The 11th-century embroidery of the Norman Conquest, the Bayeux Tapestry, returns to England for the first time since it was made, at the British Museum.
The Bayeux Tapestry is on display at the British Museum from 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027, in Room 30, The Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery. It's an 11th-century embroidery, not a tapestry as the name suggests: images and Latin inscriptions stitched in coloured wool onto bleached linen, some 70 metres long. It tells the story of the Norman Conquest and culminates in the Battle of Hastings, and it's the only surviving pictorial account of the events that sparked the conquest. It's returning to England for the first time since it was made nearly a millennium ago, following a historic agreement with France.
It was likely commissioned by a Norman patron, perhaps Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror, and probably made in an English workshop around Canterbury by English women. Only three women appear in the central frieze, and only one, the enigmatic Ælfgyva, is named. The work is shown flat in one continuous run in a specially designed case, accompanied by loans from British collections that frame the world of the conquest.
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Tickets for adults are £25-£33, depending on the day and time, and under-16s go free when accompanied by an adult. You'll find it in Room 30, The Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, running through to 11 July 2027.
Date
24 October – 11 July
Price
Paid
Recommended Age
+14 years
