Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral is a beautiful reminder of the era of princes and bishops. This building combined three main innovations of the revolutionary Gothic style: pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses. Durham is one of the pinnacles of cathedral architecture in this or any other country.

History of Durham Cathedral

Work on Durham Cathedral began in 1093, shortly after the funeral of William the Conqueror. The story goes back to Saint Cuthbert, the 7th century Bishop of Lindisfarne. Fearing Viking raids, the monks of Lindisfarne fled with St Cuthbert's remains in the 9th century until the coffin became too heavy to carry. Taking this as a sign that the saint thought it was a good place to be buried, they built a shrine. Over the next few decades, a church was built and became a popular pilgrimage site. Soon a city arose around the church. That city was Durham.

Stone architecture

While most English churches of the time were built at least partly of wood, Durham Cathedral must have been built entirely of stone. No one has truly mastered stone architecture since the fall of the Roman Empire, so it was an ambitious build. The architectural style of the time was known as Romanesque, which was less of a single movement than a general trend across Europe. The Romanesque buildings were all stone, but could only bear a lot of weight by being thick, heavy, and with very small windows. The goal was to make Durham Cathedral more spacious, and the engineers had a theory on how to do it. Columns, built into opposite walls, passed into the ceiling, rolled up and met at a point in the middle.

Durham Cathedral Libraries

There are 3 libraries in Durham Cathedral. Of greatest interest to most visitors is the Capitulum Library, the remains of a medieval monastery library. It has a rich collection of manuscripts, as well as music from the 17th and 18th centuries. The church also has a library of current theological works and a library of German Protestant theological texts.

Refuge for criminals

If an escapee seeking rescue knocks on the main door of Durham Cathedral with the knocker, he will be granted asylum for 37 days. After knocking the gavel, the monks will ring the bell to announce the arrival of the fugitive. At the end of the 37th day, he could reconcile with his accusers, or be evicted to face the law.