Recreation of a missing scene from the Bayeux Tapestry reaches halfway point

A commission to recreate a missing scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the coronation of William the Conqueror at Westminster Abbey in December 1066 is now more than half finished.

The French region of Normandy selected Atelier Tapisserie Guillot, a family-run workshop in Aubusson (Creuse), to complete the 25m² piece in time for millennium celebrations marking William the Conqueror’s birth in 1027. 

“Three of us have been working together on interpreting the missing piece for just over a year so far, with the weaving being done entirely by hand. There are no machines,” said Patrick Guillot, who works with his wife Marie and their son Luc.

“It is important to us to use traditional skills and savoir-faire in the creation of this piece.”

The workshop was founded in 2001 and specialises in tapisserie d'Aubusson, listed as part of UNESCO’s Patrimoine immatériel de l'humanité (Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity). 

Mr Guillot pointed out that the embroidery on the Bayeux Tapestry is on linen and so the techniques used by the family workshop differ slightly from the original methods. 

Linen, silk, bamboo and wool threads all feature in their work, mixing around 100 hand-dyed colour combinations, and it is the largest tapestry the family has ever created.

Their interpretation of the missing scene is based on a sketch by Amiens-born artist Hélène Delprat. The exact design will be shared at the project’s official unveiling in March 2027, but is believed to feature animals, trees and William the Conqueror’s white crown.

Exhibition planned

There are plans to exhibit the new scene at Westminster Abbey and then at the Château de Falaise (Calvados) – the birthplace of William the Conqueror, known as Guillaume le Conquérant in French. 

“Once completed, this missing piece is likely to travel around France, of course, but also England, Ireland, Denmark, Norway and Italy,” said Mr Guillot. 

The region of Normandy hopes the historic anniversary will be celebrated not only via events in France but further afield, with 2027 being designated L’Année européenne des Normands (the Year of the Normans in Europe). A series of thematic events, projects and collaborations are being organised to mark the occasion. 

“If we all come together to promote the same cultural and tourism offering worldwide, with a joint communication and marketing campaign, it will have an exceptional impact,” said Hervé Morin, president of the Normandy Region.

The initiative coincides with the loan of the original Bayeux Tapestry, to the British Museum from September 2026 until the summer of 2027, during a planned two-year closure of the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy for renovation.

Up to 80,000 people reportedly joined the British Museum’s online queue for tickets, and the first batch sold out. They were released on July 1, priced at £33 peak and £27 off-peak for adults.

It marked the biggest day of ticket sales in the museum’s history. Further tickets will be made available later this year. Prospective visitors are encouraged to sign up for email notifications. 

The original tapestry, measuring nearly 70m long and 50cm high, depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy, challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings.

However, historians believe the work is incomplete – missing the scene that illustrates the moment William became King of England.