08.30          York to Durham

We depart our hotel after breakfast, with a packed lunch and all our luggage and transfer to Edinburgh stopping in Durham en-route.

10.30          Durham Cathedral

‘I unhesitatingly gave Durham my vote for best cathedral on planet Earth.’ (Bill Bryson, Notes from a Small Island.)

For over 900 years the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, Durham, has been a centre for pilgrimage and worship.  We will see the treasuries of St Cuthbert and the Monk's Dormitory.

 

Development of today's Durham City began in 999AD when monks eager to provide a permanent resting place for the body of St. Cuthbert replaced a small wooden structure with a stone Minster.  This was the site of the present Durham Cathedral and the deed marked the beginning of Durham's powerful influence in the Christian world and established it as a centre of learning and pilgrimage.  The Minster was presided over by Bishop Aldhun, acknowledged to be the first Bishop of Durham.  A century later, the wish of William the Conqueror to establish a strong presence in the North of England led to the foundation of Durham Cathedral.  The City of Durham prospered under a succession of Prince Bishops and City Fathers.  When the kinglike powers of the Prince Bishops declined in the 19th century, Durham University was created - the third oldest in the country behind Oxford and Cambridge.

·        The North Door and the Sanctuary Knocker

As the North Door is approached, there is an excellent opportunity to take in the whole of the Cathedral building. The present structure was built on the site of the earlier Saxon 'White Church', to be both a magnificent shrine for the body of St Cuthbert and also home for a community of Benedictine monks.  Planned and begun by Bishop Carileph (1081-1096), the Cathedral was completed in five main stages:

The Nave, Transepts and the Choir built 1093-1133
The Galilee Chapel at the west end built 1173-1189
The Western Towers built 1217-1226
The Chapel of the Nine Altars at the east end built 1242-1274
The Central Tower largely rebuilt 1465-1490.

The North Door dates back to 1140. It is surrounded by a carved stone doorway made up of a series of five orders of arches and pillars.  One of the most striking features of the North Door itself is the bronze, lion-like Sanctuary Knocker attached to the outside and shown in the photograph above.  Throughout the Middle Ages, Durham Cathedral was a place of sanctuary.  A fugitive from the law wishing to claim protection used the knocker to attract the attention of two watchmen in a chamber over the North Door.  He was then admitted to the Monastery and given sanctuary for a maximum of thirty seven days during which time he had to choose between trial and voluntary exile.  If he chose the latter, he was escorted to a port - usually the Bishop's port at Hartlepool - wearing a badge in the shape of the cross of St Cuthbert stitched to his shoulder and carrying a rough wooden cross tied together with rope.  Once at the port, he was required to embark on the next ship that was due to set sail regardless of its destination.

The Sanctuary Knocker attached to the front of the North Door today is, in fact, an exact copy of the original and was placed there in 1980.  The original itself is on display in the Cathedral's museum.

By 1777, the stone doorway itself and the chamber over it were both greatly decayed. John Wooler, the Cathedral architect, therefore took the opportunity to remodel the doorway and - as part of that process - he removed the chamber above.  At the same time, he had the exterior walls of the Cathedral, which had become deeply eroded, chipped away to a depth of two to three inches, thus removing much of the characteristic decoration.  Evidence of the chamber over the door can still be seen in the form of two blocked-up windows on the inside of the Cathedral above the North Door.

·        The Nave

Unlike other examples of Romanesque architecture, Durham has never suffered from partial re-building.  In fact, it is one of the most complete and least altered examples of that school of architecture in Europe.  We can see it today much as its designers intended it to be seen.  Passing into the Cathedral, and standing just in front of the font, we can take in the grandeur of the 900-year-old Nave which measures 61 metres long, 12 metres wide and 22 metres high.  The architectural importance of Durham cannot be overstated.  From the outset, it was planned that the Cathedral would be completely roofed with stone ribbed vaulting.  This was a structural innovation of enormous significance as it became a widely-used feature in later Gothic cathedrals.

Looking down the Nave, the most powerful first impression must surely be of the two rows of massive yet well-proportioned pillars, alternately cylindrical and compound in form.  Each pair of cylindrical pillars is decorated with a simple but striking design carved into the stone consisting of vertical grooves, spirals, zigzags, or diamonds.  The pillars support great, rounded arches.  The huge weight resting on these arches is relieved by the triforium at the second level and then by the clerestory at the third level.  Half arches between the bays of the triforium are, in effect, an embryonic form of flying buttress.

At the west end of the Nave stands the magnificent carved Font Canopy installed in 1663.  This Canopy, which is over 12 metres high, is octagonal with fluted columns and a frieze in the shape of leaves at ground floor level.  Much of the present glass in the Nave windows was installed in recent times.  The glass in the great Jesse Window at the west end of the Nave dates from 1867.  The great sanctity of St Cuthbert prevented burials in his church until late in the Middle Ages. This accounts for the relatively few tombs to be seen by comparison with other cathedrals.

·        The Galilee Chapel

On entering the Galilee Chapel one is struck by its great width - nearly 15 metres - compared with its length.  This was determined by the narrowness of the site between the west end of the Cathedral and the river.  The problem of having to cope with the terrain has, however, resulted in a delightfully airy, almost Moorish feel - a striking contrast to the more ponderous Nave.  The architectural style of the Chapel is late Romanesque.

The Galilee Chapel probably received its name from the fact that it was the final stage in the great procession from the high altar, which signified Christ's return to Galilee.  It is also called the Lady Chapel.  The reason for this has an interesting history. Bishop Pudsey (1153-1195) originally began to erect a Lady Chapel at the east end of the Cathedral.  However, shortly after commencement, cracks began to appear in the walls. This was taken as a sign that St Cuthbert did not want to have a Lady Chapel so close to his tomb.  The bishop then ordered the craftsmen to cease work at the east end and move to the west end of the Cathedral where they began work on the Galilee Chapel.

By the time of Cardinal Langley - bishop from 1406 to 1437 - the Galilee Chapel had become almost ruinous.  Langley re-roofed it, added stone shafts to each of the Purbeck marble pillars, and prevented it slipping into the river Wear far below by strengthening the foundations with huge buttresses on the outside.  As originally built, The Chapel was entered through the Great West Door.  This entrance was blocked up by Langley who made a chantry for himself in front of it, and constructed two new doors into the Nave, one to the north and one to the south.  In the chantry itself there is a fine triptych portraying scenes from the crucifixion of Christ.  This altar-piece - which was given to the Cathedral in 1935 - is thought to be Westphalian in origin and to date from about 1500.

The paintings over the altar in the second bay on the north side are thought to be of St Cuthbert and St Oswald.  The painting of St Cuthbert is shown in the second photograph.  These paintings are amongst the few surviving examples of twelfth century wall painting in Britain.  The centre space, now occupied by a modern wooden cross, originally held a Pieta - a painting of Mary holding the dead Christ in her lap.  The spandrels of the arches in this bay are decorated with crucifixion scenes.

·        St Bede's Tomb

St Bede - the finest scholar of his age - was buried at the monastery of St Paul at Jarrow in 735.  However, in about 1022, his bones were brought to Durham where they were placed with those of St Cuthbert in the Choir.  In 1370, Bede's remains were moved to a splendid shrine in the Galilee Chapel.  This shrine was destroyed during the Reformation in 1540 and Bede's bones were then buried in a grave where the shrine had stood.  Eventually, in 1831, the present tomb was erected over Bede's grave.

·        The South Transept

Perhaps the most striking feature in the South Transept is Prior Castell's Clock.  Prior Castell (1494-1519) erected it in about 1500 and it was renovated in 1630 by Dean Hunt (1620-1638).  Interestingly, the clock survived the devastation by the 3,000 Scots prisoners imprisoned in the Cathedral by Oliver Cromwell after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 - the only wooden thing to do so.  One reason for this may have been out of respect for the Scottish thistle on top of the clock case.  A close look at the clock reveals an oddity.  The main face appears to be divided up into only 48 minutes. The reason for this is, in fact, that the clock originally possessed only one hand - the hour hand.  Each division, therefore, represents not a minute but a quarter of an hour - sufficient accuracy, perhaps, for the medieval mind.

·        The Crossing and the Choir

Standing in front of the pulpit and looking up, one sees the fine ribbed vaulting of the Central Tower over 45 metres above.  The original Norman Tower was was set on fire and largely destroyed by a bolt of lightning on the eve of Corpus Christi in 1429.  The rebuilding of the Central Tower between 1465 and 1490 was the last major work done to the Cathedral before the Reformation.  The master-masons during the rebuilding where first Thomas Barton and then John Bell.  Above the ribbed vaulting is the bell-ringers' chamber, and above that, the belfry with its ten bells which are rung on Thursdays and Sundays.  The total external height of the Central Tower is 67 metres - 325 steps for those who climb it!

·        The High Altar and the Neville Screen

The Neville Screen was a gift from the Neville family in celebration of the victory against the Scots at the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346.  It was made of Normandy limestone and carved in the workshop of the London architect, Henry Yevele.  The completed work was packed in boxes, sent by sea to Newcastle and then brought to Durham in wagons.  It was consecrated in 1380.  The niches of the Screen, now empty, were filled with 107 statues of saints.

·        The South Choir Aisle

Situated in the South Aisle of the Choir is the new Millennium Window. It celebrates the period of one thousand years during which the remains of St Cuthbert have been at Durham.  Designed by Joseph Nuttgens and made by a local glazier called Bernard Seaton, the window was consecrated in 1997.  The upper part of the window depicts scenes from the life and the legend of St Cuthbert.  The lower part illustrates some aspects of the more recent industrial and social history of the region.

·        The Chapel of the Nine Altars

Originally the east end of the Cathedral consisted of three apses but by the thirteenth century these were in a dangerous condition and needed to be rebuilt.  The Chapel of the Nine Altars was originally planned by Bishop le Poor (1229-1237).  His architect was Richard of Farnham, who may have used suggestions from Elias of Dereham - the architect who built Salisbury Cathedral for Bishop le Poor when he was in that See.  The construction of the Chapel eventually took place between 1242 and 1274.  There were so many pilgrims wishing to attend Mass and to receive blessings each day that nine altars were provided.  That is how the Chapel got its name.

·        The Monks' Door

On the south west side of the Cathedral is the Monks' Door which leads out into the Cloisters.  Looking at the well-preserved, stone arch of the doorway within the Cathedral, one is struck not only by the quality of the carving of both beasts and foliage, but also by the beauty of the stone itself.  The wooden door dates from 1130, as does the original strap iron tracery which decorates and strengthens it on the outside.

·        St Cuthbert's Tomb

At the south door of the feretory containing the tomb of St Cuthbert is a wooden plaque on which is carved the following: ‘Borne by his faithful friends from his loved home of Lindisfarne here, after long wanderings, rests the body of St Cuthbert in whose honour William of St Carileph built this cathedral church and at his side lies buried the head of St Oswald King of Northumbria and martyr, slain in battle by the heathen whom he so long defied.’

St Cuthbert's body was laid to rest on the Peninsula at Durham in 995.  In 1104, his remains, together with the head of the warrior king St Oswald, were placed in a glorious shrine behind the high altar of the present Cathedral.  At that stage, the saint's body was still in a good state of preservation.  The fame of this and many other miracles brought huge numbers of pilgrims - monarchs, nobles and commoners - to his shrine. However, during the Reformation in 1540, the shrine was dismantled and the relics buried on the spot where the shrine had stood.

In 1827 the tomb was reopened to reveal a series of coffins containing a skeleton swathed in silk.  The earliest of the coffins, together with St Cuthbert's pectoral cross and some unique embroidered stoles were removed and can now be seen in the Cathedral's Treasury Museum.  The bones themselves were replaced in the grave.  The stones round the tomb slab were part of the medieval shrine.

13.00          Durham to Edinburgh

We continue our journey north to the Forth Bridges Hotel in Edinburgh for an evening meal and activities.

The hotel is in a stunning setting overlooking the famous Firth of Forth Bridges and has excellent facilities including a leisure centre with an indoor pool. Just twenty minutes from the centre of Edinburgh, this is the perfect hotel for visiting the sights including the Castle and Museums.