Stephenson’s Rocket, the world-changing locomotive, which was built in Newcastle but has been in London for more than 150 years, is to go on long-term display in York.

The news of its return to the north of England was announced on Monday by the culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, as he attended Theresa May’s cabinet awayday to Gateshead.

Stephenson’s Rocket, designed by Robert Stephenson, is arguably the most famous of all early locomotives and has been a star of the Science Museum’s collection for more than a century.

Wright called it an iconic part of Britain’s railway history. “It is right that our great art and culture reaches all parts of the country,” he said.

“This bold move by the Science Museum group will ensure more people can see this national treasure and is an inspiring example of what can be done to make culture available to the widest possible audience.”

It first went on display in South Kensington in 1862 at the Patent Museum, which later became the Science Museum. Apart from a tour of Japan and a visit to York, it has always stayed in London until its current return to Newcastle for the first time in 150 years for this summer’s Great Exhibition of the North.

The visit sparked calls for it to remain in Newcastle permanently. “Stephenson’s Rocket is our Elgin marbles. It should be here all the time,” said Nick Forbes, the leader of Newcastle city council, in June.

It will not stay in Newcastle but will instead be an hour’s train journey south on long-term display at the national Railway Museum in York, part of the Science Museum group, from a date to be determined in 2019.

Rocket was made for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, winning locomotive trials held at Rainhill in Lancashire in 1829. It beat four other locomotives and was the only one to successfully complete the trials as it rattled along at an average speed of 12mph. Its top speed was 30mph.

It fuelled the railway mania of Victorian Britain and represented a huge technical advance over previous designs, bringing together in one machine new engineering developments such as the multi-tube boiler and the blast pipe.

It served Liverpool Road station in Manchester, now the Museum of Science and Industry, from its opening day on 15 September 1830.

Before it goes to York, where it will be shown alongside such railway wonders as Mallard and the Bullet Train, Rocket will go on display in Manchester, at the Museum of Science and Industry, for seven months.

Rocket is currently a star exhibit of the Great Exhibition of the North, the 80-day event in Gateshead and Newcastle showing off the best art, design and innovation of the north. Its arrival at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum has helped increase visitor numbers by 100% on the same period last year.

Ian Blatchford, the director of the Science Museum Group, which also includes the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, said it was “a truly national organisation and enthusiastic about bringing the world’s greatest science and technology collection to everyone.

“I warmly endorse the secretary of state’s commitment to strengthening fair and excellent cultural provision across the UK. A country with such an amazing history of innovation deserves it.”

• This article was amended on 24 July 2018 because an earlier version said the Discovery Museum was formerly the Hancock. That was the former name of a different museum in Newcastle.