About Stuart G. Hall

Making a positive difference one day at a time. #London #Leicester

Leicester’s history revealed by Google Street View

According to the Daily Mail today Google is extending its Street View service to peer at 95 per cent of homes in the UK.

GreyfriarsPhoto by Stuart Glendinning Hall

In honour of this I’ve uploaded (above) a pic taken from a screen-grab of Street View of the spot in Leicester where a memorial plaque to Richard III, who some say is buried beneath the streets of the ancient city, is mounted. Except it’s covered up (Google Street View pic taken in 2009). By a lettings advert. For a building which is still vacant. And which is surrounded by barbed wire.

Fortunately the advert has gone now, and the memorial is now visible, though it still appears covered on Google Maps Street View which is a shame.

There’s a nice article from the Leicester Chronicle, donated by the Richard III Society, on clues to where exactly Richard III might be buried. Personally my favourite plaque is round near the old castle, which says something like ‘back at the time of the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 the people of Leicester met two kings in two days’. Or words to that effect.

The exact location of the battle between the two kings of England is now on show to the public:

The precise location of one of Britain’s most famous lost battlefields has been revealed today (19th February 2010).

The latest discoveries, announced by Leicestershire County Council pinpoint the exact location of [the] Bosworth Battlefield, where Henry Tudor and King Richard III clashed on 22nd August 1485, and shed new light on the way the battle was fought and where King Richard III died.

The exact location, which has been the topic of much debate amongst historians for years, was discovered as part of a groundbreaking archaeological survey to locate the Battle of Bosworth, funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Digital inclusion takes centre stage

A free software widget to allow people to search the web for information on public services in their area is to be launched today by the Directgov website. The Directgov team is taking the opportunity to use what may be the last big public showing for the highest profile IT-related programme of Gordon Brown’s government, the digital inclusion drive, according to local government portal UKauthorITy.com:

The National Digital Inclusion Conference, which opens in London today, will open with a message from the prime minister. Digital Britain minister, Stephen Timms, will talk about the National Plan for Digital Participation launched this week. Martha Lane Fox, the champion for Digital Inclusion, is expected to reveal further details of the plan to collect “digital promises” from more than 10,000 private, public and charitable organisations.

One highlight will be a cross-party Question Time featuring long-time digital enthusiast Derek Wyatt MP (Labour), Conservative heavy-hitter Baroness Warsi and the LibDems’ Lembit Opik (Lib Dem).

Helen Milner, managing director of UK online centres, said: “It’s wonderful to see support for digital inclusion coming from the top – and just before a general election is testament to the fact this is now central to the wider agendas of economic growth, social justice and the improvement of government services.”

Downloadable presentations here.