British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian
religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales,
Scotland and Ireland, and the impact of the British Empire. Although British culture is a
distinct entity, the individual cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are
diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness.
British literature is particularly esteemed. The modern novel was invented in Britain, and
playwrights, poets, and authors are among its most prominent cultural figures.
The UK has been described as a "cultural superpower",[6][7] and London has been
described as a world cultural capital.[8][9] A global opinion poll for the BBC saw the UK
ranked the third most positively viewed nation in the world (behind Germany and Canada) in
2013 and 2014.
Seventeen of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in England. Some of the best known of
these include Hadrian's Wall, Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites, Tower of London,
Jurassic Coast, Westminster, Saltaire, Ironbridge Gorge, and Studley Royal Park. The
northernmost point of the Roman Empire, Hadrian's Wall, is the largest Roman artefact
anywhere: it runs a total of 73 miles in northern England.
The British Museum in London with its collection of more than seven million objects,[140] is
one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world, and sourced from every continent,
illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present. On
display since 1802, the Rosetta Stone is the most viewed attraction. The Natural History
Museum, London was established by Richard Owen (who coined the term "dinosaur") to
display the national collection of dinosaur fossils and other biological and geological exhibit
The most senior art gallery is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, which houses a
collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The Tate
galleries house the national collections of British and international modern art; they also host
the famously controversial Turner Prize.[144] The National Galleries of Scotland are the five
national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries. The National Museum of Art, Wales,
opened in 2011.[145]
The British Library in London is the national library and is one of the world's largest research
libraries, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; including
around 25 million books.[146] The library has two of the four remaining copies of the original
Magna Carta (the other two copies are held in Lincoln Castle and Salisbury Cathedral) and
has a room devoted solely to them. The British Library Sound Archive has over six million
recordings (many from the BBC Sound Archive, including Winston Churchill's wartime
speeches.)
The National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh holds 7 million books, 14 million printed items
(such as the last letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots) and over 2 million maps.[147] The
National Library of Wales is the national legal deposit library of Wales, and holds over 6.5
million books, portraits, maps and photographic images in Wales.[148]
the idea of combining fried fish with chips.[241] A blue plaque at Oldham's Tommyfield
Market marks the 1860s origin of the fish and chip shop and fast food industries.[242]
Various meat pies are consumed such as steak and kidney pie, shepherd's pie, cottage pie,
Cornish pasty and pork pie.
A quintessential British custom, afternoon tea, is a small meal typically eaten between 4 pm
and 6 pm. The most popular drink in Britain, tea became more widely drunk due to Catherine
of Braganza. It is traditionally accompanied with biscuits, sandwiches, scones, cakes or
pastries (such as Battenberg cake, fruit cake or Victoria sponge). In his 1946 essay "A Nice
Cup of Tea", author George Orwell wrote: "Tea is one of the mainstays of civilisation in this
country."[243] McVitie's are the best selling biscuit brand in the UK, and the most popular
biscuits to "dunk" in tea, with McVitie's chocolate digestives, rich tea and hobnobs ranked
the nation's top three favourite biscuits.[244] Other popular British biscuits include bourbons,
custard creams, Jammie Dodgers, ginger nuts and shortbread.[244] The first documented
figure-shaped biscuits (gingerbread man) was at the court of Elizabeth I in the 16th
century.[245]
As a multi-national state, the UK has no single national costume. However, different
countries within the United Kingdom have national costumes or at least are associated with
styles of dress. Scotland has the kilt and Tam o'shanter, and tartan clothing – its pattern
consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours – is a notable
aspect of Gaelic culture.[327] A traditional Welsh costume with Welsh hat is worn by some
women during Eisteddfodau. In England, the topic of a national costume has been in debate,
since no officially recognized clothing is anointed "national". However, the closest to an
English national costume can be the smock or smock-frock in the Midlands and Southern
England and the maud in Northern England. English Country Clothing is also very popular
among rural folk, flat caps and brogue shoes also forming part of the country clothing.[328]
