Bayeux Tapestry: Treasury to insure artefact for £800m ahead of British Museum loan

The Treasury is set to insure the historic Bayeux Tapestry for an estimated £800 million when it arrives on loan at the British Museum next year.

The government-backed cover will protect the 70-metre work, which depicts the Norman invasion of 1066 and the Battle of Hastings, from damage or loss during its transport from France and throughout its exhibition in the UK.

The insurance will operate under the Government Compensation Scheme, a vital alternative to commercial insurance that enables the display of significant art and cultural objects across the UK.

Finance Times It said the Treasury had provisionally approved the estimated valuation for the more than 900-year-old tapestry, with the final figure expected to be around £800 million.

“The Government Compensation Scheme is a long-standing scheme that allows museums and galleries to borrow high-value works for major exhibitions, increasing visitor numbers and providing public benefit,” a HM Treasury spokesman said.

“Without this coverage, public museums and galleries would face a significant commercial insurance premium, making them significantly less cost effective.”

The scheme is estimated to save UK museums and galleries £81 million compared to commercial insurance.

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the battle of 1066, when William the Conqueror seized the English throne from Harold Godwinson and became the first Norman king of England.

It will be on loan while the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy closes for renovations, with a reopening planned for October 2027.

It’s part of a cultural exchange that will see the British Museum loan the Sutton Hoo collection, the Lewis Chessmen and other items to France in exchange for tapestries.

In France, voices from the arts and conservation fields called on president Emmanuel Macron to abandon the project over concerns that transportation would cause irreparable damage to the tapestry.