Alistair Hardaker | Image: Early concept visualisation by Opera Amsterdam © Trustees of The British Museum
Tapestry displayed flat in continuous length for first time, with 40-minute experience priced £25-£33.
The British Museum has revealed early designs and new details of its exhibition upcoming Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.
Early concept visuals show the tapestry displayed flat for the first time, in one continuous length in a specially made show case.
The museum said displaying the Tapestry flat, where it has previously been displayed vertically, allows audiences to “fully appreciate the scale of this spectacular and one-of-a-kind medieval embroidery”.
The exhibition will be supported by objects from the museum’s collection, alongside loans from UK and European partners, putting the tapestry into a broader context of medieval England.
Loans include a charter of Edward the Confessor of 1060, an illustrated manuscript known as Junius II from The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford. A hoard of silver pennies of Harold II and William I known as the Chew Valley Hoard will also be displayed, on loan from the South West Heritage Trust and Somerset Council museum collection.
Also on display, a charter issued by William I in 1067 soon after he became king, to the citizens of London, provided by The London Archive, part of the City of London Corporation.
The museum reports the exhibition will be presented as a 40-minute experience, with tickets ranging from £25 – £33 through a tiered pricing structure based on the day and time of visit.
Michael Lewis, curator of the Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition, said the display will be “a new and exciting presentation of the tapestry’s story: the events leading to the Norman Conquest, an incredible moment that changed England forever.”
The Bayeux Tapestry will run from 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027.
