The
civil war for the throne between the House of York and House of Lancaster which
raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century culminated in the
final Battle of Bosworth, during which Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, defeated
his foe, King Richard III, to become the first English monarch of the Tudor
dynasty.
Over
500 years later, the discovery of the remains of King Richard III buried
beneath a Leicester car park has brought to the fore the question: ‘what lies
beneath?’ How sure can environmental and
engineering professionals be that, when they excavate a site in preparation for
construction work, they know what they are likely to uncover? A car park in
Leicester certainly seems a highly unlikely burial site for a former monarch
and yet, how much do we know about the previous use of land throughout the UK –
and how prepared can environmental professionals be?
Using
historical mapping available with Envirocheck, the industry standard desk study
information service, Landmark Information Group has carried out historical map
analysis on the Leicester car park where King Richard III’s remains were found
and on the site of the Battle of Bosworth which, on 22 August 1485, claimed
King Richard III’s life – and it turns out that car parks feature in the
‘afterlife’ of both King Richard III and King Henry VII.
David
Mole, Business Development Director, Environment – Land & Property,
Landmark Information Group, said: “Using historical mapping dating from 1888
overlaid with current maps, we have identified how the use of the Leicester car
park has evolved, from open grass land, to the car park that it is today.”
Identified
as undeveloped grass land in the 1888 county series map, the first map to
indicate the site as a car park was in 1954 Ordnance survey map. This latter map is also the first to indicate
that the site could be of historical interest, showing that the site was the
location of a ruin, which was confirmed to a Franciscan friary in the mapping
from the 1960s.
David
continues: “We have also identified that the site used for Henry Tudor’s encampment,
which sits outside the National Heritage-protected site of the actual
battlefield, and made the discovery that a section of the site is now a car
park. It is extraordinary that not only the burial site for King Richard III
has become a car park, but that the site of his enemy’s encampment for the
battle in which King Richard III died, has also been turned into a car park.
“Whilst
this is an interesting fact, it does demonstrate the serious issue that,
without thorough checks and investigation, it is often simply impossible to
tell what lies beneath the top soil during excavation works. The recent history
may be well known – such as whether a factory or gas works were situated on
site and therefore decontamination is required – but what about the more historical
use for the land? Discoveries such as sites of historical importance, sensitive
land use, and ground water vulnerability can delay construction works for
months or years; it can even put a stop to it altogether, resulting in
extensive loss of money for all involved.”
David
concludes: “It’s not all bad news however. Environmental and engineering
professionals needn’t become mapping experts overnight; there are desktop
information searches available, ideal for fast and highly accurate environmental
site assessments. Obtaining a comprehensive report which includes extensive
environmental information – including, for example, historical mapping, areas
of special scientific interest and geological maps – that reveal previous uses
of specific locations, can potentially save professionals time and money.”
Landmark’s
Envirocheck Report is the industry standard desk study information service,
providing professionals with fast and highly accurate environmental site
assessments. Envirocheck delivers site-specific information with access to
comprehensive Ordnance Survey current and historical mapping. The historical
maps in the Landmark database exceed 1 million map files from 1840 to present
day sourced from Ordnance Survey, Trinity College (Dublin) and the Royal
Geographical Society. The collection of
Ordnance Survey maps is supplemented with RAF historical aerial photos and
Russian Military Cold War mapping of the UK.
The Envirocheck Report offers a flexible solution by allowing
professionals to choose the detail they need depending on their project
requirements.
For
more information, visit www.envirocheck.co.uk.
