November 5 is the little-known anniversary of the first visit to Bridport of a reigning monarch – exactly 530 years ago.

It isn’t an anniversary anyone will find mention of in Bridport Museum and neither will a visit the town hall reveal that Richard III – that ‘king in the car park’ dramatically discovered in Leicester – stayed here more than half a millennium ago.

It was while on a visit to York that Bridport history buff Arthur Woodgate discovered that this much-maligned monarch, recognised now as a victim of effective Tudor propaganda, actually had an association with Bridport.

Lynda Pidgeon, research officer of the Richard III Society, confirmed the visit, based on documentary evidence drawn from both local contemporary records and records of the Royal Court.

Richard III visited Bridport on November 5, 1483, on his way to Exeter to mop up the remnants of the Duke of Buckingham’s rebellion.

It is thought he stayed overnight at the Priory of St John the Baptist which was in East Street.

Records show Richard paused to deal with urgent matters, including the need to relax, ‘13 shillings and four pence at Bridport for King’s wine’ is noted, which might have gone some to help him relax.

With the national focus now on Richard, Mr Woodgate felt that the only visit to Bridport of a reigning British monarch should be recognised.

Mayor Maggie Ray agreed.

She said: “How fascinating to think that Bridport was honoured with a visit from royalty all those years ago.

“It would be nice to commemorate it in some way, perhaps with a painting to go in the town hall.

“Are there any local artists out there who could rival Francis Newbery’s imagined visit to Bridport by Henry VIII with a depiction of the real visit by Richard III to the Chantry in 1483?”

Mr Woodgate said it would be nice to commemorate the visit.

He said: “Even if it is a bit late in the day. Why has it never been officially recognised before?

“Possibly because of the effectiveness of Tudor propaganda – a classic case of the ‘victor’ looking to demean and defame what has gone before in order to justify their own actions.

“And of course they had Shakespeare on their side – not that he could afford to be anywhere else.

“I think it’s likely that people have chosen to avoid any association with such a supposedly evil and malformed monarch. Contemporary records tell a different tale, although they are not always unbiased either.”

Emily Hicks, Bridport Museum curator said: “Well done to Arthur for unearthing a ‘hidden history’ of Bridport.

“It just goes to show, you never know the full story of any place, and it’s always worth digging a bit deeper to see what you can find.”

Secrets of the discovery

Historians Philippa Langley and Michael Jones are coming to Bridport to reveal the story behind their discovery of Richard’s remains at The Bull at 2.30pm on November 14 as part of the Bridport Literary Festival.
Mrs Langley said: “Previously Richard’s appeal was because of Shakespeare but now that we have found his remains he is even more fascinating because we have been able to blow a lot of the myths away. We now know the levels of ‘spin’ on Richard’s story and that has been fascinating.”