Repairs to glazing over King Richard III’s grave site to start on Wednesday

Work to replace a cracked glazed panel that covers the original burial site of King Richard III is to get under way on Wednesday (8 July).

The king’s grave – formerly located in the choir of the long-gone Greyfriars Priory – is now part of Leicester’s award-winning King Richard III Visitor Centre and has been glazed over since the centre opened in 2014.

A specialist team of contractors will remove the damaged glass and replace it with a new triple-glazed panel, working carefully to ensure that the archaeology of the site is protected and that the integrity of the scheduled ancient monument is preserved.

While work is under way, visitors will not be able to visit the grave site, while parts of the courtyard will also be unavailable.

The rest of the visitor centre will be open as normal.

Works will take three days to complete, with the grave site fully reopening to visitors on Saturday (11 July).

Assistant city mayor Cllr Vi Dempster said: “We apologise to visitors for the inconvenience, but these essential works will ensure that the historic grave site of King Richard III continues to be protected to the very highest standards, while allowing visitors to experience this globally important heritage site.”

The glazed panel was accidentally damaged in 2024, with an insurance claim covering most of the £29,830 repair costs.

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LCC News - Published on Monday, July 6, 2026