Museum launches Bayeux Around Britain programme of activity

Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, Director of the British Museum, said: 'Since this loan was announced last year, we have been committed to making this a significant cultural moment for the whole of the UK.

'The Bayeux Around Britain programme will help ensure that this once-in-a-generation exhibition is not confined to Bloomsbury but accessible to tens of millions of people around the country.'

Igor Tulchinsky, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WorldQuant, said: 'I've spent my life building a global education and talent ecosystem around a simple belief: education is one of the most powerful forms of social benefit because its impact compounds across generations.

'Few exhibitions can inspire the kind of wonder that the Bayeux Tapestry does. Through this student programme, which uses culture, history and experiential learning to connect young people with a foundational work of human ingenuity, I hope students leave inspired to learn more and to fulfil their potential.'

Museums Minister Baroness Twycross, said: 'The return of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK for the first time in a millennium is a truly monumental moment and a real highlight in the cultural calendar. 

'It's fantastic to see this programme being launched by the British Museum in 1066 country. We want to make sure that Bayeux really is all around Britain, with school children and communities up and down the country being able to see the Tapestry and learn more about this fascinating period in our history.'

MP for Hastings and Rye, Helena Dollimore, said: 'Although in Hastings we have often been at the centre of historical events, we have not always felt the benefits. The Bayeux Tapestry's return to our shores for the first time in almost a thousand years will be the exhibition of a generation, and I pay tribute to all involved on both sides of the Channel.

'I have been working hard with the British Museum and the Government to ensure that our area, and our school children are truly part of this national moment and I'm delighted that children from 1066 country will now receive free priority tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum. And the loan of the Stothart Cast to the Hastings Museum also marks an important collaboration, as well as the Hastings Embroidery going back on show. We want to encourage those who visit the Tapestry in London to come down to the South Coast and see where the action took place, and enjoy our excellent hospitality when they do. We promise visitors will get a warmer welcome than those in 1066!'

The Bayeux Tapestry Presented by Igor Tulchinsky will open on 10 September 2026 and run until 11 July 2027. Tickets for general admission go on sale from 1 July. Sign up to our newsletter for further updates.

Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is a 70-metre-long masterpiece telling the story of the conquest of England in 1066 by William, Duke of Normandy. The embroidery in wool thread on linen cloth was created in the UK and dates back to the 11th century.

Through 58 scenes, 626 characters and 202 horses, the Tapestry gives an account of the medieval period in Normandy and England like no other. It provides information about civil and military architecture, armour and seafaring in the Viking tradition, as well as precious details of everyday life.

Selection of activity happening as part of Bayeux around Britain, supported by WorldQuant

• In Hastings, Hastings Museum & Art Gallery will host a special loan of a British Museum object, the Stothart Cast. This object features depictions of Harold Godwinson, William the Conqueror and a medieval knight. They were taken from wax impressions lifted from the Bayeux Tapestry in 1816, making them some of the most direct replicas ever taken from the Tapestry.

   

• Also in Hastings, the Hastings Embroidery will be displayed in Hastings Town Hall. Created in 1966 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, the Tapestry tells the history of Britain over that 900-year period. The Hastings Borough Council will also be using British Museum video assets for displays in empty shops and outdoor projections around Hastings as part of a wider programme of events.

   

• At North Lincolnshire Museum, an exhibition featuring large scale projections of the Tapestry will be shown alongside Norman objects from the Museum's collection.

   

• At Lincoln Castle, a giant dragon named Hastings will be unveiled. Inspired by the mythical beasts that appear throughout the borders of the Bayeux Tapestry, Hastings will join the Castle's two existing dragons and help bring the story of the Norman Conquest to life within one of William the Conqueror's great castles.

   

• At The Box in Plymouth, shortlisted for Art fund Museum of the Year, a multimedia display will give a scaled-up view of the Bayeux Tapestry, accompanied by special AV materials supplied by the British museum.

   

• In Northern Ireland, The Carrickfergus Museum presents a new exhibition which invites visitors to explore a transformative chapter in Irish history, beginning with the arrival of Anglo-Norman forces in 1169 and the profound changes that followed.

   

• At Tewkesbury Abbey, a large-scale exhibition is planned, centred on a full-scale facsimile of the Bayeux Tapestry displayed within the Abbey's magnificent Norman nave.

   

• At the Museum of Somerset, a major year-long exhibition will celebrate the Chew Valley Hoard. The hoard consists of 2,584 silver pennies from the period around 1066-68 and was likely buried for safekeeping during the period of turmoil immediately following the Norman conquest.

   

• The Great Tapestry of Scotland visitor centre in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, will present Two Tapestries, Two Nations from September 2026 to September 2027. The centre, which is operated by the cultural trust Live Borders, is home to one of the world's longest contemporary tapestries, which began with a vision by author Alexander McCall Smith, and was designed by artist Andrew Crummy who was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry. The tapestry was hand-stitched by 1,000 people across Scotland and features 160 panels. Families, local groups, volunteers and community participants will be invited to contribute to collaborative activities such as Scotland after Bayeux: 1000 Years of Stories, creating a legacy shaped by public participation.