Bayeux Tapestry replica to go on display in abbey

People will be able to see a full-scale printed replica of the Bayeux Tapestry without having to travel to London to see the real thing.

A free exhibition of the 70m (230ft) replica tapestry will be on display at Tewkesbury Abbey, in Gloucestershire, from 22 October to 11 July next year.

Chief Operating Officer Will Jones said it was a "once in a generation moment" for visitors to the abbey.

The Bayeux Tapestry has gone on public display in the UK for the first time since it was created nearly 1,000 years ago. It has been loaned to the British Museum in London while its usual home in Normandy undergoes renovation.

It was originally embroidered in England but kept for centuries in France and tells the story of the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Tewkesbury Abbey was selected by the British Museum as part of its national 'Bayeux around Britain' programme which aims to tell the story of the tapestry across different parts of the country.

Jones said it offered a way for people to experience the tapestry without having to travel to London.

"Although it won't be the real thing, we are reproducing it to scale so you will be able to see it without the queues [and] without the expensive ticket prices," he said.

Alongside the replica tapestry, there will be a Norman Heritage Trail exploring the people, architecture and craftsmanship of the period.

Jones said he felt the abbey was "the right place" for the tapestry replica.

"The walls, the arches, the tower itself - it was all built by the Norman world that the tapestry depicts," he said.

"The building is part of the story."

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