Leicester Cathedral

A one-day pilgrimage walk to the cathedral begins at the royal martyrdom site of Wistow, to the south of Leicester (see page 307), with options of an 8- or 11-mile route.‍

Highlights

• ‍‍Royal tomb of Richard III
• Ancient cathedral city, reinstated in 1926

A royal rather than a saintly tomb encapsulates the spirit of Leicester Cathedral, following the reburial here of the remains of King Richard III in 2015. They were rediscovered in 2012 under a nearby car park, among the foundations of the former Greyfriars monastery, and now lie in a tomb marked by a monumental, two-ton block of limestone deeply incised with a cross.

A dedicated space has been designed to accommodate the tomb in the chancel, a traditional place of honour for a royal burial. This layout is similar to his original resting place in the former Greyfriars monastery church.

Leicester is actually an ancient cathedral city, although the current diocese was only established in 1926 and this cathedral opened a year later. The building is not on the site of Leicester’s original cathedral, but is instead based on an ancient parish church, dedicated to St Martin, which has stood here since Anglo-Saxon times.

Only the name survives of Leicester’s first known bishop, Cuthwine, who was appointed in the year 680. He leaves no other known credentials or legacy, saintly or otherwise, but his presence here underscores the long spiritual history of this city. The building you can see today dates mostly from the 13th century, with major reworking in the Victorian era.

The front porch has statues of seven figures described as saintly, although only two of them are actual saints: St Guthlac of Crowland, who lived in this area around the year 700 (see page 310) and St Hugh of Lincoln (see page 314).

There are four side chapels in the cathedral, none dedicated to these or other local saints but still offering a quiet place of contemplation. St Katharine’s and St Dunstan’s chapels are used for occasional services too, while the St George chapel is used to commemorate the armed services. More recently, a chapel dedicated to Christ the King has been installed at the east end.

At the time of writing, the cathedral is fundraising for and planning a major redevelopment, including renewal of its sacred space and the establishment of a heritage learning centre.

Directions

Leicester Cathedral, 2 Peacock Lane, Leicester LE1 5FQ

www.leicestercathedral.org

W3W: value.dreams.ready

GPS: 52.6345N 1.1371W‍

The cathedral is open for prayer and worship daily from 8am, but times for general visitors and tourists are Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12:30pm-2:30pm. Note that direct access to the actual tomb area of King Richard III is restricted to 10:30am-4:30pm.