Children across the UK have been invited to “finish” the Bayeux Tapestry as part of a new competition. Beyond The Battle, created by Art Explora and English Heritage, will see key stage two primary school children design their own imagining of a missing piece of the almost 1,000-year-old tapestry, which is thought to be either incomplete or lost.
The tapestry's return to the UK
The 70-metre-long (229ft) tapestry, which is linen with embroidered images of the Norman Conquest, arrived in the UK at the British Museum from France in July, marking the first time the work had returned to the country since it was made.
What children will create
Children will be tasked with creating a piece about something other than the war. As a class, they will create, design and stitch an original textile work, with the piece of tapestry supposed to picture “a better tomorrow”.
Iona Keen, head of learning and interpretation at English Heritage, said: “1066 is the most famous date in English history, and at Battle Abbey, we look after the very ground where the battle was fought. Visitors arrive knowing about the arrow in Harold’s eye, but what stays with them is standing above the site of the battlefield and realising real people were here. Beyond The Battle connects that place to the object that made the story famous and then hands the story over to the next generation to continue. We are thrilled to be working with Art Explora to put it into the hands of pupils across the country.”
Prizes for winners
The winning classes will receive a fully funded trip to London to see the tapestry and the opportunity to visit the 1066 Battle of Hastings Abbey and Battlefield, or another Norman site managed by English Heritage. The winners will also see their work go on display at a special yet-to-be-announced exhibition, and receive a bespoke textile artwork created by Jessica Grady to commemorate their achievement. The runners-up will receive a funded visit to their nearest English Heritage Norman site.
The Bayeux Tapestry will be displayed at the British Museum in Room 30, the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, from September 10 until July 11 next year, with all tickets sold out until December.
