Posts Tagged ‘Leicester’

4
Feb

It is King Richard III!

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis    in Events in History

Press Conference at the University of Leicester

Facial Reconstruction of Richard III (used by permission of the Richard III Society)

An unforgettable event:

Press Conference at the University of Leicester – it is Richard III!

A press conference at the University of Leicester was specially convened on 4 February 2013.  At 10h40 (local time) it was announced that the human remains found during the archaeological dig in the area of Leicester’s Greyfriars were those of King Richard III.

The identification was based on a wealth of scientific evidence, including radiocarbon dating, radiological evidence, DNA and bone analysis and archaeological results.

In conclusion to a presentation of the various strains of evidence, Richard Buckley, the lead archaeologist on the Search for Richard III, said: “It is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester that the individual exhumed at Grey Friars in August 2012 is indeed King Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England.” *

You can watch and listen to the whole press conference again at  http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2013/february/watch-or-listen-to-the-richard-iii-press-conference-online

* ‘University of Leicester announces discovery of King Richard III’, University of Leicester (4 Feb 2013).  URL:  http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2013/february/university-of-leicester-announces-discovery-of-king-richard-iii [last accessed 1 Feb. 2020]

 

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11
Jun

11 JUNE 1915

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis    in Events in History

RIII Memorial Stone, Leicester Cathedral

RIII Memorial Stone, Leicester Cathedral

David Guy Barnabas Kindersley, stone-carver and type designer, was born in Codicote, Hertfordshire, on 11 June 1915. Among his work is the Richard III Memorial Stone, which used to be in Leicester Cathedral.  The stone is now on loan to the King Richard III Visitor Centre,which also allows access to Richard’s original grave

In the Ricardian Bulletin of December 1982 Jeremy Potter in his AGM report said the following:

“The Leicester Memorial Stone, carved by David Kindersley, dedicated in August, was not a Society project, but that of the Rev T.C.Hunter-Clare; however the Society was glad to have been able to contribute and had much appreciated the dedication service.”

At the previous year’s AGM he said: “The Society had made an initial small donation and a larger later one”.

Around this time the  Leicester Statue fund was wound up and it was agreed the residue would be used for special projects “such as the Leicester Cathedral Memorial and Fotheringhay Chapel.”

More information on David Kindersley: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituariesdavid-kindersley-1571426.html and on Dottie Tales.

Dorothea Preis

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19
May

Richard Duke of York Knighted

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis    in Events in History

Richard Duke of York Knighted

Nave of St Mary de Castro (© D Preis)

Richard Duke of York Knighted

On Whitsunday, 19 May 1426, Henry VI was knighted in St Mary de Castro, Leicester, by his uncle, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford.  Then the only four-year-Richard, Duke of York, old Henry knighted 44 others, foremost among them Richard, duke of York (father of Edward IV and Richard III).

 

Source:

William Arthur Shaw, The Knights of England. Vol.1.  Sherratt and Hughes, London, 1906, pp.130-132

Dorothea Preis

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26
Mar

Reinterment of King Richard III

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis    in Events in History

King Richard III’s remains were reinterred in Leicester Cathedral in a dignified and moving service on 26 March 2015.  The service was conducted in the presence of the Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury.

The order of the service was designed in cooperation with Dr Alexandra Buckle.  Dr Buckle had found a manuscript, which contains details of a medieval service for the reburial of the human remains of a noble person.  She was researching Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who was reburied in Richard’s presence in 1475. This document served as a basis for Richard III’s reinterment service.

During the service, Richard was also reunited with his Book of Hours, about which I had written on another site, though before Richard’s reinterment.

Reinterment of King Richard III

Richard III’s tomb

 

On the following day, 27 March, Richard III’s tomb was revealed during a service.  Together with several friends, I had in the opportunity on that Friday afternoon, to see the tomb in all its glory.  For me, the floor tiles with inlaid Yorkist roses were a nice touch.

Reinterment of King Richard III

Floor tiles with Yorkist roses

Together with many, many other Ricardians, I was able to spend the Reinterment Week in Leicester, a profound and exhilarating experience.  The week started for me by watching the cortege passing at Jubilee Square.  On Monday, 23 March, Memorial Service for members of the Richard III Society was held in Leicester Cathedral. I had been lucky in the ballot and received an invitation to this beautiful service. From where I was seated my view of the proceedings was obscured, but I had a clear view of the reason for the service, the coffin of Richard III. It was covered with a beautifully embroidered pall, on the one side displaying figures from the 15th century and on the other side figures involved in the 21st-century discovery of the King’s remains.

The Choir sang In Memoriam: Ricardus Rex by Graham Keitch.  Many of us remember this from the 2013 Australasian Convention in Sydney, where we were able to play it by permission of the composer. There can be no doubt though that to listen to it in a church sung by an outstanding choir beats a recording played over a loudspeaker system.

We all would have liked to attend the actual reinterment service in the Cathedral, but space did not allow that.  However, along with several of our branch members from NSW, I was able to watch the service on TV live at our hotel in Leicester.  The most memorable part for me was a natural phenomenon:  It was an overcast grey and drizzly morning, but at the exact moment, when Richard’s coffin was lowered into the ground, the sun broke through. His troubled afterlife had finally come to rest.

It should also be mentioned that the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society made a donation to Leicester Cathedral to help cover the costs of the reinterment.  This was received by Revd Peter Hobson with thanks to all members of the NSW Branch in the name of Leicester Cathedral.

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8
Oct

Making King Richard’s Tomb

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis    in News, Reinterment

A friend of mine shared a link to a video clip about the making of the tomb of King Richard III on Facebook.  I’d like to share the link here with you as I know that some of our readers are not on Facebook, but would also be interested.

Having seen the tomb face to face, I have to admit I never realised how much detailed and fine craftmanship was involved in bringing out the beauty of the stone so impressively.

Don’t miss this video!

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18
Aug

The Burial of the King

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis    in News, Reinterment, Richard III in the Media

‘Richard III: The Burial of the King’ on SBS!

The Burial of the King

Tomb of Richard III, Leicester Cathedral (D Preis)

Thank you to our friends of the Canadian Branch of the Richard III Society!

They alerted me to an article in our paper, the Sydney Morning Herald, that SBS is showing ‘Richard III: The Burial of the King’ on Friday.

This documentary, hosted by Jon Snow, shows the Reburial Service, in which Richard III was laid to rest in Leicester Cathedral on 26 March this year.  I was lucky enough to watch the service live on TV in the UK, in the company of other members of the NSW branch.

This is a programme  not to be missed by anyone interested in this king.  And a ‘Thank you’ too to Ben Pobjie of the Sydney Morning Herald, for giving Richard III a more balanced write-up than what is frequently found in the media.

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4
Aug

Souvenir Booklet

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis    in News, NSW Branch News, Society News

Souvenir Booklet will be with us soon

The Richard III Society has published a 72- page record of the reinterment week of Richard III. This Souvenir Booklet is being dispatched to all Society members this week and should reach us soon. This will be invaluable to everyone.

Souvenir Booklet

Tomb of Richard III, Leicester Cathedral (D Preis)

The September Ricardian Bulletin, with the Society annual report, is due to be dispatched in the first week of September.

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Memories of Reinterment Week in Leicester

The June branch meeting of the NSW Richard III Society was held on Saturday, 13 June 2015, at the Sydney Mechanics’ Institute. Chair Judith welcomed all members and visitors; several new members were introduced. The meeting was cut short to make time for the presentations, but one important piece of business was a letter read aloud thanking the branch for our donation to the Leicester Cathedral Richard III fund. Read the rest of this entry »

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11
Jun

NSW Branch General Meeting on 13 June 2015

   Posted by: Leslie McCawley    in Meetings, News, NSW Branch News

meetingThere has been a change in the scheduled speakers for the June General Meeting, with Chris Puplick now to be featured in October.

The speakers for June will be three of our branch members, Dorothea, Judy and David, who were fortunate enough to be able to attend the many ceremonies and commemorations in Leicester with the reinterment of Richard III in March this year. Each has a lot to share and will be able to show images and tell about their moving experiences.

It will be wonderful to hear their stories.

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7
Apr

NSW Branch support for Leicester Cathedral

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis    in News, NSW Branch News, Reinterment

NSW Branch support for Leicester Cathedral with a donation

At our February 2015 General Meeting, the NSW Branch decided to support Leicester Cathedral’s King Richard III Appeal with a donation of $1000.

So in the morning of 24 March, two of our branch members, Treasurer Judy and Webmaster Dorothea, who were in Leicester during  Reinterment Week, met the Revd Peter Hobson at Leicester Cathedral and handed our branch donation to him.  The Revd Peter Hobson thanked all members of the NSW Branch in the name of Leicester Cathedral.

NSW Branch support for Leicester Cathedral

Handing the donation from the NSW Branch to Revd. Peter Hobson

Judy and I were both, along with lots of other Ricardians from all over the world, very impressed with the thoughtfulness and respectfulness which had been shown to Richard by Leicester Cathedral and the City of Leicester. Judy and I had each attended a different service at the Cathedral and both had had been very moving.  I had attended the Memorial Service for members of the Richard III Society and cannot thank the cergy at Leicester Cathedral enough for giving us the opportunity to remember Richard III in such a heart warming ceremony.  I heard several people comment afterwards that this had been for them THE memorial for Richard III, a sentiment with which I agree wholeheartedly.

Thank you Leicester Cathedral for all that you have done!  Our donation might be small considering the costs of Richard’s reinterment, but expresses our support for what Leicester Cathedral has achieved.

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