The written history of Britain begins in 55BC when Caesar first invaded our isle. Before this time, (prehistory), archaeology is used in an attempt to connect with our ancestors, their traditions and rituals.

Historical records of Britain vary in quality and quantity from era to era. Parts of the Anglo-Saxon era being a very "dark" time historically, hence the term "dark ages"..

The history of Britain can be found in many records that encompass Roman records from Caesar and other classical writers, the Anglo-Saxon chronicles and writings from monks like the Venerable Bede, the Domesday book from Norman times and various writings and maps thereafter from many sources right up to modern newspapers and local government records.

But one thing to remember when reading historical accounts is that they are the view of the writer only. Throughout history writers have always played up their achievements and played down their defeats.  Historical accounts vary from person to person depending on what side they were on and to what purpose the accounts were written. A lot of historical records tend to contain information on a great scale. Great people, great country affairs, great events. Information on everyday events and everyday people tends to be less common. This is where archaeology can fill in the gaps.

Check out the link for the British timeline below for an overview of each era.

Also check out the photo gallery that compliments my local history pages.