Saturday 16 March 2013

Durham Cathedral

Two weeks after taking a trip up to the top of The Shard - I thought it was time I had a stroll to the top of my home town "tall building" Durham Cathedral again.

Some facts first:
  • After winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066, it was William the Conqueror's first bishop William of Calais that founded Durham Cathedral in 1093. The Norman architecture is a bit Gothic and Romanesque apparently and influenced a lot of the cathedrals in northern France.
  • In terms of "saints" - the Cathedral has a decent pedigree. It contains the remains of St Cuthbert, the head of St Oswald and the remains of Venerable Bede.
  • In 1538 Henry VIII decided to destroy St Cuthbert's tomb and take all of the treasures. only the ancient paving around the tomb remains intact which is worn by the knees of pilgrims.
The Cloisters
No high speed lift to the top
They could do with some new modern signage mind
Old school structural timber
Don't look down
Bottom left Hatfield College, right Student Union and Kingsgate Bridge, top right Durham Prison
Looking down to the weir
Looking up from the same weir
Quasimodo would love it up here
The Norman castle across the lawn
The best way to visit is by bike - a tired little Hamil on the way home

1 comment:

  1. Some great photos you have there! Especially for a bit of a history geek like myself.

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