Richard III Setting

Want to know where Richard III is set? See each setting Shakespeare used in the play on the map below.

In Shakespeare’s Richard III play is set in the late fifteenth century at the end of the Wars of the Roses. The play ends with Richard’s defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field and the establishment of the Tudor dynasty under Henry VII. Shakespeare has presented time creatively and flexibly in that all that action could not have occurred in the fourteen days that Shakespeare gives it. Most of the action in the first four acts is set around London. In the fifth act, there is a tour of England that finishes at Bosworth Field. In the first four acts, Richard is operating in a tight space and is in control. In the last act, it is loosened and it all slips away from him, culminating in the final battle at Bosworth.

The map below shows all the locations Shakespeare used for Richard III. You can zoom in on the map for a more detailed view of an area, and click the icons on the map for more information. Text in the more info box are the specific locations Shakespeare references in his Richard III text: