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Builder Digs Up Amazing Royal History At Bosworth Construction Site

Builder Digs Up Amazing Royal History At Bosworth Construction Site

A Midlands builder has unearthed an astonishing royal history stretching back more than 1,000 years at a construction site on the Leicestershire-Warwickshire border.

Springbourne Homes chairman Adrian Burr is building a development of 19 luxury homes at Hornsey Rise, Wellsborough, just a brick’s throw away from the site of the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

So he asked respected local historian Nigel Palmer for help in researching the ten acre plot and was stunned to learn it was once owned by King James II and has direct links to King Charles I and King George VI, father of our Queen Elizabeth II.

Burr, whose award-winning firm is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, is full of praise for Palmer’s expert work, saying:

“Nigel has done an amazing job in helping us discover that the site has such a rich, regal history.

"I had no idea it had such a long and royal heritage, especially once being owned by the King of England.

"That's why I'm now even more determined to make sure our new development becomes a jewel in the crown of the local area and the Springbourne collection!”

Ancient records also revealed there's been people living at the idyllic location, near Market Bosworth, since the time of the Battle of Hastings way back in 1066.

Documents dating back to the days of William the Conqueror show that Henry de Temple, third son of Le- ofric, Earl of Mercia and Countess Godiva, lived there at the time.

There's also a direct link with the execution of King Charles I in 1649, as one of the judges and signatories to the execution order was Judge Peter Temple, who was born at, and later inherited, Temple Hall - a moated Manor House on the hill at Wellsborough.

Unfortunately for the Judge, when the monarchy was restored in 1660 he was stripped of the land and im- prisoned in the Tower of London. The forfeited land was given to James, Duke of York, who later became King James II.

More than 260 year later, another Duke of York - the future King George VI and father of Queen Elizabeth II - made an official visit to the newly-built Memorial Care Home for printers which opened on the site in 1921.

Palmer, chairman of the Market Bosworth Society, which documents the history of the area, admits even he was shocked by the results of his research.

He said:

"I was astonished to uncover its remarkable story and so many links to royalty.

“We managed to trace ownership all the way back to Lady Godiva in the 11th Century, on through to Robert de Harcourt, the Knights Templar and went on to find those links with Kings Charles I, James II and King George VI.

“It’s an absolutely fascinating history which precedes the Battle of Hastings in 1066 but I’m sure people drive past it every day and don’t realise what an important, notable site it is.”

Builder Burr, who bought the disused and dilapidated care home in 2012, is now focused on creating a new 21st Century community on the historic hill.

He’s determined to pay homage to its colourful past, though, with the Springbourne boss having insisted on converting a 100 year old church on the site into a new unique home, rather than demolishing it.

He's also spending £15,000 to restore and renovate a desecrated World War One Memorial, which was origi- nally erected in honour of 380 Natsopa printers who perished in the Great War.

Burr is also preserving a three acre wood alongside the 19 new homes at Hornsey Rise to further strengthen the links to its notable past and give residents their own special place for recreation and relaxation.

For more information on the history and heritage of the Hornsey Rise site and Springbourne Homes, visit: www.springbournehomes.co.uk


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