6/1 Richard III Museum in Leicester

One of the things I really wanted to see on this trip was the place where they found Richard III's body in 2012. He was the King of England from October 2, 1452 to August 22, 1485, when he was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicester, during the War of the Roses when he died in battle. He was the last Plantagenet king and was succeeded by Henry I, the first of the Tudor Kings.

He had been hastily buried, and the location of his body was unknown until the Richard III Society financed and got permission to dig up a car park (aka parking lot) where the old Grey Friars church had once stood.  Amazingly, they found his body of the first try and confirmed it with DNA from current distant cousins. He was reburied with the dignity afforded a king in the Leicester Cathedral, which is next door to the car park. 

Anyway, there is now a visitor center in an old church school next to the car park, with a garden and archeological dig area preserved under glass.   

A replica of his throne.

Some medieval scenes from the museum.

 This small room was built over the old parking lot, and shows the grave covered in glass.

This is not really a skeleton, but a projected image hat turns on and off every few minutes that shows how the bones of Richard III appeared when they were found.

Because he was buried by the friars in the middle of the night and very quickly so his enemies would not find the body, his grave was shallow, just a few inches under the old stone floor of the friary. 

 Part of the parking lot has been turned into a garden and cafe area for the visitor center.

And of course, white roses to symbolize the Plantagenets were planted.  (Red roses were the Tudor symbol.) 

This is Leicester Cathedral, right next door, where Richard III was reburied. 

They moved the altar and some wooden screens forward to provide this place for his vault.  

An interesting narrow "road" between the church and the Guidhall next door, which is the oldest building in Leicester and was in existence during Richard's time. 

 

Check out the timbers in this 600 year old building.  Like all medieval builders, they used what they had, whether the logs were curved or not.  

In spite of what looks like messy construction, it is amazing that this building still stands and that the vast majority of its timbers have survived all those centuries.  Also, note the very small panes of glass.  Glass was extremely expensive and came only in small pieces way back them.   

 And to end, a bronze of Richard III.