Taken for a Ride
Will Some School Children Miss Out?
HUGH SULLIVAN
Ever since the British Museum, backed by the national Government, persuaded authorities in France to loan the original Bayeux Tapestry for exhibition in England, Hastings & Rye MP Helena Dollimore has been campaigning to ensure maximum viewing access for her constituents.
Initial pleas for the eleventh century tapestry, which depicts events surrounding the Battle of Hastings, to be transported from its home in Bayeux, Normandy to the original site of the battle were swiftly trumped by concerns over security and insurance. It’s going to be retained under many a lock and key in the Museum in central London for the length of the loan – September this year to July next.
However, Ms Dollimore has persisted in talking up the claims of ‘1066 Country’ residents to priority viewing. In July 2025 she wrote, in conjunction with popular historian Dan Snow, to George Osborne, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and now Chairman of the Museum, requesting the reservation of free tickets for all school groups from Hastings and the surrounding area, and assistance with their costs of transport. She also asked Southeastern Railway (SER) to offer reduced fares.
When the Museum was slow to give a positive response, she secured a debate in the House of Commons in February to put her case. Ian Murray, Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts reported back to her that the Museum had given him an assurance of schools in her area receiving priority booking.
And last week it was stated both by Ms Dollimore and by Hastings Borough Council that SER have agreed to fund 1,066 free train tickets to school parties visiting the Museum to view the Tapestry. These free fares are stated to be available through participating schools once the museum visit is booked.
But this number is surely only a small fraction of the aggregate of local schoolchildren likely to want (or be guided by their teachers to seek) a free trip to London for viewing purposes. Are the tickets to be offered on a first-come, first-served basis to alert school heads? Or are they to be means-tested or rationed in some other way?
Some might question whether Ms Dollimore has fully thought this through, as on HIP’s enquiry to her office it was suggested that SER be approached for their response. At the time of our going to press, they had not done so.
The offer of 1,066 free tickets could well, however, prove a lucrative earner for the railway company, if it stimulates a much larger demand beyond that number. A calculation from the group travel options advertised on the SER website suggests that the lowest off-peak day return from Hastings to Charing Cross for an adult plus eight children would be £99: multiply that by four for an average-size class, and that’s just under £400 a time.
But SER is in effect a nationalised business, supported by the taxpayer. Since it would be running the trains anyway, an offer of further free tickets on the same basis would not cost it anything. Ms Dollimore must surely be tempted to push her campaign a little further.
Although there’s no question of Tapestry coming to the south coast, Hastings Museum & Art Gallery will host a special loan of a British museum object, the Stothart Cast. This object features depictions of Harold Godwinson, William the Conqueror and a medieval knight. They were taken from wax impressions lifted from the Bayeux Tapestry in 1816.
At the same time, the Hastings Embroidery, created in 1966 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings and telling the history of Britain over that 900-year period, is scheduled to be displayed in Hastings Town Hall.
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