Date |
Event |
24th March 1603
|
King James VI of Scotland becomes King James I of England. The Stuart period of reign starts. |
25th July 1603
|
King James I is crowned King James I of England at Westminster Abbey. |
20th May 1604
|
The first meeting between the five conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot takes place. |
9th June 1604
|
Thomas Percy gets a home in London working for the Early of Northumberland. |
25th March 1605
|
The plotters purchased the undercroft (cellar) under the Palace of Westminster. |
20th July 1605
|
35 barrels of gunpowder are now stored in the cellars under the Palace of Westminster. |
26th October 1605
|
Lord Monteagle receives a letter warning him to stay away from the state opening of Parliament. |
5th November 1605
|
The cellars under Parliament are searched and Guy Fawkes is discovered with the gunpowder and is arrested. The other plotters flee from London. |
6th November 1605
|
Guy Fawkes is tortured in the Tower of London. |
7th November 1605
|
The remaining plotters shelter at Holbeche House (in Staffordshire) but cause a fire. |
8th November 1605
|
The Sheriff of Worcester arrives and smokes the plotters out. Robert Catesby and Thomas Percy are killed. The others are arrested. |
January 1606
|
The Observance of 5th November Act 1605 is passed, making services and sermons commemorating the stopping of the Gunpowder Plot and an annual event. |
30th January 1606
|
The plotters are: hung, drawn and quartered. |
31st January 1606
|
The plotters are: hung, drawn and quartered. |
12th April 1606
|
The flag of Britain is introduced. |
14th May 1607
|
English colonists choose Jamestown Island for their first settlement in North America, as it is a site that can be easily defended. |
1611
|
The new English translation of the Bible is first published, known as the Authorised King James Version. |
3rd November 1620
|
Men on the Mayflower ship sign the Mayflower Compact. |
19th December 1620
|
Passengers on the Mayflower ship choose where to build their new colony, Plymouth. |
Autumn 1621
|
The colonists in Plymouth celebrate their first harvest with a thanksgiving feast. |
27th March 1625
|
King James I of England dies and Charles I becomes King of Great Britain and Ireland. |
1628
|
William Harvey publishes his theory about the circulation of blood around the body. |
1634
|
Ship money started being collected to pay for the building of new ships for the navy. |
1634
|
The Sedan chair appears for hire in London. |
4th January 1642
|
King Charles I busts into the House of Commons with 400 soldiers to arrest five members of Parliament he accused of treason. |
23rd October 1642
|
The first major battle of the Civil War takes place at Edgehill, near Birmingham. |
6th January 1645
|
The New Model Army is established by the Roundheads (supports of Parliament and led by Oliver Cromwell). |
May 1646
|
King Charles I surrenders to the Scots. |
30th January 1649
|
King Charles I is executed as a ‘Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer and a public enemy’. The Council of State are appointed to lead the government. |
6th February 1649
|
King Charles II is proclaimed King of Great Britain and Ireland but Parliament decide that this is unlawful. |
December 1653
|
Oliver Cromwell becomes the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. |
3rd September 1658 |
Richard Cromwell becomes the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland when his father, Oliver Cromwell, dies. |
25th May 1659
|
Richard Cromwell abdicates and the Council of State return to lead the government. |
30th May 1660
|
King Charles II returns to London and all legal documents are back-dated as if he had succeeded his father as king in 1649. This is the restoration of the monarchy. |
1665
|
The Great Plague occurs in London, killing 100,000 people. |
August 1665
|
The village of Eyam, Derbyshire is quarantined when the plague arrives. |
2nd September 1666
|
The Great Fire of London begins in Pudding Lane. |
6th September 1666
|
The Great Fire of London is put out. |
1668
|
Isaac Newton invents the refracting telescope. |
1677
|
The Monument column - built to commemorate the Great Fire of London - is completed. |
6th February 1685
|
King James II becomes King of Great Britain and Ireland. |
5th July 1687
|
Isaac Newton publishes his theory of gravity. |
11th December 1688
|
King James II tries to flee to France, thus ending his reign. |
13th February 1689
|
William III and Mary II become King and Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. |
28th December 1694
|
Queen Mary II dies. |
8th March 1702
|
King William III dies and is succeeded by Queen Anne. |
11th March 1702 |
The world's first regular daily newspaper, The Daily Courant, is first published. |
1705
|
Edmond Halley works out that a bright comet, now named Halley's Comet, returns according to its orbit. |
1st May 1707
|
The Acts of Union 1707 take place, officially creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain. |
20th October 1708
|
Work on rebuilding St Paul's Cathedral in London is completed. |
1st August 1714
|
Queen Anne dies, ending the Stuart Period of reign. |