The director of the British Museum, Nicholas Cullinan, has addressed growing concerns that the Bayeux Tapestry is too fragile to travel to the UK next year. In a letter published by the Guardian, Cullinan stresses that all due diligence has been carried out to ensure that the 1,000-year-old embroidery will be safely transported.
Cullinan’s comments come after concerns were raised in an online petition, which has since garnered more than 71,000 signatures. The petition, launched in mid-July by the art historian Didier Rykner, cites warnings from textile restorers that a move could risk damaging the 1,000-year-old work’s embroidered linen fabric.
However, in his letter Cullinan writes: “I want to be clear about the detailed work under way in both countries. Since a partnership agreement was signed earlier this summer, experts on both sides of the Channel have been carrying out rigorous planning and due diligence to ensure the safe transport and conservation of the tapestry.
“Colleagues in France are preparing for its careful removal before work begins on their new museum, and intricate plans are being made for its journey to London. This expert-led collaboration—indeed, supported for 12 years by one of our leading specialists on the Bayeux scientific committee—will guide every stage, including a full dry run of the journey.”
He adds that the tapestry will be shown on a state-of-the-art table designed to support its long-term preservation, allowing visitors to see it in a new way. “That same table will later be used when the Bayeux Museum reopens, ensuring continued conservation of this unique masterpiece,” Cullinan says.
A spokesperson for the Bayeux Tapestry Museum previously said: “The French state owns the tapestry and the museum is only its custodian. We therefore can’t answer questions on its conservation and restoration, nor on the organisation of the loan, which is the responsibility of the state.”
The tapestry, which celebrates William the Conqueror’s victory in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is scheduled to be shown in London between September 2026 and July 2027, during a planned closure of the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy for renovation and expansion.
In return, some of the British Museum’s treasures—including the Lewis chessmen, the Sutton Hoo helmet, the Mold gold cape, and the Dunaverney flesh hook—will travel to Normandy, confirms Cullinan. The collaboration was announced in July by the French president Emmanuel Macron and the British prime minister Keir Starmer at the British Museum.
