Bosworth is a site of national historic significance, being the location of one of the three most important battles fought on British soil. It is the site where the Battle of Bosworth took place in 1485, and infamous as the place where King Richard III lost his life and crown to Henry Tudor and thus where the Tudor dynasty was born. Shakespeare immortalised Richard III, a King betrayed, unhorsed, surrounded by his enemies and finally calling out “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.”
The War of The Roses consisted of a series of battles fought between 1455 and 1485 by two rival branches of a dynasty and for the control of the English throne. Each family has a rose as its emblem, white for the York family and red for the House of Lancaster.
For thirty years, the houses of Lancaster and York had been contesting the right of their own to sit on the throne of England. Thirteen battles had been fought and over 100,000 lives had been lost.
The final battle in this bloody war was to take place in Leicestershire, and became known as the Battle of Bosworth Field.
Read the full story of the Battle of Bosworth Field and read about our Archaeology projects and findings here.
