A PANEL of Richard III experts will gather in County Durham on Saturday, October 17, for the very first study day on the northern king.

The event will be hosted by the Northern Dales Richard III Group at St Mary’s Parish Church, in Barnard Castle, and headed by Anthony Pollard, Emeritus Professor of History at Teesside University.

Professor Pollard will give a talk on 'Richard III, Barnard Castle and his Teesdale circle’ before David Johnson, of York University, speaks on ‘Richard III's 'noble chantry of a hundred priests in the cathedral of York’.

Dr Johnson is a key member of the Looking for Richard project, which, with Philippa Langley, was responsible for the rediscovery of the remains of King Richard III in August 2012.

A light buffet lunch and an opportunity to explore the castle and town will be followed by Judith Frost speaking on ‘Monasteries in the North’.

The final speaker is John Ashdown-Hill, MBE, who is also a founder member of the Looking for Richard project and was instrumental in the discovery and identification of Greyfriars Leicester and of Richard’s remains; through genealogical study he also tracked the descent of an all-female line from Richard’s sister Anne and so discovered a source of the mtDNA that helped identify Richard’s remains.

Dr Ashdown-Hill will talk on the shadowy figure sometimes connected with the name “Lambert Simnel” - ‘Richard III’s Heir: The Dublin King’.

Tickets, costing £20 or £25 including a light buffet lunch, are available from Kim Harding.

Reduced ticket prices are also available for half-day attendance.

To book contact Kim by emailing kirklandergirl@googlemail.com or calling 01833-637018.