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Leicester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England, and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. One of the city centre's five surviving medieval churches, St Martin's was elevated to a collegiate church in 1922 and made a cathedral in 1927 following the establishment of a new Diocese of Leicester in 1926.
The remains of King Richard III were reburied in the cathedral in 2015 after being discovered nearby in the foundations of the lost Greyfriars chapel, 530 years after his death.
The church was built on the site of Roman ruins and is dedicated to St Martin of Tours, a 4th-century Roman officer who became a bishop. It is almost certainly one of six churches referred to in the Domesday Book (1086) and portions of the current building can be traced to a 12th-century Norman church which was rebuilt in the 13th and 15th centuries. In the Middle Ages, its site next to Leicester's Guild Hall, ensured that St Martin's became Leicester's civic church with strong ties to the merchants and guilds of the town.
Much of the extant building is predominantly Victorian. This included the building of the tower (completed in 1862) and 220-foot spire (1867) by the architect Raphael Brandon. The work on this was in the correct Early English style, although his work elsewhere in the church was in the perpendicular style. The tower and spire are, according to Pevsner, "intentionally impressive" and loosely based on the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Ketton, in Rutland.
In 1927, St Martin's was dedicated as Leicester's Cathedral when the diocese was re-created, over 1,000 years after the last Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Leicester fled from the invading Danes.
Today over one hundred thousand people visit Leicester Cathedral every year, primarily to see the tomb of King Richard III, the last English monarch to die in battle. King Richard's mortal remains were interred by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in March 2015 after five days of commemoration events and activities around the city and county of Leicester. A magnificent tomb cut of a single piece of Swaledale fossil stone weighing 3 tonnes now covers his grave.
Inside, on permanent exhibition, is the pall, a decorative cloth which covered King Richard's coffin during his reinterment. It was designed and created by artist Jacquie Binns. The embroidery tells the story of King Richard's life and the discovery of his body in a car park very near to the cathedral. Other items that can be seen inside the cathedral include 14th-century wooden carved figures, each "afflicted" with some kind of illness. One has a medieval hearing aid, while another is suffering from sore shoulders.
A church dedicated to St Martin has been on the site for about 900 years, being first recorded in 1086 when the older Anglo-Saxon church was replaced by a Norman one. The present building dates to about that age, with the addition of a spire and various restorations throughout the years. Most of what can be seen today is a Victorian restoration by architect Raphael Brandon. The cathedral of the former Anglo-Saxon diocese of Leicester was on a different site.
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Leicester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England, and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. One of the city centre's five surviving medieval churches, St Martin's was elevated to a collegiate church in 1922 and made a cathedral in 1927 following the establishment of a new Diocese of Leicester in 1926.
The remains of King Richard III were reburied in the cathedral in 2015 after being discovered nearby in the foundations of the lost Greyfriars chapel, 530 years after his death.
The church was built on the site of Roman ruins and is dedicated to St Martin of Tours, a 4th-century Roman officer who became a bishop. It is almost certainly one of six churches referred to in the Domesday Book (1086) and portions of the current building can be traced to a 12th-century Norman church which was rebuilt in the 13th and 15th centuries. In the Middle Ages, its site next to Leicester's Guild Hall, ensured that St Martin's became Leicester's civic church with strong ties to the merchants and guilds of the town.
Much of the extant building is predominantly Victorian. This included the building of the tower (completed in 1862) and 220-foot spire (1867) by the architect Raphael Brandon. The work on this was in the correct Early English style, although his work elsewhere in the church was in the perpendicular style. The tower and spire are, according to Pevsner, "intentionally impressive" and loosely based on the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Ketton, in Rutland.
In 1927, St Martin's was dedicated as Leicester's Cathedral when the diocese was re-created, over 1,000 years after the last Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Leicester fled from the invading Danes.
Today over one hundred thousand people visit Leicester Cathedral every year, primarily to see the tomb of King Richard III, the last English monarch to die in battle. King Richard's mortal remains were interred by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in March 2015 after five days of commemoration events and activities around the city and county of Leicester. A magnificent tomb cut of a single piece of Swaledale fossil stone weighing 3 tonnes now covers his grave.
Inside, on permanent exhibition, is the pall, a decorative cloth which covered King Richard's coffin during his reinterment. It was designed and created by artist Jacquie Binns. The embroidery tells the story of King Richard's life and the discovery of his body in a car park very near to the cathedral. Other items that can be seen inside the cathedral include 14th-century wooden carved figures, each "afflicted" with some kind of illness. One has a medieval hearing aid, while another is suffering from sore shoulders.
A church dedicated to St Martin has been on the site for about 900 years, being first recorded in 1086 when the older Anglo-Saxon church was replaced by a Norman one. The present building dates to about that age, with the addition of a spire and various restorations throughout the years. Most of what can be seen today is a Victorian restoration by architect Raphael Brandon. The cathedral of the former Anglo-Saxon diocese of Leicester was on a different site.