The unique collection of Anglo-Saxon gold found near Lichfield should come home according to the Leader of Staffordshire County Council.
The claim came from Councillor Philip Atkins amid suggestions from other potential bidders for The Staffordshire Hoard that the county would not be capable of providing a long-term home for the finds.
Cllr Atkins insisted Staffordshire had the “capacity, capability and competence to do the Staffordshire Hoard justice”.
He told a meeting of the council today:
“I will publicly declare once again that Staffordshire County Council will play a full role in acquiring the Hoard. This is our heritage and we need to do it justice. We have a duty to represent the best interests of the people of Staffordshire. We will do everything we can to bring the Hoard home.
“It will be a lengthy process but the signs are good. One of the first jobs that my Cabinet colleague, Ben Adams, did after the election was to sign-off our formal application for the Shire Hall and the County Museum at Shugborough to become accredited museums. This was the culmination of over 12 months work. By co-incidence our application was heard at the same time and day as the Hoard was unveiled. We will find out in the next couple of weeks if we have been successful, but it is looking good.
“I anticipate this will be the first successful step on our journey to bring the county’s heritage home.”
So far Walsall and Birmingham – where the collection is currently on temporary display have declared an interest in becoming the ultimate home of the Hoard, which was found by Burntwood man Terry Herbert earlier this year.
Bu Staffordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader Ian Parry added:
“We are best placed in terms of resource to lead the way in bringing the Hoard back to its rightful home. The artefacts are obviously important; however what is more important is the story of the Mercian Kingdom that they reveal and how this takes us to the story of Staffordshire today.
“There is already an element of competition about who is best place to own and show the Staffordshire Hoard. However this is not about Staffordshire County Council, it is about the county of Staffordshire, our residents and the nation’s heritage.”
