Bayeux Tapestry curator Michael Lewis takes us behind the scenes of the British Museum's blockbuster exhibition
- maxwell museums
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
Professor Michael Lewis is the curator of the British Museum's landmark Bayeux Tapestry exhibition — and he's been pushing for this unprecedented loan from France for years. In today's interview, I speak to Michael to go behind-the-scenes in a show that's been a millennium in the making.
*maxwell museums is supported by readers. Purchases through links may earn a small commission
The Bayeux Tapestry has had a royal welcome to Britain.
Their Majesties The King and Queen visited the British Museum this week to be the first to see the medieval masterpiece fully installed in its completed exhibition, in its first ever return to the UK.
They were joined by President Macron and the Prime Minister Andy Burnham. There were speeches like a top diplomatic summit — King Charles hailed Britain and France as "two great nations, which share such fundamental values." This event was history being made.
And what makes this moment truly special, is that the Tapestry’s return to these shores for the first time in a millennium is nothing short of a miracle. It’s happened against the odds, with the treasure surviving fires, wars, neglect and pests — and the loan itself overcoming 80 years of failed attempts.
So just how did we get here?
Well, while the spotlight's been on this week's royal razzmatazz, and it was previously on last year’s covert diplomatic wranglings that finally inked the deal, we wouldn’t be here at all without the perseverance of the British Museum’s Professor Michael Lewis.
Lewis has devoted his academic career to the Tapestry, and for well over a decade he’s been advocating for this loan, especially in his role as the only non-French member allowed to sit on the Bayeux Tapestry scientific committee. He’s been rewarded with the responsibility of curating this landmark exhibition in London, because he knows this artwork inside out (or should that be back-to-front?).
He’s the author — alongside BBC History Magazine’s Dave Musgrove — of the book The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Unravelling the Norman Conquest, which has just been published in a new expanded edition by Thames & Hudson to mark this history-making moment.
And as if any of that isn’t enough, he’s also my guest for this week’s Big Interview!
I am truly delighted to have caught up with Michael ahead of this most special of weeks, to ask him all the questions I’ve been itching to know — from what the legacy of this show will be, to what happened to the failed loan attempt in 2018 under Theresa May. And perhaps most importantly, I wanted to know if he can quite believe this is all really happening.
Hi Michael. So, you’ve campaigned for this loan for years. Can you quite believe it’s finally here and ready to be seen?!
In 2013, I joined the Bayeux Tapestry scientific committee and started advocating for the loan of the embroidery to the UK, so, yes, I am still rubbing my eyes a bit!
I realised then that displaying the Tapestry in the United Kingdom would be a massive cultural event. Importantly, the British Museum is working with partners across the UK as part of its Bayeux Around Britain project, so even if people cannot come to London (or don’t yet have a ticket!), they can get involved in other ways. The museum has also developed online resources, including an interactive Tapestry aimed at younger people.
A UK loan has been proposed many times over the decades. What went right this time to finally make it happen?
Crucial in the timing of the loan this time is the closure of the Bayeux Tapestry Museum (which shut in September 2025), so that it can be extended and refurbished. This was not the case in 1953 and 1966, though the 1980s request did coincide with such a move. In short, the Tapestry was moving to storage, so a loan to the UK became an option. Also, important was the political support, especially crucial that of President Macron, but also the hard work of colleagues on both sides of the Channel.
The press reported that the British Museum would host the Tapestry as recently as the last decade. And then the V&A seemed to nab it. What happened with that attempt?
The initial conversations, at least from 2014, envisaged the Bayeux Tapestry coming to the British Museum; in fact, in June that year, members of the scientific committee met at the museum, and the loan was discussed in that context.
When it was announced that the Tapestry would come to the UK in 2018, it was not specifically stated that it would come to the British Museum, which meant that various locations were suggested, some more realistic than others. However, in 2025, when it was announced that the Tapestry would come to the British Museum, it was clear that no other space could realistically display it, especially in the 14-month time scale.
Claudia Winkleman stars!
A new trailer for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition sees Claudia Winkleman as the British Museum's Head of Security
Has the Tapestry always been this famous?
For many centuries, the Bayeux Tapestry was largely unknown to people outside Bayeux. Its first clear record is in 1476, when the inventory of the treasures of Bayeux Cathedral says it was displayed once a year in the cathedral’s nave. It was not until the late 1720s that antiquarian scholars realised it existed!
Charles Stothard’s drawings of the Tapestry (made from 1816-19) brought the Tapestry to a wider audience, as did advances in photography. The opening of a permanent museum to display the Tapestry in 1842 no doubt increased interest in it. It is important to note that the Tapestry is much more famous in Britain than in France.
What gave you the most sleepless nights during this process?
I think my sleepless nights have mostly been caused by excitement!
It was also a long night when the Tapestry actually arrived in the UK and came to the British Museum in the middle of the night! It was obviously a relief to see it safely arrive in London and be taken out of its crate, the paravant, and into its display case. In fact, the Tapestry has travelled really well, which is a great credit to the planning and skills of the French and British teams of object handlers and conservators.
There are other treasures going into the show too — what else will visitors see?
Clearly, the Bayeux Tapestry is the star of the show, but we do have other loans to contextualise it. These objects have been carefully chosen as they have to ‘work hard’ alongside the Tapestry.
First, people will see a wonderful collection of arms and armour that evokes those used by both sides at the Battle of Hastings. Before visitors see the Tapestry, they will be treated to an illuminated manuscript that has drawings that might have influenced the images of the Tapestry and a charter issued by Edward the Confessor that lists, as witnesses, several people they will meet in the Tapestry.
Afterwards, people will see objects, including an important coin hoard, that highlight a period of uncertainty facing the fledgling Norman regime and the English people living under it.
You’ve worked with colleagues at the Bayeux Museum for years. Does this loan have significance to them, to the town, and to France more widely? Or is it a means to an end?
The support of my colleagues in Bayeux, including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and colleagues at Bayeux Museum, has been instrumental in making this loan happen, as well as colleagues at DRAC Normandie (the local heritage arm of the French government, based in Caen).
Antoine Verney, who was Director of the Museum, who sadly passed away earlier this year, realised that the loan of the Tapestry would be an important cultural moment, both for the UK and France, but also for Bayeux and Normandy. If the loan had not happened, then the Tapestry would have been stored for at least 14 months. So, actually having it on display in London, we can have a better eye on it.
What will the legacy of this exhibition be?
The original vision (in my mind at least) was that the loan would engage more people in the Bayeux Tapestry and the Norman Conquest period. I think the British Museum and the many colleagues we work with will learn a lot from this experience — 14 months is not long to put together any exhibition at the BM, especially one like this.
I like to think that my deep knowledge of the Tapestry has been a great advantage; indeed, it has been wonderful to see many colleagues with the book Dave and myself wrote. I also think it will be a useful learning experience for my French colleagues, especially as they look to redisplay the Tapestry in a new way in Bayeux in the coming years.
Can you ever see it being back in Britain ever again after this loan?
I will never say never, but I think it is very unlikely that the Bayeux Tapestry will travel again to the UK. Not in my lifetime anyway — I have already dedicated many years to this loan.
I also doubt that it will travel anywhere else, apart from back to Bayeux! In that sense, this will be a one-off opportunity to see the Bayeux Tapestry in London (or outside France). Afterwards, people will need to travel to Bayeux, which is a lovely city that I am very fond of.
You’ve updated your book on the definitive story of the Tapestry. What’s new?
Dave and myself were fairly speeding in finding a publisher (Thames & Hudson) and getting a book out following the 2018 announcement of the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK.
The hardback came out in 2021 and the paperback in 2024. When we knew for certain the Tapestry would come here in 2026, we wanted to update the ending, at the very least. But we also took the opportunity to make a few changes following new research and getting in more recent ideas that have been published in the last 5 years.
Will the book ever need to be updated again do you think?
New ideas (in academic papers) are always being published about the Tapestry; I have a couple of papers in press, and a few more I am working on.
Certainly, having the Tapestry in London, and being able to see it pretty much when I like (!) gets the brain cells going. I am really keen to write a book on the Normans, as I think that would be a nice thing to do.
But I am also working with my French colleagues on what scientific testing of the Tapestry we could do (when it is conserved, a few years down the road). Little is known about the material aspects of the Tapestry (like where the wool is from and the processes of producing the Tapestry) that could be tested by science.
📩 Get future museum interviews sent to your inbox with my weekly free newsletter
Finally, any tips for visitors when they come to see it?
Well, the key thing is to read the book Dave and myself have written! It is designed to guide people through the Tapestry story, and I think when people read it, there will be things they are keen to spot themselves.
For me, it is crucial to ponder the reasons why Harold made the trip to France in the first place. Crucial points to stop at are the scene of the oath that Harold makes to William, the death of Edward the Confessor and the crowning of Harold II. I think people will marvel at the Norman fleet crossing the Channel and the bloody battle of Hastings. Surely people will want to study the scene of Harold’s death and make their own mind whether the arrow was always there (but that is a story you need to read in our book).
The revised and expanded edition of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Unravelling the Norman Conquest is available in paperback now, published by Thames & Hudson. Buy your copy at the maxwell museums store on bookshop.org for £12.34. Each purchase supports this newsletter at no extra cost to you
The Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum opens to the public on 10 September
