This exciting £2 million project aims to recreate one of the world’s finest surviving set of medieval tapestries.  Once complete, The Hunt of the Unicorn series will adorn the walls of the Queen’s Inner Hall within the royal palace.

Each tapestry takes between two and half to four years to complete, indicating the intricacy of the work involved. A total of seven tapestries are being woven with one team of weavers at work in the specially-created studio at the castle and the other team at the West Dean Tapestry Studio in Sussex.  This is a unique opportunity for visitors to the castle to view these world class weavers at work and experience a fascinating process.

Each tapestry tells part of a medieval tale in which a unicorn is hunted and killed for its horn, which has special magical properties. The unicorn then comes back to life. It is known that the Scottish royal collection included a similar set of tapestries entitled ‘The History of the Unicorn’ which would have hung at Stirling Castle.

The original tapestries on which this series is based, are on display in the Cloisters Museum at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Visitors to the castle can visit the studio and watch the dedicated weavers at work.