France's historic Bayeux Tapestry faces first restoration in 150 years

For all its enduring power, the 70m (230 feet) long Bayeux Tapestry - held at a museum in the northern French town of the same name - is a fragile object suffering from wear-and-tear, including thousands of holes. Photo: AFP

It has stood for over nine centuries as the most celebrated record of the 1066 Norman Conquest of England, its famous images cemented into the mind of every British school child.

But for all its enduring power, the 70m (230 feet) long Bayeux Tapestry - held at a museum in the northern French town of the same name - is a fragile object suffering from wear-and-tear, including thousands of holes.