The tomb of King John rests on the pavement within the Quire at Worcester Cathedral.

In his will, made a few days before his death and preserved in the cathedral library, he asked to be buried in the ‘church of St Mary and St Wulfstan at Worcester’. In his lifetime, John had often visited Worcester and had contributed to the repair of the buildings after the fire of 1202. He had originally meant to be buried at Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire, which he had founded, but at the time of his death that part of the country was in the hands of the rebel barons. Not surprisingly, his last thoughts turned to St Wulfstan. He died on the 19th October 1216 at Newark and was brought to Worcester for burial a few days later. After the rebuilding of the eastern arm of the cathedral, John’s tomb was moved further east, and surmounted by the recumbent figure, the oldest effigy of a king of England. This was marked by a splendid ceremony  on 19th May 1232 attended by King Henry III. Originally the effigy lay on the floor; the present standing tomb was made in 1529.*

More information about King John and Worcester can be found on the Worcester Cathedral website.

*From the Worcester Cathedral guidebook 2016