Saturday, May 23, 2015

The tomb of Richard III in Leicester Cathedral


I decided to let the fuss die down before I paid my respects again to Richard III. Last time I saw him, on my birthday, his coffin was display in Leicester Cathedral.

Today I saw his tomb, which seems to me to get the balance between modernity and heritage just right, and to avoid canonising a controversial figure.

The Cathedral has been remodelled inside to give Richard prominence and it looks better as a result. It used to be rather compentalised but now feels spacious.

The building is a largely 19th century reconstruction of a medieval church, yet it looked remarkably attractive throughout the television coverage of Richard's burial.

And some pleasing Pagan touches have survived all this rebuilding and restoration.

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