50 h. ago Never mind the Norman bollocks: Reading’s replica Bayeux tapestry is a prudish triumph!

It may not be completely anatomically accurate, but the Victorian copy of the Bayeux tapestry is as much an emblem of its time as the 11th-century original‘We’ve already got one,” sneers a snotty French knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. With that holy grail of British history, the Bayeux tapestry, about to be lent by France to the British Museum, we could say the same. In 1885, Elizabeth Wardle of Leek, Staffordshire, led a team of 35 women in an extraordinary campaign to embroider a meticulous, full-scale replica of the entire early medieval artwork. With Victorian energy and industry they managed it in just a year and by 1886 it was being shown around Britain and abroad.Today that Victorian Bayeux tapestry is preserved in Reading Museum, and like the original, can be viewed online. Are there differences? Of course. The Bayeux tapestry is a time capsule of the 11th century and when you look at its stitching you get a raw sense of that remote past. The Leek Embroidery Socie...

Politics

3 d. ago Voices: Who owns the past? Bayeux Tapestry loan reignites Elgin Marbles debate

As Macron lends the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain, should we go further – and return treasures like the Elgin Marbles permanently, not just on temporary loan?

Politics

3 d. ago Call for British Museum to take Bayeux tapestry to ‘1066 country’

MP calls for region where Battle of Hastings took place to be included in events surrounding return of artworkThe MP for Hastings and Rye has called on the British Museum to let the Bayeux tapestry spend time in “1066 country” when it comes to the UK, and to ensure the region reaps the benefits of the “once-in-a-generation exhibition”.The tapestry will return to the UK for the first time in more than 900 years as part of a landmark loan agreement announced by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago ‘History’s most devastating document of war’: the simple yet graphic details of the Bayeux tapestry

Hand-stitched depiction of Battle of Hastings pulls viewers into story of friendship and betrayal, vengeance and despair“Angli et Franci” – these Latin words embroidered on the Bayeux tapestry may be the first time those cartoon rivals, the English and the French, were named together. But in one of the shifts from triumph to horror that make this epic work of art still gripping almost a millennium after it was made, the full sentence reads: “Here at the same time the English and French [or Angles and Franks] fell in battle”. Below the black lettering, horses and chainmailed riders are thrown about and upside down in a bloody tangle. In the lower margin lie corpses and a severed head.Now, in an unprecedented piece of cultural diplomacy between the Angli and Franci, this 70-metre long Romanesque wonder, preserved for centuries in Bayeux, Normandy, is to go on show at the British Museum. In exchange, Sutton Hoo treasures and the Lewis chessmen will go to France. When it opens in Septem...

Events

6 d. ago The diplomacy of art: Bayeux tapestry loan shows cultural gifts still matter

History is full of examples of artworks being used to express things diplomats would be forbidden to sayThis week’s masterclass in the renewal of the entente cordiale was based on a genuine desire by two countries to reconnect. But in addition it served as a reminder that diplomacy is not only an art, but art itself has always been an essential tool of diplomacy. So the extended loan of the Bayeux tapestry, exchanged with treasures from Sutton Hoo, is not just a gesture of trust but marks a return to the roots of diplomacy, and its cultural lure.Doubtless security experts will remember the summit’s declarations of new nuclear co-operation while pollsters will eye “the one in, one out” migrant deal to see if it actually turns the political tide in the Channel. But the popular legacy will be the queues forming at the British Museum from September 2026 when the tapestry goes on display, and in Rouen and Caen when the treasures from Sutton Hoo are viewed by the French in what is already...

Culture

6 d. ago Rightwing campaigners claim there is covert deal to return Parthenon marbles

Liz Truss reportedly among those who signed letter organised by hard-right group calling for end to talksThe former prime minister Liz Truss, the historian David Starkey and the former Wales secretary John Redwood are reportedly among 34 signatories to a letter alleging the British Museum is part of a “covert” campaign to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece.The letter, seen by Sky News, has been reportedly sent to Keir Starmer, the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, and trustees of British Museum. Continue reading...

Economics

6 d. ago ‘Momentous occasion’: how Bayeux Museum finally said yes to tapestry loan

Said to be too fragile to move in 2018, tests including a dress rehearsal, and a renovation have led to a change of heartWhen, in 2018, Emmanuel Macron proposed the loan of the Bayeux tapestry to Britain, an army of conservationists and experts rose up to explain why the almost-1,000 year old treasure was too fragile to be moved.Antoine Verney, the chief curator of the Bayeux Museum, said the tapestry that depicted the Norman conquest of England in 1066 was in such a bad state he “couldn’t conceive” of it going anywhere. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago I never argue with my husband... thanks to these manipulative tactics that mean I always get my way without ever raising my voice. Ladies, this is what you need to do: SAMANTHA BRICK

After 18 years together, you might expect my marriage to my husband to be somewhat languishing, says SAMANTHA BRICK. So how do I get my own way, year in, year out, with nary a voice raised?

Events

8 d. ago What to know about the Bayeux Tapestry, an 11th century masterpiece of historical record

The Bayeux Tapestry, a 70-meter- (229-foot)- long medieval artwork that depicts the Norman conquest of England, will be displayed in Britain next year for the first time in 900 years

Politics

8 d. ago Bayeux Tapestry’s weirdest bits – including 93 penises, a comet and a sex scandal

The Bayeux Tapestry has it all – from a grimacing dwarf to a soldier with two left hands. Find out more ahead of its return to the British Museum next year

Politics

8 d. ago The Bayeux Tapestry is going on display in London for the first time in 900 years

The Bayeux Tapestry is going on display in London for the first time in 900 years  Time Out

Politics

8 d. ago Bayeux Tapestry to go on show at the British Museum as it returns to England for first time in 900 years

Delight as ‘one of the most iconic pieces of art ever produced in the UK’ to return in 2026

Culture

8 d. ago Macron makes Brexit joke in address to Parliament during UK state visit

Emmanuel Macron joked the Bayeux Tapestry loan took longer to deliver than Brexit, after it was announced on Tuesday (8 July) that the 1000-year-old wall hanging will return to the UK.

Politics

8 d. ago Iconic Bayeux Tapestry will return to England after over 900 years in France

The artefact will be loaned to the British Museum in 2026 in exchange for the Sutton Hoo collection and the Lewis Chessmen

Politics

9 d. ago Bayeux Tapestry to return to the UK for a major London exhibition

Bayeux Tapestry to return to the UK for a major London exhibition  ianVisits

Politics

9 d. ago How British Museum secured chance to host Bayeux Tapestry’s return to UK after 900 years

Loan of the 70m-long celebration of the 1066 Norman invasion was sealed after weeks of high level diplomacy

Politics

9 d. ago Voices: There’s more to the Bayeux Tapestry loan deal than meets the eye

Arranging for the historic depiction of the Norman Conquest, the Battle of Hastings and the killing of King Harold to ‘come home’ for the first time in 900 years is nothing short of a diplomatic triumph – but could it also open the door to the British Museum handing over the Elgin Marbles, asks Harry Mount

Economics

9 d. ago Bayeux Tapestry to return to England for first time in 900 years to go on show at British Museum

Delight as ‘one of the most iconic pieces of art ever produced in the UK’ to return in 2026

Culture

9 d. ago Bayeux Tapestry will return to England for first time in 900 years with iconic depiction of 1066 Norman Conquest being swapped for Sutton Hoo treasures in loan deal with France

The 70-metre-long work, which is more than 900-years-old, depicts the battle which saw William The Conqueror take the English throne from Harold Godwinson.

Economics

9 d. ago Bayeux tapestry to return to Britain for first time in 900 years

Tapestry to go on display in British Museum next year, with treasures from Sutton Hoo lent to France in exchangeThe Bayeux tapestry will return to the UK for the first time in more than 900 years as part of a landmark loan agreement by Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron.The 70-metre embroidered cloth depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, in which William the Conquerer took the English throne from Harold Godwinson and become the first Norman king of England. Continue reading...

Politics