King Henry I buried under a car park by Reading Abbey

[Duncan Head]

Probably.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/12/archaeologists-begin-hunt-for-remains-of-henry-i/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/shortcuts/2016/jun/13/kings-and-carparks-is-reading-the-new-leicester

[Mark G]

I really can't see Reading winning the premiership, even with a Plantagenet burried there

[Tim]

Now that would be a story...

You would see football teams calling the Venetians to steal and bury Kings under local carparks to help them win the Premiership... (no suggestion that this occurred in this instance) - we know the Venetians would have no objections if the price was right (I state this as the owner of a Venetian Italian Wars Condotta army...)

Regards
Tim

[Patrick Waterson]

There is a reason why kings are turning up under car parks, and it is the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, which included a fair number of abbeys.  Earlier kings tended to be buried at or in abbeys, so when these were 'disestablished' and to a great extent dismantled, the land went through a few ownership changes and as often as not ended up as a flat wilderness under a local authority.  Local authorities tended to use flat wildernesses for car parks (albeit not until the 20th century), which is quite fortunate in its own way because had the site been used for other sorts of public facilities there is no telling what kind of establishment kings might be found under.

As it is, we can expect, or at least hope, to find the remains of King Arthur under Glastonbury Abbey (St Dunstans) car park and those of King Alfred under the car park at Hyde Abbey (assuming they have not already been disinterred and placed in boxes in the local museum or previously misplaced during the construction of the earlier local gaol).

[Mark G]

Is that why.
There was me thinking they were just exempt from long term parking charges, and took it a bit too far.

[eques]

There is a reason why kings are turning up under car parks, and it is the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, which included a fair number of abbeys.  Earlier kings tended to be buried at or in abbeys, so when these were 'disestablished' and to a great extent dismantled, the land went through a few ownership changes and as often as not ended up as a flat wilderness under a local authority.  Local authorities tended to use flat wildernesses for car parks (albeit not until the 20th century), which is quite fortunate in its own way because had the site been used for other sorts of public facilities there is no telling what kind of establishment kings might be found under.

As it is, we can expect, or at least hope, to find the remains of King Arthur under Glastonbury Abbey (St Dunstans) car park and those of King Alfred under the car park at Hyde Abbey (assuming they have not already been disinterred and placed in boxes in the local museum or previously misplaced during the construction of the earlier local gaol).

Any thoughts on why they all seem to be usurpers? 

[Tim]

Because the rightful kings get allocated parking spaces...?