[MR] BBC: Richard III Greyfriars Church Found?

[Garth Groff]

Noble friends,

Richard III bought the farm in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth. Shortly 
after the battle, Richard III's body was buried at the Greyfriars Church 
in near-by Leicester. As an abbey church, the buildings were destroyed 
on the orders of Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries in 
the 1530s. The location of the grave was lost.

Recently archaeologists from the University of Leicester have begun 
excavations to discover the lost church, and possibly find Richard's 
grave. Conveniently, the site is now a municipal car park so there are 
no buildings to get in the way. Here is a brief video clip on the 
initial work (with some cool re-enactors): 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-19373398 .

A week later excavations were well underway, and the archaeologists had 
exposed some very thick foundation walls, very likely from Greyfriars 
church: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-19436299 . 
And that's the end so far, but you can bet there will be a follow-up story.

Here's a neat little piece from 2008 about some costumed re-enactors who 
retraced Henry Tudor's route the battle: 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/7503341.stm .

And did you know that a contingent of Scots fought for Henry Tudor at 
Bosworth? Not much is known about them or their contribution to the 
battle, but they are mentioned in several accounts.

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot