The Greggs Ta-Pastry has been unveiled at the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle. The 8-metre tapestry chronicles the story of the bakery's most famous baked good, the sausage roll, and is on free display until January 2027.
Greggs sells approximately 1 million sausage rolls each day, or roughly 300 million per year. The popularity of the pastry has led to other versions, such as a Vegan Sausage Roll and a Chicken Roll.
The Tapestry's Creation
The tapestry detailing the history of the sausage roll as well as the bakery itself stretches across the back wall of the gallery. It is on display alongside a hand-drawn copy of the famous Bayeux Tapestry, done by Newcastle schoolboys in the 1850s.
The ta-pastry on show isn't made with just paper and pen. The bakery partnered with master atelier Hawthorne & Heaney, Royal embroiderers, renowned for high-precision military and ceremonial needlework.
Craftsmanship and Details
The tapestry took over 200+ hours of needlecraft, with 5,521,238 individual stitches across 8 metres of cotton canvas. Over 40 kilometres of thread was used on the fabric, including specially dyed thread colours Greggs Blue and Pastry Gold.
The piece is rendered in authentic medieval style, complete with traditional border motifs and satirical Latin framing.
Chapters of History
The tapestry's chapters include scenes such as founder John Gregg riding through Newcastle on his delivery bike with the Tyne Bridge in the background, post-war bakers perfecting the art of rolling golden savoury comfort, and the sausage roll remaining a constant through decades of national triumphs from '66 to 2012.
Other chapters depict the 2019 media storm over the Vegan Sausage Roll, the rise of 2020s brand fandom with super-fans wearing blue-and-gold streetwear and sporting sausage roll haircuts, and a global success story celebrating a bake now enjoyed over a million times every single day.
Entry to the Great North Museum: Hancock is free, with the ta-pastry on display until January 2027.
