I took both subjects at A-level and would definitely recommend taking English over History as a fourth subject. However, I am hugely biased (doing an English Lit degree), so here are some observations:
- English has high grade boundaries but easier content (on our course you needed at least a 28/30 for an A* but this was reasonably easy to get) whereas History has much lower grade boundaries by comparison (more in the 20/30 for an A* range) but this can be a lot harder to achieve (I spent all of year 12 trying to get above a 16 and often failed woefully (skill issue though tbh.))
- History requires a lot of memorisation while in English you can get by with good critical thinking skills. You will need to memorise quotes and stuff, but its nothing in comparison to the huge amount of dates you'll need to get down for History. If you're good at that sort of thing, you'll do well, but if you struggle to retain large amounts of info would Not recommend
- In terms of coursework, it varies hugely depending on exam board, but English coursework tends to be more similar to an essay you'd do in class while History coursework is more similar to a research project (EPQ adjacent in some cases)
Hope this helps and good luck with your choices!