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24 September 2014
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Inside Out – The search for King Richard III's place of death


After three years of gathering documentary and scientific evidence, historians can say for certain that the Battle of Bosworth did not happen at the spot marked on maps. The findings are revealed during this week's Inside Out on ´óÏó´«Ã½ÌýOne East Midlands.

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Bosworth was the last battle where a King of England died fighting. The death of Richard III brought to an end 300 years of Plantagenet rule and ushered in the Tudor dynasty.

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Since the early Seventies, the accepted view has been that the battle was fought on Ambion Hill near the village of Sutton Cheney. Leicestershire County Council even opened a visitors' centre and a tourist trail at the site.

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In 1985, The Prince and Princess of Wales took part in ceremonies marking the battle's 500th anniversary. But it is certain they were in the wrong place.

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Inside Out has spent time with the Battlefields Trust, which has been trying to discover the real site of Bosworth.

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The Trust's work involved taking soil samples, metal detecting and carrying out a detailed trawl through historic documents.

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The trust also ruled out a recent theory that the battle happened near the town of Atherstone, over the Warwickshire border.

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This is because bodies from the battle were buried in the churchyard at the village of Dadlington, and dead were not moved far to places of burial in the 15th century.

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But it is an interpretation first put forward by a local historian, Peter Foss, over 20 years ago which seems to be the closest to the true Bosworth battlefield.

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The key to finding the exact site relied on finding the edge of a marsh which is known to have been a key element to the way the battle was fought. Find the marsh and the battle can be pinpointed.

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Inside Out was with the diggers and the landowner when they discovered the edge of the marsh. It is in a field where there were once plans to build a race track.

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Archaeologists are yet to unearth any artefacts from the battle. The team has been searching for small clothing and armour fittings such as buckles and strap ends. They have found some but not in great quantities.

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This is still a mystery for a battle in which 17,000 fought and 1,000 died.

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Meanwhile, almost £1m has been invested on rebrading the visitor centre to the Heritage Centre. Its operators are embracing the new research and say it is actually good that the re-enactments they organise are not held on the real battlefield as they would destroy the archaeology.

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Inside Out, ´óÏó´«Ã½ One East Midlands, 7.30pm, Friday 7ÌýMarch 2008

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Notes to Editors

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Inside Out is available via bbc.co.uk/insideout from 8.00pm on Friday 7 March 2008.

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´óÏó´«Ã½ Birmingham Press Office

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Category: East Midlands TV
Date: 05.03.2008
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