Practice and questions
Chapter 3 questions: a long and illustrious history
Thousands of years in one chapter. Learn it as a story in seven acts and most dates stop being arbitrary numbers.
1.In which year was the Magna Carta agreed by King John?
- · 1066
- ✓ 1215
- · 1415
- · 1688
King John agreed to the Magna Carta in 1215 after pressure from his barons. It limited the power of the monarch, who had to respect the law like everyone else, and it is seen as one of the founding texts of the rule of law in England.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
2.Which battle in 1066 led to the Norman conquest of England?
- · Battle of Bannockburn
- ✓ Battle of Hastings
- · Battle of the Boyne
- · Battle of Agincourt
At the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the English King Harold, who was killed in the fighting. William was crowned king and Norman rule brought big changes to government, language and land ownership in England.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
3.Who wrote the plays Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet?
- · Charles Dickens
- ✓ William Shakespeare
- · Geoffrey Chaucer
- · Robert Burns
William Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, wrote both plays as well as many other tragedies, comedies and sonnets. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and his works are still performed around the world.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
4.Skara Brae, one of the best-preserved prehistoric villages in northern Europe, is in which place?
- · Cornwall
- · Anglesey
- ✓ Orkney
- · Kent
Skara Brae is a Stone Age village on Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland. Its stone houses, with built-in furniture, were uncovered by a storm in the nineteenth century and give a rare view of life over 5,000 years ago.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
5.In which year did the Roman invasion of Britain begin under Emperor Claudius?
- ✓ AD 43
- · 55 BC
- · AD 410
- · AD 597
Julius Caesar landed in Britain in 55 BC but did not stay. The real Roman conquest began in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and much of Britain remained part of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
6.Who was Boudicca?
- · The first Roman governor of Britain
- · A Viking queen who settled in York
- · The wife of King Alfred
- ✓ The queen of the Iceni who led a revolt against the Romans
Boudicca was queen of the Iceni tribe in what is now East Anglia. Around AD 60 she led a major uprising against Roman rule and her forces burned several towns before being defeated. A statue of her stands near Parliament in London.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
7.Why did the Romans build Hadrian's Wall in the north of England?
- ✓ To mark the northern frontier and keep out the Picts
- · To protect London from floods
- · To divide England from Wales
- · To defend against the Vikings
Emperor Hadrian ordered the wall to be built across northern England in the AD 120s to guard the frontier of Roman Britain against tribes to the north, including the Picts. Parts of it can still be walked today.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
8.Which peoples invaded and settled much of Britain after the Romans left?
- · The Normans and Bretons
- ✓ The Angles, Saxons and Jutes
- · The Spanish and Portuguese
- · The Greeks and Turks
After the Roman army left in the early fifth century, tribes from northern Europe, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, settled across much of what became England. Their kingdoms and language laid the foundations of English.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
9.Who was sent by the Pope in AD 597 and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury?
- · St Columba
- · St Patrick
- ✓ St Augustine
- · St Andrew
In AD 597 Pope Gregory sent St Augustine to spread Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons in the south of England. He converted the king of Kent and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, still the senior bishop of the Church of England.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
10.What was found at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk?
- · A Roman legion's fort
- · A Viking city
- · A Norman castle
- ✓ The burial ship of an Anglo-Saxon king
At Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, archaeologists found the buried remains of a large ship filled with treasures and weapons. It is thought to be the grave of an Anglo-Saxon king, probably buried in the early seventh century.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
11.From which countries did the Vikings who raided Britain mainly come?
- ✓ Denmark and Norway
- · France and Spain
- · Germany and Italy
- · Russia and Poland
The Vikings came mainly from Denmark and Norway. They began raiding the coasts of Britain in the late eighth century, and many later settled, especially in the east and north of England and in parts of Scotland.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
12.Which Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex is famous for defeating the Vikings in the ninth century?
- · Edward the Confessor
- ✓ Alfred the Great
- · Harold Godwinson
- · Canute
Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, united Anglo-Saxon forces and defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878. He also built fortified towns and encouraged learning, and later generations gave him the title 'the Great'.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
13.What does the Bayeux Tapestry show?
- · The coronation of Queen Victoria
- · The Battle of Waterloo
- ✓ The events of the Norman conquest of England
- · The signing of Magna Carta
The Bayeux Tapestry is a long embroidered cloth that tells the story of the Norman conquest of England, including the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is kept in Bayeux, in Normandy, France.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
14.What was the Domesday Book?
- · A collection of prayers
- · The first English dictionary
- · A record of royal marriages
- ✓ A survey of land, people and property ordered by William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror ordered the Domesday Book, completed in 1086, to record who owned land in England and what it was worth. It listed towns, villages, people and even animals, and it still survives today.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
15.Who led the Scots to victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314?
- ✓ Robert the Bruce
- · William Wallace
- · Bonnie Prince Charlie
- · Macbeth
Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland, defeated the army of Edward II at Bannockburn in 1314. The victory was a turning point in the wars of Scottish independence and Scotland remained unconquered by England.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
16.Which English king won the Battle of Agincourt in France in 1415?
- · Richard III
- ✓ Henry V
- · Henry VIII
- · Edward I
Henry V led a heavily outnumbered English army to victory over the French at Agincourt in 1415, during the Hundred Years War. The battle became famous partly through Shakespeare's play Henry V.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
17.What was the Black Death that reached England in 1348?
- · A long war with Scotland
- · A great fire in London
- ✓ A plague that killed a large part of the population
- · A famine caused by drought
The Black Death was a deadly plague that swept across Europe and reached England in 1348. It killed a large share of the population, perhaps a third or more, and the resulting shortage of workers changed farming and society.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
18.Who wrote The Canterbury Tales, stories told by pilgrims travelling to Canterbury?
- · William Shakespeare
- · John Milton
- · Charles Dickens
- ✓ Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in the late fourteenth century. Written in Middle English, the poems describe pilgrims of many backgrounds telling stories on their way to Canterbury and are among the earliest great works of English literature.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
19.Who set up the first printing press in England in the 1470s?
- ✓ William Caxton
- · Isaac Newton
- · Thomas Becket
- · Francis Bacon
William Caxton brought printing to England and set up his press at Westminster in the 1470s. One of the first books he printed was The Canterbury Tales, and printing helped spread books and ideas far more widely.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
20.Which two royal houses fought each other in the Wars of the Roses?
- · The House of Tudor and the House of Stuart
- ✓ The House of Lancaster and the House of York
- · The House of Windsor and the House of Hanover
- · The House of Normandy and the House of Wessex
The Wars of the Roses were fought in the fifteenth century between the House of Lancaster, whose symbol was a red rose, and the House of York, with a white rose. They ended when Henry Tudor won the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
21.Why did Henry VIII break away from the Roman Catholic Church?
- · He wanted to move the capital to York
- · The Pope tried to invade England
- ✓ The Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
- · Parliament ordered him to
When the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII broke with Rome and made himself head of the Church in England. This led to the creation of the Church of England, independent of the Pope.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
22.In 1588, during the reign of Elizabeth I, which fleet did the English defeat?
- · The Dutch navy
- · The French fleet at Trafalgar
- · The Viking longships
- ✓ The Spanish Armada
In 1588 the Spanish Armada, a large fleet sent by Philip II of Spain to invade England, was defeated by the English navy and damaged by storms. The victory became one of the best-remembered events of Elizabeth I's reign.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
23.Who was the first Englishman to sail all the way around the world?
- ✓ Sir Francis Drake
- · Captain James Cook
- · Sir Walter Raleigh
- · Admiral Horatio Nelson
Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world between 1577 and 1580 in his ship, the Golden Hind. He was one of the leading commanders who later fought against the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
24.What happened in 1603 when Elizabeth I died without children?
- · England became a republic
- ✓ James VI of Scotland also became James I of England
- · The crown passed to Spain
- · Wales became independent
When Elizabeth I died in 1603, her cousin James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne and became James I of England. The two countries then shared a monarch, although they kept separate parliaments for another century.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
25.Which Act of 1707 joined England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain?
- · The Bill of Rights
- · The Reform Act
- ✓ The Act of Union
- · The Magna Carta
The Act of Union of 1707 united the kingdoms of England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain with one parliament at Westminster. Scotland kept its own legal system, education system and Presbyterian church.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
26.Who led the parliamentary side in the English Civil War and later became Lord Protector?
- · Charles II
- · Thomas More
- · Robert Walpole
- ✓ Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was a leading commander of the parliamentary army in the Civil War against Charles I. After the king was executed in 1649, England became a republic and Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector until his death in 1658.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
27.In which year did the Great Fire destroy much of the city of London?
- · 1066
- · 1588
- ✓ 1666
- · 1805
In September 1666 a fire that started in a bakery in Pudding Lane spread across the City of London for several days. It destroyed thousands of houses and many churches, including the old St Paul's Cathedral.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
28.Which architect designed the new St Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire of London?
- ✓ Sir Christopher Wren
- · Isambard Kingdom Brunel
- · Inigo Jones
- · Charles Barry
Sir Christopher Wren designed the new St Paul's Cathedral, with its famous dome, and many other churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666. He is buried in the cathedral he created.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
29.Who was invited to take the English throne in 1688, in what became known as the Glorious Revolution?
- · Oliver Cromwell
- ✓ William of Orange
- · Charles Stuart
- · George of Hanover
In 1688 leading English politicians invited the Protestant William of Orange, ruler of the Netherlands, to take the throne from the Catholic James II. William and his wife Mary became joint monarchs, and Parliament's power grew.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
30.Whose improvements to the steam engine helped drive the Industrial Revolution?
- · Isaac Newton
- · Charles Darwin
- ✓ James Watt
- · Michael Faraday
The Scottish engineer James Watt greatly improved the efficiency of the steam engine in the eighteenth century. His engines powered factories, mines and mills and helped make Britain the first industrialised country.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
31.Which Member of Parliament is best known for leading the campaign to end the British slave trade?
- · Robert Peel
- · Benjamin Disraeli
- · William Pitt the Elder
- ✓ William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce, an MP from Yorkshire, campaigned for years against the trade in enslaved people. Parliament abolished the slave trade in the British Empire in 1807, and slavery itself was abolished across the empire by an Act of 1833.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
32.Which admiral was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and is remembered by a column in London?
- ✓ Admiral Horatio Nelson
- · Sir Francis Drake
- · Captain James Cook
- · Lord Kitchener
Admiral Nelson led the British fleet to victory over the French and Spanish at Trafalgar in 1805 but was killed during the battle. Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, was built in his memory.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
33.Who commanded the British army that defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815?
- · Oliver Cromwell
- ✓ The Duke of Wellington
- · Admiral Nelson
- · General Montgomery
The Duke of Wellington, with allied forces, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, in present-day Belgium, in 1815. This ended the Napoleonic Wars. Wellington later became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
34.Florence Nightingale became famous for her work during which war?
- · The First World War
- · The Boer War
- ✓ The Crimean War
- · The English Civil War
Florence Nightingale nursed wounded soldiers during the Crimean War in the 1850s and greatly improved hygiene in military hospitals. She later founded a school for nurses in London and is regarded as the founder of modern nursing.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
35.In which year did women in the UK gain the right to vote at the same age as men?
- · 1832
- · 1900
- ✓ 1928
- · 1969
In 1918 some women over 30 were given the vote after a long campaign by suffragists and suffragettes. Ten years later, in 1928, women won the right to vote at the same age as men.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
36.What caused the Great Famine in Ireland in the mid-1840s?
- · A war with France
- · An earthquake
- · The closing of the ports
- ✓ The failure of the potato crop
In the 1840s disease destroyed the potato crop on which many Irish families depended. Around a million people died and many more emigrated, especially to the United States and Britain, during the Great Famine.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
37.Which battle of 1916 saw the British army suffer its heaviest losses on a single day?
- ✓ The Battle of the Somme
- · The Battle of Britain
- · The Battle of Hastings
- · The Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of the Somme began on 1 July 1916 in northern France. On the first day alone the British army suffered nearly 60,000 casualties, the worst single day in its history, and the fighting lasted for months.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
38.Who became Prime Minister in 1940 and led Britain for most of the Second World War?
- · Neville Chamberlain
- ✓ Winston Churchill
- · Clement Attlee
- · David Lloyd George
Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940 and led the country through the Second World War. His speeches encouraged the nation at its most difficult moments, and he served as Prime Minister again from 1951 to 1955.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
39.On 6 June 1944, Allied forces landed on the beaches of which region to begin the liberation of western Europe?
- · Brittany
- · Sicily
- ✓ Normandy
- · Flanders
On 6 June 1944, known as D-Day, British, American, Canadian and other Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in northern France. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history and opened a new front against Nazi Germany.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
40.Which Scottish scientist discovered penicillin in 1928?
- · John Logie Baird
- · James Watt
- · Joseph Lister
- ✓ Alexander Fleming
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 while working in London. Later developed by other scientists into a usable medicine, it became the first widely used antibiotic and has saved millions of lives.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
41.In which year did Charles I's execution take place, after the Civil War?
- · 1588
- · 1688
- · 1707
- ✓ 1649
Charles I was executed in 1649 after losing the Civil War against Parliament. England became a republic, the Commonwealth, and Oliver Cromwell later ruled as Lord Protector.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
42.What happened in 1660, known as the Restoration?
- ✓ Charles II returned to the throne
- · Parliament was abolished
- · Scotland became independent
- · The Church of England was founded
After Cromwell's death, Parliament invited Charles II back from exile in 1660. The monarchy was restored, and the period is known as the Restoration.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
43.Which document of 1689 limited the powers of the monarch and confirmed the rights of Parliament?
- · Magna Carta
- ✓ The Bill of Rights
- · The Domesday Book
- · The Act of Union
The Bill of Rights of 1689, after William and Mary took the throne, confirmed the rights of Parliament and limited the powers of the monarch. It marked the start of constitutional monarchy.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
44.Who is usually seen as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain?
- · William Pitt the Younger
- · Oliver Cromwell
- ✓ Robert Walpole
- · Benjamin Disraeli
Sir Robert Walpole led the government from 1721 to 1742 and is generally regarded as the first Prime Minister.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
45.Who led the 1745 uprising in Scotland that ended at the Battle of Culloden?
- · Robert the Bruce
- · William Wallace
- · James VI
- ✓ Charles Edward Stuart, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie
Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, tried to take the throne in 1745. His army was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the last battle fought on British soil.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
46.Which Scottish thinker wrote about economics during the Enlightenment?
- ✓ Adam Smith
- · Isaac Newton
- · Charles Dickens
- · William Caxton
Adam Smith, a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, developed ideas about economics that are still used today. David Hume, another Scot of the same period, wrote about human nature.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
47.Which Act of 1833 abolished slavery throughout the British Empire?
- · The Reform Act
- ✓ The Emancipation Act
- · The Habeas Corpus Act
- · The Act of Settlement
The slave trade was banned in 1807, and the Emancipation Act of 1833 abolished slavery itself across the British Empire.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
48.Who led the suffragettes, the women who campaigned for the right to vote?
- · Florence Nightingale
- · Mary Seacole
- ✓ Emmeline Pankhurst
- · Jane Austen
Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903. Its members, the suffragettes, used demonstrations and civil disobedience to demand the vote for women.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
49.In which year did some women over 30 first gain the right to vote in the UK?
- · 1832
- · 1928
- · 1969
- ✓ 1918
In 1918 women over 30 who met certain conditions were given the vote. Ten years later, in 1928, women won the right to vote at 21, the same age as men.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
50.When did the First World War end?
- ✓ 11 November 1918
- · 8 May 1945
- · 4 August 1914
- · 28 June 1919
Fighting in the First World War ended at 11am on 11 November 1918, the armistice that Remembrance Day commemorates each year.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
51.What happened at Dunkirk in 1940?
- · British troops landed to free France
- ✓ Many small boats helped rescue over 300,000 soldiers from France
- · Germany surrendered
- · The Battle of Britain began
In 1940 civilian and naval boats crossed the Channel to rescue more than 300,000 soldiers trapped at Dunkirk. The 'Dunkirk spirit' became a symbol of pulling together in hard times.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
52.What was the Battle of Britain in 1940?
- · A battle at sea off Norway
- · A land battle in North Africa
- ✓ A battle in the air against the German air force
- · A battle between rival kings
In the summer of 1940 the Royal Air Force fought the German air force over southern England. Its victory, with aircraft such as the Spitfire and Hurricane, stopped Germany from invading Britain.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
53.Which minister is closely linked with creating the National Health Service in 1948?
- · Winston Churchill
- · Robert Peel
- · Harold Wilson
- ✓ Aneurin (Nye) Bevan
Aneurin Bevan, Minister for Health in Clement Attlee's government, led the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, offering healthcare free at the point of use.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
54.Who wrote the 1942 report that led to the modern welfare state?
- ✓ William Beveridge
- · John Maynard Keynes
- · R. A. Butler
- · Isambard Kingdom Brunel
William Beveridge's 1942 report proposed a system of social insurance against unemployment, sickness and poverty. It shaped the welfare state built after the Second World War.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
55.Who was the first woman to become Prime Minister of the UK?
- · Barbara Castle
- ✓ Margaret Thatcher
- · Queen Victoria
- · Emmeline Pankhurst
Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, the first woman to hold the post, and stayed in office until 1990.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
56.Which engineer built the Great Western Railway and famous bridges such as the Clifton Suspension Bridge?
- · James Watt
- · George Stephenson
- ✓ Isambard Kingdom Brunel
- · Richard Arkwright
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer, built the Great Western Railway, steamships and bridges, including the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
57.Who was Queen during most of the 19th century, reigning from 1837 to 1901?
- · Elizabeth I
- · Anne
- · Mary II
- ✓ Victoria
Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 aged 18 and reigned until 1901. Her reign, almost 64 years, saw the British Empire and industry grow fast.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
58.Which British scientist, born in 1955, invented the World Wide Web?
- ✓ Tim Berners-Lee
- · Alan Turing
- · Stephen Hawking
- · Frank Whittle
Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. The first page went online in 1991, and he made the technology freely available.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
59.Which mathematician helped break German codes in the Second World War and laid foundations for modern computing?
- · Charles Babbage
- ✓ Alan Turing
- · John Logie Baird
- · Isaac Newton
Alan Turing worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, helping to break the Enigma codes, and his idea of the Turing machine shaped the development of computers.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
60.In which year did the voting age in the UK fall to 18?
- · 1918
- · 1928
- ✓ 1969
- · 1945
The voting age for UK elections was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969, making the UK one of the first democracies to give the vote at 18.
Where to check: A long and illustrious history
A long and illustrious history
60
questions in this chapter, 300 in the whole bank
Open a question to see the four options, the right answer and the fact behind it.
Chapter 3 of the handbook, A long and illustrious history, runs from prehistoric Britain to the late twentieth century, and its questions ask about events, the people behind them and, often, the year. Our bank has 60 questions on it, 20% of our 300, so about 5 of every 24-question mock in our engine come from here. Candidates who try to memorise a list of dates usually stall around the Tudors. A sturdier method is to learn seven periods, each with one anchor event you are sure of (Roman Britain from AD 43, the Norman conquest of 1066, the Tudors after Bosworth in 1485, the Stuarts from 1603, union and empire from 1707, Victoria from 1837, the world wars and after), then hang every other fact on the nearest anchor. With that frame, a question about Caxton's printing press or Culloden can be solved by placing the event in its century, which often rules out two of the four options before you even recall the answer.
How long ago was it?
Years ago
960
| Century | 11th century |
| Decade | 1060s |
A memory aid: placing a date in its century is often enough to rule out two wrong options.
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Seven periods, one anchor each
| Period | Anchor (year as in our bank) | Other facts the bank hangs on it |
|---|---|---|
| Before and under Rome | Claudius invades, AD 43 | Skara Brae on Orkney, Caesar in 55 BC, Boudicca, Hadrian’s Wall |
| Anglo-Saxons and Vikings | St Augustine arrives, AD 597 | Angles, Saxons and Jutes, Sutton Hoo, Alfred the Great at Edington in 878 |
| Normans and the Middle Ages | Battle of Hastings, 1066 | Domesday Book 1086, Magna Carta 1215, Bannockburn 1314, Black Death 1348, Agincourt 1415, Chaucer |
| Tudors | Bosworth Field, 1485 | Caxton’s press in the 1470s, Henry VIII and the Church of England, Drake, the Armada 1588, Shakespeare |
| Stuarts | Union of the crowns, 1603 | Charles I executed 1649, Cromwell, Restoration 1660, Great Fire 1666, Wren, 1688 and the Bill of Rights 1689 |
| Union, empire and industry | Act of Union, 1707 | Walpole, Culloden 1746, Adam Smith, Watt, Trafalgar 1805, slave trade ended 1807, Waterloo 1815, slavery abolished 1833 |
| Victoria to the present | Victoria crowned, 1837 | Irish famine, Crimean War, votes for women 1918 and 1928, the Somme, Churchill, D-Day, NHS 1948, Thatcher 1979, the web 1991 |
Learn the left two columns first, until you can recite the seven anchors in order. Then work through the right-hand column one period at a time in the bank above, where every question carries its year in the explanation.
How history questions are built
Three shapes recur. The first gives an event and asks for its year: "In which year did the Great Fire destroy much of the city of London?" The second gives an event and asks for the person: "Who led the Scots to victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314?" The third asks why something happened or what it changed: why Henry VIII broke with Rome, what the Domesday Book recorded, what the Bill of Rights confirmed. Distractors are chosen from the same period, so Henry VIII is set against other Tudors and 1666 against other seventeenth-century years. That is why knowing the century alone is not quite enough for the anchor events.
Traps worth knowing in advance
Pairs of dates for one story. Women first gained the vote in 1918 (some women over 30) and equal voting age with men in 1928. The slave trade was abolished in 1807, slavery itself in 1833. Caesar landed in 55 BC, the real conquest began in AD 43. Questions pick one half of the pair and offer the other as a wrong answer.
1918 twice. It is the year of the first women's vote and of the armistice on 11 November. Know both.
Kings with numbers. James VI of Scotland became James I of England; Henry V won Agincourt, Henry VIII founded the Church of England; Charles I was executed, Charles II restored. Read the numeral carefully.
Same year, two facts. 1940 alone gives Churchill as Prime Minister, Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. 1928 gives equal votes and Fleming's penicillin.
A two-week revision plan for chapter 3
Day one: learn the seven anchors. Days two to eight: one period a day, reading its questions in the bank with answers open, then hiding them. Days nine to fourteen: two practice sets a day filtered on history, and a weekly mock. Our dates page lists every year in this chapter of our bank in one timeline, useful for a last reread the evening before the test. The calculator under this section turns any year into its century and decade; placing an event in its century is the quickest way to discard options that cannot be right.
About the source of these questions
Each question checks a fact stated in the handbook's history chapter, rewritten by Radif Partners; no text is reproduced. The handbook's history ends where its edition was written, so recent events after it are not in the test. The gov.uk Life in the UK Test page states that the test is based only on the handbook.