Two Kings, One Day!

Sunday 29th September, 2013 at Bosworth Battlefield Site.
Much has been said recently about the life and death of Richard III since the discovery of his remains in Leicester in 2011, and we have been following it closely. It is something in which R had an interest previously and neither of us believed the Tudor propaganda that for 500 years had vilified Richard and blackened his reputation.There is a large and very impressive Visitor Centre here at Bosworth. It was built next to the hill where the battle was previously thought to have taken place - however, research in the last few years has identified the actual battlefield as being a mile or so to the south-west on, what is now, a private working farm.
The motto of the Visitor Centre is "Two Kings, One Day" and the walk to get there passes Shenton Station at one end of the Battlefield Line heritage railway. As we walked there, we heard, and then saw, a steam train arriving.

We hurried to buy tickets but then discovered that this was a "test" train and so not for public use. The first available train was over an hour later.  Therefore, we decided to go to the Battlefield Visitor Centre first and then come back to the railway later. As we approached the centre, the first thing that we saw was the striking memorial to the battle. In the centre was a sundial formed of a halbard, holding aloft a crown.

The sundial was surrounded by three sections. To the east was a "throne" for Richard III, accompanied by bushes of white roses (for the House of York). On the 22nd August 1485, Richard's army comprised about 10,000 men, including about 1,000 archers.

To the west was a "throne" for Henry Tudor, surrounded by bushes of red roses (for Lancashire). His army was only about 5,000 strong, many of whom were convicts released from French jails.

To the south was a third, smaller "chair" for Lord Stanley surrounded by yellow roses (the colour of his Standard).  He was knowh to have divided loyalties and a reputation for waiting to see who was going to win before committing himself. He and his son commanded two smaller armies totalling some 5,000 men. In the end, Lord Stanley actually did nothing, but the intervention at the last minute of his son, who had also been waiting with his army on the sidelines, was decisive.

Incredible that a battle that lasted only one and a half hours can have changed so much of history.

It is clear, even from Tudor reports, that Richard fought bravely. He personally came very close to killing Henry, even managing to kill Henry's standard bearer, but finally Richard's attempt to end the battle quickly by killing Henry backfired and it was Richard himself who was killed. The rest is history.
The actual battlefield is about a mile away on the other side of the trees, framed by Richard's Standard in the photo below.

At the centre, we signed up for a guided walk. The lady guide provided us with our own "Standards" and M felt greatly honoured to carry Richard's Standard, particularly when she realised from the colours that he must have been a Crystal Palace supporter!

The guide was very informative and comprehensive although a bit disjointed in her presentation.

After the walk, we had lunch in the Tithe Barn Cafe. It was a fascinating building as it was a modern construction built over and around the original oak frame of the tithe barn. So, although it looked like a real tithe barn, the original woodwork was actually free-standing inside it.

The exhibition at the centre was very well done with many exhibits illustrating the people and times of the battle as well as the timeframe of events and troop movements on the day. There was also a section devoted to the more recent discoveries of Richard's remains and of the actual site of the battlefield. It is heartening to know that the recent publicity has led to a re-appraisal of Richard, this was clearly illustrated on our walk by the cheers with which Richard's Standard was greeted and the loud "BOOOs" when Henry's Standard was produced!
The stone commemorating the "place" where Richard was killed has been moved into the forecourt of the Visitor Centre as it is now clear that it had been situated in the wrong place!

The afternoon was spent playing trains. The Battlefield Heritage Railway runs for 5 miles from Shenton (where we started) to Shackerston and we caught the last round trip of the afternoon. M would happily have spent the whole day going up and down the line in the old carriages behind the splendid (unnamed) steam locomotive No. 3803!

When we returned to MM in the early evening, our neighbours told us that someone had gone past so quickly that our mooring pins had been pulled out. Fortunately, the people who did it were decent enough to stop and re-set the pins so that MM was safe and sound - but 30 yards further down the canal!
Today: No movement.