The tapestry is believed to have been "commissioned" by Bishop Odo of Bayeux who was William’s half brother. The work was carried out by the women of Kent and it isn’t clear if they participated in the work willingly but it seems certain that the original home for the tapestry was in the cathedral. So this masterpiece would have been blessed by the Bishop and then displayed in the newly consecrated Cathedral.

The tapestry is now housed in the Centre Guillaume-le-Conquerant, an old seminary built in 1693. The tour of the tapestry is best done with individual headsets and we found that the "pace" of the tour was a little brisk, but there is an awful lot of it to see and we were happy to take in its enormity and wonder at how well it has worn over the years. The main themes of this medieval cartoon are divided into thirteen separate scenes. It starts by setting the scene and shows the meeting up of Harold and King Edward the Confessor in Westminster Palace in 1064. Don’t expect to see the Battle of Hastings in the early scenes in the early part of the work as the tapestry goes on to set the scene and identify some of the motivation for the invasion of England by William. It shows Harold journeying to France, his capture and imprisonment and, before his release, his apparent support of William in a "swearing in ceremony". This was an apparent affirmation that William would be rightfully crowned as King of England when Edward, his cousin, died.

However on the death of Edward Harold accepts the Crown (both the funeral and coronation ceremony are ably depicted on the tapestry) and William is, to put it mildly a "wee bit upset". So he plans to re-possess his rightful position as King of England by taking on the usurper and the next two scenes show his careful preparation and the building of a navy to make the crossing to English shores. The landings and the building of a fort precede the graphic battle scene with limbs a-flying, culminating with the famous arrow in Harold’s eye and his death scene. This is a fascinatingly unique piece of history that I’m really pleased to have seen.

An audioguide is a smart investment here, for two reasons. First, it gives you the explanation of the scenes and brings your attention to details you would never have noticed (like English soldiers have mustaches while Normand invaders have shaved heads). Second, you get to step in front of everybody who doesn't have an audioguide, which is essential if you want to see anything in the crowd of tourists. If you don't intend to use an audioguide, pay attention to the explanations given in a room showing a copy of the tapestry. It's a lot of information to swallow and it's unlikly you'll remember half of it when you'll be in front of the real tapestry.

Yes, it's impressive that the tapestry has lasted for so long. Yes, it's impressive that it's enormously long in size. However, the presentation was pretty poor. You first walk through corridors with a mock tapestry that tells the story in English and explains what's going on. Definitely helpful, but the presentation seemed second rate. Also, the "movie" that was shown was very dated and didn't seem very professional.

However, even with all this, you should still go because the tapestry is such a famous artifact. Keep your expectations low, and if you're dying to do something else, don't feel bad about skipping the tapestry.