Chance to see Bayeux Tapestry prints in town

The Bayeux Tapestry is on display to the public in the UK for the first time since its creation about 950 years ago - but if you missed out on tickets, there is another way to enjoy it.

The 70m-long (230ft) tapestry, originally embroidered in England but kept for centuries in France, tells the story of the Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

But in the 1800s, prints were made of the tapestry and at the time were the first complete colour reproductions made available to the public.

Seventeen of the prints from a private lender are on display at The Art Haven community arts centre in Woodbridge, Suffolk, until Tuesday - and its director has said she was "thrilled".

In 1816, draughtsman Charles Stothard was commissioned by London's Society of Antiquaries to visit France and draw the entire length of the Bayeux Tapestry.

According to the British Museum, he applied a method of reproduction that could have risked the preservation of the tapestry when he put wax directly on to its surface so he could get a mould of the embroidery.

From this, another man called James Basire engraved it on to prints and they were then hand-coloured to create a record of the tapestry as it was seen then.

They were also the first record of the tapestry after it had been damaged in the French Revolution and before repairs were carried out later in the 19th Century.

It meant Stothard had to recreate sections in his work by piecing together colours and surviving threads.

"In a way, they're more original than the Bayeux Tapestry that you could see as of today at the British Museum," said Art Haven director, Mary-Anne Bartlett.

"There are differences because the Victorians took out various things from the original because they thought they were too shocking, but it's so lovely to be able to see the details.

"I'm watching the hundreds of visitors look at all the details along the borders... all that wonderful detail that you can really study and, particularly, I'm trying to find those lovely links with Woodbridge because, of course, Woodbridge was an Anglo-Saxon stronghold."

Nearby Sutton Hoo tells the story of Anglo-Saxon England before 1066 and the Norman Conquest.

The area is famous for the discovery of an Anglo-Saxon burial ship that had long since rotted, leaving only the iron bolts and the impression of the timbers in the earth.

As well as this, the British Museum, in exchange for the Bayeux Tapestry, loaned Anglo-Saxon artefacts discovered at Sutton Hoo to the French.

Tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum have sold out, but more are expected to go on sale in October.

The tapestry includes 58 scenes, 737 animals, 620 men, six women and is made of wool thread, dyed using plants, which was then woven into linen cloth.

It is believed it was embroidered by English women for the new Norman rulers in the 1070s.

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