Hastings Embroidery
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The Hastings Embroidery was commissioned by Group Captain Ralph Ward and made by the Royal School of Needlework in 1965 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings the following year.
It consists of 27 panels, each 9 × 3 ft, and shows 81 great events in British history. It took 22 embroiderers 10 months to finish.
The Hastings Embroidery is worked in applique by hand, with the addition of couched threads and cords, tweed from Scotland, fabrics from the Victoria and Albert Museum, and feathers from London Zoo.
The Embroidery was on public display in Hastings, firstly in the Town Hall and then at the White Rock Pavilion (a large theatre).
The Hastings Embroidery is currently in storage, and can not be viewed, despite local campaigns to protest. It has been said that to preserve the cloth and applique that special storage displays would have to constructed and that these would cost too much to provide.
