Christmas
Image: Hadrian's Wall

The Biggest Quiz in History* – Round One

Fancy yourself as a bit of an expert on British history trivia? Or are you hoping to brush up on your knowledge for the family Zoom quiz? Look no further. Every week until Boxing Day, we'll release a round of questions on everything from the Bronze Age to the legacy of the Second World War... the Biggest Quiz in History* starts here. Check your answers at the bottom of the page.

*May not be the biggest quiz in history

Image: The Iron Bridge

1.  What was Queen Victoria's birth name?

2.  Who designed the Iron Bridge in Shropshire?

3.  Who did the English defeat at the Battle of Flodden in 1513?

4.  Which city was the capital of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex?

Image: Orford Castle

5.  The Great Exhibition of 1851 was held in the Crystal Palace, which was built in which London park?

6.  At which Suffolk castle was a ‘Wild Man’ supposedly held prisoner in 1167? 

7.  Queen Elizabeth I granted which of her courtiers the right to colonise Virginia in 1584?

8.  On which remote island was Napoleon held prisoner from 1815 until his death in 1821?

 

Image: Framlingham Castle

9.  What is the name of the Englishman who translated the Bible into English?

10.  What's the better-known name given to the Great Rising of 1381?

11.  Pop star Ed Sheeran's song, Castle on the Hill, which reached number two in 2017, was inspired by which castle?

12.  Which country did britain fight in the War of Jenkin's Ear?

 

Image: Warkworth Castle

13.  The theory of evolution was first proposed in 1858 at a joint presentation by Charles Darwin and which other scientist?

14.  The Royal African Company was set up to trade along the west coast of Africa. It eventually transported more enslaved African people to the Americas than any other organisation. Which British monarch founded it?

15.  Which castle in Northumberland does William Shakespeare describe as a ‘worm-eaten hold of ragged stone’ in his Henry IV?

16.  The Ballad of Kinmont Willie tells the tale of a border raid on which northern castle?

Image: Hadrian's Wall

17.  Which two wives did Henry VIII divorce?

18.  The Charge of the Light Brigade took place during which 19th-century battle?

19.  Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire was used as a location in which 1991 film?

20.  Who was known as the 'saviour of the wall' after he excavated and protected Hadrian's Wall in the 19th century?

 

Image: Old Sarum

21.  One of the prehistoric henges and earthworks at Knowlton in Dorset now surrounds what type of building?

22.  At which fortress did Elizabeth I make her speech to the troops preparing to face the Spanish Armada featuring the line ‘I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king’?

23.  The large earthwork along the border of England and Wales is traditionally believed to have been built by King Offa in the 8th century. Which English kingdom did he rule?

24.  A marble-clad 25-metre-high arch adorned which Roman fort?

25.  Which 12th-century queen was imprisoned at Old Sarum castle?

  • Check your answers here:

    1. Alexandrina Victoria

    2. Thomas Farnolls Pritchard

    3. Scotland

    4. Winchester

    5. Hyde Park

    6. Orford Castle

    7. Sir Walter Raleigh

    8. St Helena

    9. John Wycliffe

    10. Peasant's Revolt

    11. Framlingham Castle

    12. Spain

    13. Alfred Russell Wallace

    14. Charles II

    15. Warkworth Castle

    16. Carlisle Castle

    17. Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves

    18. Battle of Balaclava

    19. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

    20. John Clayton

    21. A church

    22. Tilbury Fort

    23. Mercia

    24. Richborough Roman Fort

    25. Eleanor of Aquitaine

Image: Stokesay Castle

Ready for round two? Another 25 questions await you in The Biggest Quiz in History*.

Round Two

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