Durham

On our way from our holiday up north in October we stopped by in Durham. Making use of the park and ride located just off the M1 we were soon in the city which was surprisingly on a very steep hill.

The city was founded just before the turning of the first Millennium when Anglo Saxon monks settled here with the relics of St Cuthbert hiding from Viking raiders.

Durham is a busy student city with part of the University in the Castle a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Durham Cathedral is a place we've wanted to visit and it didn't disappoint, it's huge and looked amazing with natires autumn colours.

This Anglican Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Durham and is the Shrine of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede. St Cuthbert, an early Christian monk, became Bishop of Lindisfarne on Holy Island. Bede who lived in the late 600s and early 700s was England's first historian, famous for The Ecclesiastical History of the English People which included the life of St Cuthbert.

A replica of the Sanctuary Knocker is quite a welcome on the Cathedral door. Safety and sanctuary is a focus in Christianity and in medieval times anyone who had committed a great offence could rap the knocker and would be given 37 days of sanctuary within the Cathedral.

The Galiee Chapel with it's beautiful arches was initially the Lady Chapel. It is at the far end of the Cathedral and was the area women were allowed within the monastery. In 1022 the relics of St Bede were brought from Jarrow, his tomb is now a place of pilgrimage.

The stone font with its intricate wooden casing stands at the start of the nave. It's quite a sight looking down the 150 metre long nave with it's vaulted ceiling towering 22 metres above. The space is so still, Durham Cathedral has a very calm atmosphere which is enhanced by its vast openness.

The resting place of Prince Bishop Thomas Hatfield is a stunningly colourful tomb, more so when the sun shines through the Cathedral windows. Prince Hatfield was a long serving Bishop holding office from 1345 until 1381.

Behind the Quire is St Cuthbert's Shrine, also a place of pilgrimage. St Cuthbert was buried on Lindisfarne but was moved in the 9th century to Dun Holm. In the mid 1500s King Henry VIII commissioned the Shrine to be dismantled but when uncovered the tomb contained an unconsumed body in priestly clothing instead of the expected dust and bones. This was seen as a sign of St Cuthbert's holiness and the tomb was reinterred.

The cloisters in Durham Cathedral give an inner view of the great towers, a different aspect of the vast building. The cloisters also lead to the Chapter House which was used as Professor McGonagall's classroom in the Harry Potter films. It was a little sad standing there as Dame Maggie Smith who played this magical teacher had passed away only a month earlier, there was certainly an added quietness and air of appreciation surrounding the Chapter House visitors, ourselves included.

We had a lovely visit to this amazing Cathedral that has played, and is still, an important part in Christian life.