Birth of England 'should be celebrated and taught in schools' ahead of nation’s 1,100th birthday, prominent historian urges

Now, a new team spearheaded by Professor David Woodman, a specialist in medieval history at the University of Cambridge, is calling for a memorial to King Aethelstan.

Professor Woodman said he was shocked at how little the story of the foundation of England was taught in schools.

He told The Telegraph: "I first came across Aethelstan as an undergraduate and was amazed that I didn’t know about him; there was nothing about him in the UK’s schooling system.

"I think poor old Aethelstan has suffered because he didn’t have a biographer so we wanted to raise his profile and the period of England’s birth.

"There has been so much focus on 1066, the moment when England was conquered.

"It’s about time we thought about its formation, and the person who brought it together in the first place."

Backing the calls was shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart, who said it was an opportunity to "celebrate England in a positive way."

The Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar said: "The mission is to make sure people appreciate just how England is and how significant 927AD was in history.

"The birth of England deserves to be remembered and given that England is just about the oldest kingdom to maintain its borders, 927AD is a significant date in European and world history.

"This is an opportunity to celebrate England in a very positive way and perhaps remind ourselves of England’s past."

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has also talked about the importance of teaching British issues, as he took aim at the current education system.

He said: "[We have] a sort of a Marxist takeover of people who hate the country, who hate what it stands for, and they've done their job.

"The other thing that is going on is there’s a pretty big collapse in support and belief in our fundamental democratic system, our constitutional monarchy.

"I just feel that we ought to be teaching people that this little speck on the map actually achieved quite remarkable things."

Aethelstan’s status as England’s first king had been dismissed in the past because the English kingdom fragmented again not long after his death in 939AD.

However, more recent historians have credited Aethelstan’s reign as being the foundation stone for the signing of the Domesday Book and Magna Carta.

Professor Woodman said: "He was so ahead of his time in his political thinking, and his actions in bringing together the English kingdom were so hard-won, that it would have been more surprising if the kingdom had stayed together.

"We need to recognise that his legacy, his ways of governing and legislating, continued to shape kingship for generations afterwards."

In Kingston upon Thames, where Aethelstan was crowned on September 4, 925AD, a series of ceremonial events have been held, including a memorial service and address by The Rest is History co-host, Tom Holland.

However Mr Holland, alongside TV historian Michael Wood, are calling for a longer-lasting memorial for the king, such as a statue or portrait in Westminster or Malmesbury where he was buried.

Campaigners are calling for Aethelstan’s reign and the birth of England to appear more routinely on the school curriculum.

Professor Woodman added: "Just because things broke down after Aethelstan’s death doesn’t mean that he didn’t create England in the first place."