The Fulford Tapestry photographed early in 2012
News - The Tapestry is now complete and we are working
to prepare it for display. See the finished work
Introduction
In the year 2000, a group began a systematic search for the battlefield of
Fulford. Fulford was the site of the first battle of the fateful autumn of 1066
that would spell the end of the Anglo-Saxon rule in England.
Because we could not be confident that we would find the site, since nothing
had been found at Hastings or Stamford bridge, we had to think of a suitable way
to commemorate this forgotten battle.
Identifying the location where a battle fought nearly 1000 years ago
would not be easy. The best detective would have trouble proving that any killings happened here
as any clues would be long gone. Even thought about ten thousand men, clad in
iron arrived and bashed each other with iron weapons for several hours, we know
that such ephemeral events
leave few long lasting traces. We now know why they are so hard to located
because at Fulford for the very first time we have evidence that most of the
battle debris was recycled by the victors. Mother nature also helped erase the
small clues left..
We decided to preparing a tapestry in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry which
would tell of the events taking place in Yorkshire during one momentous week in 1066
when two battles took place that had such a profound effect on the history of
England.
It is not clear why these northern events are not already part of our
national consciousness. Perhaps the Fulford Tapestry will help to rectify this omission
and increase awareness of this neglected part of our heritage.
We can now be confident that we have located the site and can
interpret the course of the battle.
Sadly, the powerful people who we call ‘developers’ have managed
to persuade the planners that there is no 'proof' and that the absence of proof is for them proof of absence.
This not only lacks logic but is wrong. It is also insane but I
would encourage people to enjoy the unspoilt site of the battle of Fulford
before 600+ houses and an access road destroy this piece of our
heritage.
Fulford Tapestry might be the only memorial to the first
battle of 1066.
Chas Jones
To view images of the finished tapestry, click on
one of the panels - There is no easy way to display a 6m image on the web!
Panel 1 - Scarborough
Panel 2 - Rampage through Holderness Panel
3 - Preparing for battle Panel 4 -Confrontation
Panel 5 - Outflanking at the ford Panel
6 - King Harald enters York
| The design story
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Design images
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Explore the design and what the images mean. You can follow the deign
from sketches through to the final design.
The design was traced using a special pen, just visible as a
light blue mark on the linen |
A series of images records the way the progress over
the years
Progress
First full progress image 2011
First public display Feb 2012
In October we were permitted to put the finished tapestry on display
for the first time. The wonderful committee room overlooked both Big Ben
and Westminster Abbey. We were invited to put it on display a few days
later in the House of Lords
.JPG) |
The choice of natural dyes meant that the project had to learn to dye
the required threads.
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The Research
 
We were very lucky indeed to have the help of Jan
Messent (left) to advise on the design, and Jill Goodwin who has actually
dyed some threads for those restoring the Bayeux Tapestry. Jill is in
her nineties but spins and dyes regularly. The basket is a set of colours
she felt were suited to the Fulford Tapestry.
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 | Why was it made? |
| Who commissioned the tapestry? |
| Who was the Designer? |
| The content |
| When was it made? |
| Where was it made? |
| Who made it? |
| The subsequent history |
These are some of the questions that are addressed, but probably not
completely answered.
There were many useful lesson. But this is a wonderful piece of work
that emerged from the arts & craft movement. |
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Yorkshire-Preface-Bayeux-Tapestry/dp/1904623379/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1337256760&sr=1-3-catcorr
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