The Hastings Embroidery

The Hastings Embroidery

From 1066 to Modern Britain: A Tapestry of Change and Continuity

Hastings Town Hall serves as the gateway to a millennium of shared Norman heritage, presenting the Hastings Embroidery as both a tribute to the past and a bold artistic statement for the future.

Created to mark the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, the embroidery extends the visual storytelling tradition of the Bayeux Tapestry, carrying the narrative forward from 1066 through nine centuries of English history.

Across its richly detailed panels, visitors encounter hand-stitched scenes depicting monarchs, explorers, reformers, and innovators. Each scene reflects the same dedication to craft that defines the medieval artisans of Normandy. The exhibition celebrates this lineage of skill—needlework as historical record, artistry as cultural memory—and invites visitors to reflect on how the Norman legacy continues to shape Britain today.

As the Year of the Normans approaches, the exhibition stands as both commemoration and continuation. It highlights how the stories begun in the Bayeux Tapestry continue to evolve, expand, and find new expression through the Hastings Embroidery’s vibrant colours, contemporary techniques, and sweeping historical vision.

Visitors leave with a renewed sense of connection to Hastings’ place in European history—a town where the Norman story begins and where its artistic legacy continues to be stitched into the present.

Practical information

Free admission

Partners: Hastings Borough Council, Hastings Museum & Art Gallery