Fundraising for 2nd home of The Gospels

Date: 2004-08-06, Publication: The Journal

A fundraising drive to help bring the Lindisfarne Gospels home to the North-East has been launched by campaigners.

Last month a delegation of North-East MPs met the chairman of the British Library, Lord Eatwell, to discuss proposals for the return of the Seventh Century manuscripts.

The Library in London has consistently refused demands for the Gospels to be permanently relocated in the region, from which they were removed more than 500 years ago.

But Lord Eatwell has said he will consider a proposal to open a new North-East "branch" of the Library to house the treasures - as long as the region pays for a feasibility study into the scheme. Now the Northumbrian Association, the voluntary organisation dedicated to promoting the region's historic culture, has launched a drive to raise the necessary funds.

Details of the initiative are set out in the Friday Forum column in today's Journal by teacher Fay Tinnion, the association's membership secretary.

She writes: "We have a unique opportunity not only to bring the Gospels home, but also to bring an outpost of a great British institution to the North."

However, the Library has made clear that even if the scheme goes ahead, the Gospels will continue to be held at its London HQ for at least part of the time.

Gateshead East and Washington West MP Joyce Quin, who was part of the recent delegation, said the fight to secure the Gospels' permanent return would go on. "The possibility of the British Library having a presence in the North-East was raised and I welcome that, but it doesn't invalidate the overall aim of our campaign," she said.

A British Library spokeswoman said: "The establishment of a British Library outpost in the North-East was suggested and Lord Eatwell said that we would take this into consideration if a fully-funded proposal was presented to us.

"However, we have other priorities for the funding we receive and the feasibility study is not something we could fund," she added.

The illuminated book was created in Holy Island almost 1,300 years ago.

The intricate designs are thought to have been solely inscribed by the monk Eadfrith, who was Bishop of Lindisfarne between 698 and 721.

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