THE Lindisfarne Gospels are expected to be displayed in Durham Cathedral during a three-month visit to the region.

Experts in the region planning the temporary return of the priceless illuminated manuscript to the city in 2013 say their preferred location is the cathedral’s medieval Great Kitchen.

Professor Chris Higgins, a member of the Durham Partnership group, which is planning the exhibition, said: “The current preferred location, agreed by the university and the cathedral, is the medieval Great Kitchen of the cathedral, where the Gospels will be displayed alongside the treasures of St Cuthbert.”

Last month’s announcement that the British Library could loan out the 1,300-yearold Gospels followed years of campaigning for their permanent return and is a major boost to Durham’s bid to be first UK City of Culture in 2013.

Work is now under way on a six-month feasibility study aimed at finding the best temporary home for the Gospels, with the British Library also being involved.

Experts are considering the quality of facilities available, academic expertise and Christian heritage.

Prof Higgins said: “Everyone involved in the project is very excited about the prospect of the Gospels being displayed in the place where for many hundreds of years they featured as part of the monastic library.

“It is really too early to say how many people are likely to come to see them, but we would anticipate a very large number.

“Around 200,000 visited the Gospels when they were last exhibited in the North-East in 2000, at Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery, and at the very least we would expect the same, if not more, given the setting and the Gospels’ place in the Christian heritage of the North-East.”

Durham Cathedral’s Great Kitchen is home to a bookshop, which will be moved elsewhere in the building, to a location yet to be announced.

The treasures of St Cuthbert includes items from his life, such as his cross and his coffin, and more recent artefacts linked to the cathedral and its community.