An English Miscellany Quiz | Mixed England

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which English city hosts an annual travelling fair called the Goose Fair, the history of which goes back to the thirteenth century?

Answer: Nottingham

The fair is held in the first week of October and nowadays the entertainment is provided by travelling fair people. The first reference to a fair in Nottingham is in a charter in 1284. Though originally it was organised around the sale of geese it is now a massive funfair. There are two smaller fairs in England with similar names - at Tavistock and at Colyford, both in Devon.

2. For 37 years the playwright Alan Ayckbourn was artistic director of a theatre in which most of his plays were premiered. In which seaside town could you visit this theatre?

Answer: Scarborough

The Stephen Joseph theatre was where almost all of Ayckbourn's plays were performed for the first time. Among the most famous of his plays are "How the Other Half Loves", " A Chorus of Disapproval" and the trilogy "The Norman Conquests". Ayckbourn has won many awards and honours including two Laurence Olivier awards and a knighthood.

In 2008 he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

3. There can't be a quiz about England without a question on the Bard of Avon. So, according to Shakespeare, which English king exhorted his troops into battle with the rallying cry "Once more unto the breach, dear friends"?

Answer: Henry V

The quotation comes during the siege of Harfleur in France during the Agincourt campaign. This ringing speech ends with the famous phrase "Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'"

4. Though his name doesn't sound English, the composer of the "Planets Suite" was born in Cheltenham in 1874. Who was he?

Answer: Gustav Holst

The "Planets Suite" was published during the First World War and is divided into seven sections, each one attributing a particular role to the planet concerned. For instance, Mars is the bringer of war and Jupiter the bringer of jollity. Holst adapted the most memorable tune from the Jupiter section to provide the melody for the patriotic song "I Vow to Thee my Country" and the same tune is the basis for the rugby union world cup theme song "The World in Union".

5. Talking of Cheltenham, which famous horse race, known as the Blue Riband of National Hunt racing, takes place there every March?

Answer: The Gold Cup

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the highlight of the Cheltenham Festival, a meeting which also includes the Champion Hurdle. As the festival usually takes place around St. Patrick's Day it attracts Irish horses and Irish horse racing enthusiasts.

6. In which English county could you have lunch at the actual Jamaica Inn which was the location of a novel by Daphne du Maurier? The novel was the basis of a film by Alfred Hitchcock.

Answer: Cornwall

Situated on Bodmin Moor, the Inn still operates as a public house and restaurant. The novel dealt with the activities of a gang of smugglers and the experiences of a young woman (Mary Yellan) who is caught up in their activities when she goes to live there with her aunt.

7. If you wanted to watch football (soccer) at Anfield Stadium or horse racing at Aintree, which English city would you have to visit?

Answer: Liverpool

This is also the city where you would find the Cavern Club which is reputed to be where the Beatles were discovered. Liverpool FC play at Anfield and the Grand National is run at Aintree.

8. On a visit to Oxford you may find yourself at the University sports facility at Iffley Road where, on 6 May 1954, a great sporting achievement took place. What was it?

Answer: The first mile run by a man in under four minutes

Roger Bannister became the first person to achieve this with a time of 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. The other records were all achieved in the 1950s but not in Oxford.

The British runner Diane Leather was the first woman to run a mile in under five minutes, achieving this in Birmingham, England, only 23 days after Bannister. Charles Dumas of the USA was the first man to jump over seven feet in Los Angeles in 1956. Iolanda Balas of Rumania jumped over six feet in Bucharest in 1958.

9. Where in London are most of the annual Promenade Concerts held every summer?

Answer: The Royal Albert Hall

This series of orchestral concerts was founded by Sir Henry Wood in 1895. They draw large audiences for almost two months between mid July and mid September, with concerts broadcast by the BBC. The Last Night is a spectacular occasion and follows a similar pattern every year culminating in audience participation in singing patriotic songs.

10. When, in 1938-1939, the archaeologist Basil Brown excavated several mounds at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, he made a remarkable discovery. What was it?

Answer: An Anglo-Saxon ship burial

Sutton Hoo is probably the richest prize in English archaeology. The burial mounds contained spectacular artifacts including the famous helmet that has become an icon as well as silver bowls, weapons and jewellery. Most of the discoveries are held in the British Museum.

11. What name is given to the examination that you must pass in order to gain a licence as a black cab taxi driver in London?

Answer: The knowledge

The official name of the examination is "The knowledge of London" but most people refer to it by the short title. Its purpose is to show that, no matter where the taxi picks up a passenger, the driver can take her or him to the destination by the shortest possible route.

12. Some towns in England are associated with particular foods. Which kind of food is named after Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire?

Answer: A pork pie

In 2009 the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association gained Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for the style of pies produced there. This means that only pies produced in and around the town can be called Melton Mowbray pies just as only sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France can be called by that name.

13. Which English city is named after the person believed to be the first British Christian martyr, executed while the city had the Roman name Verulamium?

Answer: St. Albans

According to legend, Alban was converted to Christianity by a priest called Amphibalus who was fleeing persecution. Alban helped the priest to escape by exchanging clothes with him but was then sentenced to death in place of the priest having proclaimed the Christian religion himself. The priest was also captured and killed later.

14. England has ten National Parks scattered across the country. Which one is the largest?

Answer: The Lake District

At 2,292 square kilometres (885 square miles) this beautiful area of northern England is easily the largest National Park in England. The lakes are celebrated as the home of the Lake Poets of the early nineteenth century including Wordsworth and Coleridge.

It was also in this area that Beatrix Potter, the author of "Peter Rabbit" and other children's stories, settled in her adult life having spent holidays there as a child.

15. Which city was home to each of these groups: the Hollies, Freddie and the Dreamers and Oasis?

Answer: Manchester

Both Freddie and the Dreamers and the Hollies were part of the explosion of British musical success in the early 1960s. Each group had a very distinctive style of its own with the Hollies going for close harmony and Freddie Garrity leading the Dreamers with a madcap humour. Thirty years later the Gallagher brothers made Oasis into one of the biggest hit groups of the 1990s.

16. Queen Elizabeth I of England died childless in 1603. Who was the mother of her successor, James I?

Answer: Mary, Queen of Scots

Born in Edinburgh in 1566, James became James VI of Scotland before he was one year old. On Elizabeth's death he was the closest surviving relative.

Catherine of Aragon was Elizabeth's aunt and mother of her half sister, Mary Tudor, while Eleanor of Aquitaine lived four centuries earlier and was the wife of Henry II and mother of both Richard I and King John.

17. In 1881 Richard D'Oyly Carte built the Savoy Theatre in London to host productions of the comic operas of which dramatist and composer?

Answer: Gilbert and Sullivan

Among the operas written by William Schwenck Gilbert to the music of Sir Arthur Sullivan are "The Pirates of Penzance", "The Gondoliers" and H.M.S. Pinafore". Most famous of them all is "The Mikado" in which the lyrics of the song "I've got a little list" are usually updated with topical references whenever the work is performed.

18. One city in England hosts Henry VIII's warship "Mary Rose" and Nelson's flagship "Victory" as well as the birthplace of Charles Dickens. Which city is this?

Answer: Portsmouth

It is not surprising to find the ships in the Hampshire city as it has been a major naval port for centuries. It has the oldest continuously used dry dock in the world. It was in this city that Charles Dickens, the celebrated novelist of Victorian England, was born in 1812 and his birthplace is now a museum.

19. A town on the coast of Norfolk is renowned for its local delicacy of crabs. These local crabs are prized as they have a larger proportion of white meat than usual. Which of these towns specialises in these crabs?

Answer: Cromer

Along with the nearby town of Sheringham, Cromer held a crab and lobster festival in May 2016 followed by the World Pier Crabbing Championships in August. They take their crabs seriously around there!

20. Which folk song from Yorkshire warns the singers' friend of the consequences of going courting without a hat?

Answer: On Ilkley Moor Baht'at

In the song the singers say that the person they are singing to will catch his death of cold by being out on the moor without a hat while courting Mary Jane. Then his body will be eaten by worms, the worms by ducks and the ducks by the singers. It concludes "Then we shall all have etten thee"!

The song is believed to date back to the nineteenth century.

Source: Author Quizaddict1

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

An English Miscellany Trivia Quiz

Well my Scottish Miscellany went down pretty well, thank you. So let's cross the border and have a similar exploration of England and random things English. We'll roam across history, literature, geography, sport, music and whatever else takes my fancy.

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