The nuns at Barking received the finest education available for eleventh-century women, reading biblical studies, ancient law, history, grammar and spelling, and hosted William the Conqueror there while his White Tower was being finished in London. As the abbess received her role and responsibilities directly from the king, the production of the Bayeux Tapestry may have been a gift in turn, used to secure the continued relationship between Barking and the new Norman royal family.
