Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island (variant spelling, Lindesfarne), is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England, which is connected to the mainland of Northumberland by a causeway, and is cut off twice a day by tides. In the 2001 census it had a usual population of 162.
The monastery of Lindisfarne was founded by Saint Aidan, who had been sent from Iona, off the west coast of Scotland to Northumbria at the request of King Oswald around 635 A.D. It became the base for Christian evangelising in the North of England, and also sent a successful mission to Mercia. Monks from the community of Iona settled on the island. Northumberland's patron saint, Saint Cuthbert, was a monk and later Abbot of the monastery, and his miracles and life are recorded by the Venerable Bede. Cuthbert later became Bishop of Durham.
Starting in the early 700s, monks of the community produced the famous illuminated manuscript known as the Lindisfarne Gospels, an illustrated Latin copy of the Gospels of Mark, Luke, Matthew and John. Sometime in the 900s a monk named Eadfrith added an Anglo-Saxon (Old English) gloss to the Latin text, producing one of the earliest Old English copies of the Gospels. The Gospels are illustrated in a Celtic style, and were originally covered with a fine metal case made by a hermit. This, however, was lost when Viking raids in 793 sacked the monastery, killed many of the community, and forced the monks to flee (taking with them the body of St Cuthbert, which is now buried at the Cathedral in Durham). The Lindisfarne Gospels now reside in the British Library in London, somewhat to the annoyance of some Northumbrians. The priory was re-established in Norman times as a Benedictine house and continued until its suppression in 1536 under Henry VIII. It is now a ruin in the care of English Heritage who also run a museum/visitor centre nearby. The neighbouring parish church (see below) is still in use.
Lindisfarne also has the small Lindisfarne Castle, based on a Tudor fort, which was refurbished in the Arts and Crafts style by Sir Edwin Lutyens and has a garden created by Gertrude Jekyll. The castle, garden and nearby lime kilns are in the care of the National Trust and open to visitors.