Persons desirous of visiting the field of battle, will find it expedient to go from Atherstone to Shenton, and soon after passing that village, instead of pursuing the road to Market Bosworth, to turn off to the right, by the road which leads from Shenton to Sutton Cheney, until they arrive at a large farm on the left, called Sutton Field Farm, occupied by Mr. Cooper, a considerable farmer. They should then turn off to the right, into a field road (which is passable in a carriage, but is not a good one for that purpose, and therefore walking is preferable), which ascends the northward side of Amyon Hill, frequently mentioned before, and cross its summit; and on the slope of the hill, on its southward side, is Amyon Hill Farm (which is upon the field of battle), and close to it, in an adjoining field, is King Richard’s Well. It is covered in with a small pyramid, built of rough stones, but is open on its south front; and on the inner wall, opposite to the open part, is the following inscription, cut in small Roman characters, from the pen of the reverend and learned Dr. Parr:— AQVA EX HOC PVTEO HAVSTA SITIM SEDAVIT RICARDVS TERTIVS REX ANGLIAE CVM HENRICO COMITE DE RICHMONDIA ACERRIME ATQVE INFENSISSIME PRAELIANS ET VITA PARITER AC SCEPTRO ANTE NOCTEM CARITVRVS XI KAL. SEPT. A.D. MCCCCLXXXV. The battle of Bosworth is often called the last of the wars of York and Lancaster. That is an error. The last battle in those wars was the battle of Stoke, fought in 1487. It is a lamentable fact, that deeds of violence and bloodshed, on a large scale, did not cease in England with the death of the last Plantagenet King; for during the reign of the two first Tudor Kings, the crimes and offences disclosed by history, are so shocking, as to make us amazed at the wickedness and cruelty of man. Although the habits and characters of Richard III. and of Henry VII. were widely different, each was sufficiently iniquitous in its way; {174} and it would be a task of great difficulty for any well-read historian, to decide which of those two men was the most wicked. Both of them were usurpers, and neither of them had any legal right to the throne; and if they had lived nearer these times, and in humble life, it is not improbable that the intrepid disposition and invincible courage of Richard might have made him a daring robber or highwayman; and the mean and avaricious propensities of Henry, might have caused him to become an adroit pickpocket or sordid miser.