History In The News

It may be a somewhat odd notion, but history is constantly in the present day news and can affect us in our daily lives.

This page will identify some of the more major historical events and explain them for your benefit - an understanding of the history surrounding us can always be beneficial.

Friday 3rd of July 2015
800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta - 15th of June 1215

         Eight hundred years ago, England's relatively brief history of absolute monarchic rule was abolished, with England's nobility and clergy inheriting greater rights in order to protect themselves from King John's illegal fines and treaties. It was this historic document that permanently regulated the power of the monarchy - although the early Stuart Kings James I and Charles I attempted to overrule it - and brought democracy first to England and then to all of Britain.

         To commence the celebration of this revered document, a flotilla of two hundred barges, led by the royal barge Gloriana, sailed down the Thames to Runnymede in Surrey, where the Magna Carta was signed eight centuries beforehand. Accompanied by Prime Minister David Cameron and also the Archbishop of Canterbury, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a plaque to commemorate the anniversary. A statue of the Queen herself had already been erected nearby. A speech was then made by US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, explaining the importance of the Magna Carta to America. It was the Magna Carta that formed the basis of the US Constitution.

         In order to bring the celebrations to a close, the Queen bore witness to the unveiling of a new artwork to commemorate one of the Magna Carta's most important clauses: the right to trial by jury. 'The Jurors', an artwork commissioned by Surrey County Council and created by artist Hew Locke, entails twelve chairs with intricate engravings to symbolise the twelve jurors of the law court.





To the far left and far right we can see two of the engraved chair backs and to the inner left, the artwork in full.