7th Century manuscript to be exhibited in Durham following £9m fundraising campaign

7th Century manuscript to be exhibited in Durham following £9m fundraising campaign. One of the world's most significant books will in future be exhibited regularly in the North East and London following a major fundraising campaign announced today by the British Library. A partnership of the region's heritage and culture leaders has welcomed today's public announcement by the British Library of the fundraising campaign to acquire the highly significant St Cuthbert Gospel. A partnership agreement has been reached to share the display of the St Cuthbert Gospel on a 50:50 basis between the British Library and Durham's UNESCO World Heritage Site. The agreement also allows for the possible display of the Gospel at other locations in the north-east in the future. Created in the 7^th Century and intimately associated with one of Britain's foremost saints and the establishment of English Christianity, the Gospel, formerly known as the Stonyhurst Gospel, is the earliest surviving intact European book. The St Cuthbert Gospel complements the Lindisfarne Gospels book, also strongly linked to St Cuthbert, which is planned for exhibition in Durham in 2013, on a three-month loan from the British Library.