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 many remember from school lessons.
The sell-out display, which opened to the public on Thursday, has sparked a Bayeux craze across 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. 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 an elevated platform, before heading down some stairs to view the stitching up close.
