Greyfriars, Leicester

Greyfriars in Leicester was once a Franciscan friary founded before 1250 on land inside the town walls. The friars wore grey habits, giving the place its name. By the mid-13th century the church stood near Peacock Lane and Friar Lane, with cloisters and other buildings to the south. The choir was completed around 1255 and the nave by 1300, both about 10 metres wide. King Henry III gave oak trees to make stalls and panelling for the chapel. William of Nottingham was buried in the friary cemetery around 1336. The friary is chiefly remembered as the burial place of King Richard III. After his death at Bosworth in 1485 his body was displayed in Leicester before being interred in the Greyfriars church. Archaeologists found his skeleton in 2012 beneath a parking area, confirming it through DNA and injuries. The site is now part of the visitor centre that opened in 2014. In 1495 Henry VII paid for a coloured marble tomb, later destroyed after the friary’s dissolution in 1538. Visitors walk through the outline of the church and cloisters marked on the pavement. Interpretive panels explain the friars’ life and Richard’s grave. Nearby streets still carry the old names Grey Friars and Friar Lane. The discovery brought together historians, archaeologists and local councils to protect the remains. The scheduled monument status recognises its national importance.