Durham Cathedral
Situated high on the rocky bluff above the River Weir, the cathedral dominates the city of Durham , and forms one of the most attractive cathedral quads you will find in Britain. An important place of medieval pilgrimage, Durham Cathedral played a key role in the English Church and for nine centuries its Bishops virtually ruled the north of England as semi autonomous Palatinate Princes.
Durham Cathedral owes its existence to the 7th Century missionary and Bishop of Lindisfarne, St Cuthbert. Following Viking raids, the monks of Lindisfarne fled the holy island, taking with them the relics of St Cuthbert and the Lindisfarne Gospels. They came to the safe haven of Dun Holm, the hill island above the Weir and established the White Church in 995 as a Shrine for St Cuthbert. Pilgrims came from all over Europe to pray at the body of St Cuthbert, which miraculously lay undecayed for 200 years and to the relics of the Venerable Bede, brought here 27 years later.
The present cathedral is a magnificent Norman building, one of the most homogenous in the country, built almost in its entirety from 1095 and 1133. It is a cathedral of vast dimensions with tall, carved columns, ribbed vaults and broad Gothic arches. Inside are housed the tombs to the early Saints, Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede as well as those to the powerful medieval family the Nevill, Lords of Raby and monuments to the coal miners and fishermen that make up the community of Country Durham.
The Cathedral Treasury houses revered holy relics such as St Cuthbert’s altar and fragments of his coffin, as well as precious objects, manuscripts and embroideries. Another point of interest is the Sanctuary Knocker, on which those seeking safe haven in the cathedral would call, they were then given 36 days to arrange their affairs or leave the country by the nearest port.
A hike to the top of the cathedral tower offers rewarding views across County Durham, though its steep tower is not for the feint hearted.
