INTRODUCTION:

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, otherwise known simply as Durham Cathedral is in the city of Durham, in North east England. The cathedral is thought to be one of the finest examples of Norman architecture and because of this has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Castle which is opposite the Cathedral just cross Palace Green.

The Cathedral was built on a peninsula of land created by a loop in the meandering River Wear and the west end towers over the gorge. The northern front of the Cathedral faces onto Palace green and from here you can get a view of the entire 143 metres of this building which is an imposing sight. The view from the air shows this view to perfection but I only experienced this in a postcard as we did not have access to a small plane or helicopter!

Because of this it is now a major tourist attraction (over 600,000 visitors every year) for people visiting the North east of England but as well as being a tourist attraction this is also a working church with almost 1,700 services and events each year, it is also a Cathedral, which means it is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham Diocese. However, you don’t have to be a Christian to visit and enjoy this wonderful Cathedral anyone is welcome to enjoy and experience the magnificence of this historic building.

OPENING TIMES AND PRICES

Opening hours: Mon – Sat 9.30am - 5pm
Sun 12.30 – 5.30pm (evening opening is extended to 8pm from Sat 18th July to Mon 31Aug )
The Cathedral is open most days but occasionally services and events may close the Cathedral to visitors so they do suggest if you are coming from a long distance away specifically to visit the Cathedral that you check directly with them that the cathedral is open on that day and time. The day we visited there were a lot of boxes everywhere and recording equipment was being set up for a recording session with Sting. It did detract a little from some parts of the building but we warned of this when we contacted them.

Prices : Entry to the Cathedral is free but they do ask that you contribute something in the various collection boxes as it does cost £60,000 a week to maintain the Cathedral and other buildings as well as their ministry and missions and the Cathedral receives no financial contribution from the state for these expenses.

A POTTED HISTORY

The building of Durham Cathedral was started in 1093 and virtually completed in 40 years, which when you consider the craftsmanship and lack of JCBs and other heavy lifting equipment at the time is a stunning achievement . It is the only cathedral in England to still have intact almost all of its Norman craftsmanship, and it also still has virtually the same shape and size as its original design which is also quite unusual for Cathedrals because of the turbulent history of the church over the years.

The Cathedral was built as a place of worship; it was the home of a Benedictine monastery until 1540 and also held the shrine Saint Cuthbert, which pilgrims came to Durham to visit from all over England. St Cuthbert was a monk and an inspirational leader of the monastery on Lindisfarne (Holy Island) where he died in 687.

In 875, the monks of Lindisfarne fled the island because of Viking raiders taking with them their most precious treasures, including St. Cuthbert's miraculously preserved body and the illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels. In 995, the Lindisfarne monks found a safe, easily defended position above the River Wear, in Durham and the rest is history, as they say.

Like all English cathedrals Durham had periods of history when things were quite turbulent and parts of the building were destroyed or damaged. During the Civil War in 1650 the Cathedral was closed and used by Cromwell to hold 3,000 Scottish prisoners. However with the Restoration in 1660, the new bishop of Durham, John Cosin, refurbished a lot of the damaged cathedral which included the carved woodwork in the quire.
There was further destruction and rebuilding in the 18th century and in the nineteenth century many of the beautiful stained glass windows were added as well as the Scott screen in the crossing.

One of the most influential changes or introductions to the Durham was in 1832 when the Bishop of Durham and the Cathedral Chapter founded Durham University .
In the twentieth and twenty first centuries no major building changes have taken place as they have concentrated on conservation and the purchase of some contemporary art.

OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO ME:

The building as a whole is particularly beautiful in its setting on the river Wear near the castle.

The Sanctuary knocker:

The great bronze lion knocker on the door is actually a replica and the original is in the Cathedral treasury but it was used by those seeking sanctuary in the church to awaken the watchmen who slept in a room above the north door entry. One through these huge doors you are in nave and here you can find a number of helpful guides or leaflets and guide books should you want one.

The Quire (Choir):

These stalls are beautifully, finely carved and made of wood and they were built in the 1660s and replaced the original medieval ones. Daily services take place in this area as well as being used for choirs in bigger events and services.

The nave :

Here you can see massive carved stone pillars which are almost 900 years and are 6.6 meters around and 6.6 meters high. They are quite imposing and interestingly Durham was the first cathedral in Europe to be fitted with this stone rib vaulting and it has the earliest pointed transverse arches in England. This has a very traditional cathedral feel about it because of the huge stone pillars and arches it just gives off an aura of strength and majesty.

There is a long, narrow slab of stone in the floor which apparently shows the point where women had to stay behind up until the mid-16th century which I had no idea that churches were segregated in this way in the Christian religion until we were told this on our visit.

There are some lovely, mainly Victorian stained glass windows in the nave including an abstract one of the Last Supper and one known as the Daily Bread window but my personal favourite was the Rose Window which was a bit like the famous Rose Window in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. I think it is a combination of the round shape and colours that I find so appealing.

The Bishop's throne:

The Bishop of Durham uses this 14th Century seat the first time he comes to the cathedral, but after this he sits near the chancel screen.

The Shrine of St. Cuthbert:

This sacred shrine which is behind the high altar was in the Middle Ages a place of visited by pilgrims and remains a sacred site today as it is the shrine of St Cuthbert who I mentioned earlier was the inspirational leader of the monastery of Lindisfarne and is the most popular saint in the North of England.

In medieval times the shrine was ,” made of beautiful, costly green marble, and gilded with gold. There were four seats or places, below the shrine, where pilgrims and others, especially the sick or lame, might lean or rest as they knelt and made their devout offerings and fervent prayers to God and holy St. Cuthbert for his miraculous relief and help. “

Prior Castell's Clock:

In the south transept there is a very unusual clock which has 48 minute markings and originally only had one hand .This wonderfully original clock was the only wooden item in the cathedral to survive the Civil War when the Scottish prisoners were held in the cathedral. It is said that the Scots left it un harmed as it has a thistle as part of its decoration but no-one will know if this is true or just a story as it was so long ago and I doubt that it was recorded in writing at the time.

The Central Tower :

This tower was rebuilt between 1465 and 1490 can be climbed for a extra cost both financial and cost in energy. There are 325 steps and the price is £3.00 for adults and half that for children. My friend was not keen so we did not get to experience the views that were the reward for the climb which is a shame but maybe on another visit i will be able to enjoy this experience.

The Cloisters:

My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan and so I was especially interested in seeing the cloisters of this cathedral as they were used in the Harry Potter films as part of Hogwarts School. I really enjoy finding places that have been used in films so this was a bit of a bonus. They are indeed very beautiful in their own right and surround a green lawned area and within this area you can find, the Bookshop which itself it quite charming and used to be the Great Kitchen with an unusual octagonal vaulted stone ceiling and the shop is worth a visit just to see this ceiling.

The Undercroft Restaurant and cafe is quite a nice atmospheric cafe as it is in the Undercroft but caters for a reasonable number of visitors. We were there in September 2009 but I’m not sure how crowded it would get in the summer around lunch time. We enjoyed a coffee and while sipping our coffee I enjoyed looking at the Bookcrossing shelf and found another book (recently reviewed ‘Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro ) to read which was great as I had just finished the book I had taken with me.

The gift shop which was next to the cafe and also in the under croft sold the usual postcards and various gifts. It did have a couple of nice jigsaws of the cathedral but as we have about ten still to do I resisted the temptation and only bought a few postcards as you are not allowed to take photos of the inside of the cathedral. You have to go through a very narrow corridor to get from one part of the shop to the other, the setting of the shop I found more interesting than the things it was selling but that is probably just me as I am not a souvenir buyer or big collector of things.

The Treasury Museum for which there is an admission price is just opposite the cafe but we did not go in

here so I am not sure what treasures lie within. The prices however are: Adults - £2.50, Children - £0.70p, Family ticket - £6.00, Concessions/groups - £2.00 and the opening times are Monday to Saturday 10.00 - 4.30 and Sundays 2.00 - 4.30.

The cathedral library and Monk’s Dormitory:

This is part of the cathedral complex in the original monk’s sleeping quarters and houses a huge number of original and ancient texts and manuscripts. The library is used by students and scholars and is looked after by employees of the university. It also has a collection of Anglo Saxon crosses and parts thereof from various churches in the North east of England. I enjoyed just looking at the wonderful high wooden beamed ceiling and absorbing the atmosphere of texts that were hundreds of years old.

The times of opening are different from the main cathedral and are Monday to Friday from 9.00am - 1.00pm then again 2.00pm - 5.00pm. We did pay a bit extra upstairs in the library area but it was not much and I can’t remember as my husband paid as I was busy admiring the ceiling at the time.

GETTING THERE:

We drove to Durham and stayed at the Marriott hotel where we parked our car and after that we walked everywhere. There is a train and bus station and also a park and ride for the city. There are car parks but you do have to pay. If you are disabled then it is possible to drive up to the cathedral area but otherwise although it is an uphill climb I would suggest walking as there didn’t seem to be anywhere to park near the cathedral.

SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS

I think the thing that struck me when visiting this cathedral was how friendly and helpful the volunteer staff were. One chap had recently retired and was doing the voluntary work as an interest and to get him out of the house and he told us that he had seen Sting the day before as he had come to check on the setting up of all the recording stuff for his recording session in the cathedral. We discussed the fact these huge lorries and all the equipment had all been sent over from Switzerland and how it was strange that this was a cheaper option than using equipment from the UK. We did not have a guide but at every place of interest there was someone who would tell you about the item or some interesting story about the artefact so we did not really need an official guide.

If need help with mobility then they suggest contacting the cathedral before your visit and they will offer any help they can.

As with all churches and cathedrals there is just so much to look at and I find I can get information overload and really just enjoy looking and experiencing the atmosphere.

There was the recording equipment being set up and huge boxes as well as wires being draped around the cathedral which did detract a little from the building but I suspect a lot of money was being donated towards the cathedral in exchange for using it for this purpose and we did know that this was taking place when chose to visit at this time.

It is a beautiful building and I am not surprised it is in the UNESCO world heritage site as it a well preserved original building in a unique setting.

I would urge anybody who has not been to visit this cathedral to make the effort to see it as it very special and was referred to by Bill Bryson as “the Best Cathedral on Planet Earth”. I’m not sure whether I agree entirely with this statement as there are so many beautiful cathedrals in the world but it is certainly one of the nicest I have seen.

I do not pretend to have covered every place and item or artefact of interest these were just the things that I found interesting but there is a wealth of fascinating history and art work to explore within this historical building. I just hope that I have tempted someone to venture up northwards to visit one of our most beautiful buildings a UNESCO world heritage site we should be proud of.

Thanks for reading my thoughts on the wonderfully English building. This review may be published under my name on other sites.

© Catsholiday