Editing Lindisfarne (section)

==History==

===Early===
The north-east of England was largely not settled by Roman civilians apart from the [[River Tyne|Tyne valley]] and [[Hadrian's Wall]]. The area had been little affected during the centuries of nominal Roman occupation. The countryside had been subject to raids from both [[Scottish people|Scots]] and [[Picts]] and was "not one to attract early Germanic settlement".{{sfn|Myers|1985|p=198}} The [[Angles (tribe)|Anglian]] [[Ida of Bernicia|King Ida]] (reigned from 547) started the sea-borne settlement of the coast, establishing an {{lang|la|urbis regia}} (meaning "royal settlement") at [[Bamburgh Castle|Bamburgh]] across the bay from Lindisfarne. The conquest was not straightforward, however. The {{lang|la|Historia Brittonum}} recounts how, in the 6th century, [[Urien]], prince of [[Rheged]], with a coalition of North Brittonic kingdoms, besieged [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]] led by [[Theodric of Bernicia]] on the island for three days and nights, until internal power struggles led to the Britons' defeat.{{sfn|Breeze|2008|pp=187–88}}{{sfn|Myers|1985|p=199}}

===Lindisfarne Abbey===
{{See also|Bishop of Durham#Early Medieval bishops}}
The Lindisfarne [[Abbey]] was first established in AD 634. The island served as the site of a [[monastery]] for roughly 900 years.  The site, most of which has fallen into a state of ruin, has since become a popular tourist destination and focus of pilgrimage journeys.  The church of St Mary the Virgin is the only original building that has been more or less continually maintained and which remains standing within the original monastic compound.  Remains from the pre-Norman/Anglo-Saxon era can be found in the chancel wall of this church.  The monastery was described as an abbey by [[Bede]] but when it was rebuilt after the [[Norman Conquest]] it was described as a (relatively smaller) [[priory]].

==== Founding and early years ====

[[File:Lindisfarne Priory ruins and St. Aidan statue.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Modern statue of [[St Aidan]] beside the ruins of the medieval priory]] The monastery of Lindisfarne was founded around 634 by the Irish monk [[Aidan of Lindisfarne|Aidan]], who had been sent from [[Iona]] off the west coast of Scotland to [[Northumbria]] at the request of [[Oswald of Northumbria|King Oswald]]. The abbey was founded before the end of 634 and Aidan remained there until his death in 651.{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=118}} The abbey and its church remained the only seat of a bishopric in Northumbria for nearly thirty years.{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=118}} [[Finan of Lindisfarne|Finan]] (bishop 651–661) built a timber church "suitable for a [[Cathedra|bishop's seat]]".{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=119}} [[Bede]], however, was critical of the fact that the church was not built of stone but only of hewn oak thatched with reeds. A later bishop, Eadbert, removed the thatch and covered both walls and roof in lead.<ref>{{harvnb|Loyn|1962|p=275}} quoting {{harvnb|Bede|1896|loc=II, 16; III, 25}}</ref> An abbot, who could be the bishop, was elected by the brethren and led the community. Bede comments on this:

{{blockquote|And let no one be surprised that, though we have said above that in this island of Lindisfarne, small as it is, there is found the seat of a bishop, now we say also that it is the home of an abbot and monks; for it actually is so. For one and the same dwelling-place of the servants of God holds both; and indeed all are monks. Aidan, who was the first bishop of this place, was a monk and always lived according to monastic rule together with all his followers. Hence all the bishops of that place up to the present time exercise their episcopal functions in such a way that the abbot, who they themselves have chosen by the advice of the brethren, rules the monastery; and all the priests, deacons, singers and readers and other ecclesiastical grades, together with the bishop himself, keep the monastic rule in all things.<ref>{{harvnb|Bede|c. 730}} in {{harvnb|Colgrave|1940|pp=207–09}} cited by {{harvnb|Blair|1977|pp=133–34}}</ref>}}

Following the death of bishop [[Finan of Lindisfarne|Finan]] in 661, Colman became [[Bishop of Lindisfarne]]. There were significant liturgical and theological differences with the fledgling Roman party based at [[Canterbury]]. According to Stenton: "There is no trace of any intercourse between these bishops [the Mercians] and the see of Canterbury".{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=120}} The [[Synod of Whitby]] in 663 changed this, as allegiance switched southwards to Canterbury and then to Rome. Colman departed his see for Iona, and for the next few years Lindisfarne had no bishop.  Under a new line of bishops aligned with Canterbury Lindisfarne became the base for Christian evangelism in the [[Northern England|North of England]], and also sent a successful mission to [[Mercia]]. Monks from the Irish community of [[Iona Abbey|Iona]] settled on the island.

==== Cuthbert as bishop ====

[[File:Statue of St Cuthbert by Fenwick Lawson, Lindisfarne Priory - geograph.org.uk - 1239259.jpg|thumb|Statue of St Cuthbert at prayer]] Northumbria's [[patron saint]], [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|Cuthbert]], was a monk and later [[abbot]] of the monastery.  St Cuthbert has been described as “possibly the most venerated saint in England”.<ref>[https://celticsaints.org/2014/0320a.html St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne and Wonderworker of Britain] By Kathleen Hanrahan. 04 March 2017. Accessed 2023-05-20.</ref> Cuthbert's miracles and life are recorded by Bede. Cuthbert was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 684 through 686, shortly before his death. An anonymous "Life of Cuthbert" written at Lindisfarne is the oldest extant piece of English historical writing.

From the "Life of Cuthbert"'s reference to "Aldfrith, who now reigns peacefully", the work is considered to date from between 685 and 704.<ref>{{harvnb|Colgrave|1940|p=104}} cited by {{harvnb|Stenton|1987|p=88}}</ref> While bishop and abbot, Cuthbert took it upon himself to align his bishopric with the see of Canterbury, and therefore with Rome, while leaving its Celtic leanings and traditions behind.  After his death in 687 Cuthbert was initially buried in Lindisfarne.  Due to the claim that Cuthbert's body was untouched by 'corruption', and also due to there being several miracles associated with those who had come to visit Cuthbert's shrine, the island became a major destination for pilgrimages for the next few hundred years.

During one of the many evacuations of Lindisfarne by the monks due to the increasing frequency of Viking raids upon the island at the time, in 793 Cuthbert's body was carried away by the monks, first to where they temporarily re-settled in the nearby village of [[Chester-le-Street]], then to [[Durham Cathedral]] {{c.|995}}.  [[Eadberht of Lindisfarne]], the next bishop (and later saint), was buried in the place from which Cuthbert's body had been [[Burial#Exhumation|exhumed]] earlier in the same year (793).<ref>[https://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/canon-tristram/kate12.htm Tristram, Kate. "Eadberht", ''Little-Known Saints of the North'', The Holy Isle of Lindisfarne]</ref>

==== 8th and 9th centuries ====

In 735, the northern ecclesiastical province of England was established, with the archbishopric at [[York]]. There were only three bishops under York: [[Hexham]], Lindisfarne and [[Whithorn]], whereas Canterbury had the 12 envisioned by [[Augustine of Canterbury|St Augustine]].{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=109}}

At that time the [[Diocese of York]] roughly encompassed the counties of [[Yorkshire]] and [[Lancashire]]. Hexham covered [[County Durham]] and the southern part of modern [[Northumberland]] up to the [[River Coquet]], and eastwards into the [[Pennines]]. Whithorn covered most of [[Dumfries and Galloway]] region west of [[Dumfries]] itself. The remainder, [[Cumbria]], northern Northumbria, [[Lothian]] and much of the [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]] formed the diocese of Lindisfarne.{{sfn|Blair|1977|p=145 (map)}}

In 737, [[Ceolwulf of Northumbria]] abdicated as [[King of Northumbria]] and entered the abbey at Lindisfarne. He died in 764 and was buried alongside Cuthbert. In 830, his body was moved to [[Norham|Norham-upon-Tweed]], and later his head was [[Translation (relic)|translated]] to Durham Cathedral.{{sfn|Britannia Staff Article|1999}}

==== Lindisfarne Gospels ====
{{main|Lindisfarne Gospels}}
In the early 8th century the illuminated manuscript known as the [[Lindisfarne Gospels]], an illustrated [[Latin]] copy of the [[Gospels]] of [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]], [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] and [[Gospel of John|John]], was made, probably at Lindisfarne. The artist was possibly [[Eadfrith of Lindisfarne|Eadfrith]], who became Bishop of Lindisfarne. It is also speculated that a team of illuminators and calligraphers (monks of Lindisfarne Abbey) worked on the text, but if so, their identities are unknown. In the second half of the 10th century, a monk named Aldred added an [[Old English language|Old English]] gloss to the Latin text, producing the earliest surviving Old English/Northumbrian copies of the [[Gospels]]. Aldred attributed the original to Eadfrith (bishop 698–721). The Gospels were written with a good hand, but it is the illustrations, done in an [[insular script|insular]] style containing a fusion of Celtic, Germanic and Roman elements, that are considered to be of the most value. According to Aldred, Eadfrith's successor Æthelwald was responsible for pressing and binding the book, before it was covered with a fine metal case made by a [[hermit]] known as Billfrith.{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=120}} The Lindisfarne Gospels reside in the [[British Library]] in London, a location which has caused controversy amongst some Northumbrians.{{sfn|BBC|2008}} In 1971, professor Suzanne Kaufman of [[Rockford, Illinois]] presented a facsimile copy of the Gospels to the clergy of the island.

==== Viking raid on the monastery (793) ====
[[File:Viking Raider Doomsday Stone front.jpg|thumb|''Lindisfarne Stone'', also known as ''Viking Raider Doomsday Stone'', Northumbrian carved gravestone, 9th-century, found in Lindisfarne. The armed warriors are perhaps Viking raiders.]]
[[File:T.homas Girtin Lindisfarne 1798.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory'', by [[Thomas Girtin]], 1798. The priory's rainbow arch, which survives, is shown truncated for artistic effect.]]

In 793, a [[Viking]] raid on Lindisfarne{{sfn|Graham-Campbell|Wilson|2001|loc=Salt-water bandits}}{{efn|Lindisfarne's shelving beaches provided a supposedly perfect landing for the shallow-draft ships of the Viking raiders who fell upon its unsuspecting and virtually unprotected monks in the summer of 793. This bloody assault on a "place more venerable than all in Britain" was one of the first positively recorded Viking raids on the west. Lindisfarne was supposedly a good place to attack because people in the dark ages would send their valuables to Lindisfarne, similar to a bank, for safekeeping.{{sfn|Graham-Campbell|Wilson|2001|p=21}} Viking [[longship]]s, with their shallow drafts and good manoeuvrability under both sail and oar, allowed their crews to strike deep inland up Europe's major rivers.{{sfn|Graham-Campbell|Wilson|2001|p=22}} The world of the Vikings consisted of a loose grouping of the [[Scandinavia]]n homelands and overseas colonies, linked by sea routes that reached across the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] and the [[North Sea]], spanning even the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]].{{sfn|Graham-Campbell|Wilson|2001|p=10}}}} caused consternation throughout the Christian west, and is often taken as the beginning of the [[Viking Age]]. There had been other Viking raids, but according to [[English Heritage]] this one was particularly significant, because "it attacked the sacred heart of the Northumbrian kingdom, desecrating 'the very place where the Christian religion began in our nation'".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lindisfarne-priory/History/viking-raid/ |title=THE VIKING RAID ON LINDISFARNE |date=30 June 2017 |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=19 July 2020 |quote=heathen men came and miserably destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne, with plunder and slaughter.}}</ref> The D and E versions of the West Saxon ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' record:

<blockquote>{{lang|ang|Her wæron reðe forebecna cumene ofer Norðhymbra land, [[Tironian notes|⁊]] þæt folc earmlic bregdon, þæt wæron ormete þodenas ⁊ ligrescas, ⁊ fyrenne dracan wæron gesewene on þam lifte fleogende. Þam tacnum sona fyligde mycel hunger, ⁊ litel æfter þam, þæs ilcan geares on .vi. Idus Ianuarii, earmlice hæþenra manna hergunc adilegode Godes cyrican in Lindisfarnaee þurh hreaflac ⁊ mansliht.}}{{sfn|Jebson|2007|loc=entry for 793}}<br><br> ("In this year fierce, foreboding [[omens]] came over the land of the Northumbrians, and the wretched people shook; there were excessive whirlwinds, lightning, and fiery [[dragons]] were seen flying in the sky. These signs were followed by great famine, and a little after those, that same year on 6th ides of January, the ravaging of wretched heathen men destroyed God's church at Lindisfarne.")</blockquote>

The generally accepted date for the Viking raid on Lindisfarne is 8 June; [[Michael Swanton]] writes: "{{lang|ang|vi id Ianr}}, presumably [is] an error for {{lang|ang|vi id Iun}} (8 June) which is the date given by the ''Annals of Lindisfarne'' (p. 505), when better sailing weather would favour coastal raids."{{sfn|Swanton|2000|p=57}}{{efn|This may be confusing to modern readers. The 6 refers to the number of days before the [[Ides (calendar)|Ides]], not after. The day itself was included, and so {{lang|ang|vi id}} was 6 days before the ides, counting the ides as 1. In June the ides falls on the 13th of the month, so {{lang|ang|"vi id Jun"}} was actually 8 June. See [[Roman calendar]] for full details.}}

[[Alcuin]], a Northumbrian scholar in [[Charlemagne]]'s court at the time, wrote: "Never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race&nbsp;... The heathens poured out the blood of saints around the altar, and trampled on the bodies of saints in the temple of God, like dung in the streets."{{sfn|Killeen|2012|p=30}} During the attack many of the monks were killed, or captured and enslaved.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Marsden|first=John|title=The Fury of the Northmen: Saints, Shrines and Sea-raiders in the Viking Age|publisher=Kyle Cathie|year=1993|location=London|pages=41}}</ref> 

Biographer [[Peter Ackroyd]] suggests: "The monasteries of Lindisfarne and Jarrow were not attacked at random; they were chosen as examples of revenge. The onslaught of the Christian Charlemagne on the ‘pagans’ of the north had led to the extirpation of their shrines and sanctuaries. The great king had cut down Jôrmunr, the holy tree of the Norse people. What better form of retaliation than to lay waste the foundations devoted to the Christian God? The Christian missionaries to Norway had in fact set out from Lindisfarne."<ref>Peter Ackroyd ''Foundation: The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors'', ch 5 (The History of England, vol 1) Macmillan, 2011.</ref> However, the raid on Lindisfarne took place decades after Charlemagne’s campaigns against the Saxons. Neither the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle nor any surviving Norse document ascribes a motivation to the raid on the monastery. 

As the English population became more settled, they seemed to have abandoned seafaring.{{sfn|Blair|1977|p=63}}   Many monasteries were established on islands, peninsulas, river mouths and cliffs, as isolated communities were less susceptible to interference and the politics of the heartland.{{sfn|Blair|1977|p=63}} These preliminary raids, despite their brutal nature, were not followed up. The main body of the raiders passed north around [[Scotland]].{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=239}} The 9th-century invasions came not from [[Norway]], but from the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]] from around the entrance to the Baltic.{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=239}} The first Danish raids into England were in the [[Isle of Sheppey]], [[Kent]] during 835 and from there their influence spread north.{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=243}} During this period religious art continued to flourish on Lindisfarne, and the {{lang|la|Liber Vitae}} of Durham began in the abbey.{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=95}} By 866, the Danes were in York, and in 873 the Danish army was moving into Northumberland.{{sfn|Stenton|1987|pp=247–51}} With the collapse of the Northumbrian kingdom, the monks of Lindisfarne fled the island in 875 taking with them St Cuthbert's bones (which are now buried at Durham Cathedral),{{sfn|Stenton|1987|p=332}} who during his life had been prior and bishop of Lindisfarne; his body was buried on the island in the year 698.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Richards|first=Julian|title=Blood of the Vikings|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=2001|location=London|pages=24}}</ref>

Prior to the 9th century, Lindisfarne Abbey had, in common with other such establishments, held large tracts of land which were managed directly or leased to farmers with a [[life interest]] only. Following the Danish occupation, land was increasingly owned by individuals, and could be bought, sold and inherited. Following the [[Battle of Corbridge]] in 914 [[Ragnall ua Ímair|Ragnald]] seized the land giving some to his followers [[Scula]] and [[Onlafbal]].{{sfn|Richards|1991|pp=30–31}}

==== Prior to dissolution of the monasteries ====

Once the region had been restored to political and military stability under the government of [[William the Conqueror]], the prospects for the rebuilding of the island's monastery began to improve.  The first Norman [[Bishop of Durham]], [[William of St Calais]] endowed his new [[Benedictine]] [[Durham Cathedral|monastery at Durham]] with land and property in Northumberland, including Holy Island and much of the surrounding mainland. [[Durham Priory]] then re-established a monastery on the island in 1093.  The monastery was re-established as a smaller "priory" which was to be administered as a sub-monastery of the Durham priory.{{sfn|Finlayson|Hardie|2009}} Smaller monasteries are often referred to as [[priory|priories]] while larger monasteries are more commonly referred to as abbeys.

Under Norman rule, by 1150 the island's parish church had also been fully rebuilt over part of the site of the pre-Norman abbey.  The newly constructed chapel included a cenotaph (an empty tomb) marking the spot where Cuthbert's body was believed to have been buried. Although his body by then had been relocated in Durham Cathedral, the place of his former primary shrine on Lindisfarne was still considered by many to be sacred ground and continued to draw pilgrims.<ref>[https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lindisfarne-priory/History/ History of Lindisfarne Priory] By english-heritage.org. Retrieved 2023-05-08.</ref>  The pre-Norman island bishopric of Lindisfarne was not restored under Norman rule, perhaps because the newer and more centrally located bishopric of Durham was then better able to meet the church's administrative needs in the area.

As such, the island's restored but slightly smaller Benedictine monastery (sized as a priory under Norman rule) was then able to continue in relative peace under the new Norman monarchy and its successor [[royal house]]s for the next four centuries until its final [[Dissolution of the monasteries|dissolution]] in 1536 as a result of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII's]] dissolution of the English church's ties to Rome, and his subsequent closing of the monasteries.

==== After dissolution of the priory ====

Even with the closure of the island's priory in 1536, the tradition of making religious pilgrimages to the island never ceased.  In the 20th century ({{circa}} 1980~1990), religious author and cleric [[David Adam (priest)|David Adam]] reported that he had ministered to thousands of pilgrims and other visitors as rector of Holy Island.<ref>The Open Gate: Celtic Prayers for Growing Spiritually. November 17, 2006. By David Adam. Publisher: SPCK Publishing. Page 81.</ref> In the 21st century the tradition of making pilgrimage to Lindisfarne continues to be observed annually, as can be attested to by the [[Northern Cross (pilgrimage)|Northern Cross Pilgrimage]] amongst others.<ref>[https://www.scotsman.com/news/embarking-on-the-lanark-to-lindisfarne-pilgrimage-2347272 Embarking on the Lanark to Lindisfarne pilgrimage] Scotsman Newspaper. Published 31.3.2013. Retrieved 2023-05-08.</ref>  The priory ruins which make for a popular tourist and pilgrimage destination, were built just after the Norman conquest, and date back to nearly 1,000 years ago.  The chancel wall of the church dates back even further into Anglo-Saxon times.

====Architecture and archaeology====

In 1838 Henry George Charles Clarke wrote a scholarly description of the priory. Clarke surmised that this Norman priory was unique in that the centre aisle had a vault of stone. Of the six arches, Clarke stated "as if the architect had not previously calculated the space to be occupied by his arcade. The effect here has been to produce a [[Horseshoe arch|horseshoe]] instead of a [[Semicircular arch|semicircular]] arch, from its being of the same height, but lesser span, than the others. This arch is very rare, even in Norman buildings". The Lindisfarne Priory (ruin) is a [[Grade I listed building]], List Entry Number 1042304.{{sfnp|Historic England|1042304}} Other parts of the priory are a [[scheduled monument]], List Entry Number 1011650. The latter are described as "the site of the pre-Conquest monastery of Lindisfarne and the Benedictine cell of Durham Cathedral that succeeded it in the 11th century".{{sfnp|Historic England|1011650}}

Archaeologists led by [[DigVentures]] and the [[University of Durham]] have been conducting community excavations since 2016 outside the priory. A total of nine consecutive field seasons (including those planned for 2024) have unearthed numerous insights for the site. Artefacts of note recovered included a rare board game piece,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2020/02/07/rare-viking-era-board-game-piece-discovered-on-lindisfarne/#6c64fe0d3ec0 |title=Rare Viking Era Board Game Piece Discovered On Lindisfarne |date=7 February 2020 |work=Forbes|access-date=19 July 2020}}</ref> copper-alloy rings and Anglo-Saxon coins from both Northumbria and Wessex. The discovery of a cemetery led to finding commemorative markers "unique to the 8th and 9th centuries". The group also found evidence of an early medieval building, "which seems to have been constructed on top of an even earlier industrial oven" which was used to make copper or glass.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/summer-of-finds-on-lindisfarne.htm |title=Summer of finds on Lindisfarne |date=5 November 2019 |publisher=Current Publishing|access-date=19 July 2020 |quote=a new glimpse at life on the island before, during, and after the 8th century Viking raid that struck its monastic community.}}</ref>

===Historical island economy===

====Middle Ages economy====

Monastic records from the 14th to the 16th century provide evidence of an already well-established fishing economy on the island.{{sfn|Porteous|2018a}} Both [[Fishing line|line]] fishing and [[Fishing net|net]] fishing were practised, inshore in shallow waters and in the deep water offshore, using a variety of vessels: contemporary accounts differentiate between small '[[coble]]s' and larger 'boats', as well as singling out certain specialised vessels (such as a '[[Herring as food|herynger]]', sold for £2 in 1404).{{sfn|Porteous|2018b|p=55}} As well as supplying food for the monastic community, the island's fisheries (together with those of nearby Farne) provided the mother house at Durham with fish, on a regular (sometimes weekly) basis. Fish caught included [[cod]], [[haddock]], [[herring]], [[salmon]], [[porpoise]] and [[Mullet (fish)|mullet]], among others. [[Shellfish]] of various types were also fished for, with [[Lobster fishing|lobster nets]] and [[oyster dredge]]s being mentioned in the accounts. Fish surplus to the needs of the monastery was traded, but subject to a [[tithe]]. There is also evidence that the monks operated a [[lime kiln]] on the island.{{sfn|Finlayson|Hardie|2009}}

In 1462, during the [[Wars of the Roses]], [[Margaret of Anjou]] made an abortive attempt to seize the Northumbrian castles. Following a storm at sea 400 troops had to seek shelter on Holy Island, where they surrendered to the [[House of York|Yorkist]]s.{{sfn|Jacob|1988|p=533}}

====Post priory dissolution economy====

After King [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII's]] dissolution of the monasteries in 1536, Lindisfarne Priory was made to close its doors for the last time.  The buildings of the old priory were then repurposed for use as a naval storehouse.  As such, one of the economic focal points of the island became the military post which would be staffed by military personnel from time to time, instead of the former activities of the defunct monastery.  Over the coming centuries, most of the priory complex buildings gradually fell into ruin.{{sfn|Finlayson|Hardie|2009}} In 1613 ownership of the island (and other land in the area formerly pertaining to Durham Priory) was transferred to [[the Crown]].

[[File:Lime kilns - geograph.org.uk - 410592.jpg|thumb|The lime kilns by the castle]]
In the 1860s a [[Dundee]] firm built [[lime kiln]]s on Lindisfarne, and [[Lime (material)|lime]] was burnt on the island until at least the end of the 19th century. The kilns are among the most complex in Northumberland. Horses carried [[limestone]], along the [[Holy Island Waggonway]], from a quarry on the north side of the island to the lime kilns, where it was burned with coal transported from Dundee on the east coast of Scotland. There are still traces of the jetties by which the coal was imported and the lime exported close by at the foot of the crags. The remains of the [[waggonway]] between the quarries and the kilns makes for an easy walk.

At the peak of the limestone quarrying and processing operations on the island, over 100 men were employed by these operations. [[Crinoid]] columnals, a certain type of intricate fossil with a hole in the middle which is sometimes found in limestone, were separated from the quarried stone and then milled smooth into beads.  The remaining quarried limestone material would then be processed into lime.  These more valuable beads would then be threaded onto necklaces and rosaries and exported from the island.  The beads became known as [[St Cuthbert's beads]].<ref>[https://projects.digventures.com/lindisfarne/timeline/diary/site-diary-the-story-of-st-cuthberts-bead/ Site Diary: The Story of St Cuthbert’s Bead] DigVentures Ltd. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 2023-05-20.</ref>

The large-scale quarrying in the 19th century had a devastating effect on the limestone caves, but eight sea caves remain at Coves Haven.{{sfn|Scaife|2019}}{{page needed|date=June 2022}} Workings on the lime kilns stopped by the start of the 20th century.{{sfn|The National Trust}} The lime kilns on Lindisfarne are among the few being actively preserved in Northumberland.{{sfn|The National Trust}}

Holy Island Golf Club was founded in 1907 but closed in the 1960s.{{sfn|Llewellyn|Llewellyn|2012|loc=[https://www.golfsmissinglinks.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=320 Holy Island Golf Club]}}