Richard III: Give king tomb, not slab, says online poll
More than nine out of 10 people have said they would like to see a tomb for Richard III at Leicester Cathedral in an online Mercury poll.
Of the 1,117 voters who took part in our survey, 91 per cent (1,019) said they would prefer the king's lasting memorial to be a chest tomb rather than a simple slab.
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More than nine out of 10 people have said they would like to see a tomb for Richard III at Leicester Cathedral
It comes as Leicester Cathedral, where the remains of the monarch will be reinterred next year, released a design brief to architects on how it would like the memorial to look.
The specifications outline the need for a simple, yet elegant, stone ledger, which the cathedral leaders said would be more in keeping with the context of the building, as opposed to a large sarcophagus.
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However, only 60 (five per cent) of the readers who voted in the poll said they would prefer a stone tablet or slab.
The other 3 per cent of voters said they would prefer neither.
Dozens of comments have also been left on the Mercury website.
Reader thepathf7nder wrote: "A king of England deserves a tomb.
"If a slab is opted for then we will collectively further malign him. After all, wasn't he found under a slab? Long live the spirit of King Richard III."
Alicelth wrote: "I think a slab is an awful way to bury Richard III. Might as well have kept his body in the parking lot."
Staff at Cafe Mbriki, in Carts Lane, in the city centre, said: "All you have to do is look at the long line of tourists queuing to see the remains to know how much people are interested. A slab doesn't quite meet up to the expectations of most."
However, despite the support for the tomb idea, some people were taken with the proposals for a stone tablet.
Roundthehorne said: "To all those saying that a slab is no way to treat a king, perhaps you would like to visit the final resting places of William I, George VI and Henry VIII."
16 Comments
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by Oswine
Sunday, March 17 2013, 3:18PM
“The aggregates firm Lafarge have offered a grant of £50,000 towards the work on the new Cathedral Garden but the total could be £3 million or over.
It is expected that work (or its completion) would be in 2014 and the city-council and other interested parties with or without extra church money would try to contribute more to the cost.
Once again, because of the Richard the 3rd Society a tomb inside the Cathedral for the remains of king Richard the 3rd would be of no or little financial problem for the Church of England,!.”
by Oswine
Sunday, March 17 2013, 2:39PM
“My comment seems to have been posted thrice (3 times), but at least I have had my say and once the work does/can start on the new St. Martin's Cathedral Garden, some grave headstones will be moved to another churchyard or cemetery; whereas others will stay (although relocated in another area of the new Cathedral Garden).”
by Oswine
Sunday, March 17 2013, 2:21PM
“The tomb is already paid for by the R111 Society and I suspect that they would pay the cost to place it in the Cathedral. So, the Church of England should be pleased because there would be little or no expense to them; especially now the plans for the new Cathedral Garden have been approved but the work on it can not start because they are still seeking funds to do it,!.”
by Oswine
Sunday, March 17 2013, 2:20PM
“The tomb is already paid for by the R111 Society and I suspect that they would pay the cost to place it in the Cathedral. So, the Church of England should be pleased because there would be little or no expense to them; especially now the plans for the new Cathedral Garden have been approved but the work on it can't start because they are still seeking funds to do it,!.”
by Oswine
Sunday, March 17 2013, 2:20PM
“The tomb is already paid for by the R111 Society and I suspect that they would pay the cost to place it in the Cathedral. So, the Church of England should be pleased because there would be little or no expense to them; especially now the plans for the new Cathedral Garden have been approved but the work on it can't start because they are still seeking funds to do it,!.”
by Leicester1485
Sunday, March 17 2013, 6:07AM
“The Richard III Society have been in discussions with the Cathedral since 2010 regarding a tomb for Richard, should his remains be discovered. At no time were they informed that a table tomb would not be appropriate.
Why have the Cathedral changed their minds? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the previous Dean has moved on and now there is an Acting Dean?
It is all very disappointing. The Cathedral may now have provided the best reason for having Richard reburied somewhere else - very sad for Leicester, especially when there has been so much local, national and international interest in the City and its links with Richard III.”
by suze2
Saturday, March 16 2013, 8:55AM
“Nothing we say will matter a jot!This debate etc is just paying lip service to the many thousands that feel this is all wrong. Leicester Cathedral cannot seem to find a place for a fitting tomb for the King and COULD commend him to York,The University went looking for a man and found him,but their judgement is clouded by their close ties with the city,and the cc are just (in their own words")going to milk it for all it's worth! " The RIII Society imagined that they would be allowed to have the tomb of their choosing, having complained that York Minster took ten years to decide to accept their stained glass window so they put their trust in Leicester.Meantime the man is in a cardboard box !!!! ( And it's not the people of Yorkshire signing the poll ,it's Ricardians from EVERYWHERE!!!!) It's all falling on deaf ears.”
by layla1
Friday, March 15 2013, 8:16PM
“We should give him a tomb fitting for the last of that great line of kings who governed our country for hundreds of years, who were responsible for creating our laws, our language and much of our cultural history because he was a son of England, an anointed king, the last king to die in battle a warrior's death and because his reputation has been more battered and bruised than his body was after his death at Bosworth. We owe it to Richard, to ourselves and to future generations to rise to the challenge of this unique moment and show the world what we are capable of. Give him a tomb worthy of our heritage and re-inter him with honour, dignity and love.”
by jimbob6163
Friday, March 15 2013, 7:38PM
“Well said bob491 if the Cathedral cannot cope with this honour of having Richard 111 in a tomb maybe the public should ask St Mary de Castro would do the honour with a tomb and what a money spinner it would be, I hope Peter Soulsby the Mayor could look in to this.”
by AlisonMary
Friday, March 15 2013, 6:29PM
“I think the real problem here is that the Richard III Society planned and publicised a tomb without consulting the cathedral or the CFCE. If people hadn't been shown the design I strongly suspect they'd be more receptive to whatever other ideas are put forward, and we wouldn't have this foolish and unseemly wrangling. Of course the Society is keen to promote its preference - but it doesn't own the cathedral or the bones, and as the acting Dean has pointed out, the CFCE would never accept a design which doesn't take its setting into account.
I think we should all wait to see exactly what's proposed; it would be helpful too if the Mercury would stop holding completely ineffectual polls. I wonder how many of the vociferous moaners are familiar with Leicester Cathedral? I've visited it, but couldn't claim to know it well or what would suit it best, and I'm happy for those who know better than I and have all its interests at heart to put forward their plans in due course.”