- Type of Memorial
- Sundial
- WMR Reference Number
- 64893
- Description
- Sundial with a central gnomon topped with a crown. Set at ground level is an inscription which tells the story of the Battle of Bosworth derived from the chronicle of Polydore Vergil, an Italian at the court of Henry VII.
The sundial marks the points of the compass and the distances to other battlefields of the Wars of the Roses.
Around the outer dial are three thrones bearing the names of Richard III, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Thomas, Lord Stanley. The throne to Lord Stanley is shorter than the other two thrones. Rose bushes are planted around the dial between the thrones to form an outer circle.
- Inscription
- Tablets set within the ground around the dial:
On the 22nd of August 1485 over a thousand/ men lost their lives on Bosworth Field./ This monument commemorates them and the many/ thousands who were killed during the Wars of the Roses.
Early in the morning men prepare their souls and their/ equipment for the forthcoming battle. Sounds of stone on blades and murmured Latin prayers are soon drowned/ out by the din of the drums calling the men to muster.
Cannons blasting their shot snatching men from/ the ranks, storms of arrows finding their prey./ The surge of men towards their enemy,/ the ring of steel on steel and the dull thud/ of steel on bone. Spurs rake back in a desperate charge/ with victory in sight, treachery is unleashed. A King falls.
Bodies strew the field, blood soaks the ground/ and screams and moans of the injured fill the air./ Away from the carnage a new King is crowned./ God is praised for the unlikely victory/ and the Tudor dynasty begins.
The last of the Plantagenet Kings, slung naked/ across a horse. A victor leads his tired army to/ Leicester and a day's deeds are recounted./ The dead King's body is viewed by the masses/ before the Grey Friars put him to rest.
Throne: RICHARD III
Throne: HENRY TUDOR, EARL OF RICHMOND
Throne: THOMAS, LORD STANLEY