Since January 2002, a unique project has been taking place at Stirling Castle in Scotland and West Dean Tapestry.

Historic Scotland wanted to create for Stirling Castle, modern interpretations of the medieval Hunt of the Unicorn series of seven tapestries, currently hanging in the Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Inventories from the reign of James V show that a similar series of 'Unicorn' tapestries was part of the royal collection. The series depicts the stalking and ultimate killing of a unicorn. West Dean weavers are now working on the first and last tapestries in the series, The Start of the Hunt and The Unicorn in Captivity. A third tapestry is currently in preparation and Historic Scotland is currently seeking funding and sponsorship to complete the series.

Once the commission was won, the team at West Dean Tapestry Studio first set about painstaking research into medieval techniques, the colour palette and materials. The team visited New York to inspect the originals and colour-matched yarns so that they reflect how the naturally dyed original yarns have faded over time, although the new tapestries will be brighter than the originals now are. They also referenced the backs of the pieces, as the colours had not all faded at the same rate. Cartoons for both works were produced and the colour palette was dyed.

A stand-alone loom was set up in Stirling Castle and work on the Captivity tapestry was set in motion before start-up work on its 'sister' tapestry began in West Sussex. A special feature of this project is that the two pieces are being woven simultaneously, The Start of the Hunt at West Dean Tapestry Studio, and The Unicorn in Captivity in-situ at Stirling Castle, in full public view where a team of three weavers is based permanently. The weavers give talks about their work to Castle visitors.

For practical reasons, the new tapestries differ slightly from the originals. They are 10% smaller, so that they fit the proposed hanging sites in Stirling Castle, and warp settings of 8-10 warps per cm for the original have become 4 warps per cm, to take account of time and budget concerns. The initials A and E that appear on the originals, presumably those of the owners, are not included on the interpretations.

The Unicorn in Captivity will be cut off the loom at Stirling Castle in November 2003 and The Start of the Hunt is scheduled for completion in June 2004. The tapestries will be displayed in the Queen's Presence Chamber at Stirling Castle, part of a project to furnish the Castle as it would have been in the 16th century.

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