Bayeux Around Britain: casting a masterpiece comes to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery

Hastings Borough Council is delighted to welcome Bayeux Around Britain: casting a masterpiece to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery from Thursday 10 September to Sunday 8 November 2026. 

The display features hand-painted plaster casts depicting King Harold II and William of Normandy, a special Spotlight Loan from the British Museum. The casts were created from wax impressions taken directly from the Bayeux Tapestry in 1816 by artist Charles Alfred Stothard. 

Hastings Museum & Art Gallery is the first of six venues around the UK to host the historic loan of the casts. The tour will include venues such as Rievaulx Abbey (English Heritage) in North Yorkshire and Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery.

The Stothard Cast will be accompanied by a number of replicas, giving Hastings Museum an opportunity to engage local schools, community groups and visitors with the story of the Bayeux Tapestry and the events of 1066. 

Bayeux Around Britain is a nationwide programme supported by WorldQuant and designed by the British Museum, bringing the story and significance of the Bayeux Tapestry to audiences across the UK. 

This programme takes place to complement The Bayeux Tapestry, presented by Igor Tulchinsky, at the British Museum, open to the public until July 2027. 

Cllr Julia Hilton, deputy leader and lead councillor for shaping places, regeneration and community wealth building, said: “By bringing these rarely displayed casts to Hastings, we are creating a unique opportunity for residents and visitors to engage with the story of 1066, while strengthening understanding of the local connection to one of the most important events in British history. 

“We would also like to thank the British Museum for its grant funding, which has enabled us to build on this exhibition through a broader programme of Year of the Normans activities at the museum.  

"On 17 October, we will launch a trail of short films about the Bayeux Tapestry throughout the museum's galleries. The films, commissioned by the British Museum, will be accompanied by objects from the Hastings Museum & Art Gallery collection, and high-resolution images of the Tapestry. Visitors will also be able to view a longer film in the museum's historic Durbar Hall, providing an in-depth interpretation of the Bayeux Tapestry, its creation, and its historical context.

“The project forms part of a wider programme of activities taking place across Hastings during autumn 2026, creating multiple opportunities for audiences to engage with the story of 1066 from different perspectives. Further information can be found on the Visit Hastings website.” 

Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, Director of the British Museum, said: “We have been working with colleagues around the UK to deliver a programme of loans and activity that will extend far beyond London to make this a truly national moment. This is perhaps the most ambitious and inclusive programme we or in fact any museum in the UK has done, bringing together over 60 partners across the UK and Channel Islands. It’s only right that Hastings, a place steeped in history and shaped by the seismic events depicted in the Tapestry, should be the first stop for our Spotlight Loan. I’m delighted that this 19th-century cast can travel far and wide and be accessible to thousands of people around the UK.” 

Millie Horton-Insch, Project Curator, British Museum, said: “This trio of Stothard’s casts are almost as exceptional as the Bayeux Tapestry itself. Taken directly from the Tapestry, they capture the textures and imagery which make the Bayeux Tapestry such an absorbing work of art. It feels especially fitting that the Stothard casts will be on display in Hastings, not far from the site of the Battle of Hastings. Visitors to the Spotlight Loan will be able to experience something of the magic of seeing the original and it’s hugely exciting that it will be brought to new audiences across the nation.”