Stone coffin laid to rest at its new home

The Earl Shilton Stone Coffin has been officially unveiled at its new home at the Battle of Bosworth Heritage Centre in Sutton Cheney by Chairman of Leicestershire County Council, Anthony Kershaw and Managing Director of David Wilson East Midlands, John Reddington.

This fascinating stone coffin was discovered by local gardener Reg Colver where it was being used as part of a water feature in a garden on land which is now owned by David Wilson. Some believe it could be that of King Richard III’s and since its excavation in November it has attracted much media attention and even featured on BBC 1’s The One Show.

The coffin was kept at David Wilson’s The Lanterns development on Candle Lane to enable local residents to have an exclusive look and groups of school children and even members of the local history society were amongst those lucky enough to get a special preview.

The stone coffin was moved to its permanent home at the heritage centre at the end of January and work was carried out to build it a new shelter. It was officially unveiled last Friday in front of members of the council, staff from David Wilson and other special guests before it opened to the general public on the 1st February.

John Reddington, Managing Director for David Wilson says “At David Wilson, we’re committed to doing more than just build new homes and endeavour to make community involvement a key part of all our developments. With this in mind, we are delighted to have been able to facilitate the recovery of this fascinating artefact, which has seen further mystery and intrigue attach itself to the legend of King Richard III.

“We look forward to generations to come to being able to visit this new exhibit here at the Heritage Centre and I hope it inspires more of us to get excited about history or even take a venture down to the bottom of our gardens to see what treasures might be uncovered!”

Tony Kershaw, Chairman of the County Council, said: “This is a tremendous find and where better to place it other than Bosworth Battlefield which is steeped in so much history. Everyone should come along and take a look at the coffin and all the other exhibits at the Battlefield which date back to the time of King Richard III. I would like to thank David Wilson Homes for donating the find to the Battlefield.”

Situated on Candle Lane in Earl Shilton, The Lanterns is a stunning collection of one-, two-, three- and four- bedroom homes in a picturesque mature setting.

Prices for homes at the development start from £89,950.

For more information, log on to Dwh.co.uk.