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I was in London when the news broke one morning that the Bayeux Tapestry had arrived; not with a fanfare or a grand procession, but quietly, in the middle of the night, after a remarkably secret journey across the Channel. There was something rather thrilling about it!
The security operation really was extraordinary. For months the precise details of the tapestry’s journey from Bayeux, Normandy had been closely guarded. Then, on 9 July, the tapestry left Bayeux at 6:15pm and arrived at the British Museum at 3:50am on 10 July, travelling under French and then British security in a specially designed, anti-vibration crate. The precise details of the transfer were kept confidential until the tapestry was safely in London.
The Bayeux Tapestry is an extraordinary piece of medieval embroidery, made in the 11th century to tell the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
Despite being called a “tapestry”, it is actually embroidered wool on linen and measures almost 70 metres long. It depicts a continuous sequence of scenes featuring William, Duke of Normandy, Harold, King of England, the Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings.
However, it isn’t simply a historical record. It is also an extraordinary piece of craftsmanship and textile art, and a remarkable visual document of medieval life nearly a thousand years ago. There are ships, horses, weapons, clothing, buildings, food and countless tiny details, all stitched into the linen. The story unfolds through embroidery, scene by scene.
I first learnt about the Bayeux Tapestry in history class at school. At the time, it was simply part of the story of 1066: William the Conqueror, Harold, the Battle of Hastings. I never imagined that, many years later, I would be in London when this extraordinary piece of French and English history quietly arrived in the city.
Its history sits at the fascinating intersection of France and England. Created in the 11th century, it tells the story of the Norman conquest of England and has been preserved in Bayeux for centuries. Now, almost 1,000 years later, it has crossed the Channel to London.
For me, that is part of its fascination. It is history, certainly, but it is also France, England, craftsmanship, storytelling and textiles. It is an object that has somehow survived centuries of political upheaval, wars and changing fashions, and still has the power to make us stop and look.
You can read about 1066 in a history book, but standing in front of almost 70 metres of embroidered linen is something quite different. And I suspect that when I finally stand in front of it, I won’t be thinking about the date 1066 quite as much as I did at school. I’ll be looking at the details: the people, the horses, the ships, the clothes, the craftsmanship, the story stitched into every metre of linen. A little piece of France has come to London, and this time, I intend to look much more closely.
If you’re in London
The Bayeux Tapestry will be on display at the British Museum from 10 September 2026 until July 2027.
Tickets for the first period of the exhibition have been in very high demand, with public tickets through December sold out. The next release of public tickets, for visits from January to March 2027, is scheduled for 21 October.
If you’ve ever studied the Bayeux Tapestry, this feels like a rather special opportunity to meet it again.
image credit: iStock, feature image credit: iStock
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