House of Commons Debate on The Lindisfarne Gospels

House of Commons Hansard Debates - 25 Jan 2007

Tim Loughton: rose—

Dr. Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab) rose—

Mrs. Hodgson: I will give way first to the hon. Gentleman and then to my hon. Friend.

Tim Loughton: I think that we might be about to say different things. I fully acknowledge the plea made by the hon. Lady that the Lindisfarne gospels be taken back to the north-east of England, but will she acknowledge that the Lindisfarne gospels are a national, indeed an international, treasure? They can be seen in the British Library by many, many more people, I am afraid, than would go up to Lindisfarne to see them. We should value them in the context of the development of literature and publishing, and perhaps occasionally they could travel around the country to maximise viewing opportunities.

Mrs. Hodgson: That is a valid point, but all we are asking initially is for the Lindisfarne gospels to visit the north-east. The last visit was a number of years ago. We have been told that a further visit will not even be considered until, I think, 2012, and consideration does not mean that they will actually come. I completely take on board the fact that other people need to see the gospels, but for them not even to be allowed to come to the north-east for people in the north-east to see them for another six or more years is not acceptable.

Dr. Blackman-Woods: Does my hon. Friend agree that in the north-east we do accept that the Lindisfarne gospels are a national treasure? We would, however, suggest to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) that there is no reason why a national treasure cannot be located in the north-east, because we want people to travel to the north-east to see those wonderful gospels in the context in which they were written.

Mrs. Hodgson: I also point out that the colours used to create the gospels were extracted from local plants and minerals nearly 1,500 years ago in what was the kingdom of Northumbria. They are literally, therefore, a part of the north-east. More than 180,000 people visited the gospels when they were last on display in the north-east, and if they were returned, many more visitors would be expected. I know that the Minister is aware of the case and I look forward to meeting representatives of the British Library. I hope that the Select Committee might look into the case when it next meets. If we are serious about preserving our heritage we need to be serious about sharing it. The chance to share such an evocative piece of our heritage with perhaps a quarter of a million people is, in my opinion, too good to turn down.

I am grateful to hon. Members for listening to me this afternoon. I hope that I have contributed a regional perspective to the debate. The battle to preserve our cultural heritage is being fought on many fronts. At regional level, people continue to live their heritage, not least through local terminology and local knowledge. That is why I believe in regional renaissance—linking the local with the national to create a shared heritage that we can preserve for many years to come.

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