renaissance brought modernism to
Scottish literature as well as an interest in new forms in the literatures of Scottish Gaelic and Scots. The English novel developed in the 20th century into much greater variety and it remains today the dominant English literary form. The contemporary British literary scene is marked by awards such as the
Booker Prize, created in 1969, and festivals including the Welsh
Hay Festival, held since 1988. The prominent status of children's literature in the UK was demonstrated in the
opening ceremony of the
London 2012 Olympic Games, which contained sequence dedicated to prominent children's literary characters. In 2003 the BBC carried out a British survey entitled
The Big Read in order to find the "nation's best-loved novel", with works by English novelists
J. R. R. Tolkien,
Jane Austen,
Philip Pullman,
Douglas Adams and
J. K. Rowling making up the top five on the list. More than 75% of the British public read at least one book annually. The UK is also among the largest publishers of books. , six firms in the United Kingdom rank among the world's biggest publishers of books in terms of revenue:
Bloomsbury,
Cambridge University Press,
Informa,
Oxford University Press,
Pearson, and
RELX Group.
Theatre has had a significant impact on British theatre and drama. From its formation in 1707 the United Kingdom has had a vibrant tradition of theatre, much of it inherited from England, Scotland and Wales. The
Union of the Crowns coincided with the decline of highbrow and provocative
Restoration comedy in favour of
sentimental comedy, domestic
tragedy such as George Lillo's
The London Merchant (1731), and by an overwhelming interest in Italian opera. Popular entertainment became more important in this period than ever before, with fair-booth burlesque and mixed forms that are the ancestors of the English
music hall. These forms flourished at the expense of other forms of English drama, which went into a long period of decline. In Scotland the opposite occurred, with the emergence of specifically Scottish plays including
John Home's Douglas and the works of
Walter Scott, which included original plays as well as adaptations of his
Waverley novels. The late 19th century saw revival of English theatre with arrival of Irishmen
George Bernard Shaw and
Oscar Wilde, who influenced domestic English drama and revitalised it. Their contemporaries
Gilbert and Sullivan had a similar impact on musical theatre with their
comic operas. The
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was opened in Shakespeare's birthplace
Stratford upon Avon in 1879 and
Herbert Beerbohm Tree founded an
Academy of Dramatic Art at
Her Majesty's Theatre in 1904. The early twentieth century was dominated by
drawing-room plays produced by the likes of
Noël Coward, which were then challenged by the
kitchen sink realism and absurdist drama influenced by Irishman
Samuel Beckett in the 1950s and 60s. Conversely 1952 saw the first performance of
Agatha Christie's
The Mousetrap, a drawing-room murder mystery that has seen over 25,000 performances and is the
longest-running West End show. At the same time the performing arts theatre
Sadler's Wells, under
Lilian Baylis, nurtured talent that led to the development of an opera company, which became the
English National Opera (ENO); a theatre company, which evolved into the National Theatre; and a ballet company, which eventually became the English
Royal Ballet. Elsewhere the
Royal Shakespeare Company was founded in 1959 at
Stratford-upon-Avon, and continues to mainly stage Shakespeare's plays. Contemporary British theatre is focused on the
West End, London's major theatre district. The
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the
City of Westminster dates back to 1663, making it the oldest London theatre, however the Theatre Royal at the
Bristol Old Vic is the oldest continually-operating theatre in the English speaking world, opening in 1768. The musicals of
Andrew Lloyd Webber have dominated the West End since the late 20th century, leading him to be dubbed "the most commercially successful composer in history". A
National Theatre of Scotland was set up in 2006.
Music Classical music band playing "
The British Grenadiers" at
Trooping the Colour. Formed in 1685 the band performs at British ceremonial events. British Baroque music was heavily influenced by continental fashions. This is exemplified by
George Frideric Handel, a German-born naturalised British citizen whose choral music set British taste for the next two centuries. His operas also helped Britain challenge Italy as a centre of operatic production. Classical music attracted much attention from 1784 with the formation of the
Birmingham Triennial Music Festival, which was the longest running classical music festival of its kind until the final concerts in 1912. Beyond this, the establishment of the
London Philharmonic Society in 1813,
Royal Academy of Music in 1822, and
Irish Academy of Music in 1848 aided the professionalisation of British classical music and patronage of composers. The Philharmonic Society was a strong supporter of the German
Felix Mendelssohn, an early Romantic composer who also strongly influenced British music. In Ireland,
John Field invented the nocturne and may have been an influence on Chopin and Liszt. A notable development of the mid- to late-nineteenth century was the resurgence of
English-language opera and the establishment of several prominent orchestras, including the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in 1840, Manchester-based
Hallé in 1858, the
Scottish Orchestra in 1891 and the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 1920. The most notable trend in classical music at the turn of the century was the nationalistic trend that developed. This was initially seen in works like
The Masque at Kenilworth, which reconstructed an Elizabethan masque, but later took a pastoral turn under the influence of the
British folk revival. Examplars of this period are
Ralph Vaughan Williams'
English Folk Song Suite, and
Sir Alexander Mackenzie's
Scottish Rhapsodies. Modern and contemporary classical music takes a variety of forms. Composers such as
Benjamin Britten developed idiosyncratic and avant-garde styles, while the likes of
William Walton produced more conventional ceremonial and patriotic music. The UK now has several major orchestras, including the
BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the
Philharmonia, while the establishment of the
Opera North in 1977 sought to redress the balance of operatic institutions away from London. There are several classical festivals, such as
Aldeburgh and
Glydebourne, while the
BBC Proms are an important annual fixture in the classical calendar.
Popular music are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed
band in popular music, with estimated sales of over one billion.|alt= Popular commercial music in Britain can be traced back at least as far as the seventeenth-century
broadside ballad, and also encompasses
brass band music and
music hall. Popular music in the modern sense began to emerge in the 1950s, as the American styles of
jazz and
rock and roll became popular. The
skiffle revival was an early attempt to create a British form of American music, but it was the emergence of
British rock and roll by the early 1960s that established a viable British popular music industry. Genres such as
beat and
British blues were re-exported to America by bands such as the
Beatles and
Rolling Stones, in a move that came to be called the
British Invasion. The 1960s saw the development of
heavy metal in
Birmingham and the wider area. The development of
blues rock helped differentiate rock and pop music, leading to the emergence of several sub-genres of rock in the 1970s.
Glam rock was a particularly British genre that emphasised outrageous costumes, while the end of the decade saw the rise of
punk,
new wave, and
post-punk bands. The influence of immigration could also be seen in the increased prominence of
World music, particularly
Jamaican music. The 1980s were a successful decade in British pop, as a second
British Invasion was witnessed and new technology enabled genres such as
synthpop to form. Jazz saw a resurgence as black British musicians created new fusions such as
Acid Jazz.
Indie rock was a reaction to the perceived saturation of the music industry by pop, exemplified by
Stock Aitken Waterman's domination of the charts. This continued in the 1990s, as
boy bands,
all-female and
mixed groups dominated the singles chart, while the
Madchester scene helped drive
alternative rock and
Britpop to the mainstream. British soul saw a rise that continued into the 2000s, including the global success of
Adele. Dance music also saw innovation, with genres such as
dubstep and
new rave emerging.
Folk and sub-national music In contrast to the comparatively homogeneous classical and pop genres, each nation of the UK has retained a distinct tradition of folk music. The traditional
folk music of England has contributed to several genres, such as
sea shanties,
jigs,
hornpipes and
dance music. It has its own distinct variations and regional peculiarities, while musical
Morris dancing is an English folk dance known to have existed at least as early as the mid-15th century. The
bagpipes have long been a national symbol of Scotland, and the
Great Highland Bagpipe is widely recognised. The
English and Scottish Popular Ballads, are
ballads of the British Isles from the later medieval period until the 19th century, demonstrating great regional variety, particularly local traditions such as the
Border ballads, which include the particularly influential
Ballad of Chevy Chase. British folk groups, such as
Fairport Convention, have drawn heavily from these ballads. Similarly, while the
national anthem "
God Save the King" and other patriotic songs such as "
Rule, Britannia!" represent the United Kingdom, each of the four individual countries of the UK has its own patriotic hymns. For example,
Jerusalem,
Flower of Scotland,
Land of My Fathers, and
Danny Boy pertain exclusively to England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland respectively. These songs are often used at sporting events where each nation competes individually.
Cinema as T. E. Lawrence in
David Lean's 1962 epic
Lawrence of ArabiaBritain has had a significant film industry for over a century. While many films focus on British culture, British cinema is also marked by its interaction and competition with
American and continental
European cinema. The UK was the location of the oldest surviving moving picture,
Roundhay Garden Scene (1888), which was shot in
Roundhay,
Leeds by French inventor
Louis Le Prince, while the first British film,
Incident at Clovelly Cottage was shot in 1895. The world's first
colour motion picture was shot by
Edward Raymond Turner in 1902. British film production suffered in the 1920s in face of competition from American imports and a legal requirement for cinemas to show a set quota of British films, which encouraged poor-quality, low-cost productions to meet this demand. This had changed by the 1940s, when the government encouraged fewer, higher-quality films to be made
. This era also saw the rise of
Alfred Hitchcock, who soon moved to the US and become one of the twentieth century's most influential directors. During
World War II the
Crown Film Unit established a reputation for documentaries, while
Powell and Pressburger began their influential and innovative collaboration. The post-war period was a particular high point for British filmmaking, producing
The Third Man and
Brief Encounter, which the
British Film Institute consider the best and second-best British films respectively.
Laurence Olivier's 1948
Hamlet was the first British film to win the
Academy Award for Best Picture. The 1950s saw a focus on popular domestic topics such as comedies, including the enduring
Carry On series, and World War II epics such as
The Dam Busters. At the end of the decade
Hammer Films took advantage of relaxed censorship laws to begin their series of successful horror films. The beginning of the 1960s saw the
British New Wave style develop, influenced by its French counterpart, that sought to depict a wider strata of society in a realistic manner. The 1960s also saw renewed American financial interest in British film, which particularly manifested itself in the development of
historical epics, such as Best Picture winners
Lawrence of Arabia and
A Man for All Seasons;
spy thrillers, including the first films in the
James Bond franchise; and films based on '
swinging London' scene. The 1970s saw a withdrawal of American support and a retrenchment in British cinema, though the decade did see culturally important productions such as the horror
The Wicker Man and
Monty Python's comedic films. The decade also saw the
Commonwealth influence British film, as
Pressure and
A Private Enterprise are considered the first
Black British and
British Asian films respectively. 1981's
Chariots of Fire and 1982's
Gandhi both won the Best Picture Oscar, the latter winning eight awards, prompting a resurgence in period films. 1982 also saw the creation of
Channel 4, which had a remit to promote films for minority audiences. Films with racial and LGBT themes were produced, while Channel 4's involvement saw television stars move into feature films. American investment again increased in the 1990s, and the success of
Four Weddings and a Funeral saw
romantic comedies rise in popularity.
Merchant Ivory Productions, boosted by the Oscars success of the previous decade's period pieces, continued to produce films in the same vein. American studios also began to base the production of Hollywood films in the UK, encouraged by tax incentives. 1996's
Trainspotting led to increased interest in regional, particularly Scottish, cinema. While American-funded films continued their influence in the 2010s, domestic European co-productions also received acclaim.
The Queen was British-French production for which
Helen Mirren won Best Actress, while the
UK Film Council funded ''
The King's Speech, which won Best Picture in 2011. Asian British cinema has risen in prominence since 1999, when East is East'' was a mainstream success on a low budget.
Broadcasting The UK has been at the forefront of developments in film, radio and television. Broadcasting in the UK has historically been dominated by the taxpayer-funded but independently run
British Broadcasting Corporation (commonly known as the
BBC), although other independent radio and television (
ITV,
Channel 4,
Five) and satellite broadcasters (especially
BSkyB which has over 10 million subscribers) have become more important in recent years. BBC television, and the other three main television channels are
public service broadcasters who, as part of their licence allowing them to operate, broadcast a variety of minority interest programming. The BBC and Channel 4 are state-owned, though they operate independently. Launched in 1955, ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Director
Ridley Scott's evocative 1973
Hovis bread television commercial captured the public imagination. Filmed on
Gold Hill, Shaftesbury in Dorset, Scott's advert was voted the UK's favourite television advertisement of all time in 2006. Other notable British commercials include the 1989
British Airways face advertisement, the 2005
noitulovE advert for
Guinness, the 2007
Gorilla advertisement by
Cadbury chocolate featuring a gorilla playing drums with Phil Collins' track "
In the Air Tonight" playing in the background, and a 2013 advert for
Galaxy chocolate bar featuring a computer-generated image of
Audrey Hepburn. Christmas commercials are screened from early November in the UK, with campaigns including the
John Lewis Christmas advert for the department store chain. International football tournaments, such as the
World Cup, are historically the most viewed sports events among the public, while
Match of the Day is the most popular weekly football show. The
1966 FIFA World Cup final and the
funeral of Princess Diana are the two
most watched television events ever in the UK. The puppet show
Spitting Image was a satire of the
royal family, politics, entertainment, sport and British culture of the 1980s up to the mid-1990s. with his
Wallace and Gromit characters
Have I Got News for You and
Mock the Week are the two longest running satirical panel shows. Satire also features heavily in the
Grand Theft Auto video game series which has been ranked among Britain's most successful exports. The
slapstick and double entendre of
Benny Hill also achieved very high ratings on British television, as did the physical humour of
Mr. Bean. Popular comedy duos in television include
The Two Ronnies and
Morecambe and Wise, with both shows featuring memorable sketches.
Jeeves and Wooster starred
Hugh Laurie as
Bertie Wooster, an airy, nonchalant, gormless, idle young gentleman and
Stephen Fry as
Jeeves, his calm, well-informed, and talented
valet. Created by and starring
Rik Mayall as Richie and
Adrian Edmondson as Eddie,
Bottom features two crude, perverted flatmates with no jobs and little money, which is noted for its chaotic, nihilistic humour and violent comedy slapstick.
Steve Coogan created the character
Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept television presenter who often insults his guests and whose inflated sense of celebrity drives him to shameless self-promotion.
Da Ali G Show starred
Sacha Baron Cohen as a faux-streetwise poseur
Ali G from west London, who would conduct real interviews with unsuspecting people, many of whom are celebrities, during which they are asked absurd and ridiculous questions. Animator
Nick Park created the
Wallace and Gromit characters at
Aardman Animations studio in Bristol. They feature in
A Grand Day Out (1989),
The Wrong Trousers (1993) and
A Close Shave (1995), which all have
100% positive ratings on the aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, while
A Matter of Loaf and Death was the most watched television programme in the UK in 2008. Aardman also produce the kid's show
Shaun the Sheep. One of the most popular children's shows originating in the UK is
Thomas & Friends (based on
The Railway Series books by
Wilbert Awdry), which has become the number one licensed preschool property in the world. Other popular children's shows include
Postman Pat,
Fireman Sam,
Teletubbies,
Bob the Builder and
Peppa Pig. First airing in 1958,
Blue Peter is famous for its
arts and crafts "makes". The show has been a staple for generations of British children. Popular live action TV shows include
The Borrowers (based on
Mary Norton books on little people),
The Adventures of Black Beauty,
The Famous Five (based on
Enid Blyton books),
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (based on the
C. S. Lewis novel), and
Pride and Prejudice (starring
Colin Firth as
Mr. Darcy). The actor
David Jason has voiced a number of popular characters in children's animation, including
The Wind in the Willows (based on the children's book by
Kenneth Grahame),
Danger Mouse and
Count Duckula. Other children's shows include ''
Where's Wally? (a series based on books by author Martin Handford where readers are challenged to find Wally who is hidden in the group), Dennis the Menace and Gnasher, while Thunderbirds and Terrahawks'' by
Gerry and
Sylvia Anderson have been praised for creating
Supermarionation. Debuting in 1982,
The Snowman (featuring the festive song "
Walking in the Air") is annually screened at Christmas. Shown on the BBC, the UK holds two high-profile charity telethon events,
Children in Need, held annually in November, and
Comic Relief, which alternates with
Sports Relief, every March. The 2011 edition of Comic Relief saw the first appearance of
James Corden's Carpool Karaoke sketch when he drove around London singing songs with
George Michael. British programmes dominate the list of TV's most watched shows in the UK, with the
kitchen sink dramas, ITV's
Coronation Street and BBC's
EastEnders, both often ranking high on the ratings list compiled by
BARB. The major
soap operas each feature a
pub, and these pubs have become household names throughout the UK. The
Rovers Return is the pub in
Coronation Street, the
Queen Vic (short for the
Queen Victoria) is the pub in
EastEnders, and the
Woolpack in ITV's
Emmerdale. The pub being a prominent setting in the three major television soap operas reflects the role pubs have as the focal point of the community in many towns and villages across the UK. Espionage and detective shows have long been a staple of British television, such as the 1960s series
The Avengers featuring lady spy adventurer and cultural (and feminist) icon
Emma Peel. The United Kingdom has a large number of national and local radio stations which cover a great variety of programming. The most listened to stations are the five main national
BBC Radio stations.
BBC Radio 1, a new music station aimed at the 16–24 age group.
BBC Radio 2, a varied
popular music and chat station aimed at adults is consistently highest in the ratings.
BBC Radio 4, a varied talk station, is noted for its news,
current affairs,
drama and
comedy output as well as
The Archers, its long running soap opera, and other unique programmes, including
Desert Island Discs (1942–present), an interview programme in which a famous guest (called a "
castaway") chooses eight pieces of music, a book and a luxury item that they would take with them to a desert island. Currently presented by
Lauren Laverne, it is the longest running music radio programme in British history. The idea for a
Christmas message was conceived by one of the founders of the BBC. Delivered annually by the monarch, it was first broadcast on BBC Radio in 1932. An
alternative Christmas message was first broadcast on Channel 4 in 1993. Broadcast from 1951 to 1960, radio comedy
The Goon Show, starring
Peter Sellers,
Spike Milligan and
Harry Secombe, mixed ludicrous plots with surreal humour, puns, catchphrases and an array of bizarre sound effects. The show has exerted considerable influence on British comedy and culture. As a film star Sellers in particular became influential to film actors by using different accents and guises and assuming multiple roles in the same film. Comedian
Marty Feldman co-created the acclaimed BBC Radio comedy programme
Round the Horne in 1965. The long running radio comedy
Just a Minute first aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1967. Panellists must talk for sixty seconds on a given subject, "without hesitation, repetition or deviation". Guests over the years have included
Stephen Fry,
Eddie Izzard and
Sue Perkins. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, the science fiction comedy radio series ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' was innovative in its use of music and sound effects. The BBC, as a
public service broadcaster, also runs minority stations such as
BBC Asian Network,
BBC Radio 1Xtra and
BBC Radio 6 Music, and local stations throughout the country. Rock music station
Absolute Radio, and sports station
Talksport, are among the biggest commercial radio stations in the UK. •
List of radio stations in the United Kingdom •
List of television stations in the United Kingdom Print in
Vanity Fair, 30 January 1869
Freedom of the press was established in Great Britain in 1695. Popular national newspapers include
The Times,
Financial Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent. Founded by publisher
John Walter in 1785,
The Times is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, and is the originator of the widely used
Times Roman typeface, created by
Victor Lardent and commissioned by
Stanley Morison in 1931. Newspaper and publishing magnate
Alfred Harmsworth played a major role in "shaping the modern press" – Harmsworth introduced or harnessed "broad contents, exploitation of advertising revenue to subsidize prices, aggressive marketing, subordinate regional markets, independence from party control" – and was called "the greatest figure who ever strode down
Fleet Street."
The Economist was founded by
James Wilson in 1843, and the daily
Financial Times was founded in 1888. Founding ''
The Gentleman's Magazine in 1731, Edward Cave coined the term "magazine" for a periodical, and was the first publisher to successfully fashion a wide-ranging publication. Founded by Thomas Gibson Bowles, Vanity Fair'' featured
caricatures of famous people for which it is best known today. A pioneer of children's publishing,
John Newbery made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market.
The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes was published by Newbery in 1765. Formed in 1940,
Puffin Books is the children's imprint of Penguin Books.
Barbara Euphan Todd's scarecrow story,
Worzel Gummidge, was the first Puffin story book in 1941. The
Guinness Book of Records was the brainchild of Sir
Hugh Beaver. On 10 November 1951 he became involved in an argument over which was the fastest
game bird in Europe, and realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books. Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated throughout the world, but there was no book with which to settle arguments about records. He realised that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove successful. His idea became reality when an acquaintance of his recommended University friends
Norris and
Ross McWhirter who were then commissioned to compile what became
The Guinness Book of Records in August 1954.
E. L. James' erotic romance
trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey,
Fifty Shades Darker, and
Fifty Shades Freed, have sold over 125 million copies globally, and set the record in the United Kingdom as the fastest selling paperback.
Copyright laws originated in Britain with the
Statute of Anne (also known as the Copyright Act 1709), which outlined the individual rights of the artist. A right to benefit financially from the work is articulated, and court rulings and legislation have recognised a right to control the work, such as ensuring that the integrity of it is preserved. The Statute of Anne gave the publishers rights for a fixed period, after which the copyright expired.
Visual arts is an
oil painting executed in 1822 by
J. M. W. Turner (c.1775–1851). The experience of military, political and economic power from the rise of the
British Empire led to a very specific drive in artistic technique, taste and sensibility in the United Kingdom. From the creation of the United Kingdom, the
English school of painting is mainly notable for portraits and landscapes, and indeed portraits in landscapes. Among the artists of this period are
Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792),
George Stubbs (1724–1806), and
Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788). Pictorial satirist
William Hogarth pioneered Western sequential art, and political illustrations in this style are often referred to as "Hogarthian". Following the work of Hogarth,
political cartoons developed in England in the latter part of the 18th century under the direction of
James Gillray. Regarded as being one of the two most influential
cartoonists (the other being Hogarth), Gillray has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon, with his satirical work calling the king (George III), prime ministers and generals to account. The late 18th century and the early 19th century was perhaps the most radical period in British art, producing
William Blake (1757–1827),
John Constable (1776–1837) and
J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851), three of the most influential British artists, each of whom have dedicated spaces allocated for their work at the
Tate Britain. Named after Turner, the
Turner Prize (created in 1984) is an annual award presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. The
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) achieved considerable influence after its foundation in 1848 with paintings that concentrated on religious, literary, and
genre subjects executed in a colourful and minutely detailed style. PRB artists included
John Everett Millais,
Dante Gabriel Rossetti and subsequently
Edward Burne-Jones. Also associated with it was the designer
William Morris, whose efforts to make beautiful objects affordable (or even free) for everyone led to his wallpaper and tile designs to some extent defining the
Victorian aesthetic and instigating the
Arts and Crafts movement. Visual artists from the UK in the 20th century include
Lucian Freud,
Francis Bacon,
David Hockney,
Bridget Riley, and the
pop artists
Richard Hamilton and
Peter Blake. Also prominent amongst 20th-century artists was
Henry Moore, regarded as the voice of British sculpture, and of British modernism in general.
Sir Jacob Epstein was a pioneer of modern sculpture. In 1958 artist
Gerald Holtom designed the protest logo for the British
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), the peace movement in the UK, which became a universal
peace symbol. As a reaction to
abstract expressionism,
pop art emerged in England at the end of the 1950s. The 1990s saw the
Young British Artists,
Damien Hirst and
Tracey Emin. in 1861. Produced by the three-colour method suggested by
James Clerk Maxwell in 1855, it is the foundation of all colour photographic processes. The auction was revived in 17th- and 18th-century England when
auctions by candle began to be used for the sale of goods and leaseholds, some of which were recorded in
Samuel Pepys's
diary in 1660. Headquartered in King Street, London,
Christie's, the world's largest auction house, was founded in 1766 by auctioneer
James Christie in London. Known for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, Lucian Freud was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time. Freud was depicted in Francis Bacon's 1969 oil painting,
Three Studies of Lucian Freud, which was sold for $142.4 million in November 2013, the
highest price attained at auction to that point.
Randolph Caldecott,
Walter Crane,
Kate Greenaway,
John Tenniel,
Aubrey Beardsley,
Roger Hargreaves,
Arthur Rackham,
John Leech,
George Cruikshank and
Beatrix Potter were notable book illustrators. Posters have played a significant role in British culture. Designed by
Alfred Leete in 1914 as a recruitment poster for the British Army, "
Lord Kitchener Wants You" is the most famous British recruitment poster ever produced and an iconic and enduring image of World War I. Produced by the British government in 1939 for World War II, the
Keep Calm and Carry On motivational poster is now seen as "not only as a distillation of a crucial moment in Britishness, but also as an inspiring message from the past to the present in a time of crisis". In the late 1960s, British
graphic designer Storm Thorgerson co-founded the graphic art group
Hipgnosis, who have designed many iconic single and album covers for rock bands. His works were notable for their
surreal elements, with perhaps the most famous being the cover for Pink Floyd's
The Dark Side of the Moon. Designed and photographed by
Brian Duffy, the
Aladdin Sane album cover features a lightning bolt across his face which is regarded as one of the most iconic images of David Bowie. The subversive political artwork of
Banksy (pseudonym of English
graffiti artist whose identity is concealed) can be found on streets, walls and buildings in the UK and the rest of the world. Arts institutions include the
Royal College of Art,
Royal Society of Arts,
New English Art Club,
Slade School of Art,
Royal Academy, and the
Tate Gallery (founded as the National Gallery of British Art). ;Design (and the
Red Arrows with their trail of red, white and blue smoke) mark the Queen's
Golden Jubilee. With its slender delta wings Concorde won the public vote for best British design. In 2006, 37 years after its first test flight,
Concorde was named the winner of the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the
Design Museum. A total of 212,000 votes were cast with Concorde beating other British design icons such as the
Mini,
mini skirt,
Jaguar E-Type,
Tube map and the
Supermarine Spitfire. Sir
Morien Morgan led research into
supersonic transport in 1948 that culminated in the Concorde passenger aircraft. The
Brit Awards statuette for the
BPI's annual music awards, which depicts
Britannia, the female personification of Britain, is regularly redesigned by some of the best known British designers, stylists and artists, including Dame
Vivienne Westwood,
Damien Hirst,
Tracey Emin, Sir
Peter Blake,
Zaha Hadid and Sir
Anish Kapoor.
Performing arts, carnivals, parades are held annually at the
Royal Albert Hall during the summer. Regular performers at the Albert Hall include
Eric Clapton who has played at the venue over 200 times. at night in 2025. The festival has an average daily attendance of 175,000 people with millions more watching live on BBC. Large outdoor
music festivals in the summer and autumn are popular, such as
Glastonbury (the largest greenfield festival in the world),
V Festival,
Reading and Leeds Festivals. The UK was at the forefront of the illegal, free
rave movement from the late 1980s, which led to pan-European culture of
teknivals mirrored on the British free festival movement and associated travelling lifestyle. The most prominent
opera house in England is the
Royal Opera House at
Covent Gardens.
The Proms, a season of
orchestral classical music concerts held at the
Royal Albert Hall, is a major cultural event held annually. A staple of British seaside culture, the quarrelsome couple
Punch and Judy made their first recorded appearance in Covent Garden, London in 1662. Regarded as British cultural icons, they appeared at a significant period in British history, with Glyn Edwards stating: "[Pulcinella] went down particularly well with Restoration British audiences, fun-starved after years of
Puritanism. We soon changed Punch's name, transformed him from a marionette to a hand puppet, and he became, really, a spirit of Britain – a subversive maverick who defies authority, a kind of puppet equivalent to our political cartoons." The
circus is a traditional form of entertainment in the UK.
Chipperfield's Circus dates back more than 300 years in Britain, making it one of the oldest family circus dynasties.
Philip Astley is regarded as the father of the
modern circus. Following his invention of the circus ring in 1768,
Astley's Amphitheatre opened in London in 1773. is Britain's biggest street festival. Led by members of the British African-Caribbean community, the annual carnival takes place in August and lasts three days. The
Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world's largest
arts festival. Established in 1947, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals. The Fringe mostly attracts events from the
performing arts, particularly theatre and comedy, although dance and music also feature. The
Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event that has taken place on the streets of
Notting Hill, London since 1966. Led by the
British African-Caribbean community, the carnival has attracted around one million people, making it Britain's biggest street festival and one of the largest in the world.
was first held at the London Palladium (pictured'') in 1941. Performed in front of members of the Royal Family, it is held annually in December and broadcast on television.
Pantomime (often referred to as "panto") is a British
musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment. It is performed in theatres throughout the UK during the Christmas and New Year season. The art originated in the 18th century with
John Weaver, a dance master and choreographer at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. Pantomime story lines and scripts are almost always based on traditional children's stories: some of the popular British stories featured include
Jack and the Beanstalk,
Peter Pan,
Babes in the Wood,
Goldilocks and the Three Bears and
Dick Whittington and His Cat. Plot lines are almost always adapted for comic or satirical effect, and characters and situations from other stories are often interpolated into the plot. For example,
Jack and the Beanstalk might include references to English nursery rhymes involving characters called "Jack", such as
Jack and Jill. Famous people regularly appear in Pantos, such as
Ian McKellen. McKellen has also appeared at gay pride marches, with
Manchester Pride one of 15 annual gay pride parades in the UK; the largest in
Brighton attracts over 300,000. , a traditional English folk custom being celebrated in
Hastings Old Town, known for its many historic buildings.
Music hall is a British theatrical entertainment popular from the early Victorian era to the mid-20th century. The precursor to
variety shows of today, music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts and variety entertainment. Music hall songs include "
I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am", "
Hokey cokey", "
I Do Like To be Beside the Seaside" and "
The Laughing Policeman". British performers who honed their skills at pantomime and music hall sketches include
Charlie Chaplin,
Stan Laurel,
George Formby,
Gracie Fields,
Dan Leno,
Gertrude Lawrence,
Marie Lloyd and
Harry Champion. British music hall comedian and theatre impresario
Fred Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue in the 1890s, and Chaplin and Laurel were notable music hall comedians who worked for him. Film producer
Hal Roach stated; "Fred Karno is not only a genius, he is the man who originated
slapstick comedy. We in Hollywood owe much to him." Examples of variety shows that evolved from the music hall include the
Royal Variety Performance (first performed in 1912), which was broadcast on BBC radio from the 1920s, and then on television since the 1950s. Annually held in December (often at the
London Palladium) and performed in front of members of the
British royal family, many
famous acts have performed at the
Royal Variety show over the century, and since 2007 one act of the show has been selected by the British public through the
ITV television talent show ''
Britain's Got Talent''.
Architecture is a 14th-century
moated
castle in East Sussex. Today there are thousands of
castles throughout the UK. The
architecture of the United Kingdom includes many features that precede the creation of the United Kingdom in 1707, from as early as
Skara Brae and
Stonehenge to the
Giant's Ring,
Avebury and
Roman ruins. In most towns and villages the parish church is an indication of the age of the settlement. Many
castles remain from the
medieval period, such as
Windsor Castle (longest-occupied castle in Europe),
Stirling Castle (one of the largest and most important in Scotland),
Bodiam Castle (a
moated castle), and
Warwick Castle. Over the two centuries following the
Norman conquest of England of 1066, and the building of the
Tower of London, castles such as
Caernarfon Castle in Wales and
Carrickfergus Castle in Ireland were built. is an example of
English Gothic architecture. Since 1066, when
William the Conqueror was crowned, the coronations of British monarchs have been held here.
English Gothic architecture flourished from the 12th to the early 16th century, and famous examples include
Westminster Abbey, the traditional place of
coronation for the
British monarch, which also has a long tradition as a venue for
royal weddings; and was the location of the
funeral of Princess Diana,
Canterbury Cathedral, one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England;
Salisbury Cathedral, which has the tallest church
spire in the UK; and
Winchester Cathedral, which has the longest
nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe.
Tudor architecture is the final development of Medieval architecture in England, during the
Tudor period (1485–1603). In the United Kingdom, a
listed building is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. About half a million buildings in the UK have "listed" status. In the 1680s,
Downing Street was built by
Sir George Downing, and its most famous address
10 Downing Street, became the residence of the
Prime Minister in 1730. One of the best-known English architects working at the time of the foundation of the United Kingdom was Sir
Christopher Wren. He was employed to design and rebuild many of the ruined ancient churches of London following the
Great Fire of London. His masterpiece,
St Paul's Cathedral, was completed in the early years of the United Kingdom.
Buckingham Palace, the London residence of the British monarch, was built in 1705. Both St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace use
Portland stone, a limestone from the
Jurassic period
quarried in the
Jurassic Coast in
Portland, Dorset, which is famous for its use in British and world architecture. In the early 18th century
Baroque architecture – popular in Europe – was introduced, and
Blenheim Palace was built in this era. However, Baroque was quickly replaced by a return of the Palladian form. The
Georgian architecture of the 18th century was an evolved form of Palladianism. Many existing buildings such as
Woburn Abbey and
Kedleston Hall are in this style. Among the many architects of this form of architecture and its successors,
neoclassical and
romantic, were
Robert Adam, Sir
William Chambers, and
James Wyatt. ,
Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, surrounded by an
English garden. The house is one of the settings of Jane Austen's novel
Pride and Prejudice. The aristocratic
stately home continued the tradition of the first large gracious unfortified mansions such as the
Elizabethan Montacute House and
Hatfield House. Many of these houses are the setting for British period dramas, such as
Downton Abbey. During the 18th and 19th centuries in the highest echelons of British society, the
English country house was a place for relaxing, hunting in the countryside. Many stately homes have become open to the public:
Knebworth House, now a major venue for
open air rock and pop concerts –
Freddie Mercury's final live performance with
Queen took place at Knebworth on 9 August 1986,
Alton Towers, the most popular
theme park in the UK, and
Longleat, the world's first
safari park outside Africa. is a
cantilever bridge over the
Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. It was opened in 1890, and is designated as a Category A
listed building. In the early 19th century the romantic
Gothic revival began in England as a reaction to the
symmetry of Palladianism. Notable examples of Gothic revival architecture are the
Houses of Parliament and
Fonthill Abbey. By the middle of the 19th century, as a result of new technology, one could incorporate steel as a building component: one of the greatest exponents of this was
Joseph Paxton, architect of
the Crystal Palace. Paxton also built such houses as
Mentmore Towers, in the still popular retrospective
Renaissance styles. In this era of prosperity and development British architecture embraced many new methods of construction, but such architects as
August Pugin ensured that traditional styles were retained. Following the building of the world's first
seaside pier in July 1814 in
Ryde,
Isle of Wight off the south coast of England, the pier became fashionable at
seaside resorts in the UK during the Victorian era, peaking in the 1860s with 22 being built. Today there are 55
seaside piers in the UK. Many Modernist-inspired town centres are today being redeveloped:
Bracknell town centre is an example. However, in the immediate post-War years many thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of
council houses in vernacular style were built, giving working-class people their first experience of private gardens and indoor
sanitation. Many towns also feature statues or sculptures dedicated to famous natives. Modernism remains a significant force in British architecture, although its influence is felt predominantly in commercial buildings. The two most prominent proponents are
Lord Rogers of Riverside and
Norman Foster. Rogers' best known London buildings are probably
Lloyd's Building and the
Millennium Dome, while Foster created the '
Gherkin' and the
City Hall. The
Turner Prize winning artist Sir
Anish Kapoor is an acclaimed contemporary British sculptors. A notable design is his
ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture at the
Olympic Park in London. Described by
The Guardian as the 'Queen of the curve',
Zaha Hadid liberated architectural geometry with the creation of highly expressive, sweeping fluid forms of
multiple perspective points and
fragmented geometry that evoke the chaos and flux of modern life. A pioneer of
parametricism, and an icon of
neo-futurism, with a formidable personality, her acclaimed work and ground-breaking forms include
the aquatic centre for the London 2012 Olympics.
Comics , a character from The Beano, in Dundee, Scotland. Launched in 1938, The Beano
is known for its anarchic humour, with Dennis the Menace'' appearing on the cover. British comics in the early 20th century typically evolved from illustrated
penny dreadfuls of the Victorian era (featuring
Sweeney Todd,
Dick Turpin and
Varney the Vampire). A growing consumer culture and an increased capacity for travel throughout the UK via the invention of
railway (
in 1825) created both a market for cheap popular literature, and the ability for it to be circulated on a large scale. Created in the 1830s,
The Guardian described penny dreadfuls as "Britain's first taste of mass-produced
popular culture for the young". Introducing familiar features in
vampire fiction,
Varney is the first story to refer to sharpened teeth for a
vampire. After adult comics had been published – most notably ''
Ally Sloper's Half Holiday (1880s) featuring Ally Sloper who has been called the first regular character in comics, – more juvenile British comics emerged, with the two most popular, The Beano and The Dandy'', released by
DC Thomson (based in
Dundee, Scotland) in the 1930s. By 1950 the weekly circulation of both reached two million. Explaining the popularity of comics during this period, Anita O'Brien, director curator at London's Cartoon Museum, states: "When comics like the
Beano and
Dandy were invented back in the 1930s – and through really to the 1950s and 1960s – these comics were almost the only entertainment available to children." Created by
Emma Orczy in 1903,
the Scarlet Pimpernel is the alter ego of Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy English fop who transforms into a formidable swordsman and a quick-thinking escape artist, establishing the "hero with a
secret identity" into popular culture. The Scarlet Pimpernel first appeared on stage (1903) and then in novel (1905), and became very popular with the British public. Drawing attention to his alter ego Blakeney he hides behind his public face as a meek, slow thinking foppish playboy, and he establishes a network of supporters, The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, that aid his endeavours. Writers included
Alan Moore, famous for his
V for Vendetta,
From Hell,
Watchmen,
Marvelman, and
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen;
Watchmen was described as "paving the way for a current cultural obsession" in comics;
Neil Gaiman and his critically acclaimed and best-selling
The Sandman mythos and
Books of Magic;
Warren Ellis creator of
Transmetropolitan and
Planetary; and others such as
Alan Grant,
Grant Morrison,
Dave Gibbons,
Alan Davis, and
Mark Millar who created
Wanted and
Kick-Ass. Prominent comic book artists include
Steve Dillon,
Simon Bisley,
Dave McKean,
Glen Fabry,
John Ridgway and
Sean Phillips. The comic book series
Hellblazer, set in Britain and starring the Liverpudlian magician
John Constantine, paved the way for British writers such as
Jamie Delano,
Mike Carey and
Denise Mina. ==Folklore==