New battle over famous field

New battle over famous field

Bosworth ended decades of savage civil war

Bosworth battlefield could be redeveloped at a cost of more than £1.5m.

Leicestershire County Council is seeking to establish the site as a major attraction but visitor numbers have been falling.

The visitor centre at the Bosworth battlefield was opened in 1974 but no new money has been invested since 1985.

The council is applying for money from the heritage lottery fund to upgrade the site with improved visitor facilities, a classroom, a reworked exhibition and a replacement cafeteria.

Decisive battle

A cafe on the site had been in a temporary building since 1985 but was condemned in February 2003 as unsafe for public use.

One possible plan for the new one is to use an historic tithe barn from Derbyshire.

The major battle site attracts an estimated 180,000 people each year but visitors to the exhibition have dropped by almost 40% since the late 1980s.

The Battle of Bosworth in 1485 ended the long running Wars of the Roses, putting Henry VII on the English throne.