Historians on the hunt for another missing monarch

Having successfully located Richard III beneath a car park in Leicester, historians have now turned their attention to another missing monarch: Henry I.

What was left of the fourth son of William the Conqueror after his death in Normandy in 1135 was brought back to England and interred in Reading Abbey. There it lay for 400 years until the building was destroyed during the Reformation.

Archaeologists preparing to survey the site which is now partially buried beneath a school, a playground and a car park, are hoping not only to trace the exact footprint of the abbey but the sarcophagus in which Henry was buried. If accessible, the remains could then be exhumed and reinterred in surroundings more fitting of a monarch.

The project has been instigated by the historian Philippa Langley, who led the search for Richard’s remains in Leicester. Langley told BBC History Magazine that the Reading Abbey survey, which has the backing of Historic England, the new body that takes over historical research from English Heritage, will take place next year.

She said: ‘‘One of the main aims of the project is to confirm the exact positioning of the abbey church, as well as its size and structure. What’s really exciting is that we know that Henry was buried in front of the high altar, with members of his family buried in specific locations around him.’’

His grave may be beneath the school, she said. Henry, who founded Reading Abbey in 1121, died from what the 13th century chronicler Roger of Wendover called a ‘‘surfeit of lampreys’’, the parasitic eel once considered a delicacy.

He also recorded the indignities suffered by the king after his death which means whatever is buried in his casket is only his partial remains. Henry had a reputation for cruelty just as sinister as that of Richard III. Having once blinded and cut off the noses of two of his granddaughters, he claimed his final victim from beyond the grave.

Roger of Wendover states: ‘‘The corpse of the King lay a long time above ground at Rouen . . . the physician who was engaged for a large sum of money to open his head with a hatchet, and extract the brain after it was already too much corrupted, notwithstanding that the head was wrapped up in several napkins, was poisoned by the noisesome smell, and thus the money which he received was fatal to him; he was the last of King Henry’s victims, for he had killed many before.’’ The royal corpse was eventually taken to Reading where all the ‘‘archbishops, bishops, and nobles of the Kingdom’’ attended the funeral.

Ms Langley said: ‘‘Much like Richard, Henry was the youngest son who rose to become king. And, as with Richard, Henry’s character continues to be hotly disputed. Some historians believe he was a cruel and ambitious usurper, while others see him as an enlightened and educated peacemaker.