History Timeline

The life of St Martin of Tours (France) – Patron Saint of the Cathedral.

Cuthwine is first Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Leicester.

The Midlands are invaded by the Danes. Leicester ceases to be a separate diocese.

The Normans put Leicester under the jurisdiction of the Lincoln diocese.

First recorded mention of St Martin's Church. The Norman church replaces the Saxon one.

Leicester Abbey is built. For a time, the Abbey appoints the St Martin's vicars. Aisles are added to the church.

First record of the name of the priest of St Martin's.

The Greyfriars Monastery established on a site close to St Martin's

The Nave and Chancel are extended.

Following his death at the Battle of Bosworth, King Richard III is buried in Greyfriars Monastry

The nearby Greyfriars Monastery is closed.

During the Reformation, St Martin's is stripped bare of statues, vestments, screens and stained glass.

The first recorded description of sign language appears in the Marriage Register of St Martin's Church. They describe the vows signed by Thomas Tillsye.

Visits by King Charles I.The first time he came in 1634 the people greeted him with great joy, the 2nd time

King Charles I's second visit

A spire is added to the Norman tower.

Leicester is put into the care of the Bishop of Peterborough.

Victorian restoration begins. The tower and spire are completely rebuilt, replacing the spire which had been built onto the original Norman tower in the 18th Century and which had subsequently become unsafe. A new West window is constructed and the Nave roof is completely re-built to accommodate it.

The Suffragan Bishop of Leicester is appointed by Peterborough.

St Martin's is raised to the status of Collegiate Church.

Leicester has its own Bishop again – Cyril Bardsley. St Martin's is hallowed as Leicester Cathedral.

The Song School and Vestry are built.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit the Cathedral.

Girls are admitted to the top line of the Cathedral Choir – Leicester is the first Cathedral to do that.

The Richard III memorial slab is placed in the Chancel floor. The slab is now located in the King Richard III Visitor Centre.

Vivienne Faull becomes the Cathedral Provost - becoming the first woman to hold the role in the Church of England.

The role of Provost becomes Dean under the Cathedrals Measure – Vivienne Faull becomes the first woman in the Church of England to hold the role in The Church of England.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duchess of Cambridge visit Leicester Cathedral at the launch of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour of the United Kingdom.

The mortal remains of King Richard III are discovered beneath a nearby Council car park. Plans are begun for his eventual reinterment in Leicester Cathedral.

The mortal remains of King Richard III are reinterred with dignity and honour in Leicester Cathedral, an event watched by over 600 million people around the world.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh attend a Royal Maundy Service when 91 men and 91 women were presented with Maundy Money by Her Majesty.

In January the Cathedral closes for a major development project, Leicester Cathedral Revealed – which will make the Cathedral fit for purpose for the 21st Century.

University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) have undertaken the archaeological excavation for Leicester Cathedral Revealed. In their latest blog, excavation director Mathew Morris reflects on the significance of some of the final discoveries and what they might mean for the story of the Cathedral and for the story of Leicester. 

Well, we have finished our excavation at Leicester Cathedral. It has been a long project, starting a year and a half ago in October 2021, and although it was a modest sized area, the dig has produced a remarkable amount of archaeological information which will allow us to tell the story of an area of Leicester we rarely get the opportunity to investigate. When we began the project, we had several key research questions including when was the parish church of St Martin founded and what was happening on the site in the Roman period? We now have a much clearer idea.

Our excavations have uncovered over 1,100 burials ranging in date from the 11th century through to the mid-19th century and we can now be confident that St Martins was founded in the late Saxon period (we will have to wait for radiocarbon dates from our earliest burials to be certain of this, so we will return to the burial ground in a later blog). These burials will now be analysed and the results will give us a unique insight into the lives of the residents of Leicester who have been buried here over the past 1000 years. It is also important to note, once the project is completed, all human remains will be reinterred with care and sensitivity by Leicester Cathedral.

We have also uncovered rare evidence from the Anglo-Saxon period, including a potential building and the first Anglo-Saxon coin found in Leicester in nearly 20 years. If the building does prove to be Anglo-Saxon, it will be the first evidence of a structure of this period in this part of Leicester and will suggest post-Roman occupation inside the town was more extensive than previously suspected.

The Cathedral becomes the first English Cathedral to have an all-female clergy team.