Leicester, Lands End

Welcome to Leicester, the heart of the East Midlands.

Unlike some of your previous stops, a thriving Iron Age settlement was waiting for the Romans to arrive around AD47. In fact, it was the capital of the local Celtic tribe. With the addition of a forum and a bathhouse in the second century, it would appear that Roman comforts were embraced and adopted enthusiastically. 

Like all towns that suffered when the Romans packed up and went home, Leicester's fortunes faded, including invasions from the Saxons and, later, the Vikings. Although still impressive enough to be recorded in the Domesday book as a city, or 'civitas', it soon lost its status, not becoming a legal city again until the 20th century.

More recently, Leicester has been in the spotlight for the discovery and reburial of the remains of Richard III, the last English King to die in battle. His grave was lost, but in 2012, a skeleton was discovered on a dig at a Leicester car park, which demanded further investigation. With severe battle injuries and physical features, including curvature of the spine, this man in his early thirties could possibly be Richard. DNA analysis from York line descendants proved that this was the warrior King, and he was reburied in Leicester Cathedral in 2015, in a ceremony including a poem read by actor Benedict Cumberbatch - Richard's third cousin, sixteen times removed!