Leicester Cathedral have announced that the of the remains of Richard III will be reinterred on the 26th of March 2015. You may have read a previous post that I was hopeful of carving the tomb for the former King of England whose remains were dramatically unearthed in a Leicester car park in 2012. Throughout the dig and for a while after his remains had been found, I had been working with the Richard III Society who had instigated the project to find the remains. Historians David and Wendy Johnson had created a design for the tomb which was released to the press around that time. Since then, it seems that the project has taken a very different path with Leicester Cathedral adopting a more prominent role in the planning of the reinterment. Leicester Cathedral, aware that they would be seeing vastly increased visitor numbers, ordered a redesign of the interior of the Cathedral so that the remains could be displayed appropriately. They also commissioned a new design for the tomb which contrasts sharply with the initial designs of the Richard III Society. The new design is a very minimal construction, cut into Swaledale Limestone on a Kilkenny Limestone base. Although the design does have some quality to it, I do feel that it lacks significance. Similarly, the initial design is probably a little too fussy and a balance between the two may have been a better solution in my opinion. Sadly, I have not been invited to work on the new design however I have thoroughly enjoyed being associated with the project. It has been a great story that I have been privileged to have been allowed to follow at close hand. The reinterment should be a memorable day for the Richard III Society, particularly for those who put so much into the effort to find his remains.
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