HistoryExtra https://www.historyextra.com/author/elinorevans Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:12:36 GMT en hourly 1 America's anti-Chinese laws: a forgotten history https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-anti-chinese-laws-forgotten-history-podcast/ Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:12:36 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-anti-chinese-laws-forgotten-history-podcast/ Historian Beth Lew-Williams explains her work uncovering legislation that contained and controlled the lives of Chinese people in the USA in the 19th century From the middle of the 19th century, Chinese people in the United States found themselves increasingly policed, as legislation was introduced that contained and controlled their economic and cultural lives.
Historian Beth Lew-Williams tells Elinor Evans about her work uncovering this wide-reaching set of laws for her book John Doe Chinaman, and reveals how Chinese people resisted and avoided discrimination.
Beth’s book is a finalist for the 2026 Cundill History Prize – you can find more details at cundillprize.com.
Find out more about the Chinese Exclusion Act.
]]> The pioneering surgeon who stood up to Rasputin https://www.historyextra.com/membership/pioneering-surgeon-who-stood-up-to-rasputin-podcast/ Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:03:42 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/pioneering-surgeon-who-stood-up-to-rasputin-podcast/ Acclaimed biographer Miranda Seymour explains the remarkable life and accomplishments of pioneering surgeon Vera Gedroits – and why her story was erased She pioneered lifesaving battlefield surgery, challenged the medical establishment, stood up to Rasputin, and became the world's first female professor of surgery – yet today, few people have heard of Vera Gedroits.
In today's episode, acclaimed biographer Miranda Seymour tells Elinor Evans about Vera's remarkable life and accomplishments – and why her story was erased.
]]> The slave ship that changed history https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-slave-ship-that-changed-history/ Wed, 23 Sep 2026 08:47:48 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-slave-ship-that-changed-history/ Siddharth Kara tells the horrifying story of events on a slave ship – long mistakenly known as the Zong – which were to have consequences far beyond its murderous voyage In 1781, more than 130 enslaved Africans were deliberately thrown from a ship called the Zorg into the Atlantic. The horrifying story of this slave ship – long mistakenly known as the Zong – was to have consequences far beyond its murderous voyage.
In this episode, historian and author Siddharth Kara speaks to Elinor Evans about the brutal economics of the Atlantic slave trade, the extraordinary court case that followed the massacre, and how the Zorg helped galvanise the abolitionist cause.
]]> The forgotten slave traders who shaped Britain https://www.historyextra.com/membership/slave-traders-shaped-britain-podcast-william-a-pettigrew/ Wed, 16 Sep 2026 07:30:14 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/slave-traders-shaped-britain-podcast-william-a-pettigrew/ William A Pettigrew discusses a landmark project he has led, identifying investors connected to the trafficking of enslaved African people Who were the people who financed Britain’s transatlantic slave trade – and how did their money transform the nation? Elinor Evans speaks to historian William A Pettigrew, who has led a landmark project identifying some 13,000 investors connected to the trafficking of 3.2 million enslaved African people.
William reveals how profits and networks associated with the trade influenced Britain’s politics, industry, culture and institutions, from the Royal Navy and canal building to theatres and charities. He also reveals the work behind a new register of the traders and how our ancestors' involvements can be tracked in more detail than ever before.
Don't miss a new BBC television series, Finding Britain’s Slave Traders with David Olusoga, which explores these stories. The first episode airs at 9pm on Monday 21 September on BBC Two, with all episodes also available on BBC iPlayer.
]]> The making of the Bayeux Tapestry: who made it, how long did it take, and how has it survived? https://www.historyextra.com/period/norman/bayeux-tapestry-where-make-how-long-who-when-stitch-penises-visit/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 17:50:24 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/period/norman/bayeux-tapestry-where-make-how-long-who-when-stitch-penises-visit/ The Bayeux Tapestry tells one of the most famous stories in British history – that of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, particularly the battle of Hastings, which took place on 14 October 1066. But who made the tapestry and how long did it take? What materials were used and how was it stitched? And how has the tapestry survived for nearly 1,000 years? Here, Dr Alexandra Lester-Makin explains the making of the Bayeux Tapestry… Who made the Bayeux Tapestry? How many people were involved in its making?
We have no sources to tell us who made the Bayeux Tapestry; however, most scholars agree that it was made in Norman England, probably by Anglo-Saxon embroiderers. At present we do not know how many people were involved in creating the Tapestry. We can say it would have been embroidered by women because all the surviving evidence demonstrates that only women in early medieval England embroidered.
Men could have created the design, however – there is a famous example where Ӕthelwynn, a 10th-century noblewoman known for her embroidery work, wrote to Saint Dunstan (c924–88) asking him to design an embroidery pattern for a priest’s stole that she and her girls could embroider in gold. Also, monks were well versed in drawing and transferring images onto manuscripts for illumination, so it is not unlikely that men were involved in this part of the process.
Women in Anglo-Saxon England were famed for their embroidery skills. Documentary sources tell us that embroidery was considered a commendable occupation for women in elite circles, while the Domesday Book and the 12th-century chronicle Liber Eliensis both highlight women who embroidered as a profession. Written sources for embroidery production in Normandy point to it being a “worthy occupation” for high-ranking Norman women.
Previously nuns or elite women were thought to have made the Bayeux Tapestry. However, recent research I have undertaken studying the embroidery’s technical attributes as seen on the reverse of the hanging shows the embroidery was stitched to a set standard, indicating a certain level of training. Meanwhile, certain motifs were worked to set formulas – for example, the castles can be divided into three groups: outlines stitched first, then fillings; blocks of colour stitched from left to right and top to bottom; or simply different colours stitched from left to right.
This all points to the possibility of three workers (or groups of workers) completing all the castles featured in the tapestry. This, combined with the fact that each of the eight panels of ground fabric was embroidered before they were joined together, means that they could have been worked simultaneously and leads to the conclusion that a sophisticated level of overall organisation was required.
The story of the Bayeux Tapestry
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It can therefore be hypothesised that a ‘manager’ was in charge of the production process. This person would have needed knowledge of embroidery working practices, so it is likely that it would have been a professional embroiderer who was familiar with training and organising others and had experience working on large commissions. This level of organisation would need to have taken place in a professional workshop-like setting. Anglo-Saxon charters give examples of possible workshops – for instance, one dating to the ninth century records Bishop Denewulf of Worcester giving an embroiderer named Eanswitha an estate as payment for looking after and making textiles for the church. This estate most likely housed some form of workshop, much as other central estates are known to have done for textile production.
My research, too, has highlighted archaeological evidence for possible embroidery workrooms. Such places would need to have been clean so that dirt could not contaminate the embroidery, and they would also have needed access to good light. Larger and more elaborate pieces of the tapestry would have been attached to a slate frame (a large rectangular frame made of four pieces of wood that slot together), so generous space would have been required.
Space would also have been needed to store materials (even if the materials were not being bought in bulk), and for workers to move around and work comfortably. It may be that in good weather, embroidery was undertaken outside under a canopy, much like the illustrations of women weaving depicted in the Utrecht Psalter.
8 quickfire facts about the Bayeux Tapestry
It is almost 70 metres long
More precisely it is 68.3 metres long (224 feet), which is about length of three short-course swimming pools.
The Bayeux Tapestry is really an embroidery
The Bayeux Tapestry is not a tapestry at all, but rather an embroidery. A tapestry is something that’s woven on a loom, whereas an embroidery is thread stitched onto a cloth background.
It's made from 9 panels of cloth and 10 thread colours
The panels that were produced separately and then eventually sewn together to form one long whole. In one case the joining of the panels is inexpertly done, as the marginal lines don’t match up precisely.
There's an astronomical object on it – a comet
Halley's Comet is shown on the Bayeux Tapestry after Harold’s coronation, appearing as a portent of disaster.
The Bayeux Tapestry probably wasn't made in Bayeux
There are a lot of indications to suggest that it was most likely produced in England by English embroiderers. The Latin textual inscriptions above the story-boards use Old English letter forms, and stylistically the work has parallels in Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts. Plus, some of the vignettes in the tapestry appear to be based on designs that we know were found in manuscripts held in the library of a monastery in Canterbury, so there are those who argue that it was actually made not just in England, but more precisely in Canterbury.
The Bayeux Tapestry doesn't tell the entire story of the Norman Conquest
It omits pivotal parts and players, notably the other battles of the Conquest year that took place in northern England – Fulford and Stamford Bridge – and one man in particular, Edgar Ætheling, who might have been king in 1066.
The final section of the Bayeux Tapestry is missing
It's believed that at least one scene – possibly more – has been lost from the end of the Bayeux Tapestry.
There are 93 penises on the Bayeux Tapestry
Four of these are attached to men, and what may be a fifth appears on a soldier’s corpse. The remaining 88 are attached to horses.
Who commissioned the making of the Bayeux Tapestry?
There is no direct evidence for who commissioned the tapestry. A number of candidates have been postulated including Queen Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor; William the Conqueror; or the monks of St Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury.
Most researchers support the suggestion that Bishop Odo, William the Conqueror’s half-brother, is the most likely person. However, Elizabeth Carson Paston, Stephen White and Kate Gilbert explored this theory in 2014 and concluded there is no real evidence to support it.
Who was its intended audience?
The answer to this question changes when we consider where the Tapestry was meant to be displayed. If we take recent arguments put forward by Gale Owen-Crocker and Chris Henige, the Tapestry would have been hung in a room in a castle keep, which Henige suggests is Dover Castle.
In this case, the audience would have consisted of Norman nobles and their families; guests and other dignitaries; and servants/slaves who would have most likely been Anglo-Saxon. Therefore a cross-section of people would have viewed the Bayeux Tapestry.
When and where was the Bayeux Tapestry made? How did it end up in France?
There is no concrete evidence for when the Tapestry was made, nor how it ended up in France. Currently the agreed date for its creation is sometime before the end of the 11th century. Scholars agree that the first positive record of the tapestry in France is the Bayeux Cathedral inventory of 1476. At present we do not know what happened to it between these dates.
Professor George Beech has argued that the tapestry could have been made in France, but most scholars believe it was made in Anglo-Saxon England, with the most likely centre being in or around Canterbury. This is because the artistic style of the tapestry’s design is a type known to have developed in Canterbury during the 11th century, but its precise name is unknown.
How long would it have taken to make the Bayeux Tapestry?
It is difficult to say how long it took to make and there has been no specific research on this. The answer would depend on how many women were working on the embroidery simultaneously; the size of the building(s) in which it was being made; access to light and access to materials.
Any estimation of the time taken to make the tapestry would need to take into account the time taken to manufacture the required materials; plus the time involved in the production of the design itself; plus other logistics. From an embroiderer’s perspective, the stitches employed (more of this anon) are not particularly time-consuming to work.
What is the Bayeux Tapestry made of? What renovations and restoration work have been carried out on the tapestry?
The base textile (ground fabric) of the Bayeux Tapestry is linen. It was stitched with wool threads dyed with natural dyes. A small number of linen threads were also sporadically used.
Over the intervening centuries a number of linen textile patches were added to the back of the tapestry to cover tears and holes. During the 19th century, areas of the missing embroidery were re-stitched with wool thread dyed with chemicals – on the front of the hanging these appear more garish than the original threads. On the reverse, the level of stitch-work is not as neat or precise as the original.
Running along the top of the tapestry is a strip of linen fabric. The French conservators who studied the tapestry during its 1982 conservation thought the strip was old, but they were not sure how old. An early backing was lost during restoration work on the tapestry in the 19th century, therefore a new lining was attached.
- Read more | Why is Harold a hero of the Bayeux Tapestry?
Can you explain why the Bayeux Tapestry is not really a ‘tapestry’ at all, but rather an embroidery?
Correct, the Bayeux Tapestry is actually embroidery. A tapestry is a woven textile where the design is woven into the fabric as the textile is being created on the loom. Embroidery, on the other hand, is stitched onto a piece of textile that is already woven. The design is often, but not always, drawn onto the ground fabric for the embroiderer to follow.
When you view a tapestry the design and the ground fabric appear meshed together because they were created at the same time, whereas when you look at embroidery the stitching often stands proud of the ground fabric. This is particularly true of the Bayeux Tapestry.
What embroidery techniques were used? What can you tell us about the specific ‘Bayeux stitch’ used to make the Bayeux Tapestry?
Four embroidery stitches – stem stitch; split stitch; chain stitch; and laid work – were used on the Bayeux Tapestry. Stem stitch was predominately used as an outline stitch (ie for the lettering and as an ‘open’ filling stitch to emulate chain mail). It was occasionally worked more densely to fill in small areas such as a horse’s cheek.
Split stitch and chain stitch were used rarely – both were worked as independent lines for objects such as the handle of a spear; ship’s rigging; or to add depth to some letters. All three of these stitches are worked in single and double rows.
Laid work, sometimes called ‘Bayeux Stitch’, is the most predominant stitch. It is used for nearly all fillings throughout the hanging. Variations of this stitch were also popular in 17th-century crewel-work embroidery [a type of surface embroidery using wool].
All the stitches used in the Bayeux Tapestry were popular during the medieval period, with stem stitch, split stitch and occasionally chain stitch being worked in wool and silk threads. Laid work does not survive as well, but there are examples from fragmented hangings discovered in Viking contexts, all worked in wool threads.
Which section(s) of the Bayeux Tapestry do you think would have been the most difficult to make?
This is a difficult question to answer. With regard to the embroidering process it would depend on how the design was divided for each worker (or group of workers). I think that, to begin with, the most difficult sections would have been where complex embroidery covers the seams – for example, the horses depicted in the final battle sequence at seams 5, 7 and 8 (there are a total of eight seams joining nine pieces of ground fabric together which make up the surviving length of the tapestry). Here, the technical evidence shows that workers finished the embroidery on one panel some way short of a seam, while starting it slightly further in at the beginning of the next panel.
It is probable that each panel was not worked consecutively or even by the same embroiderer, so each worker would have had to establish how much space to leave in order for the seam to be constructed and to make sure the finished design looked right.
Once the panels were ready to be sewn together, the design would have been matched up but a space would have been left. Once the seam was completed an embroiderer would have finished stitching the design over the completed join. This would have required forethought, vision and creativity, and would likely have been rather an intense mental process. Eventually, of course, it would have become second nature to the embroiderers.
Is it true that the final scenes of the Bayeux Tapestry are missing? If so, what happened and what might they have depicted?
Yes, the final scene (or scenes) are missing. We know that from 1476 onwards, at no time was the tapestry displayed indefinitely, and at other times it was stored in a wooden chest – and much later on a large roller. When textiles are stored and displayed only occasionally, their edges tend to get handled more often – because people need to hold and hoist them as the textile is being taken out of storage, moved into position, hung, tweaked and then later taken down and put back into storage. This leads to more degradation at the edges. It is also possible that when the tapestry was stored in the wooden chest mentioned above, the final scene(s) were laid on top, making them more vulnerable to damage. In fact, we are lucky any of the Bayeux Tapestry survived at all!
Most scholars believe the final scene(s) of the tapestry would have depicted the lead up to and the coronation of Duke William as king of England, as a fitting end to the story being told. It would also make sense from design a perspective: Gale Owen-Crocker has shown that if the tapestry was hung in a square room of a secular building (possibly a castle keep, as suggested above), the layout design is geometric, with particular motifs mirroring each other across the display space. As such, the coronation of William would mirror the first scene in which King Edward is seated on his throne.
Unravelling The Bayeux Tapestry
Member exclusive | Expert historians unpick some of the biggest questions surrounding the Bayeux Tapestry, from its creation and purpose, to the incomplete story it recounts and its modern-day legacy
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How has the Bayeux Tapestry survived over the centuries?
The Bayeux Tapestry has survived due to a fortunate set of circumstances. Although we do not know how or when the hanging arrived at Bayeux Cathedral, the fact that it did is an important part of its survival story. Stored in a religious setting and given special status, the tapestry was likely displayed only occasionally. As such it was handled less frequently than other hangings that would have adorned secular buildings, meaning there was less opportunity for damage, loss or destruction.
The Bayeux Tapestry has also, through history, become an icon for different political personalities such as Napoleon and the Nazis who studied and kept it safe in order to highlight their political messages (of French military might over the English; and German pan-nationalism respectively).
Finally, the Bayeux Tapestry’s importance as a cultural artefact has ensured that it has been kept safe and well-looked after – particularly in the modern era, by a trained and knowledgeable multi-disciplinary team at the Bayeux Museums Department.
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Alexandra Lester-Makin has a PhD in early medieval embroidery from the University of Manchester and is also a professional embroiderer.
This article was first published on HistoryExtra in October 2018. Find out more about the Tapestry's move to its temporary home in the British Museum.
]]> What did the American Revolution really achieve? https://www.historyextra.com/membership/american-revolutionary-war-podcast-series-episode-four/ Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:00:20 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/american-revolutionary-war-podcast-series-episode-four/ How did a fledgling revolutionary movement survive war with the might of the British empire? Elinor Evans speaks to Professor Adam IP Smith about strategy in the Revolutionary War, the attritional hardship of the campaigns, and the global impact of the conflict How revolutionary was the American Revolution, and how far do 18th-century arguments about liberty and property still shape US politics today? In the final episode of HistoryExtra’s four-part series, Elinor Evans is joined by Adam IP Smith to explore the end of the American Revolutionary War and the complicated legacy that followed.
Beginning with Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, they discuss Britain’s decision to cut its losses, the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the global consequences of the conflict, and the winners and losers of independence.
Watch now, or listen ad-free below:
View Green Video on the source website
Go beyond the podcast
For all the further reading mentioned in this series, which includes archive podcast episodes and video clips on battles, key figures and more.
]]> Laura Ingalls Wilder: life of the week https://www.historyextra.com/membership/laura-ingalls-wilder-life-of-the-week/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 07:23:48 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/laura-ingalls-wilder-life-of-the-week/ Author and biographer Pamela Smith Hill considers how Wilder’s fiction reflected her real childhood on the American frontier– and what we should make of her books' more controversial portrayals Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 'Little House' books have captivated generations with tales of family, hardship and survival on the American frontier. But how closely did Wilder’s fiction reflect her real childhood – and what should we make of its more controversial portrayals?
In this episode, Elinor Evans speaks to author and biographer Pamela Smith Hill about the tragedies that Wilder omitted from her stories, her complex collaboration with daughter Rose Wilder Lane, and the groundbreaking realism that helped to make her work a sensation.
]]> How bullies shaped 19th-century America https://www.historyextra.com/membership/how-bullies-shaped-19th-century-america/ Mon, 31 Aug 2026 06:12:20 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/how-bullies-shaped-19th-century-america/ Andrew Wender Cohen explores the remarkable career of Louis Bieral – a boxer, gambler, political enforcer and American Civil War veteran – and how his life illuminates the brutal realities of the 19th-century USA America's Gilded Age is often remembered for rapid expansion and opportunity, but beneath the surface lay a brutal society in which it paid to be a bully.
In this episode, Elinor Evans speaks to historian Andrew Wender Cohen about his new book Gangster of New York: A Violent Life in Nineteenth-Century America. Following the remarkable career of Louis Bieral – a boxer, gambler, political enforcer and American Civil War veteran – Cohen uncovers how one man's life illuminates the brutal realities of the 19th-century US, from slavery and organised crime to political corruption and the struggle to establish the rule of law.
]]> No, Britain was never going to defeat the US in 1776 https://www.historyextra.com/membership/american-revolutionary-war-podcast-series-episode-three/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 08:00:14 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/american-revolutionary-war-podcast-series-episode-three/ How did a fledgling revolutionary movement survive war with the might of the British empire? Elinor Evans speaks to Professor Adam IP Smith about strategy in the Revolutionary War, the attritional hardship of the campaigns, and the global impact of the conflict After declaring independence, the United States still had to survive a brutal conflict.
In the third episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the American Revolutionary War, Elinor Evans and Adam IP Smith explore the military realities of the American Revolution: George Washington’s leadership, the importance of France, and the turning points that changed the conflict.
Watch now or listen below, ad-free:
View Green Video on the source website
Go beyond the podcast
For all the further reading mentioned in this series, which includes archive podcast episodes and video clips on battles, key figures and more.
]]> How the Americas transformed Tudor England https://www.historyextra.com/membership/how-the-americas-transformed-tudor-england-podcast/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:48:43 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/how-the-americas-transformed-tudor-england-podcast/ Dr Lauren Working explores the ideas, materials and knowledge between Indigenous peoples and Renaissance England What did Tudor England really gain from its early encounters with the Americas? In this episode, Elinor Evans speaks to historian Dr Lauren Working about her new book A Golden World, exploring the overlooked exchange of ideas, materials and knowledge between Indigenous peoples and Renaissance England.
From brilliant red dyes made from insects, to tobacco, pearls and exotic animals, Working reveals how English society was profoundly shaped by American influences, challenging long-held assumptions about colonial history.
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