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More tours announced for Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry
10th September 2026
With tickets sold out for the British Museum’s Bayeux Tapestry exhibition this autumn, Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry at Reading Museum is offering new opportunities to see the only full-scale replica of the tapestry up close.
New guided tours of Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry have been announced for January to March 2027, while the tapestry can also be seen on a self-guided visit this autumn with Tuesday – Friday 10-11am / 3-4pm and Saturday 4-5pm the quietest times to visit. Reading Museum is also hosting expert talks on the Bayeux Tapestry.
Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry was created by Victorian women 140 years ago and is identical to the Norman original in almost every aspect. Reading’s tapestry hangs vertically in its own gallery with visitors able to explore the famous Norman conquest story at their own speed from Tuesday to Saturday.
Matthew Williams, Reading Museum Manager said: “Reading Museum has seen enormous interest in Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry as a result of the British Museum exhibition. Our Victorian replica is identical in almost every aspect to the Norman original, painstakingly reproducing every single detail, stitch-by-stitch, so that the Tapestry's timeless story could be enjoyed by the people of Britain. The guided tours by our expert staff provide the historical context to both the original and Victorian replica tapestries and the visit makes an interesting counterpoint to the British Museum exhibition and a fascinating visit in its own right.”
Completed in June 1886, the tapestry, which like the original isn’t really a tapestry at all but an embroidery, found its permanent home in Reading Museum in 1895 when a former Mayor of Reading, Arthur Hill, bought it for the town from its creators, the Leek Embroidery Society at the end of its world tour.
The tapestry was stitched by 35 Victorian ladies based on tracings from full-size hand-coloured photographs in the Victoria & Albert Museum. It is the only full-scale, almost exact replica of the original tapestry and at 70 metres long fills a specially designed gallery in Reading Museum.
Reading is a very logical final location for the tapestry. The town boasts a medieval Abbey Quarter, with the impressive Reading Abbey Ruins, at its centre. The Abbey was founded in 1121 by William the Conqueror’s son, King Henry I, to be his own mausoleum.
Guided tours of the tapestry take place three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons and cost £12.
Bayeux Tapestry events programme at Reading Museum also includes:-
- Professor Michael Lewis: Curator of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum – “Exhibiting the Bayeux Tapestry” - 26 October
- Dr. David Musgrove: Co-author of ‘The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry’ – “The Bayeux Tapestry: a Medieval Embroidery with Superpowers” - 14 November
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Visitor Comments
“I have just completed the tour of the Bayeux Tapestry and have to say it was amazing! The guide made it so interesting and brought it all to life.”
“So much that we wouldn't otherwise have known or have understood. A great tour, thank you! Also excellent value!”
