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Published: October 21st 2021
The walk up to Durham Cathedral through the city is nice and I really like when you turn off the shopping street and walk up the cobbled street that you are confronted with the great view across Palace Green to the cathedral. However this time the view was a bit obscured as a temporary Covid vaccination centre has been erected on the green to offer booster shots. Luckily, I took some photos of the exterior of the cathedral when I came to visit Durham Castle so I have used those. Also, I can't wait until I never have to mention the C word in a blog again. Durham Cathedral or to give it its full name The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St. Cuthbert of Durham (that's far too long) was built in 1093 replacing the previous church that was there. It was designed and built under William de St-Calais, who was appointed the first Prince Bishop under William the Conqueror. Before entering the cathedral, you have to stop and admire the Sanctuary Knocker on the North Door. In the medieval times, the cathedral offered St. Cuthbert's protection to fugitives who 'had committed a great offence'. To
claim sanctuary the fugitive would have to hang on to the ring of the Sanctuary Knocker until a monk admitted them to the cathedral. They were then given a black robe to wear and 37 days sanctuary after which they had to either stand trial or were taken to the coast and sent into exile. I like the idea of being exiled, but I'm sure my notion of it is much more romantic than the harsh reality the fugitives would have faced. In 1623 the right of sanctuary was abolished.
The staff at the entrance were very helpful and guided me in the right direction. I headed past a memorial to those who had given their lives to protect Britain and came to the Galilee or Lady Chapel. This was built in the late 12th century as a place for women to worship during the monastic time, hence the name Lady Chapel. The name Galilee Chapel comes from Jesus' ministry beginning in Galilee and the church space is meant to re-enact key events of Jesus' ministry and therefore it is traditionally the place where church processions begin and end. The chapel contains the royal arms of Elizabeth I and
is one of few that survives today. I tried to get a picture of it, but I couldn't do it justice. There are also some wall paintings dating back to the 1100s and the stained glass windows were beautiful. I also liked the statue of Mary, the Mother of Christ by Joseph Pryrz, a Polish sculptor. The chapel is also the final resting place of the Venerable Bede. He was a Benedictine monk that lived during the 7th and 8th centuries and was one of the greatest scholars of the Anglo-Saxon period. He is most well known for producing one of the best sources of early English history, and he also produced science, music, poetry and biblical commentary.
The route led me back into the main part of the cathedral. Here there are a couple of cash desks so you can book any tours or make a donation. I had already done that, so I headed into the Nave. This comes from the Latin word 'navis' meaning ship as the nave of a church is said to resemble an upturned ship. I remember learning that in school when we used to go and visit the church next door. The
nave area is gorgeous and feels really atmospheric. The pillars lining it are huge and I liked the simple design carved into them. As you walk down the nave, there are some interesting things to look at dotted along. I'm not sure who the statues were of, maybe past bishops or influential locals? I also saw the Neville Family Tomb, the Nevilles were a local influential family back in the Middle Ages. Ralph Neville defeated the invading Scots in the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346. He and his wife were the first non ordained people to be buried inside the cathedral.
One of the reasons I had wanted to visit Durham Cathedral was to see the Museum of the Moon exhibition that was on. This installation created by Luke Jerram uses detailed imagery taken from NASA to show the features of the moon's surface. The installation is seven metres in diameter and internally lit. All I can saw is wow! The moon looked awesome hovering in the air in the nave. I spent quite a while taking photos from that position before moving further down the Nave to take more photos from different angles and using different effects.
I think my favourite part of the cathedral is the Quire. It's just so pretty and there are so many intricacies. The High Altar and the Neville Screen look so special. This is the holiest place in the cathedral and only ordained clergy are allowed behind it. Standing in here, I got an amazing view of the Rose Window, which is above the Chapel of the Nine Altars. It's so beautiful and the work that must have gone into producing it. This is not the original, which was created in medieval times, but a 19th century adaptation.
I made my round to the Chapel of the Nine Altars. This was built in the mid to late thirteenth century to help accommodate the crowds of medieval pilgrims coming to visit the Shrine of St. Cuthbert. It is dedicated to the northern saints; Saint Aidan, Saint Hild, and Saint Margaret. There were originally nine altars (hence the name) so that all the priest member of the monastery could celebrate Mass daily at the different altars. Now there are just three working altars used regularly that are dedicated to the three saints mentioned. There were quite a few different things to see
in the chapel and it felt unique. There was lots of beautiful stained glass. I liked the Transfiguration Window, which had been installed fairly recently, in 2010. The window was installed to honour Bishop Michael Ramsey, who had been Bishop of Durham during the1950s and later became the Archbishop of Canterbury. I was too far away to make out the details on the stained glass, but the orangey glow had a lovely autumnal feel to it. There was some artwork and sculptures that I had a look at too. 'The Pietà ' sculpture of the dead Christ and his grieving mother, Mary was striking.
Just next to the Chapel of the Nine Altars is St. Cuthbert's Shrine. St. Cuthbert is the Northeast's most famous saint. He was a monk, bishop, and hermit, who lived on Lindisfarne (Holy Island). He was acclaimed a saint in 698, around ten years after his death. He was buried at Lindisfarne, but the Viking invasion in 793 meant that the community at Lindisfarne had to flee, taking his body and relics with them. They travelled around the Northeast of England until finally settling Durham in 995. Since people were praying in the shrine, I didn't
want to disturb them so only snapped a couple of pics. It's a beautiful and peaceful place. Also, when looking across the cathedral, the light shining in through one of the stained glass windows was really, really beautiful. It was just so warm and inviting.
I had pre-booked the tower entrance online and the guy at the desk had told me where the entrance to the tower was located as I couldn't find out the information online. Since it was almost my time, I made my way over to the desk and got my ticket checked. There are 325 steps to the top of the tower and there is a sign warning those that climb do so at their own risk. It couldn't be that bad surely. The first part of the climb wasn't too bad. There were plenty of steps and I got a great view of the moon through one of the windows. I knew that there was a place to stop with seats about half way up, but I hadn't expected it to be so big and spacious. There were seats and then a long corridor filled with information about the tower. It was nice to
take a breather and read up on how the tower has evolved over time. When the cathedral was rebuilt by the Normans, it was designed to have a central tower and two western towers and these were part of its defences. In the 15th century the tower was damaged by lightening strikes on a couple of occasions leading it to be reconstructed with the addition of the to belfry. More and more work has been done over the centuries.
The last part of the climb to the top felt like torture. I am so unfit now due to all the lockdowns. When I kept looking up all I could see was the spiral stairs above, it was rather dispiriting. When I finally saw the door to the outside, I was happy. However that happiness was short lived. When I stepped out onto the roof, it was not how I imagined it would be. First off, while the stone looked very sturdy, there were lots of wide-ish gaps with metal bars between them. While I am under no illusions that I am thin enough to fit through the gaps, or that the stone is flimsy, it just scared me. There
was a girl who looked like a uni student up there and she was saying to her friend she was scared of the edge. I totally understood, it's not so much the height but the edge, the sheer drop, and the thought of falling to my death that put me off going too close. Also, the roof was covered in some kind of weird protective gappy flooring that was on an angle and creaked as you walked across it. While there wasn't too many people up there, only about 6-10, it felt like they were blocking the walkways if I needed to get off, so I stuck to hanging about on the central bit of the platform. All in all, I still got some great views of Durham and the surrounding countryside. You could see for miles. I love the lush greenness of the fields. I kind of wish they had some seats up there to relax on as it was a bit awkward just standing there. After about ten or fifteen minutes, I made my way back down. Going down was a lot less taxing than going up. At the bottom, I tried to get a photo of the
clock that I had seen earlier, but the light wasn't on my side. Also I took a moment to admire the Miners' Gala banner that was hung up, local history being remembered.
There was one part left of the cathedral that I hadn't been to so I made my way there. The Cloister is a covered walkway that was used by the Benedictine Monks, who lived and worshipped in the monastic priory here. The Cloister was originally laid out at the same time as the Norman Cathedral and finished in the late 12th century. However the present format dates back to the 15th century and the tracery (ornamental stonework on the upper windows) is from the 18th century. I had a wander around the Cloister taking in the views of the cathedral's building surrounding it. The views are stunning. The Cloister is also famous as it has appeared in Harry Potter film series as part of Hogwarts. In the centre of the grass is a stone basin that was used by the monks for washing. I liked that, on one of the walls, was the monks' daily schedule. They had quite a lot to do, going to church at
midnight and several other times during the day. At least they had a siesta in the afternoon.
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Shikha
non-member comment
Amazing blog