Medieval 'treasure' to go online

The Textus Roffensis is kept in a strong room at Strood Civic Centre

A manuscript from Kent, which contains some of the earliest examples of written Anglo-Saxon language, has been voted England's best hidden treasure.

The Textus Roffensis, written by a monk in St Andrew's Priory at Rochester Cathedral in about 1125, contains legal and monastery records.

It beat nine other treasures in a British Library competition to be turned into a "virtual text" online.

The digital version of the manuscript will be available for three years.

Among other entries was a Dorset Women's Institute WWII record book, which will also be put online.

The Textus, which belongs to Rochester Cathedral, is in Medway Council's care in an archive strong room at Strood Civic Centre.

The priceless document, which is a copy of an earlier work no longer in existence, is kept in temperature and humidity-controlled conditions.

The digital version will be made available alongside items from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Turning the Pages 2.0 software, which will cost £10,000 for each document, has been developed by the library with Microsoft.

It aims to mimic the action of turning the pages of real book.