Know about the tapestries in Parliament commemorating England's victory over the Spanish Armada, which were destroyed by fire, and the project to re-create them as paintings
Learn about the fiery fate of the tapestries commissioned by Charles Howard, 1st...
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Transcript
PIETER VAN DER MERWE: The Armada is not a sea fight of the days of Nelson, of fleet against fleet. It is essentially a Spanish version of D-Day. It's an amphibious invasion.
ANTHONY OAKSHETT: The defeat of the Spanish Armada is an extremely important event in history. Many people don't think it was a defeat, that it was, in fact, the weather that defeated the Armada. But I rather think that the English won on points. Lord Howard of Effingham commissioned some tapestry weavers in Brussels to weave 10 large tapestries to commemorate this victory.
SPEAKER 3: So when they perished in the fire of 1834, there was a great keenness that they should reappear again.
VISCOUNT FALKLAND: And it was always the intention to reproduce, if possible, those tapestries in painting form because they were so iconic.
OAKSHETT: The project was originally planned to take two years-- five months of imaging and 19 months of painting.
And that's it. That's complete. Brushes down.
SPEAKER 3: 40 feet up in the air, blank wall compartments covered in wallpaper. It's been wallpaper for the last 160 years. And that's where the Spanish Armada paintings will go.
SPEAKER 6: It really is a dream come true.
ANTHONY OAKSHETT: The defeat of the Spanish Armada is an extremely important event in history. Many people don't think it was a defeat, that it was, in fact, the weather that defeated the Armada. But I rather think that the English won on points. Lord Howard of Effingham commissioned some tapestry weavers in Brussels to weave 10 large tapestries to commemorate this victory.
SPEAKER 3: So when they perished in the fire of 1834, there was a great keenness that they should reappear again.
VISCOUNT FALKLAND: And it was always the intention to reproduce, if possible, those tapestries in painting form because they were so iconic.
OAKSHETT: The project was originally planned to take two years-- five months of imaging and 19 months of painting.
And that's it. That's complete. Brushes down.
SPEAKER 3: 40 feet up in the air, blank wall compartments covered in wallpaper. It's been wallpaper for the last 160 years. And that's where the Spanish Armada paintings will go.
SPEAKER 6: It really is a dream come true.