As part of the Local Heritage Initiative funded, the plan is to create some panels in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry. This will provide a preface to the events depicted in this unique embroidery.

The Bayeux Tapestry does not cover any of the events of 1066 that took place London. This project attempts to rectify this situation and tell some of the events that took place in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire has already made a significant contributed to the Bayeux tapestry. The lost section at the end of the Tapestry rotted during the 800 years it was forgotten in storage. This was re-created by a local embroiderer, Jan Messent, working with Madeira, a specialist supplier of wool and thread.

Location

Barley Hall and YAT have kindly agreed to host this project.  This restored medieval building is open to the public and the work-in-progress could be watched by visitors.

Embroidery

The working arrangements and timings have yet to be decided.

The work started in October 2005. No deadline for completion has been set and work could continue as long as there are willing fingers to work. This can be assessed one the design and the volunteer workforce is in place.

There is evidence that a small team would work on the embroidery at the same time and that the panels were worked on separately before being joined and most joints covered in more embroidery. The frame will be large enough to accommodate about 4 embroiderers.

The Design

You can look at a black & white image of the 5 metre tapestry split into sections.

Design  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

Coloured-in design: Panel 1 panel 2 panel 3 panel 4 panel 5 panel 6

Work in progress The images

The Tapestry is unveiled on Radio!

 

Hunter Davies, Georgy Evans, Brenda Bleythyn, Chas Jones and the presenter, Libby Purves

The BBC Midweek broadcast 11 October 2006.

And they asked me back!

Walking to Waltham Abbey 

On BBC Radio 4 'Excess Baggage' November 2009

And BBC1 - Inside Out -  but that archive is no longer viewable