Bayeux-on-Tyne: Drawing the Bayeux Tapestry
A rare look at a 174-year-old Victorian copy of the Bayeux Tapestry, made here in Newcastle.
Dates
10 October 2026 - 17 January 2027
Visitor Information
Time
During museum hours
Price
Free entry (donations welcome)
Location
Spotlight Space, Hadrian's Wall gallery.
About
Over time, several reproductions of the Bayeux Tapestry have been made. However, only rarely have copies been complete and to scale. One of the rarer, full-scale copies was created here in Newcastle.
Commissioned in the early 1850s by John Collingwood Bruce, this facsimile was created by pupils at Bruce’s school, Percy Street Academy, Newcastle.
In 1884, it was donated the copy to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle (SANT) where it lay hidden until the early 1990s when it was re-discovered.
Bruce's copy is a larger scale than the original and is 5m longer. The drawing is largely complete, with only two sections missing. The copy is currently in 35 separate rolls - on display in this exhibition are four of these sections, showing key parts of the story.
Bayeux Around Britain: a British Museum partnership, supported by WorldQuant.
Image shows a section of the original Bayeux Tapestry © La Fabrique de patrimoines en Normandie / Antoine Cazin
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