An exhibition, showcasing a handmade replica of the Bayeux Tapestry has opened in Melton after an appeal to find it a temporary home.
The piece which was created by New Zealander Michael Linton will now spend two months at a unit in the Riduna Park development, next door to the offices of Suffolk Coastal District Council.
A special event was held to open the exhibition with Mr Linton on hand to give visitors a guided tour of his creation.
The process to bring the work to the county has been a long one but one which Woodbridge Mayor Clare Perkins said she wasn’t going to give up on easily.
Local historian Charlie Haylock was the first to spot the world record breaking creation whilst on holiday in Oxfordshire.
This exhibition was the latest in a long line for the piece which travelled from the artists’ home in New Zealand, to the UK last year for the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.
Mr Haylock struggled to get the exhibition into a number of local landmarks.
“I was getting nowhere and time was running out.”
So Mr Haylock put an appeal was put out to try and find a new home for the re-creation in the East Anglian Daily Times and on BBC Radio Suffolk in October. A move which he is incredibly thankful for.
Woodbridge Mayor Clare Perkins saw the plea and decided to try and secure the exhibition for the east of the county.
Mayor Perkins, who attended the event, said she was “over the moon” with how all the hard work had turned out.
The 64-metre long mosaic contains 3 million tiny pieces, and took 33 years to put together.
It also includes extra scenes that don’t feature in the original French tapestry.
It weighs around 64kg and takes over five hours to be hung in place for exhibitions.
The mosaic also contains around 60 mathematical puzzles for visitors to work out.
Mr Linton began his creation in 1979 and said that he and his wife had “read eveything they could” about the invasion and had attempted to “extract the truth” from the many interpretations.
The exhibition will now be open every week from Wednesday to Sunday until February 16 next year with Mr Linton being on hand every day to answer visitors’ questions.
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