LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – The first visitors to the British Museum’s blockbuster Bayeux Tapestry exhibition spoke of their excitement at seeing with their own eyes the 1,000-year-old embroidery they all remember from school lessons.
The sell-out display, which opened to the public on Thursday, has sparked a Bayeux craze in Britain, with newspapers producing special guides, online discussions about securing tickets, and the pub opposite the museum temporarily changing its name to “The Beer Tapestry”.
The masterpiece will be shown at the museum in central London for the next 10 months, having left France for the first time since the 11th century. It depicts the Norman invasion of England in 1066, the most famous date in the nation’s history.
“It’s just magical, isn’t it?” said Pauline Gairey, 53, a finance professional who had travelled from Wales, and recalled studying the tapestry at school.
“It’s just so wonderful to have it visible in the UK so I’m really excited to be here.”
‘EVOCATIVE KIND OF COMIC STRIP’
Scenes from inside the museum showed staff dressed in medieval battle dress with helmets, shields and swords, in another sign of Bayeux-mania.
The 70-metre-long tapestry is being displayed in a bespoke glass case, with ticket holders allotted 40 minutes to view it from above on a bridge, before heading down some stairs to view the colourful stitching up close.
Believed to have been sewn by English seamstresses before being taken to France, the embroidery tells the story of the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman defeat of Anglo-Saxon King Harold II.
“It’s just such an evocative kind of comic strip that still continues to fascinate us to this day, a thousand years after it was made,” said Jessica O’Neill, 45, who runs a YouTube channel about museums, and was standing in the queue to see it.
Last week, before the exhibition opened to the public, Britain’s King Charles visited, celebrating the artwork which features the conquest led by his distant ancestor William I. Charles was accompanied by French President Emmanuel Macron.
France has loaned Britain the medieval tapestry while its usual home in northern France is being refurbished. In return, French museums will display England’s Sutton Hoo collection of helmets, shields and other metal artwork dating back to the seventh century.
The first batch of Bayeux tickets sold out within hours, generating sales of £2.5 million. Another lot will go on sale in October.
(Reporting by Edward Baran and Toby Melville, writing by Sarah YoungEditing by Gareth Jones)
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