Bayeux Around Britain: Casting a Masterpiece

Bayeux Around Britain: Creating a Masterpiece opens at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery on 12 November 2026 and runs until 10 January 2027. It's part of a nationwide programme designed by the British Museum and supported by WorldQuant and the Dorset Foundation, bringing the Bayeux Tapestry to the public across the country. The exhibition is held in the museum's Norman Keep, on Castle Hill, NR1 3JU.

The main draw is a set of hand-painted plaster casts of three details from the original tapestry, alongside a life-sized 3D-printed replica and hand-embroidered replicas of the tapestry's details. The casts themselves have a bit of a story: they come from the work of artist Charles Alfred Stothard, who was hired in 1816 by London's Society of Antiquaries to produce the first complete colour drawings of the tapestry. To do it, he took moulds by applying wax directly to the embroidery — a method that wouldn't be considered today because of the risk it posed to the original. The British Museum acquired three of those casts in 1878, and this display draws on scenes 30, 46 and 48, which show King Harold Godwinson and Duke William of Normandy.

For context, the Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the events leading up to and including the Norman invasion of England in 1066. The exhibition ties into MILLENNIUM 2027, the European Year of the Normans, which marks 1,000 years since the birth of William the Conqueror. It's a good chance to see the tapestry's details up close without having to travel to France, and the casts let you get a real sense of the texture and scale of the original work.

Admission is included in the general museum entry, so if you're already planning a visit to the castle, this is just one more thing to see. It runs from 12 November 2026 through to 10 January 2027, so there's plenty of time to fit it in over the winter.