The Greyfriars Friary — “greyfriars” being the common English name for the Franciscan order, whose robes were grey — was established in Leicester sometime in the mid-thirteenth century, probably around 1230. The Franciscans were a mendicant order founded by St. Francis of Assisi, and their establishments across England functioned as urban institutions serving large communities rather than the rural withdrawal of older monastic orders. Greyfriars churches were typically large, intended to accommodate both the friars and a lay congregation, and they often became associated with the burial of local nobility and gentry.
The Leicester Greyfriars followed this pattern. Over the two and a half centuries of its operation, the friary accumulated endowments, built up its library and scriptorium, and served as a burial ground for a succession of local families. The church itself was a substantial building with nave, choir, and side chapels. The choir — the area near the east end of the church, reserved for the religious community’s worship — was typically the most prestigious burial location, reserved for individuals of particular significance.
Richard III was buried in the choir, according to the account of John Rous, who described the location as the choir of the church of the Greyfriars. Rous was writing as a contemporary, and he had no reason to misidentify the burial location within the friary he could presumably have visited. The choir location was consistent with the dignity appropriate to a former king, even one buried without ceremony by a successor who wished to present himself as the legitimate heir rather than the conqueror of a usurper.