Meet The Townspeople Trivia Quiz

Answer: London

London is the capital of both England and UK and was founded by the Romans around 50 AD. Fast forward through occupation by Saxons, Danes and Vikings until we reach Edward the Confessor on the throne between 1042 and 1066. Edward built a wooden palace at Westminster where later parliament would meet and also built Westminster Abbey which is the church mentioned in the question.

As well as hosting royal weddings dating back to 1100, it has also hosted all coronations of English and British monarchs since that of William the Conqueror in 1066.

In nearby Parliament Square, to the north of Westminster Abbey, there is a series of statues, celebrating prominent statesmen or individuals. As well as the people mentioned in the question, these include Abraham Lincoln, David Lloyd-George, Benjamin Disraeli and Millicent Fawcett. Jack London was an American author, probably best known for his novels set in the Klondike Gold Rush, such as "White Fang" (1906) and "Call Of The Wild" (1903), although he also wrote some early science fiction stories, including "A Thousand Deaths" (1899) and "Planchette" (1906).

Answer: Birmingham

John Cadbury opened his first shop selling drinking chocolate in 1824 and by 1842 was offering 16 different varieties, which could be bought as pressed cakes as well as loose. In 1861, John's sons took control of the business and grew the brand popularity, as well as increasing quality until in 1907, the first bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk was produced, a bar which is now one of the top selling chocolate bars throughout the world.
The Birmingham SuperPrix was a very exciting but short lived addition to the motor racing calendar, featuring up and coming talent, many of whom, such as Jean Alesi, Pierluigi Martini and Maurício Gugelmin would go on to have successful Formula One careers.
Simon Birmingham is a Liberal Party politician, representing South Australia who in 2018 was appointed Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, following a three year spell as Minister for Education and Training.

Answer: Lincoln

Lincoln can trace its roots back to Iron Age man in the first century and by 1072, when construction on the cathedral started, was a thriving market town. Between 1311 and 1548, the cathedral was the tallest building in the world, until the central spire collapsed and was never rebuilt. The original Magna Carta, was signed by Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln in 1215, and the cathedral's copy is now housed under lock and key at Lincoln Castle.
Lincoln had long been a manufacturer of heavy machinery and locomotives, so it would seem natural that when WWI broke out, a local agricultural engineering company, William Foster would switch to tank invention and manufacture, although during production they were referred to as water carriers for Mesopotamia for security reasons. An original William Foster made tank from 1917 can been seen in the Museum of Lincolnshire Life.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of USA, from his election in 1861 to his assassination in 1865. One of his greatest acts was issuing the Emancipation Proclamation on 1 January 1863, legally freeing over three million slaves.

Answer: York

Although the current minster at York dates back to 1215, a wooden minster existed on the site as far back as 627. It is a staggeringly huge building, being Northern Europe's biggest Gothic cathedral and the only church in the world, other than St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, to have its own police force.
The Shambles is an old street in the city, mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and believed to take its name from the large number of butchers' shops found there in Anglo Saxon times, and the Fleshammels (flesh-shelves) on which they displayed their wares. The Shambles is famed for being able to lean from an upstairs window and shake hands with a person on the other side of the street due to the way in which buildings overhang the street.
Alissa York is best known for her 2007 novel, "Effigy", a 19th century tale of a polygamist pioneer family in Utah, which was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Answer: Manchester

The Bible Christian Church was founded in 1809 in Salford, Manchester and the minister in charge was the first to promote a vegetarian lifestyle, essentially as a form of temperance. I do find it quite amusing that this vegetarian priest was called William Cowherd and his congregation met at the Beefsteak chapel, but his perseverance paid off and by 1847, the Vegetarian Society was formed.
"Coronation Street" set in the fictional Manchester suburb of Weatherfield is the longest running TV soap and has been on UK screens since December 1960, and is still attracting eight million regular viewers in 2019. Does it make me a bad Brit if I admit to never having watched it?
Melissa Manchester had several hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the biggest of which was, "You Should Hear How She Talks About You", which was a Billboard Hot 100 top five hit in USA as well as Canada and Australia.

Answer: Cambridge

There is evidence of settlements at Cambridge dating back to pre Roman, prehistoric times, although the world famous university wasn't founded until 1209. The University comprises 31 constituent colleges and has seen the great minds of people such as Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton Stephen Hawking, Sir Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry pass through its doors.
Punting is hugely popular with the many tourists that visit the city each year and the activity was started on the River Cam in the early 1900s by Jack Scudamore, whose family still own and operate a punting company in the city.
Asuka Cambridge was born in Jamaica to a Japanese mother and a Jamaican father and moved to Osaka, Japan in 1995 when he was two years old. He competes in the 100 and 200 metre events and took gold in the Asian Games 200 metres of 2013 as well as being a part of the silver medal winning team in the 4x100 metre relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio de Janeiro.

Answer: Sheffield

Sheffield was one of the cities at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century and saw huge growth as the techniques of stainless steel and crucible steel were developed in the local area, leading to Sheffield steel becoming a benchmark in the industry.
The Peak District, at the southern end of the Pennine Hills is a 555 square mile (1,440 square kilometres) national park, which incorporates almost a third of the city of Sheffield as well as taking in parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire and West Yorkshire.
Karen Sheffield was a ten time Canadian judo champion and also represented her country at the Pan American Championships of 1982, 1984 and 1986, winning a silver medal and two bronze medals in her weight class.

Answer: Carlisle

Carlisle grew in size when it was established as a base to serve the forts on Hadrian's Wall and in its later history became a vitally important town during the Industrial Revolution as it served as a prime location for train journeys between England and Scotland.
Carlisle castle was built in 1092 and has seen many battles throughout the years, not least, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 against George II. The Warden's Tower in which Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned is sadly no longer standing, having been demolished in 1835, to allow the raw materials to be reused in building other sections of the castle.
Belinda Carlisle was formerly a member of the Go-Go's, with whom she had two Billboard Hot 100 top ten hits in USA. As a solo artist though she has found greater success, including the smash hit "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" in 1987, which went top ten in most countries and managed to reach number one in UK and Sweden as well as in USA on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Ely

The Anglican Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity is the correct name for Ely cathedral, visited by students of theology, historians and architects from all over the world for its beauty and size. The present cathedral dates back to 1081 and has had cathedral status since the 12th century.
Until the 17th century, Ely was on an island, surrounded by Fenland, but these coastal plains were drained, leaving behind a huge expanse of very flat, dry, fertile agricultural land which contains almost half of all the grade 1 agricultural land in England.
Ron Ely found fame playing Tarzan in the TV show of the same name between 1966 and 1968. Amazingly, considering the insurance criteria of TV stars today, Ely did almost all of his own stunts in the show, suffering countless broken bones, including both shoulder blades and several lion bites!

Answer: Coventry

Coventry was renowned the world over for the manufacture of cars, motorcycles and aircraft, so it is no great surprise that it was targeted so heavily by the Luftwaffe. Huge areas of the city were bombed on a nightly basis, with a particularly severe raid on 14 November 1940 during which the 14th century cathedral church of Saint Michael was destroyed, leaving only a shell and the spire.
Post war, Coventry was leading the motor manufacturing industry, earning the nickname, the British Detroit of UK and by 1950, there were 12 different motor manufacturers in the city.
Kirsty Coventry has served in the Zimbabwean government as Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, following her retirement from competitive swimming, when she was officially the most decorated Olympian from Africa, with a bronze medal, four silvers and two golds from the 2004 and 2008 Games. She also collected an incredible 14 gold medals at the All-Africa Games between 2007 and 2015 and in 2008, became just the second woman ever to break the 59-second barrier in the 100 m backstroke.