The Bayeux tapestry should be displayed at the site of the battle of Hastings, according to English Heritage, which hopes to launch a rival bid to the British Museum’s plan to show off the medieval masterpiece in London.

A temporary building at Battle Abbey could showcase the tapestry – which the French president this week offered to loan to the UK – near the spot where King Harold died.

Rowena Willard-Wright, a senior curator at English Heritage, which owns Battle Abbey, said she thought the visitor experience would be much better outside London. “The problem for the British Museum is what you might call the Tutankhamun effect: people end up queuing all the way into Russell Square. If people have to queue, where better than the Sussex countryside?”



Bayeux tapestry: a brag, a lament, an embodiment of history's complexity Read more

Emmanuel Macron’s hope is to bring the 70-metre tapestry to the UK in 2022, while its home museum in Bayeux is redeveloped; the British Museum was initially cited as the most likely place to display the work.

The fledgling proposal from English Heritage would require a donor to fund the temporary exhibit on the hilltop site. The conservation body also said it would be happy to share the tapestry with the British Museum to enable more people to see it.

However, the British Museum said it was the best place to show off the tapestry, because of its accessibility to people from around the country and the world. Michael Lewis, a curator at the museum said he thought conservation and practical difficulties would prevent the work from going on tour.

Battle Abbey’s hopes have been boosted by the local Conservative MP, Huw Merriman, and the home secretary, Amber Rudd, who represents neighbouring Hastings and Rye. The MPs have written to the prime minister to argue that the tapestry should come to their area.

Merriman said: “We have also made the point that London is in no need for extra tourism, whereas the influx in visitors, and the resulting interest, would be a huge boost to the local economy.”

The tapestry was originally woven in England for Odo of Bayeux, the half-brother of William the Conqueror, in around the 1070s, but moved to France, where it has remained ever since. It depicts the story of the Norman Conquest, justifying William’s claim to the throne and his seizure of the crown at Hastings.

Some French experts have expressed scepticism about whether an overseas loan is even possible. Pierre Bouet, a curator who cares for the tapestry at Bayeux, said he thought “it was a hoax” on hearing of Marcon’s plan.



“If you were to ask my advice, despite the regard I have for my English colleagues who I have worked with for many years, I would say no,” he said earlier this week.