April 21 – Durham, England. Today we decided to take a short trip north to the city of Durham. It's a fairly small city and the old part of town is very small. Problem is its one of those hilltop castle and cathedral locations that means a walk uphill. Not really a problem after the workout our legs have gotten over the past 4 months.
The drive to Durham was uneventful and we found parking in a shopping mall. It's not free but it's well located. They have a very civilized system to pay for your parking. You park and walk to a pay kiosk located at the exit to the shopping center.
At the kiosk you enter the license number of the car, how long you are staying and put your credit card or cash in, push a button and a parking ticket is issued. Here's where the good part starts. In most lots after you get the ticket you have to walk back to your car and put the ticket on the dash. Not here, you just walk out and go on your way. When you want to leave the lot you drive to the exit, put your ticket in the machine and you're off.
It was pretty easy to get out of the shopping center. The problem was it's also built on the side of a hill and you can exit from several levels. I figured that if we went to the top floor of the center and then hit the streets we'd be closer to the cathedral, and that worked very well. We left the center and after a short walk further up we emerged into Market Square. Strategically, the castle, cathedral and city center are well located. They're on a peninsula formed by a loop in the River Wear. An additional advantage is that the peninsula is also a hill adding height to the walls along the river. If you want to approach it by land you first have to make your way through the city and across Market Square. Then you have to battle you way uphill on narrow streets all the way to the castle. Once you are through the castle you then can assault the cathedral. If you want to approach it by crossing the river you then have to fight up steep banks before you encounter the encircling wall of the castle/cathedral complex. Tough going either way.
When we got up to Palace Green we found the castle to our right and the Cathedral across the green straight ahead. On the way up we stopped at the Tourist Information Center and reserved spots on the 2:30pm castle tour. That meant we had about 1.5 hours to take a look at the Cathedral. The sun was in absolutely the worst place for photos of the Cathedral's exterior and unfortunately, because of the walls, it was not possible to get to the other side.
We went in to discover many people sitting at the back in dark clothing. Seems there's about to be a funeral so we quickly started to look around. They do not allow photos inside the Cathedral. It was built starting in 1093, shortly after the Norman Conquest. The body of St. Cuthbert has been in this location since 995 when a group of monks selected it as a defensible location. Why, you might ask did they wish to move the saint's relics. The simple answer is the Viking raids that started in the early 800s and by 875 they'd had enough. They moved St Cuthbert and other important items to Durham and built a simple wooden structure right away and later built the White Church, probably also of wood. After the Normans took over they thought St. Cuthbert needed a better resting place so they built the Cathedral (formally, The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham). Is it little wonder they call it Durham Cathedral. It is thought by many to be the finest example of Norman architecture in existence. It's another UNESCO World Heritage Site as is the Durham Castle across the green.
In addition to the relics of St Cuthbert it holds the head of St Oswald and the remains of Venerable Bede. The Cathedral was the church of the monastery located here until Henry VIII disbanded them. The library remains and holds one of the most complete collections of books printed in early England, including the pre-dissolution monastic records and three copies of the Magna Carta.
At the time St. Cuthbert was the most revered saint in England so the procession of pilgrims to the Cathedral was impressive. The Bishop quickly added a chapel on each end of the building to accommodate the mass of pilgrims. In 1173 Thomas Becket was canonized and his shrine in York quickly became more popular. Durham is still the site of pilgrimage for many but now it's called tourism.
There have been modifications and additions throughout the years but the greater part of the building is still Norman. When you walk inside and see the thick pillars, the round top arches and the small windows it leaves no doubt that this is true. It's a dark interior that would require a flash, a very steady hand or a very big lens to get decent pictures. It does have a wooden rood screen but I understand that this replaced a stone screen that had been damaged during the Reformation.
It's possible that the no photos sign is up because there's going to be a funeral. Bad timing on my part, but who knew.
One last item, and more of you will probably be impressed by this than anything else I've said about the cathedral, with the digital addition of a spire to the top of its towers, Durham Cathedral was used as part of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
We decided to sit in the sunshine on the green for a while before our tour of the Castle. The Durham Castle was built by the orders of William the Conqueror because he experienced strong resistance in the north of England and wanted a permanent base of operations here. It served as the home and headquarters of the Bishop of Durham. The Bishop of Durham was given secular powers by the king and consequently was a Prince-Bishop, although this office is not legally recognized. He could have his own army, appoint sheriffs, judges, etc. If they ever have another coronation, he will be one of the two bishops that accompany the new monarch during the ceremony.
In 1840 the Bishop gave the building to found the University of Durham and it currently serves as a residence for over 100 students. Most of the University buildings are outside the old city, in other words down the hill. While we were sitting there I noticed that they had created an informal taxi service that would bring students up the hill but unless a car was there waiting most elected to walk down. Since it is an active student residence the only way to get inside is to take the tour. These tours are led by senior students and are not expensive.
Our student leader was a graduate student working on a PhD in Legal Philosophy. I don't think we have that degree in the US. He should make a good lawyer, don't know if he's aiming for solicitor or barrister. I should have asked but I didn't.
Once we were inside the main gate on what today would be called a Quad our guide pointed out the various segments of the building from the oldest part, the keep, to the newest part, the addition of a second floor to the main building. Newest being a term relative to oldest. The newest part is still hundreds of years old. We were allowed to take photos here but not once we were inside the building, privacy issues. It is, after all, a student residence.
The students and faculty of University College eat their meals in Bishop Bek's Great Hall. When built in the early 1300s it was the largest Great Hall in Britain but almost two hundred years later Bishop Foxe shortened it. Still at almost 50 feet high and 100 feet long it's an impressive place. Most meals are served cafeteria style with the students selecting their food on trays near the kitchen and carrying it into the Great Room. However, once a week they serve a sit down meal and since the room is not large enough to seat everyone you have to make a reservation on the internet to attend. Our guide said you get on the site before the reservations open and when they do you, in his words, click, click, click… hoping that one of the clicks will get you then reservation form before they are filled. Apparently the price is very low and the food is very good so hundreds of students are trying to access the site at the same time.
We visited both of the Castle's chapels. The Norman Chapel, built in 1078, is the oldest part of the castle you can visit. Oddly enough the architecture is Anglican. Actually it's not really odd. Most of the Norman (read as French) masons and builders were busy building the Cathedral leaving only local workers (Anglo-Saxons) to build the castle. They built it using the skills they had and those were definitely not Norman. It's fairly small and very dark because in the 1400s it's three windows were all but completely blocked when the Keep was expanded. It was not used until 1840 and then it was only used as a corridor to get to the Keep and the fact that it was a chapel was forgotten. During WWII it was used as a command and observation post by the RAF. While they were in it they discovered its original use and it was reconsecrated and is currently used for weekly services.
Tunstall's Chapel, built in 1540, is much larger and is still heavily used. Some of the seats in the back are misericords (mercy seats) from the original construction. These seats that were designed so that when you stood for parts of the service the seat folded up giving you room to stand. The advantage was that you could rest on the edge of the upturned seat while appearing to stand.
In the 15th century, its three windows were all but blocked up because of the expanded keep. It fell into disuse until 1841 when it was used as a corridor through which to access the keep. During the Second World War, it was used as a command and observation post for the Royal Air Force when its original use was recognized. It was re-consecrated shortly after the war and is still used for weekly services by the college.
We saw several of the halls and artifacts on display from the castle's history on our tour. It was done with great humor and a very enjoyable hour. We walked back down to Market Square and had lunch in the Market Tavern, a very old building on the square. I had their fish and chips. It was haddock, it was huge and it was excellent. I haven't been having any beer because I'm driving and I'm doing it on the wrong side of the road.
The drive back to York was uneventful and we had dinner at the hotel.
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