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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1552 | - Mar 1552—Mar 1552: An 'Act of Uniformity' imposes the Protestant prayerbook of 1552 in England
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| 2 | 1553 | - 6 Jul 1553—6 Jul 1553: Edward VI dies; Lady Jane Grey queen for a few days only
- 19 Jul 1553—19 Jul 1553: Mary Tudor ('Bloody Mary') comes to the throne
|
| 3 | 1554 | - 1554—1554: Brief Catholic restoration under Queen Mary Tudor - married priests forced to separate
at least 30 miles from their wives
- 12 Feb 1554—12 Feb 1554: Lady Jane Grey beheaded
|
| 4 | 1556 | - 21 Mar 1556—21 Mar 1556: Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer burned at the stake in Oxford
|
| 5 | 1558 | - 1558—1558: System of Counties adopted
- 1558—1558: Scottish parish registers start
- 7 Jan 1558—7 Jan 1558: French take Calais, last English possession in France
- 24 Apr 1558—24 Apr 1558: Marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to Fran?ois the Dauphin of France in Paris
- 17 Nov 1558—17 Nov 1558: Queen Mary Tudor of England dies and is succeeded by her half-sister
Elizabeth - Protestantism restored in England
|
| 6 | 1559 | - 1559—1559: Tobacco introduced to Europe
- 1559—1559: John Knox returns from Continent - strengthens case for Presbyterianism in Scotland
- 15 Jan 1559—15 Jan 1559: Elizabeth crowned in Westminster Abbey by Owen Oglethorpe, the Bishop of
Carlisle
- 29 Apr 1559—29 Apr 1559: Acts of Supremacy passed in Parliament, ending papal jurisdiction over England
& Wales; established Church of England
|
| 7 | 1560 | - 1560—1560: Establishment of Protestantism in Scotland - commissary courts thrown into confusion
- some records lost
- 27 Feb 1560—27 Feb 1560: Treaty of Berwick between Duc du Chatelherault (as governor of Scotland) and
the English, agreeing to act jointly to expel the French from Scotland
|
| 8 | 1561 | - 1561—1561: Spire of St Paul's, highest in England, destroyed by fire
- 1561—1561: The first coins produced by machinery (known as a 'mill') rather than by hand, but it
was a slow process and did not replace hand struck coinage until new machinery was
introduced in 1663
|
| 9 | 1562 | - 1562—1562: Earliest English slave-trading expedition, under John Hawkins - between Guinea and
the West Indies
|
| 10 | 1563 | - 28 Jul 1563—28 Jul 1563: The English surrender Le Havre to the French after a siege
|
| 11 | 1564 | - 26 Apr 1564—26 Apr 1564: Shakespeare baptised - he is said to have been born on Apr 23, St George's
Day; he certainly died on Apr 23, 1616
|
| 12 | 1565 | - 29 Jul 1565—29 Jul 1565: Marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, her first
cousin
|
| 13 | 1566 | - 9 Mar 1566—9 Mar 1566: Murder of David Riccio (or Rizzio) in Holyrood House
|
| 14 | 1567 | - 10 Feb 1567—10 Feb 1567: Murder of Darnley outside Holyrood House in an explosion
- 15 May 1567—15 May 1567: Marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
- 24 Jul 1567—24 Jul 1567: Mary Queen of Scots deposed and replaced by her 1 year old son James VI
|
| 15 | 1568 | - 13 May 1568—13 May 1568: Battle of Langside - Mary's flight to England and her imprisonment by Queen
Elizabeth I
|
| 16 | 1569 | - 1569—1569: Elizabeth I approved Sunday sports
|
| 17 | 1570 | - 25 Feb 1570—25 Feb 1570: Pope Pius V issued the papal bull 'Regnans in Excelsis' to excommunicate
Elizabeth I and her followers in the Church of England
|
| 18 | 1571 | - 1571—1571: Presbyterianism introduced into England by Thomas Cartwright
- 1571—1571: Repeal of Act prohibiting lending of money on interest - gradual change from
'subsistence economy' to 'cash economy' resulted
- 1571—1571: Beginning of penal legislation against Catholics in England
- 23 Jan 1571—23 Jan 1571: Opening of the Royal Exchange in London, founded by Sir Thomas Gresham -
this building destroyed in Great Fire of London 1666
|
| 19 | 1577 | - 1577—1577: James Burbage opens first theatre in London
|
| 20 | 1579 | - 1579—1579: Act of Uniformity in matters of religion enforced
|
| 21 | 1580 | - 1580—1580: Congregational movement founded by Robert Browne about this time
- 1580—1580: Colonisation of Ireland
- 6 Apr 1580—6 Apr 1580: Dover Straits earthquake, largest in the recorded history of England, mentioned
by Shakespeare - dozens of ships sunk and a tsunami hit Calais
|
| 22 | 1581 | - 1581—1581: English Levant Company founded
- 16 Jan 1581—16 Jan 1581: English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism
- 4 Apr 1581—4 Apr 1581: Francis Drake knighted by Elizabeth I aboard the Golden Hind after
circumnavigating the world
|
| 23 | 1583 | - 1583—1583: University of Edinburgh founded
- 1583—1583: Foundation of Cambridge University Press by Thomas Thomas
- Aug 1583—Aug 1583: Sir Humphrey Gilbert attempts to establish English authority at St John's,
Newfoundland
|
| 24 | 1584 | - 4 Jun 1584—4 Jun 1584: Sir Walter Raleigh establishes first English colony in the New World, on
Roanoke Island, Virginia (now in North Carolina) - the so-called 'Lost Colony'
|
| 25 | 1585 | - 1585—1585: Foundation of Oxford University Press
|
| 26 | 1587 | - 1587—1587: Introduction of potatoes to England
- 8 Feb 1587—8 Feb 1587: Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Fotheringay Castle, near Peterborough
- 19 Apr 1587—19 Apr 1587: Sir Francis Drake sinks the Spanish fleet in Cadiz harbour
- 11 Aug 1587—11 Aug 1587: Raleigh's second expedition to New World lands in North Carolina - first child
born in the New World of English parents was Virginia Dare (Aug 18)
|
| 27 | 1588 | - 1588—1588: Invention of shorthand by Dr Timothy Bright
- 19 Jul 1588—19 Jul 1588: Spanish Armada sighted off the Lizard (had set sail from Lisbon in late May)
- 29 Jul 1588—29 Jul 1588: Defeat of Spanish Armada off Gravelines
|
| 28 | 1591 | - 1591—1591: Trinity College, Dublin, founded
|
| 29 | 1592 | - 1592—1592: A Congregational (or Independent) Church formed in London
- 1592—1592: Scotland: Presbyterian Church formally established - all ministers equal - no bishops -
secular commissaries appointed by the Crown
|
| 30 | 1593 | - 1593—1593: British statute mile established by law
|
| 31 | 1594 | - 1594—1594: Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, leads Irish rebellion against English rule (-1603)
|
| 32 | 1597 | - 1597—1597: Poor Law Act for erection of parish workhouses for the Poor - Poor Rate collection
allowed
|
| 33 | 1598 | - 1598—1598: Bishop's transcripts of English and Welsh parish registers start - parish records were to
be kept in 'great decent books of parchment' and copies or 'Bishop's Transcripts' of new entries
were to be sent each month to the diocesan centre
|
| 34 | 1600 | - 1 Jan 1600—1 Jan 1600: Scotland adopts New Year beginning 1st January (previously 25th March)
- 31 Dec 1600—31 Dec 1600: British East India Company founded
|
| 35 | 1601 | - 1601—1601: Great English Poor Law Act passed
- 1601—1601: First use of fruit juice as a preventative for scurvy by James Lancaster
|
| 36 | 1602 | - 20 Mar 1602—20 Mar 1602: Dutch East India Company founded
- 8 Nov 1602—8 Nov 1602: Bodleian Library at Oxford University opened to the public
|
| 37 | 1603 | - 24 Mar 1603—24 Mar 1603: Death of Elizabeth I: union of Scottish and English crowns - under King James
VI of Scots and I of England (d. 1625)
- 25 Jul 1603—25 Jul 1603: Coronation - James VI of Scotland is crowned first king of Great Britain
|
| 38 | 1604 | - 1 Nov 1604—1 Nov 1604: Shakespeare: Othello' first presented
|
| 39 | 1605 | - 5 Nov 1605—5 Nov 1605: Gunpowder plot at Westminster (Guy Fawkes, etc)
|
| 40 | 1606 | - 1606—1606: The London Company chartered to colonise Virginia: the Susan Constant, Godspeed,
and Discovery leave England on 19th De c taking 144 days to reach America
- 1606—1606: Episcopacy established in Scotland (against wishes of the Scots)
- 31 Jan 1606—31 Jan 1606: Guy Fawkes and co-conspirators executed
- 12 Mar 1606—12 Mar 1606: Adoption of Union Flag as the flag of Great Britain' (the term Union Jack is
used officially only when the Union Flag is flown from the Jack Mast of a Royal Naval vessel)
|
| 41 | 1607 | - 14 May 1607—14 May 1607: Jamestown, Virginia settled - to become the first permanent British colony in
North America
|
| 42 | 1608 | - 1608—1608: First use of telescope by Galileo - he observed the moons of Jupiter two years later in
Jan 1610
|
| 43 | 1610 | - 1610—1610: James VI & I established the Episcopal Church in Scotland - Prebyterians persecuted
and many of their records lost
|
| 44 | 1611 | - 1611—1611: Authorised (King James) Version of Bible in Britain
- 22 May 1611—22 May 1611: James VI & I created the title of baronet
|
| 45 | 1613 | - 1613—1613: A copper farthing was produced, as a silver coin would be too small
- 29 Jun 1613—29 Jun 1613: The Globe Theatre in London burns during a performance of Henry the Eighth
(finally pulled down in 1644)
|
| 46 | 1616 | - 23 Apr 1616—23 Apr 1616: Tuesday Apr 23 (Julian calendar): Death of Shakespeare
|
| 47 | 1618 | - 1618—1618: Sir Walter Raleigh beheaded for allegedly conspiring against James I
|
| 48 | 1619 | - 4 Dec 1619—4 Dec 1619: (Nov 24 old style): Colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in
Virginia and give thanks to God (considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the
Americas)
|
| 49 | 1620 | - 1620—1620: Manufacture of coke (the fuel, not the drink!) patented by Dud Dudley
- 21 Dec 1620—21 Dec 1620: (Dec 16 old style): The Mayflower reaches America - founds Plymouth, New
England (had initially set sail from Southampton on Aug 5)
|
| 50 | 1621 | - 1621—1621: Chimneys to be made of brick and to be four and a half feet above the roof
|
| 51 | 1622 | - 1622—1622: First English newspaper appeared - Weekly News'
|
| 52 | 1624 | - 1624—1624: Monopoly Act in England: patents protected
- 1624—1624: Edmund Gunter introduces the surveyor's chain (measurement of length)
|
| 53 | 1625 | - 1625—1625: The size of bricks standardised in England around this time
- 27 Mar 1625—27 Mar 1625: Death of King James VI & I
|
| 54 | 1628 | - 1 Mar 1628—1 Mar 1628: Writs issued by Charles I that every county in England (not just seaport towns)
pay ship tax by this date
|
| 55 | 1629 | - 10 Mar 1629—10 Mar 1629: Parliament dissolved by King Charles I - did not meet for another 11 yea
|
| 56 | 1633 | - Jun 1633—Jun 1633: Galileo summoned by Inquisition for publishing in favour of Copernican theory
|
| 57 | 1635 | - 1635—1635: Letter Office of England & Scotland started
- 1635—1635: Flintlock small arms invented around this time (replaces matchlock)
|
| 58 | 1636 | - 1636—1636: Hackney Carriages in use by now in London
|
| 59 | 1638 | - 1638—1638: King Charles regarded protests against the prayerbook as treason - forced Scots to choose
between their church and the King - a ?Covenant' swearing to resist these changes to the
Death was signed in Greyfriars Church Edinburgh and was accepted by hundreds of
thousands of Scots (revival of Presbyterian Church)
|
| 60 | 1639 | - 1639—1639: Act of Toleration in England established religious toleration
|
| 61 | 1640 | - 3 Nov 1640—3 Nov 1640: Charles I forced to recall Parliament (the 'Long Parliament') due to Scottish
invasion
|
| 62 | 1641 | - 1641—1641: Charles I's policies cause insurrection in Ulster and Civil War in England
- 1641—1641: Charles I and the English Parliament acknowledge the Prebyterian Church in Scotland
- 23 Oct 1641—23 Oct 1641: 50,000 Irish killed in an uprising in Ulster
|
| 63 | 1642 | - 1642—1642: The Civil War interrupted the keeping of parish registers
- 1642—1642: English theatres closed by Puritans (till 1660)
- 22 Aug 1642—22 Aug 1642: Charles I raises his standard at Nottingham - First Civil War in England (to
1649)
- 13 Nov 1642—13 Nov 1642: Battle of Turnham Green - Royalist forces withdraw in face of the
Parliamentarian army and fail to take London
- 24 Nov 1642—24 Nov 1642: Abel Janszoon Tasman discovers Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania)
- 18 Dec 1642—18 Dec 1642: Abel Janszoon Tasman first European to set foot in New Zealand
|
| 64 | 1643 | - 13 Dec 1643—13 Dec 1643: Battle of Alton - victory for Parliamentarians - Sir Richard Bolle killed in St
Lawrence's church
|
| 65 | 1644 | - 29 Jun 1644—29 Jun 1644: Battle of Cropredy Bridge - Royalists beat the Parliamentarian forces
- 2 Jul 1644—2 Jul 1644: Battle of Marston Moor, near York - Parliamentarian forces beat the Royalists
|
| 66 | 1645 | - 1645—1645: Battle of Philiphaugh in Scotland
- 1645—1645: Scotland: Each county and burgh ordered to raise and maintain a number of foot
soldiers, according to population, to serve as militia - population of Scotland estimated at
420,000
- 1645—1645: Plague made its last appearance in Scotland
- 14 Jun 1645—14 Jun 1645: Battle of Naseby: Parliament's New Model Army crushes the Royalist forces
|
| 67 | 1646 | - 5 May 1646—5 May 1646: Charles I surrenders to the Scottish Army at Newark
- 20 Jun 1646—20 Jun 1646: Royalists sign articles of surrender at Oxford
|
| 68 | 1648 | - 1648—1648: Society of Friends (Quakers) founded by George Fox
- 1648—1648: First practical thermometers made
|
| 69 | 1649 | - 1649—1649: Cromwell's Irish campaign starts
- 1649—1649: King Charles II proclaimed King of Scots and England in Scotland
- 6 Jan 1649—6 Jan 1649: 'Rump' Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial
- 30 Jan 1649—30 Jan 1649: King Charles I executed
- 19 May 1649—19 May 1649: Commonwealth declared
- 20 Dec 1649—20 Dec 1649: Theatres banned by Cromwell
- 20 Dec 1649—20 Dec 1649: Christmas banned by Cromwell
|
| 70 | 1650 | - 1650—1650: Coffee brought to England about this time
|
| 71 | 1651 | - 1651—1651: The second English Civil War (1651-1652)
- 1651—1651: Scottish prisoners transported to the British settlements in America
- 3 Sep 1651—3 Sep 1651: Battle of Worcester
|
| 72 | 1653 | - 1653—1653: Commonwealth registers start
- 1653—1653: Under the Act of Settlement Cromwell's opponents stripped of land
- 1653—1653: Provincial probate courts abolished - probates granted only in London
- 20 Apr 1653—20 Apr 1653: Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament
- 16 Dec 1653—16 Dec 1653: Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England,
Scotland and Ireland
|
| 73 | 1657 | - 1657—1657: Post Office established by Act of Parliament [others say 1660]
- 1657—1657: A few Jews permitted to settle in England
|
| 74 | 1658 | - 1658—1658: Richard Cromwell (son of Oliver) Lord Protector (-1660)
- 3 Sep 1658—3 Sep 1658: Death of Oliver Cromwell
|
| 75 | 1659 | - 1659—1659: Start of national meteorological Temperature records in the UK
- 6 Feb 1659—6 Feb 1659: Date of first known bank cheque to be drawn
|
| 76 | 1660 | - 1660—1660: Commonwealth registers ended, Parish Registers resumed
- 1660—1660: Provincial Probate Courts re-established
- 1660—1660: Clarendon code restricts Puritans' religious freedom
- 1660—1660: Composition of light discovered by Newton
- 1660—1660: Honourable East India Company founded by British
- 1 Jan 1660—1 Jan 1660: Samuel Pepys starts his diary
- 29 May 1660—29 May 1660: Restoration of British monarchy (Charles II) - 'Oak Apple Day' - theatres
reopened
- 17 Oct 1660—17 Oct 1660: Ten Regicides are executed at Charing Cross or Tyburn
- 28 Nov 1660—28 Nov 1660: Twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir
Robert Moray decide to found what is later known as the Royal Society
- 8 Dec 1660—8 Dec 1660: First actress plays in London (Margaret Hughes as Desdemona)
|
| 77 | 1661 | - 1661—1661: Restoration of Episcopacy in Scotland
- 1661—1661: Board of Trade founded in London
- 1661—1661: Hand-struck postage stamps first used
- 1661—1661: Corporation Act prevents non-Anglicans from holding municipal office
- 30 Jan 1661—30 Jan 1661: Oliver Cromwell formally 'executed', having been dead for over two years!
|
| 78 | 1662 | - 1662—1662: 'Hearth Tax' introduced - until 1689 (1690 in Scotland)
- 1662—1662: Poor Relief Act or Act of Settlement' - gave JPs the power to return any wandering
poor to the parish of origin (repealed 1834)
- 1662—1662: Tea introduced to Britain
- 24 Aug 1662—24 Aug 1662: Act of Uniformity - Acceptance of Book of Common Prayer required - About
2,000 vicars and rectors driven from their parishes as nonconformists (Presbyterians and
Independents) - Persecution of all non-conformists - Presbyterianism dis-established -
Episcopalian Church of England restored
|
Abt 1552 - 
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