Visitors to the Bayeux Tapestry have been turned away or forced to wait hours amid chaotic queues to see the British Museum’s blockbuster exhibition.
The 1,000-year-old embroidery depicting the Norman conquest of England went on public display outside France for the first time earlier this month.
The sold-out exhibition sparked ‘Bayeux mania’ in Britain about securing tickets to see the ‘magical’ embroidery.
But the British Museum has now apologised to visitors whose plans to see the tapestry were ruined by chaotic queues.
Scores of people with timed tickets have been turned away or have had their allotted 40-minute slot cut short.
One visitor, John Wilson, arrived for his 4.20pm slot on Wednesday but was forced to wait more than two hours before reaching the first panel.
And just 20 minutes later, museum staff turned off the lights in the gallery and ordered everyone to leave.
Some people in the queue did not even manage to see the tapestry.
People queue to enter the British Museum in London for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition
The first visitors viewed the Bayeux Tapestry in London as it went on display to the public
The museum has now said it was looking at ways to ease the congestion for its world-famous exhibition. It had already banned photography in an attempt to keep people moving along the embroidery.
The masterpiece will be shown at the museum for the next ten months, having left France for the first time since the 11th century in an extraordinary transfer operation.
But Mr Wilson has told The Times that the lesson from his ‘horror tale’ was to book an earlier slot in the day.
He said: ‘At least that gives you the chance that the lights won’t go off.
‘I suspect there are people who are maybe taking a bit longer [than 40 minutes] but when you have been queueing for so long why would you scurry through. You want to be able to take in all the amazing detail.’
Another visitor, Michael Hallihane, told of how he waited 50 minutes to enter the exhibition at 11.40am.
He said that he was continually ‘hectored’ to keep moving by staff.
He said: ‘It is more or less constantly that you are told to keep moving. And then there are the automated messages in English and French telling you the same.
People wait in line outside the British Museum as the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition opened
People view the Bayeux Tapestry today as it goes on display to the public at the museum
‘I was so annoyed. It is just like a conveyor belt. It does detract from the experience of what is a really fantastic artefact.’
Not all visitors to the exhibition were left disappointed, however. When the exhibition was open until 9pm on Thursday, there were no complaints about the queue or the time in the gallery.
On the opening day, 60-year-old solicitor Richard Samuel said as he left the exhibition: ‘It’s amazing that the colour is still so vivid…it’s amazing it’s survived so well and so long.’
‘It’s just magical, isn’t it?’ said Pauline Gairey, 53, a finance professional who had travelled to the capital from Wales, and recalled studying the tapestry at school.
The museum responded to the criticism by saying that it was trying to strike a balance between limiting the number of hours the Bayeux Tapestry can be on show, one of the stipulations of the loan, and responding to unprecedented demand.
The British Museum has so far sold a record 100,000 tickets, which cost £25 to £33 for adults.
A spokesman for the museum said: ‘We have seen unprecedented demand for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition and our priority is to enable as many people to see it as possible, while maintaining our commitment to the best possible visitor experience.
‘We have been planning in earnest and have extensive measures in place to try to manage visitor flow, but we recognise that some visitors have waited longer than we would have wanted. We apologise to those affected. We will be contacting them directly.’
A member of British Museum staff scans the ticket of a visitor at the entrance to the tapestry
The embroidered panel story recounts the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066
It is understood that it is now considering various methods to avoid further disappointment to visitors before the next batch of tickets becomes available on October 21.
The first batch of tickets sold out within hours, generating sales of £2.5million for the British Museum.
The tapestry is considered to be one of the wonders of the medieval world and offers an insight into life in 11th century England both before and after the conquest – from castles, warfare and ships to clothing, food and furniture.
It was likely to have been commissioned by a Norman patron and made by English embroiderers, using manuscript drawings from Canterbury.
France has loaned Britain the medieval tapestry while its usual home in northern France is being refurbished.
In return, French museums will display England’s Sutton Hoo collection of helmets, shields and other metal artwork dating back to the seventh century.
Conservators watched nervously as the delicate, 11th-century artwork was transported by truck in a risky operation from its home in northern France to London in July.
