A recreation of the famous Bayeaux Tapestry, handcrafted out of three million tiny pieces, will go on display at St Albans Cathedral this summer.
Visitors will have a chance to see the events of 1066 and the Norman conquest of England in mosaic form before the original Bayeux Tapestry travels to Britain in 2020.
The mosaic is the work of artist Michael Linton, who designed and assembled the work over 33 years using three million pieces of steel left over from industrial textile manufacturing. The final piece is a 64-metre installation which weighs approximately 350km, and has earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest steel mosaic.
Historians have long believed that the original tapestry is missing at least two panels, so Michael added an 8m section depicting what may have been missing from the original.
Michael’s daughter Rachael helped him tell the story from the end of the Battle of Hastings to the coronation of William the Conqueror on Christmas Day 1066. This additional section of the mosaic took three years of research into the period immediately following the Norman conquest.
Canon chancellor Kevin Walton said: “The Norman conquest, told by the Bayeux tapestry, is very much part of the story of St Albans Cathedral, rebuilt by its first Norman abbot.
“We are therefore very pleased to be hosting this innovative exhibition, which is sure to generate a lot of interest.”
The free exhibition will open tomorrow, Thursday, June 7, and run until Monday, August 27.
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