The Lindisfarne Gospels should come home to the North East for good, one of the region’s top politicians says.
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness has called for the historic artefact to be permanently kept in the region where it was created – instead of the North East having to “ask London for permission” to borrow it. The 1,300-year-old manuscript has been on show recently at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle, with more than 50,000 people flocking to see the iconic book during an 11-week exhibition.
It was the first time that the Lindisfarne Gospels had been back to the North East since being displayed at Durham Cathedral in 2013, but the closing of the rare exhibit earlier this month means the Anglo-Saxon treasure will go back to its usual spot at the British Library. Ms McGuinness has now become the latest voice to demand the Gospels are returned to the North East for good, a move that has been the subject of numerous campaigns over the years.
