South West Heritage Trust is delighted to be working in partnership with the British Museum on its landmark experience The Bayeux Tapestry. The experience opens on 10 September 2026, with tickets going on sale this week (from 1 July.)
Coins from the internationally significant Chew Valley Hoard will feature in this once-in-a-generation show, which will see the 70-metre Bayeux Tapestry return to England for the first time in nearly 1,000 years. The Chew Valley Hoard project is supported by major funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund.
The Norman Conquest
The British Museum’s experience will place the Tapestry within the wider story of the Norman Conquest, bringing together objects from its own collection alongside carefully selected loans from UK and European partners. Among these is the Chew Valley Hoard, a remarkable collection of silver pennies of Harold II and William I, loaned from the South West Heritage Trust and Somerset Council museum collection.
Buried in Somerset shortly after the Norman Conquest, the hoard is believed to have been hidden for safekeeping during unrest in the south-west, including the 1068 rebellion that saw Exeter “fight for its liberty” before being suppressed by William.
“We are thrilled to be part of the British Museum’s historic show. The Chew Valley Hoard provides a powerful insight into the immediate impact of the Conquest and will help to tell the story of this turning point in English history,” South West Heritage Trust Head of Development and Partnerships Dylan Edgar.
“This is wonderful and exciting news. Somerset is being honoured by being part of the British Museum’s show, sitting alongside the iconic Bayeux Tapestry. I hope it will encourage more people to see the hoard in London and when it returns to the Museum of Somerset,” Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts, Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Communities.
European Year of the Normans
The South West Heritage Trust is further part of The British Museum National Programme working with partners across the UK to ensure audiences across the country can engage with the story of the Bayeux Tapestry. 2027 also marks the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror with the Trust participating in the European Year of the Normans commemorations.
With Grateful Thanks
The Chew Valley Hoard was acquired by the South West Heritage Trust for the Somerset Council museum collection under the Treasure Act 1996 thanks to major funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The acquisition was further supported by Art Fund and smaller but vital amounts of funding from South West Heritage Trust, Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society and the Friends of the Museum of Somerset.
The Bayeux Tapestry Experience is open 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027 and has been made possible by the generous support of Igor Tulchinsky.
Bayeux Tapestry images courtesy of Bayeux Tapestry Museum ©Bayeux Tapestry Museum