"A short but scholarly book, well written and packed with facts: perfect for anyone who wishes to understand the background to research for Richard III without the media sensationalism".
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON
MEDIA RELEASE 15 JULY 2014
THE FULL STORY OF HOW RICHARD III WAS FOUND
‘FINDING RICHARD III: The Official Account’ by Research Team
Their task was to locate a lost grave in an obliterated church. The ‘Looking For Richard’ team of historians and researchers spent many years amassing evidence. Now for the first time they reveal the full story of how that evidence took them to a car park in Leicester.
Reports of the dig and DNA fingerprinting were shown world-wide and won awards.
But the years of prior detective work have never before been recognised.
Latin texts, mediaeval priories, old maps, long-lost memorials, misleading tales of grave desecration ... not a Dan Brown novel, but a sober account of how painstaking studies of historical records achieved the goal of finding Richard III.
Informed by Dr John Ashdown-Hill’s sound knowledge of the Franciscans (Greyfriars) and their architecture, together with his discovery of Richard III’s mtDNA, the LOOKING FOR RICHARD PROJECT launched by Philippa Langley rested on solid foundations. It rested equally on her own exhaustive research into the Greyfriars site, and her indomitable determination to see it through.
Other members made up a team that until now kept a low profile, combining to facilitate, raise the money (the search cost some £40,000), and cultivate an ethos that laid emphasis on respect for a king who fell defending crown and country. Historian Dr David Johnson and his artist wife, Wendy Johnson, proposed a tomb design that won approval from the Richard III Society, whose members overwhelmingly financed the search.
Edited with the sure touch of writer and author Annette Carson, this publication reveals how scholarship and research into 500 years of history underpinned an enterprise of which the world saw only the triumphant end result.
ENDS
Finding Richard III: The Official Account of Research by the Retrieval and Reburial Project
A.J. Carson (Ed.), J. Ashdown-Hill, D. Johnson, W. Johnson & P.J. Langley
Published by Imprimis Imprimatur ISBN 978-0-9576840-2-7 Price £8.50
96 pages; 22 figs, maps, diagrams; 7 appendices including 22 pages of original documents and papers; bibliography; index;
preface by Dr C.C. Thornton, FSA, FRHistS
Orders: http://looking-for-richard.webs.com/contact-us
or: http://www.annettecarson.co.uk/
or: http://www.johnashdownhill.com/contact-john/
The above is a review of the book from the Society of Antiquaries of London. published in association with other information about a recent talk for the Society by John Ashdown-Hill, and also John's recent honorary doctorate awarded by the University of Essex.
OTHER REVIEWS OF THE BOOK
http://www.richardiii-nsw.org.au/2014/07/finding-richard-iii-the-official-account/
http://nerdalicious.com.au/books/finding-richard-iii-the-official-account-of-a-remarkable-journey/
Responding to an online article in a Leicester newspaper on 28 July headlined ‘Be proud of all involved in the story of the king’, the following comment appeared by a reader who uses the byname MidgetGemAgain:
Yes of course Leicester folk should be proud of their University and their Council - proud that they had the vision to follow up Philippa Langley's bold plan, backed-up by the strong academic research provided by John Ashdown-Hill . Reading Mike Pitts article you'd think that Richard Buckley and Peter Soulsby had the idea all by themselves. It took years of work by Philippa and the Looking For Richard project (conceived in Edinburgh incidentally, not Leicester) before a package was ready that would be strong and convincing enough to lay before the University and the Council. Even then it was initially met with scepticism and was subject to funding pull-outs until rescued by the Richard III Society (who incidentally provided the Cathedral with their floor plaque Mr Pitts) Perhaps after pushing his own version of the story, Mr Pitts would be willing to also acknowledge the publication of those most closely involved from the start - "Finding Richard III - The Official Account" by A J Carson, J Ashdown-Hill, D Johnson, W Johnson and PJ Langley.
Review: “Finding Richard
III: The Official Account of Research by the Retrieval & Reburial Project”
A.J. Carson (ed), J. Ashdown-Hill, D. Johnson, W. Johnson & P.J.
Langley
Imprimis Imprimatur 2014
ISBN 978-0-9576840-2-7
Do we need another book about the search for Richard III and his
grave? If it’s this book you are talking about, the answer is definitely “yes”.
It’s 96 pages, but chock full of information on each page, so it’s
not a quick read - it requires digestion and careful thought. And it is worth
the read as if clarifies some points about the events of 2012, and all the
“spade work” prior to the actual excavation. I especially enjoyed the section
about the design for the tomb, even if I was disappointed all over again that
this design is not the one Leicester cathedral is going with. Annette Carson
and her contributors clearly set out what happened, when and explain but don’t
dwell on some of the conflicts of opinion and leave the reader to consider how
much earlier Richard could have been found if other decisions had been made.
Still, better late than never, and maybe Richard did want to be found on the
anniversary of his burial.
The chapters are logical, starting with accounts of Richard’s burial
(confusing as we know), and explaining the layout of a mediaeval priory, modern
research (including the DNA trail) and how the project developed, including
another perspective on the “dig” itself. You think you know the tale, but you
won’t know everything that is covered, and it puts all the information clearly
so finishing the book is like having a cool drink on a hot day.
The illustrations are usually very clear, and I really appreciated
seeing some of the maps that were used to show that the presumed site of
Richard’s grave was the area that had never been built on. I had trouble with
figure 16, and had to work hard to see the modern overlay of streets on the
1741 map.
This is a great resource for anyone who wants to clarify in her own
mind as to what happened before the dig and how much needed to be done. It
complements Philippa Langley and Michael Jones’ “The search for Richard III:
The King’s Grave” - they are quite different books. Those who give talks to
“muggles” (ie non-Ricardians) or even to our own need both books to explain
what happened and why.
This book deserves a place on Ricardian bookshelves everywhere.
Annette Morgan, New Zealand Branch member
Richard III Society.
The above is a review of the book from the Society of Antiquaries of London. published in association with other information about a recent talk for the Society by John Ashdown-Hill, and also John's recent honorary doctorate awarded by the University of Essex.
OTHER REVIEWS OF THE BOOK
http://www.richardiii-nsw.org.au/2014/07/finding-richard-iii-the-official-account/
http://nerdalicious.com.au/books/finding-richard-iii-the-official-account-of-a-remarkable-journey/
Review: “Finding Richard III: The Official Account of Research by the Retrieval & Reburial Project”
A.J. Carson (ed), J. Ashdown-Hill, D. Johnson, W. Johnson & P.J. Langley
Imprimis Imprimatur 2014
ISBN 978-0-9576840-2-7
Do we need another book about the search for Richard III and his grave? If it’s this book you are talking about, the answer is definitely “yes”.
It’s 96 pages, but chock full of information on each page, so it’s not a quick read - it requires digestion and careful thought. And it is worth the read as if clarifies some points about the events of 2012, and all the “spade work” prior to the actual excavation. I especially enjoyed the section about the design for the tomb, even if I was disappointed all over again that this design is not the one Leicester cathedral is going with. Annette Carson and her contributors clearly set out what happened, when and explain but don’t dwell on some of the conflicts of opinion and leave the reader to consider how much earlier Richard could have been found if other decisions had been made. Still, better late than never, and maybe Richard did want to be found on the anniversary of his burial.
The chapters are logical, starting with accounts of Richard’s burial (confusing as we know), and explaining the layout of a mediaeval priory, modern research (including the DNA trail) and how the project developed, including another perspective on the “dig” itself. You think you know the tale, but you won’t know everything that is covered, and it puts all the information clearly so finishing the book is like having a cool drink on a hot day.
The illustrations are usually very clear, and I really appreciated seeing some of the maps that were used to show that the presumed site of Richard’s grave was the area that had never been built on. I had trouble with figure 16, and had to work hard to see the modern overlay of streets on the 1741 map.
This is a great resource for anyone who wants to clarify in her own mind as to what happened before the dig and how much needed to be done. It complements Philippa Langley and Michael Jones’ “The search for Richard III: The King’s Grave” - they are quite different books. Those who give talks to “muggles” (ie non-Ricardians) or even to our own need both books to explain what happened and why.
This book deserves a place on Ricardian bookshelves everywhere.
Annette Morgan, New Zealand Branch member
Richard III Society.