A VALUABLE collection of books owned by one of Blackburn’s great industrial champions could be set to go on an international tour for the first time next year.

Some of rope maker Robert Edward Hart’s 22 medieval manuscripts and 400 early printed books could be exhibited next to Dublin’s famous Book of Kells, if £3,000 funding is secured.

It is hoped that the tour could shine much-needed attention on the collection which is currently being exhibited in London.

The works, which were collected over several decades during Mr Hart’s travels to London, had been housed in Blackburn Museum along with several hundred bought coins since his death in 1946.

However due to a lack of funding they had not been on public exhibition for 15 years until a team of four students secured a £3,000 grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

PHD student Cynthia Johnson came across the elborately designed pieces, which date back to 2055BC, during a visit to the museum to look at two of the books for her dissertation last year.

She helped launch the month-long showing of 10 artefacts at the Senate House on November 8 which has so far attracted at least 50 people each day and attention from academics as far away as Harvard in the United States.

Ms Johnson, who is an Institute of English Studies at the School of Advanced Study student, said: “So far the exhibition has been going really well.

“It’s been fantastic to see such interest in what is a fascinating and important cultural artefact from the North West and it’s proven that our extensive preparation has paid off.

“However we think it’s important that as many people as possible know about Hart’s collection.

“So when the exhibition finishes we hope to secure more funding through Blackburn Museum.

“And to take it to places including Ireland where its proximity to the Book of Kells would help get it a lot of attention.”

The museum’s curator Vinai Solanki said:”We are going to be bidding and are hopeful that we will be successful.”