DURHAM

CATHEDRAL

AN ADDRESS
DELIVERED

SEPTEMBER

24, I879.

BY

W I L LIA M G R E E NWELL,
M.A.. D.C.L.. F.R.S.. F.S.A.

THIRD EDITION.
WITH PLAN AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Durham :
ANDREWS & CO.. 64. S A D D L E R
1889.

STREET.

D U R H A M :
THOS.

CALDCLEUGH,

PRINTER.

70.

SADDLER

STREET.

TO

William

THE

ILLUSTRATE
WHICH
HAVE

OF

of S a i n t C a r i l e f
THIS

TO

MEMORY

HIS

ATTEMPT
THE

NOBLE

GENIUS

AND

BEQUEATHED
IS

TO

DEDICATED.

53494

CHURCH
PIETY
US

PREFACE.
THE

following account of the Cathedral Church of
Durham was addressed to the members of the
Berwickshire Naturalists' Club and the Durham and
Northumberland Archaeological and Architectural Society,
at a joint meeting of the Societies, held in the Cathedral,
on September 24, 1879.
This will explain the form under which it appears, and,
it is to be hoped, excuse the colloquial and somewhat
desultory way in which the subject is treated.
It was not the intention of the author of the address,
when it was given, that it should appear in any other form
than that of an abstract in the Transactions of the Societies
to which it was delivered.
Several of his friends, however, have thought that
printed in externa it might be of service as a Guide
Book to the Cathedral, and supply what has been too
long wanting in illustration of the Church of Durham.
To this wish he has assented, but with some reluctance,
feeling how inadequate is such a treatment of a subject so
important.
Some additional matter has been supplied in the notes
which will help to make it more useful than it was in its
original form.

PREFACE.

vi.

Though no pretence is made to completeness, the reader
may rest assured that all statements are given upon authority, and that no source of information which was available
has been neglected.
The author thankfully acknowledges the assistance he
has received from the Rev. J. F. HODGSON and Mr.
C H A R L E S C. H O D G E S .

He has also to express his many

obligations to Mr. LIDDLE and Mr. WEATHERALL, the
obliging and well-informed vergers of the Cathedral, who
take that intelligent interest in the building which it is
to be wondered should be wanting in any one who is
brought into relation with the Cathedral Church, also to
Mr. THOMAS A T K I N S O N , sub-verger,

whose

keen

and

appreciative eye has enabled him to bring uuder the
author's notice many and important points of detail.

DURHAM,

September, 1881.

DURHAM

FROM

THE

RAILWAY

STATION.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL:
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN THE CATHEDRAL, ON, SEPTEMBER
24TH, 1879, TO THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB,
AND THE DURHAM AND NORTHUMBERLAND ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY,
BY THE

REV. W I L L I A M G R E E N W E L L , M.A., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A.
to divide
say
parts;
I PROPOSEcommencingwhat I ahave toaccountinto two earliest
the first
with brief
of the
introduction of Christianity into the North of England,
bringing the history down through the period before there
was any religious body whatever at Durham, and from
thence to the time of the Norman Conquest and the
establishment of the Benedictine Order here. After that, I
will give the historical facts which have relation to the
erection of various parts of the Cathedral, and at the same
time endeavour to show how the architectural features of
the several parts themselves agree with the historical data
which bear upon them.
With regard to the first introduction of Christianity, I do
not think there is any evidence to prove that it had taken
root during the time of the Roman occupation. There is
abundant testimony indeed of various kinds to show that
Christianity did then exist in several parts of Britain, but I
am not aware that there is anything which would enable us
to say that it was established here in the North of England,
at all events to any appreciable extent. There may have
been isolated instances of Christians, but that they were
few seems to be shown by the fact that all the inscriptions
and sculptured subjects upon the many Roman stones, still
B

2

DURHAM

CATHEDRAL.

in existence, down to the latest period of the Roman rule,
are pagan. 1
As I proceed in my relation I shall have to bring before
you a number of great figures—men, some of them of
extraordinary eminence, capacity and religious zeal in their
several times and places. The first of whom I have to
speak is Paulinus (625-633), the great missionary of the
North of England in the earliest time, who had been consecrated bishop to accompany Ethelburga, daughter of
Ethelbert, king of Kent, when she was sent as bride to
Edwin, king of the Northumbrians. He preached throughout the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, in which are
comprised the present counties of Northumberland, Durham
and Yorkshire, together with South-Eastern Scotland up
to the Frith of Forth. There are several places well known
to many of you where he taught and baptised, one of which,
Pallinsburn, near the site of the w7ell-known Field of
Flodden, may possibly have got its name from him. The
Derwent, the Eure and the Swale, in Yorkshire, and the
Glen, in Northumberland, are rivers associated with his
mission, and his traditionary well at Holystone, in the
valley of the Coquet, where he baptised, is familiar to most
of us. He was obliged, A.D. 633, to leave the country,
when, after the death of Edwin, slain in the battle of
Haethfelth (Hatfield, near Doncaster), 2 Northumbria was
conquered by Penda, king of Mercia, and Cadwalla, a king
of the Britons, and in a great measure relapsed, with its two
kings, into paganism. 3 I now come to one of the greatest
1
The few examples of the cross found are either of pagan workmanship and allusive to pagan faiths, or are at the least doubtful.
One notable exception occurred at Gorbridge, in the case of a silver
vessel, now lost, ornamented with six squares, each containing the
Christian monogram, formed of XP. Camden's Britannia, Ed.
Oough, Vol. iii., p. 250. Hodgson's Northumberland, Vol. iii., pt. ii. r
p. 246. Bruce, Lapidarium Septentrionale, p. 342.
2
Beda, Hist. Eccles., Lib. ii., cap. 20.
3
Beda, Lib. iii., cap. 1.

DUEHAM CATHEDBAL.

3

names of Northumbria—Oswald, who is so intimately associated with the Church of Durham, in connection with its
patron, Saint Outhbert. A son of Ethelfrith, of the royal
house of Bernicia, he fled from his country when a youth,
and took refuge in Scotland, where he became a convert to
the Christian faith. On his return to his own country, after
defeating and killing Cadwalla at Hefenfelth (Heavenfield,
now St. Oswald's), near Hexham, in 634, 1 he was the means
of introducing Christianity into his kingdom. I shall now
have a few words to say with regard to the place from
whence Northumbrian Christianity came. I refer to Iona.
Iona, which many of you will know, is a small, low-lying,
sterile, inhospitable island upon the west coast of Scotland,
and the last place likely to be selected for a residence. It
was chosen, however, by a great Irishman, descended from
two of the lines of Irish kings, his name Columba (521-597).
He was a man in whom the opposing characteristics of his
race were strongly blended, and endowed with such powers
of body and mind as would have made an admirable soldier
and commander, had his energies been turned in that
direction. The early part of his life was intermixed with
the feuds then prevailing in his own land, and he was the
cause, not without fault, of much bloodshed, and was
compelled in consequence to leave his native country. An
exile from all he loved, he came to Iona (A.p. 563), and
there settled, and never, except for a time, returned to
Ireland, which was so dear to him, and to which, through
all his life, his most earnest longings ever turned. He lived
at Iona, where he founded a great missionary church, and
whence the Christian faith was diffused throughout a
considerable part of Scotland. There were other influences
x
The battle seems to have been fought near St. Oswald's, but
Cadwalla fell at a place, on the south and opposite side of the Tyne,
called Denisesburna, from the rivulet Denis, now Kowley-water,
which flows into the Devil's Water above Dilston. Beda, Lib. iii.,
cap. 1, 2.

4

DUKHAM CATHEDRAL.

through which it was spread in that country, but we must
look to Oolumba and to lona as the principal centre and
source of Christianity in Scotland. W e can never think of
lona without a deep feeling of veneration and regard, and
no Scotchman can visit or speak of it without strong
emotion. lona will always live in the memory of Scotland,
and her heart ever beats with a fervent throb at the name.
I know not of any country in Christendom more imbued
with stronger religious feeling and more fervour than
Scotland, and doubtless she owes much of it to St. Oolumba
and his island home. Here, in Durham, too, and throughout all the North of England, we cannot recall lona but
with deep feelings of thankfulness, for it is impossible to
do so without remembering that from it was extended to us
Christianity and its accompanying civilisation. To return
to Oswald. After the defeat of Oadwalla, Oswald then
became firmly seated as king of the Northumbrians, and
immediately afterwards he sent to lona for help in his
endeavours to convert his people to Christianity. lona
responded to his call, and gave him at first Corman, 1 who
failed, however, in his mission on account, as it is said, of
his too great harshness. A monk named Aidan (635-651)
at once supplied his place, and amply fulfilled the expectations that had been formed of him. After Paulinus's
departure, Christianity to a great extent had disappeared
from Northumbria, and it remained in that condition until
Aidan's arrival. We know much about Aidan, and all we
know of him shows that he was a man of great religious
vigour and zeal, as well as piety, of tender charity,
gentleness and humility, and also of admirable tact. Beda
informs us about him, and though he is not an altogether
friendly witness, on account of the differences about the
keeping of Easter and the tonsure, he speaks of him in
1
Neither Beda (Hist. Eccles., Lib. iii., cap. 5) nor Fordun give the
name. That ascribed by Hector Boetius is adopted for convenience.
Hist. Scotorum, Lib. ix., Ed. Paris, Ascensius, fol. clxxxi.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

5

1

terms of the highest praise. Oswald, with whom he was
most intimately connected, the king often acting as interpreter when the bishop preached, 2 fell in battle, in his
thirty-eighth year, at Maserfelth, probably near Oswestry,
in Shropshire, A.D. 642, 3 in fighting against Penda, the old
pagan king of Mercia, who had conquered Northumbria
before the time of Oswald. He defeated Oswald, and slew
him, using great barbarity. He cut off and exposed his
arms 4 and head. His head afterwards came to Lindisfarne,
and ever after became associated with St. Cuthbert. W e
always hear of them together, St. Cuthbert being usually
represented as carrying King Oswald's head, which was
buried with him at Lindisfarne, and ultimately at Durham.
Perhaps it may not be here out of place to say a few
words with respect to Ireland as a source, not alone of
religion, but of art. I t is entitled to our regard and attention on account of our Christianity having been introduced
from it through Iona, and for other reasons about which I
have to speak.
Ireland was then one of the principal
centres of missionary work, and sent religious ambassadors
to a large part of Europe, throughout the seventh, eighth,
and ninth centuries. It was also the country whence art
at that time was widely diffused. The art which we are
accustomed to call Anglo-Saxon, and which is sometimes
incorrectly known as Runic, is purely Irish. Almost all
the art ornamentation in use at that time in our own
country upon stone and metal and in books, originated
there. It exists to the present day throughout all ancient
Northumbria upon the numerous sepulchral and other
1

Beda, Lib. iii., cap. 3, 5,17, 25. 26.
Beda, Lib. iii., cap. 3. Symeon, Libellus de exordio Dunelmensis
Ecclesise, Lib. i., cap. 1, p. 17, Ed. Bedford.
3
Beda, Lib. iii., cap. 9.
4
His arms and hands, the right one remaining incorrupt in
accordance with the prayer of Aidan, were preserved in a silver
shrine in the church of St. Peter at Bamborough. Beda, Lib, iii.,
cap. 6, 12.
2

6

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

crosses of stone, fragmentary or complete, which are found
on the site of nearly all our pre-Conquest churches. 1 Into
the principles of this art I cannot at this time and place
pretend to enter fully. It has but little in common with
classical or oriental art, and does not appear to have been
developed anywhere except in Britain and Ireland, and to
some extent in parts of South Germany, Switzerland, and
the neighbouring- districts of France. In Ireland, however,
this special art ornamentation reached its highest excel] ency.
The power of design and execution, especially as shewn in
the manuscripts, is truly most remarkable. This principle
of art is in the main based on a spiral reversing itself, which
becomes joined on to an elaborate interlacing pattern,
probably originating in late-Roman mosaic work.
This
union produced that marvellous system of ornamentation,
as subtle and intricate in its conception as it is delicate and
skilful in its execution, which is found so beautifully
expressed in many of the early books, written both in Ireland
and our own country, and in none more exquisitely than in
the Lindisfarne Gospels, which was until the Dissolution
preserved at Holy Island, but is now in the British Museum.
We have in the Cathedral Library another very fine example,
consisting of a fragmentary copy of the Gospels, equally
beautiful with the Lindisfarne Gospels, and no doubt also
written at that place, and possibly by the same scribe. 2
1

Fragments of many of these crosses, some of them very beautiful
examples, from various places in Northumbria, are preserved in the
Cathedral Library.
2
The Lindisfarne G-ospels was written by Eadfrith in honour of
God and St. Cuthbert, and all the saints in the island. Eadfrith
ruled as bishop over the Lindisfarnensian Church from 698 to 721,
but the book was probably written before he became bishop. The
ornamentation was the work of iEthelwold, who was bishop from
724 to 740. Bilfrith, the anchorite, added the jewelled binding".
The interlinear English gloss was made by Aldred, the priest, about
the middle of the tenth century. These several facts are recorded
in an entry at the end of the book, in the handwriting of Aldred.

DUEHAM CATHEDEAL.

'/

When Oswald (A.D. 635) placed Aidan at Lindisfarne 1
(now called Holy Island), or more probably when Aidan
himself selected that spot for a religious settlement, he
found it singularly resembling the place from whence he
had come. I t is a small, low-lying, sandy and unfertile
island, not far distant from the mainland, of which, indeed,
for some hours of each day, it almost forms a part. Both
Lindisfarne and Iona are exposed to all the storms from the
ocean, and to those of the opposite highlands, and in other
respects also are much alike, and I cannot but think that
Aidan was induced to settle at Lindisfarne, partly from a
sentiment of affection, because of this likeness to the island
where he had received his education, and where he became
so deeply imbued with a true Christian spirit. Lindisfarne, 2
like Iona, must always hold a deep place in the affections of
Northumbria, nor can we visit that hallowed site, or view
the crumbling remains of its venerable and most interesting
church, without being strongly moved. The religious body
established on the island by Aidan was fostered by that
great and most virtuous of kings—Oswald—and there the
bishop and the monks remained for many years. But before
I bring you away from Lindisfarne to Chester-le-Street
1
The island itself is not properly called Lindisfarne, but is the
island off the Lindisfarnensian land (terra Lindisfarnensis). The
word appears to be compounded of the names of two small rivulets,
the Lindis, now the Low, and the Waren, under the form of Fame.
The Low fall's into the sea almost opposite Holy Island, the Waren, a
little to the north of the group of islands called the Fame. The
terra Lindisfarnensis, however, extended far beyond the limits of
the territory comprised between these rivulets, and included a
considerable tract of country north of the river Tweed. Historia de
S. Cuthberto, Symeon of Durham. Surtees Society, Vol. li., p. 140.
Leland, Collectanea, Vol. i., p. 366, Ed. 1770.
2
Ecce ascclesia S. Cuthberti sacerdotum Dei sanguine aspersa
omnibus spoliata ornamentis. Locus cunctis in Britannia
venerabilior paganis gentibus datum ad depraedandum. Alcuin,
Epistola ad iEdilredum Regem. Opera, I., p. 20, Epibt. xii., Ed.
Ratisbon, 1777. Will. Malm., Gesta Regum. Ed. Hardy, ii., p. 103.

8

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

and from thence to Durham, there is a figure which
rises before us, and compels our earnest attention—the
figure of the great Saint of North Northumbria, our patron
Saint at Durham—Cuthbert. His genealogy is disputed,
but there is little question that he was of Anglian and not
of Celtic origin. He was probably of humble parentage,
although a noble descent has been claimed for him. We
hear of him first as a shepherd boy in the south of Scotland,
not far from Melrose, the monastery at which place he
entered, and where he received instruction in religion, Kata,
his predecessor as bishop at Lindisfarne, being then abbot.
He afterwards became a great evangelist, and preached
throughout a large part of Northern Northumbria, then
extending through the east of Scotland up to the Frith of
Forth. He became bishop 1 much against his will, and had
he chosen his own lot he would never have ruled over the
Bernician See, but have lived on in retirement from human
kind as a hermit upon the adjoining island of Fame, to
which, nine years before, in 676, he had retired from
Lindisfarne. I cannot but think, and Beda's account of
him quite justifies the thought, that he must have had other
qualities than those of the ascetic which induced the people
to select him so persistently for their spiritual ruler. We
know that he was a great missionary, and that he preached
with much effect, but he must also, like Aidan, have had a
conciliatory spirit, kindness, firmness, discretion, and the
skill to rule. He certainly possessed eminent self-control
and patience, great persuasive power and deep sympathy.
H e became bishop at Lindisfarne, A.D. 685, and after a
1
He was chosen bishop, first to Hexham, but was immediately
transferred to Lindisfarne by bis own choice. The election took
place at a synod held under King Ecgfrith, Archbishop Theodore
presiding, ad Tuifirdi (at the two fords) on the river Alne. This
place was probably situated near the present Alnmouth, though
Whittingham, also, like Alnmouth, an early Anglian settlement,
with the remains of a pre-Conquest church, has been claimed as the
site. Beda, Hist. Eccles., Lib. iv., cap. 28. Vita S. Cuthberti, cap. 24.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

9

short but vigorous and beneficent ministration, died on the
great Fame, A.D. 687, to which, knowing that his death
was near at hand, he had some weeks before returned.
The account given by Beda brings before us very vividly
the events of his last illness, as related by Herefrith the
abbot, and his parting words emphasise very strongly the
character of the Saint. 1 His bod}' was taken to Lindisfarne
and there buried. Eleven years after his death it was
disinterred, the monks having, in the meantime, prepared a
coffin in which to place it. They naturally expected to find
a skeleton, but they found the body incorrupt. 2 They then
placed it in the coffin which they had prepared, and,
probably, with the exception of coffins from Egypt, this is
one of the oldest wooden coffins of which remains still
exist. Fragments of large portions of it are preserved in
the Cathedral Library. Reginald, a monk at Durham, who
was living during the latter part of the twelfth century,
the author of an account of the miracles of St. Cuthbert,
and who had opportunities of carefully examining it, says it
had upon it representations of various figures cut out in the
wood. Many of these figures still remain on the fragments
of the coffin preserved at Durham, and the description given
by him so fully agrees with the character of the work, that
there cannot be the slightest doubt that in these remains we
have portions of the coffin made before A.D. 698. The
letters, for some of the figures have the names attached, are
also markedly of the form in use at that time.
I must now mention another great name—that of Beda,
the Venerable, as he is commonly called. He wrote a life
of St. Cuthbert, and he therefore becomes very intimately
connected with the great Saint of the North. Beda was
possessed of high attainments and culture. He was not,
perhaps, a man of action, and I do not know but that he
passed his whole life more or less'in seclusion, not mixing
1
2

Beda, Vita S. Cuthberti, cap. 27, seq.
Beda, Hist. Eccles., Lib. iv., cap. 30. Vita S. Cuthberti, cap. 42.

10

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

in the world. He was emphatically a student, and remarkable for great personal religion. He is, indeed, an instance
of, for his time, extraordinary learning, of much simplicity
of life and character, and of eminent and unselfish piety.
Who is there that can read the account of his partingmoments, and the story of his death, without emotion ? I
think there can be nothing more affecting. 1 He was a
great writer, and second to none as a historian.
His
history contains, no doubt, many things which modern
investigation has shewn to be incorrect. That arose,
however, not from any fault in his own mind, but because
the evidence of facts now familiar to us was then quite
unknown. When we think of him, we recall to mind—nor
does Beda suffer by this recollection—the great Greek
historian, Herodotus. He was also an eminent theologian,
and, indeed, was well versed in every branch of literature
then understood. He was truly a great man, and amongst
the most eminent of the scholars who lived at that time.
W e possess at Durham not only the bones of Cuthbert, but
those also of Beda. He died at Jarrow, A.D. 785, and was
there buried. There lived, however, in the monastery at
Durham, a monk, Elfred Westou, who was greatly attached
to the memory of St. Cuthbert, and who had charge of his
body. He thought that two such men should rest together.
Can we blame him for his wish, or for the way in which he
attained its fulfilment? He^took an opportunity of carrying off the bones of Beda from Jarrow, and removed them
to Durham, and here they yet remain. 2
I must now pass over a considerable period, and come to
the year 875, when our connection with Lindisfarne ceases
to a certain extent. At that time the great Scandinavian
invasions were assuming large proportions, and among
1
The account of his death \s given by one of his disciples, Cuthbert,
in a letter to a fellow disciple, Cuthwin, and is to be found in
Symeon's History of the Church of Durham, Lib. i., cap. 15.
2
Symeon, Lib. iii., cap. 7, p. 161.

DUEHAM CATHEDRAL.

11

other parts of England where the Danes landed and harried
the country was the coast of Northumbria.
The monks
fled from Lindisfarne. I mentioned before' that I thought
Lindisfarne had been selected by Aidan because of its
resemblance to lona. I think there was probably another
reason for the choice—its neighbourhood to the stronghold
of Bamborough, the seat of the Northumbrian kings.
Lindisfarne is very near to it, and naturally would be under
the protection of the king, who lived there. Bamborough,
however, proved no great protection against the Danes,
who came over the sea, and landing on the coast, then overran the country. The monks, fearing lest they should be
deprived of the Saint's body and their other treasures, and
of their lives as well, fled from Lindisfarne, carrying with
them, in accordance with his own command, the body of
the Saint. They travelled, not only over a great part of the
north of England, but also over a considerable portion of
the south of Scotland; and many churches dedicated to St.
Cuthbert in those parts probably mark the spots where the
monks rested for a while with the body of the Saint. After
wandering from 875 to 883, having remained for a short
time at Crayke, they settled at Chester-le-Street, 1 which
was given to them by Guthred, a Danish king then reigning
in Northumbria, and who had become a Christian. Chesterle-dtreet, unlike Lindisfarne, is inland, and stands upon the
site of a Roman station. It possesses no great natural
provisions for defence, but it is likely that some considerable
remains of the old Roman walls were standing, which may
have served as a protection against these Northern rovers.
There are a few relics of the monks' sojourn at Chester-leStreet still left there in the shape of crosses, which are
decorated with that peculiar sculpture to which I have
already referred as of Irish origin. There the body rested,
and from it the Bernician See was ruled, until the removal
of Bishop Aldhun and the congregation of St. Cuthbert,
1
Symeoxi, Lib. ii., cap. 13, p. 120.

12

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

after a short sojourn at Ripon, to Durham in 995. 1 The
difficulties of an adequate defence probably proved to the
monks that Chester-le-Street was not a suitable place for
their protection. The superior position of Durham was, no
doubt, the reason why it was selected for the site of the
See. This, then, was the commencement of the Church
and City of Durham.
The site chosen for the final resting-place of the body of
the patron Saint of Northumbria, is a plateau, small in
extent, but enclosed by precipitous banks, and having the
river running almost entirely round it, its course assuming
the shape of a horse shoe. So strong, indeed, is its position
that in those days it was all but impregnable.
You will bear with me for a few moments while I take
you outside the building, and beg you to call to memory
and picture in your mind's eye the marvellous position
which it occupies. 2 No grander one can be conceived.
Rising high above the surrounding river, which clasps it
about in its protecting embrace, upon steep, rocky and
wooded banks, in near connection and combination with the
neighbouring but not rivalling castle, it forms a picture
scarcely to be excelled, and whose beauties no other scene
can ever efface. There is a reflection which will naturally
occur to you when you review this position; you will recall
the site of many other great monasteries, and contrast them
with this at Durham. The contrast is indeed great. As a
rule, the chosen place for the settlement of a monastic
house, if it was not in an already existing town, was in
some retired and low-lying spot, on a rich and sheltered
^ y m e o n , Lib. iii., cap. 1, p. 140.
2
An early English poem. Be situ Dunelmi, ascribed to Aelf red, a
Durham ecclesiastic living in 1060, gives a graphic description of
Durham as it appeared not many years after its foundation. I t has
been printed in Hickes, Thesaur. Ling. Sept., Vol i., p. 178; Wright,
Reliquiae Antiquse, Vol. i., p. 159; Preface to the Lindisfarne
G-ospels, Surtees Society, Vol. xlviii., p. xxxii.; and in Symeon of
Durham. Surtees Society. Vol. li., p. 153.

DUEHAM CATHEDRAL.

13

piece of land by the banks of some river well stored with
fish, and where the surrounding hills closed it in from the
blasts of inclement storms, and from the eye of the world
without. 1 All spoke there of peace and contemplation, of
seclusion from the ordinary life of strife, trouble and unrest,
and of a longing for calm and repose to come, but as yet
only dimly shadowed, in the quiet places where they dwelt.
Here, at Durham, was the very opposite. The church
fronted the world as if in defiance, alike regardless of the
tempest which beat against its massive walls, as its inmates
were in strong antagonism to the ignorance, oppression and
cruelty which raged around. The castle also, so near, so
intimate, suggests another reflection. At Durham we
cannot sever the connection between the bishop and the
monks. The unity of the old congregation of St. Cuthbert
still lingers about the place, and the monastery takes its
stand alongside the castle on the rocky height, as part of a
great defensive and protective work, equally against a
spiritual as against an earthly foe.
In 999, Bishop Aldhun, having commenced it three years
before, completed the building of a stone church, 2 to which
the body of St. Cuthbert was transferred from a wooden
building, cecchsiola Symeon calls it, 3 where it had been at
first placed. Of that church I do not know that a single
stone remains visible to the eye, though there are, no doubt,
1
A retired site was one more peculiarly selected by the Cistercians, the Benedictine order frequently placing its monastic houses
in towns. The preference for different situations by various orders
has been expressed in the couplet :
Oppida Franciscus, magnas Ignatius urbes,
Bernardus valles, montes Benedictus amabat.
2
Symeon, Lib. iii., cap. 2, p. 144, cap. 4, p. 148. It is difficult to
reconcile what Symeon says here about the completion and dedication
of the church, with what, in chap, v., p. 152, he says of Aldhun, "qui
de ascclesia quam incseperat solam turrim occidentalem imperfectam
reliquit, cujus perfectionem et dedicationem ejus successor
adimplevit."
3
Symeon, Lib. iii., cap. 1, p. 142.

14

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

thousands of the stones belonging to it enclosed within these
walls. This building remained until after the Norman
Conquest, a great change having taken place in the
meantime. The monks, who with the bishop had originally
constituted the congregation of St. Cuthbert, had fallen
from the rule which was at first observed. There was in
those days a great tendency among the regular clerg}7 in
the Saxon church to degenerate into a kind of secular
clergy. Symeon says those at Durham were neither monks
nor regular canons. 1 At Durham, as at Hexham and
elsewhere, they were married and had families, and there
was rapidly springing up an hereditary priesthood, son
succeeding father, 2 and had that system gone on, there
would have arisen a sacerdotal caste, with all the evils
attending such a body. The Norman Conquest happily
did away with that, as it did with other abuses. I incline
to think that some remains connected with these pre-Conquest Saxon clergy were discovered when, in 1874, the
foundations of the east end of the old Chapter-house, which
was so ruthlessly destroyed in 1796, were laid bare. Just
outside of the east wall of the present Chapter-house the
graves of Bishops Ranulph Flambard, Galfrid Rufus and
William de St. Barbara were met with, each covered with a
slab bearing his name, probably not quite contemporary,
and in them were found three episcopal rings of gold, set
with sapphires, and in the grave of Flambard the head,
made of iron, plated with silver, and the iron ferule, of a
pastoral staff, all of which are now preserved in the Library.
Much to our surprise, below the level of the bishops' graves
there were found a considerable number of skeletons of
men, women and children, with one of which was deposited
1
Nam neque sui ordinis ibi monachos, neque regulares repperivit
canonicos. Symeon, Lib. iv., cap. 11, p. 220 ; Lib. iii., cap. 18, p.
193 ; Lib. iv., cap. 3, p . 224 ; Praefatio, p. 3.
2
Symeon, Lib. iii., cap. 1, p. 143. See a paper by Mr. W. H. D.
Longstaffe, The Hereditary Sacerdotage of Hexham, Archseologia
JSliana, N.S., Vol. iv., p. 11.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

15

the iron head of a spear, having the socket plated with
gold. 1 There can, I think, be little doubt that the bodies
found at a lower level than the graves of the bishops, those
skeletons of men, women, and children, belonged to the
married clergy and their families, who occupied the
monastery at Durham from the time of Aldhun to the time
when they were dispossessed by Bishop William of St. Carilef.
I have already alluded to the congregation of St. Cuthbert,
but of that body I must give you some further, if it be but
slight, account. The religious community, the congregation
of St. Cuthbert, which ultimately settled at Durham,
included the bishop and the monks. The two formed one
body, whose interests were identical, and whose property
was in common, and the bishop lived among the monks,
over whom he ruled within the community, as he ruled over
the diocese without, having no estates or means of subsistence separate from the congregation of which he formed
a part. 2 This unity between the bishop and the monks was
very similar to that which prevailed among the religious
communities in Ireland and Scotland. The system went on
at Durham until the establishment of the Benedictine order
there, shortly after the Norman Conquest, by Bishop William
of Saint Carilef. He was the second bishop appointed by
William the First, Walcher, the first Norman bishop, 3 having
1
It is a curious fact that the heads of the bishops discovered
during" the course of this examination were eminently brachyoephalic or round-headed, whilst those of the persons buried beneath
were as markedly dolicho-cephalic or long-headed. See a paper
giving an account of the excavations, by the Rev. J. T. Fowler,
F.S.A., Archseologia, Vol. xlv., p. 385.
2
There can, I think, be no doubt that this was the ancient
arrangement, though at first sight Symeon's statement (Lib. iv., cap.
3, p. 226), "Antiqua enim ipsius secclesias hoc exigit consuetudo, ut
qui Deo coram Sancti Cuthberti corpore ministrant, segregatas a
terris Episcopi suas habeant," might appear to be inconsistent with
this view. The question has been fully discussed by me in Feodarium
Prioratus Dunelmensis. (Surtees Society, Vol. lviii., p. 14.)
3
It had been Walcher's intention to place monks at Durham, and

16

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

reigned only a short time, when he was killed by his own
people at Gateshead, during a rebellion caused by the
oppression of his officials.1 William of Saint Carilef, abbot
as Symeon tells us, he had not only laid the foundations of the
monastic building-s, as they existed in his time, but had began to
build, when his death put a stop to the work. " XJnde positis
fundamentis, Monachorum habitaCula. ubi nunc habentur, Dunhelmi
construere coepit." Lib. iii., cap. 22, p. 207.
I think it not improbable that in the wall on the east side of the
cloister and to the south of the Chapter-house, there still remain
portions of the haditaoula begun by Bishop Walcher. The masonry
is of a kind different from any other used either in the Cathedral
itself or the domestic buildings connected with it, being entirely of
rubble stones without any squared ones. The walls also are much
thinner than those of the later work of the Norman period. There
is also a feature which is indicative of early masonry on the inner
side of the wall in question, immediately to the south of the wall of
the Chapter-house—a triangular-headed recess. Any building erected
in Bishop Walcher's time would almost certainly proceed from the
hands of native masons, and would naturally be of the same kind
as that to which they were accustomed. In this respect the wall
and the recess quite agree with the suggested time of their erection.
I t is also probable that the early work extends as far as to the
south end of the Prior's hall, now the ante-room of the Deanery, in
which a large window of Prior Castell's time is inserted. I n the
west wall of the same hall, above the cloister roof, is still to be seen
a window, now blocked up. It has a semi-circular head, and is much
wider in proportion to its height than the Norman windows of later
date. It was probably one of the windows lighting the original
dormitory, if, as is likely, that building occupied the south part of the
eastern range of the cloister, its usual position in a monastic house.
If I am right in attributing this wall to Bishop Walcher, then the
crypt on the east side of the passage leading from the cloister into
the College, and situated under the Deanery ante-room, and also the
crypt under the Refectory, described later on (p. 19), are both the
work of the same bishop.
1
The bishop had met the leaders of the people in the church and
endeavoured to bring about a peaceable issue. On their retiring the
tumult increased, and the cry was raised, " Short rede good rede, slay
ye the bishop." Roger de Wendover, Ed. Coxe., vol. ii., p. 18. The
church was fired, and Walcher fell pierced by the spears of his
enemies. Symeon, Lib. iii., cap. 24, p. 213.

DUKHAM OATHEDKAL.

17

of Saint Vincent, became bishop in 1081. Originally a secular
priest, he afterwards became a monk in the monastery of
Saint Carilef, and such an establishment of married clergy
as that he found at Durham must have been most distasteful
to him. A Benedictine monk himself, he naturally preferred
being surrounded by religious of his own order, and not by
those of whose system he disapproved. In the time of
Bishop Walcher, the ancient monasteries at Jarrow and
Wearmouth were, to a great extent, though probably not
altogether, deserted, and had been so since they were laid
waste by the Danes. 1 The present church at each of these
places contains portions which are probably as old as any in
this country, and there can be no doubt that the lower part
of the tower (portions ingressus), and the west end of the nave
at Monk Wearmouth, were built by Benedict Biscop towards
the end of the seventh century. The chancel at Jarrow has
been attributed to the same time and builder, but there are
features in it difficult to account for consistently with this
supposition. Into this question, however, I cannot now
enter. I would strongly urge any of you, who have not
already been to Jarrow and Wearmouth, to visit those two
ancient Christian sites, which possess the highest interest,
whether they are regarded ecclesiastically or with reference
to their architectural features. At these two places Bishop
Walcher had settled Aldwine, a Benedictine monk, formerly
prior of Winchcombe, and two others, his companions, from
Evesham, 2 giving them lands for their support and for the
1

Jarrow, at all events, was not entirely desolate for the church
was occupied by Bishop Egelwinin 1069, when he fled to Lindisfarne,
with the body of St. Cuthbert, on the approach of King- William.
" E t prima quidem nocte in gecclesia Sancti Pauli in G-iruum . . . .
mansit." Symeon, Lib. iii., cap. 15, p. 183. The church was afterwards burnt. "Tunc et ascclesia Sancti Pauli in Griruum flammis est
consumpta." Symeon, G-esta Regum (Surtees Society, Vol. li., p. 86).
2
Symeon, Lib. iii., cap, 21, p. 198. Dedit (Walcherus) ergo eis
monasterium beati Pauli Apostoli, a Benedicto quondam Abbate
constructum in Gryruum, quod stantibus adhuc solis sine culmine
parietibus, vix aliquod antiquge nobilitatis servaverat signum. p. 200.
c

18

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

reparation of the churches and domestic buildings. When
Bishop Carilef determined upon establishing Benedictine
monks at Durham, he found these two monasteries already
existing at Jarrow and Wearmouth. Thinking there were
not sufficient means for the maintenance of more than one
monastery, he transferred the monks from Jarrow and
Wearmouth to Durham, and founded a Benedictine house
here. 1 But before then he had dispossessed the secularised
clergy. 2 At that time the church of Aldhun was still
standing, and it is uncertain whether Carilef determined
from the first to build a new church for the new order. He
became a party to the rebellion against William Rufus, in
1088, and was driven an exile for three^years into Normandy.
I t may well be that during his sojourn there he conceived
the design of replacing the old church by a new and more
magnificent one. Nor is it improbable that he brought back
with him, from the country of his exile, the plan of the very
church in which we are now met. Normandy at that time
was full of large and noble churches, many lately erected,
and we can readily understand how the thought may have
passed across the mind of Carilef, that if he ever returned
Donaverat autem illis ipsam villain Wiramutham
Tunc
gecclesiam Sancti Petri, cujus adhuc soli parietes semiruti steterant,
succisis arboribus, eradicatis vepribus et spinis, quae totam
occupaverant, curarunt expurgare ; et culmine imposito, quale hodie
cernitur, ad agenda divinse laudis officia sategerant restaurare. p. 206.
1
Anno ab incarnatione Domini MLXXXIII., a transitu vero Patris
Cuthberti c c c x c v u . . . . ex quo autem Aldwinus cum duobus sociis
in provinciam Northanhymbrorum venerat decimus . . . memoratus
Episcopus (Willelmus) monachos ex supradictis duobus monasteriis,
videlicet, Apostolorum Petri et Pauli in Wiramuthe et in Gyruum
simul congregates . . . in Dunhelmum perduxit. Symeon, Lib. iv.,
cap. 3, p. 223.
Monachos quos in duobus episcopatus locis Wiramuthe et Gyrwe
invenerat, in unum coram sancto illius corpore congregaret, quia
episcopatus parvitas ad tria Monachorum cenobia non sufficeret.
Lib. iv., cap. 2, p. 222.
2
Symeon, Lib. iv., cap. 2, p. 220 ; Lib. iv., cap. 2, p. 224.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

19

to Durham, he would raise there a more glorious building,
and one better adapted to the wants of the new community
than the church he had left behind him. At all events, on
his return, he determined to build a new church, and may
we not suppose that gratitude was among the motives
which induced him to do this. In the meanwhile, during
the time of his exile, as we learn from Symeon, the monks
had built the refectory, as, says he, it now stands. 1 Symeon
was living in the early part of the twelfth century. He
therefore speaks with authority. The crypt under the
refectory, which still exists, cannot be later than Syineon's
time, and must, therefore, if not a still older piece of work
(see p. 15, note 3), be part of the refectory built during
Carilefs exile (1088-1091), and is therefore one of the
earliest buildings we have at Durham in connection with
the monastery. This very ancient structure lies on the
south side of the cloister, and to the west of a contemporary
passage leading from it into the great enclosure of the
monastery, now called the College. The passage itself has
an arcade of low blind arches on either side; and openings,
possibly coeval with it, lead into the crypt under the
refectory at one side, and into a smaller one, to which I
shall presently have to draw your attention, on the other.
The refectory crypt is low, being only seven and a half feet
high, and commences at the east end with a division, which
has a plain, barrel-shaped roof. Then follows a space
divided into three compartments by two rows of short,
massive square pillars, forming two arcades of five bays
each, and supporting a plain quadripartite vaulting without
ribs. This space is again succeeded towards the west by
three divisions, the westernmost one being not so long as
the others, all the three having, like the first and eastern1

Post non multum vero tempus per aliorum machinamenta orta
inter ipsos dissensione, Episeopus ab episcopatu pulsus ultra mare
secessit. . . . Hoc tempore refectorium, quale hodie cernitur, monachi
aedificaverunt. Symeon, Lib. iv., cap. 8, pp. 234, 235.

20

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

most one, plain barrel roofs. Up to this point the whole
crypt is of the same early date, but beyond, to the west of
what appears to be an original wall, are some other
substructures, the cellar and pantry, of later times. 1 The
older crypt has been lighted on the south side by at least
seven, or possibly more, small windows, all round-headed
except one, which is circular. 2 To the east of the passage
there is, as I have already told you, a smaller crypt, which
in all its features corresponds with the architectural character
of that under the refectory. It is now beneath the entrance
hall of the Deanery, once part of the Prior's hall, and has
apparently been curtailed of some of its original length. I t
is 38 feet long and 2 3 | feet wide, and is divided into two
aisles by four arches supported on piers similiar to those in
the crypt under the refectory, each aisle having a plain
barrel roof. It is not improbable that, as has been suggested
by Mr. Gordon Hills, 3 it may have been underneath the
original dormitory, a building which was probably
commenced in the time of Bishop Walcher.
Having thus shortly given you the history of the Church
of Durham, before it was actually established there, and
brought you face to face with Durham itself, I now come
to the second part of my address. You will, perhaps, ask
what authority I have for the statements I shall have to
make with regard to the dates of the various parts of the
church. I have already told you that Symeon, a monk of
Durham, lived when a great part of the work at the church
was going on, and therefore his testimony is very important.
1

And at the greese (stair) foot (of the Refectory or Frater House)
there was another door that went into the G-reat Cellar and Buttery.
Rites of Durham, p. 74. And the meat or drink . . . was carried
in at a door adjoining- to the great kitchen window into a little vault
at the west end of the Frater House like into a pantry, called the
Covey, p. 77.
2
They are now blocked up by a modern passage which leads from
the old monastic kitchen into the Deanery.
3
Journ. British Arch. Assoc, Vol. xxii., p. 228.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

21

He wrote a history of the Church of Durham, and his history
was continued after him by an anonymous writer. 1 We
next have a further continuation by Geoffrey de Coldingham,
Robert de Graystanes and William de Chambre, 2 together
with a number of indulgences from various bishops, given
towards obtaining means for making additions to and
alterations in the building, and a few but late fabric rolls.
Besides these, there is a most important document, " A
description or brief declaration of all the Ancient Monuments,
Rites and Customs, belonging or being within the monastical
Church of Durham, before the suppression," apparently
written towards the end of the sixteenth century, by some
one who had been an inmate of the monastery. 3 These
form our series of historical evidences.
In 1093, on the 11th of August, the foundation stone of
the new church was laid,4 Aldhun's church having been
previously destroyed. 5 There were then present, Bishop
William of St. Carilef, Turgot, prior of the Monastery,
afterwards bishop at St. Andrews, and, as other writers
say, Malcolm, King of Scotland. 6 If he was present, it is
curious that Symeon does not record the fact in his history
of the Church of Durham. The building went on rapidly.
The bishop had been accumulating money for his new
church, and he appears to have completed it from the east
1
Symeonis Monachi Dunelm. libellus de exordio Dunhelmensis
Ecclesiee. Ed. Thomas Bedford, London, 1732.
2
Historian Dunelmensis Scriptores Tres, Surtees Society, Vol. ix.
:i
Printed first by Davies of Kidwelly, 1672, afterwards by Dr.
Hunter, 1733, and again by Sanderson, 17(57, and in a more correct
form by the Surtees Society, Vol. xv. (Quoted from as Rites of
Durham.)
4
Symeon, Lib. iv., cap. 8, p. 236.
5
Tertio Idus Septembris, secundo anno suae reversionis, aacclesiam
veterem, quern Aldunus quondam Episcopus construxerat a fundamentis destruxit. De injusta vexatione Willelmi Episcopi primi.
Symeon, p. 374.
6
Symeonis Dunelm. Historia Regum, Continuatio. Surtees Society,
Vol. li., p. 103.

22

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

end of the choir, where it was commenced, as far as the
first great bay of the nave, including the piers and arches
which carry the central tower.1 You will observe that the

THE
1

NAVE.

Many persons have found it difficult to believe that so large a
work should have been executed in the short space of less than three
years (Carilef died Jan. 6, 1095-6), and it has been suggested that
much of the building might have been already erected before the
foundation stone was laid. The express words of Symeon, however,
forbid such a supposition. He says : ;< Eo enim die (tertio Idus
Augusti, feria v.) Episcopus et Prior Turgotus . . . in fundamento
lapides posuerunt. Nam paulo ante, id est, iv. Kal. Augusti, feria vi.,
idem Episcopus et Prior, facta cum fratribus oratione ac data
benedictione, fundamenta coeperant fodere." Symeon, Lib. iv., cap.
8, pp. 236, 237.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

23

first great bay of the nave arcade, with its two sub-arches,
and the easternmost bay of the triforium correspond in their
mouldings and other features with those of the choir,
whereas in the remainder of the nave towards the west,
although the elevation in its general design and principal
features is the same, 1 the mouldings in some essential
particulars, especially in the use of the zig-zag and the course
of hollow squares forming a quasi hood moulding round the
arches of the great arcade, differ from those of the choir.
There is also a marked difference in the clerestory of the
two parts of the church. In the choir there is only a single
round-headed window in each bay, and no passage between
them. In the nave there are three arches in each bay,
decorated with zig-zag, and having a passage extending
along the whole length of the wall. There is a difference
also in the way in which the diagonal ribs of the vaulting
are carried. In the choir they were supported on a vaulting
shaft which rises from the level of the triforium floor; in
the nave they are supported on brackets formed of two
grotesque heads, which are inserted in the sprandril between
the two outer arches of the triforium. The eastern bay of
the nave with the triforium arch above it, which, in fact,
acted as a buttress to the tower on the west side, as the
similar and corresponding ones of the transepts did on the
north and south, must necessarily have been built at the
same time as the tower arches themselves, and, therefore,
naturally corresponds with them in the details. I may here
draw your attention to the spiral grooving on the piers, a
1
To this there is a notable exception, that whereas in the aisles of
the choir and transepts the transverse and diagonal ribs spring from
a cluster of three semi-shafts attached to the round pillar with
corresponding responds, in the nave throughout that feature is
omitted, and the whole spring from the single capital of the circular
pillar. The responds on the aisle wall of the nave take the simple
form, a semi-circular pillar. This, which is an undoubted advance
in the design, may, however, have suggested itself to the same
architect as the work went on.

24

•

DUBHAM OATHEDKAL.

rare feature in Norman work, which is seen in the choir and
transepts, but not in the nave, where they are replaced by
lozenge and zig-zag 1 patterns and fiutings. The spirals,
you will observe, are contrary to the ordinary direction of
those on a screw. The eastern part of Carilef's church no
longer exists, having being replaced by the very ^beautiful
eastern transept, to which I shall presently have to draw
your attention. It is impossible, in the absence of any
record, to say how the choir originally terminated, but
there can be little doubt that, according to a common
arrangement at the time, the end was apsidal. It has
been thought that it consisted of three apses, one at the
end of each aisle, like the church at Lindisfarne, where,
however, the apses are transeptal chapels and not the
termination of aisles, and the choir has a square and
not a semi-circular end. 2 It is not, indeed, improbable
that the two churches were built bj r the same architect,
and their resemblance is very striking, Lindisfarne, the
later building, being a miniature likeness of Durham. I
think, notwithstanding this, it is almost certain the choir
at Durham terminated in a semi-circular apse, round which
the side aisles were carried.
I shall have to ask you to recall to your recollection what
I have just said about the extent of the work completed in
Carilef's time. In addition to what I have already told you,
I have to add that I believe he finished the exterior wall of
1
The southernmost pier of the south transept is ornamented with
a zig-zag grooving, which differs, however, from that on the pillars
of the nave. It has an arrow-head shaped termination to each point
of the zig-zag, rising from the hollow to the plane of the pier, and
which reminds us of a similar pattern at Dunfermline. The abbey
there, later as it is, bears a strong resemblance to Durham, and was,
no doubt, built under its influence.
2
The apsidal foundation still remaining in the choir at Holy
Island is probably the termination of a pre-Conquest church. The
existing east end, into which a later window has been inserted, is
unquestionably the original Norman work.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

25

the church, throughout the whole of its extent, as high as
the top of the aisle arcade which surrounds the entire
building from east to west. I shall be able to point out to
you that this arcade is identical in all its features in both
choir, transepts and nave, the zig-zag, so characteristic a
decoration of other parts of the nave, being there entirely
wanting. Some capitals also of a distinctive form are found
as well in the north transept as in the south aisle of the
nave, a fact which points strongly to the arcade, in both
these parts of the church, having been built at the same
time. There is also another feature which favours this
view. If you will carefully examine the walls of the aisles
of the nave, you will see that the stone up to the top of the
arcade is of a colour quite different from that of the wall
above it, as well as from that of the great nave arcade and
triforium, a feature which is not likely to have occurred if
the two parts had been built at one and the same time. You
will also observe that the size of the stones varies, those in
the upper part above the aisle arcade being larger than
those below.
The death of Bishop Carilef took place in 1096, and an
interval of three years elapsed before the election of Bishop
Flambard in 1099, who is described as great by some and
infamous by others. 1 Ralph Flambard was William Rufus'
Chancellor, and whether he was infamous or not, he was
anyhow a remarkable man. We are told by the continuator
of Symeon, 2 that he carried on the work of the nave up to
the roof—that is, that he completed the nave, including the
1
Feodarium Prioratus Dunelmensis. Surtees Society, Vol. lviii.,
pp. lOSn, 109/fc. Laurence, Prior of Durham, a contemporary, speaks
of him in terms of high praise. Dialogi Laurentii Dunelmensis
monachi ac prioris. Surtees Society, Vol. lxx., p. 22, lice 231.
2
Circa opus uecclesia3 modo intentius modo remissius agebatur,
sicufc illi ex oblatione altaris vel cimiterii vel suppetebat pecunia vel
deficiebat. His nanque sumptibus navem Eecclesite circumductis
parietibus ad sui usque testudinem erexerat. Symeon, Continuatio,
cap. i., p. 257.

26

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

side aisles and their roofs, as far as the vaulting, and also,
at the same time, no doubt, building that portion of the
western towers which attains an equal elevation with the
walls of the nave. If you will examine the whole of the
capitals in the choir, transepts and nave, you will see that
they are almost identical in form and detail throughout,
though those in that part of the nave built by Flambard are
somewhat shallower than those of the choir and transepts.
It would, therefore, appear as if no long time had elapsed
between the completion of the choir and that of the nave.
Flambard probably began to build soon after he became
bishop, and though that part of the church which is due to
him might not have been finished until near the time of his
death, no alteration seems to have been made in the plan.
With regard to the upper part of the western towers, and
the time when they were built, we are entirely left to the
evidence of the architecture itself, for nothing has been
recorded which has reference to their erection. The upper
stages belong to a time when the style called the Early
English was being developed, and they may have been
constructed during the episcopate of Richard de Marisco
(1217-1226), 1 or even of Philip de Pictavia (1197-1208).
Although the towers have suffered much from weathering,
and more from the paring process, which, however, to some
extent has been remedied by the late conscientious and
skilful reparation, they are well designed and very effective
additions to the church as originally planned.
In
combination with the end of the nave and Pudsey's boldlymoulded Galilee, they form a termination which will
1
Except that the work appears to be of an earlier date, the
episcopate of Bishop Poore would have seemed a more likely time for
the erection of the upper part of the western towers. During the
reigns of Philip de Pictavia and Richard de Marisco a constant feud
had been going on between the bishop and the convent, and it was
only on the accession of Richard Poore that peace ensued, when in
his second year (1229) an agreement by an instrument, called Le
Convenit, was come to between them.

DURHAM CATHEDEAL.

27

not suffer even when compared with some of our finest
west fronts. The upper part of both is enriched by four
arcades, two open and two blank, of alternately roundheaded and pointed arches. The towers were until the time
of the Commonwealth surmounted by spires of wood covered
with lead. 1 At present they are finished by a parapet and
turrets, placed there towards the end of the last century,
which, though faulty in detail, are nevertheless by no means
unworthy of the towers they crown, and add materially to
the picturesque outline of the Cathedral when viewed from
a distance.
I must now, after this digression, bring you back again
to the time of the death of Carilef. In the interval between
his death and the consecration of Flambard, we learn that
the monks went on with the work. There had been an
agreement by which the bishop undertook the building of
the church, and the monks that of the domestic parts of the
monastery, but that agreement came to an end on Carilefs
death. 2 There can be little doubt that those parts of the
church which were built by the monks during this interval,
were the west side of the transepts and the vaulting of the
north one. You will recognise a difference in the vaulting
ribs of the two transepts; those of the north transept
corresponding with the Norman work of the choir and its
1
Bishop Cosin, in his articles of enquiry at his first visitation in
1662, asks, " What is become of the wood and lead of the two great
broaches that stood upon the square towers at the west end of the
church ?" Miscellanea, Surtees Society, Vol. xxxvii., p. 257. That
they were never rebuilt is shown by Buck's View, published in 1732,
where the towers are without spires.
2
Porro predecessor (Willelmus de S. Carilefo) illius (Bannulfi),
qui opus inchoavit, id decernendo statuerat, ut Episcopus ex suo
ascclesiam, monachi vero suas ex eecclesiee collectis f acerent omcinas.
Quod illo cadente cecidit. Monachi enim omissis omcinarum sedificationibus operi 86cclesia3 insistunt, quam usque navem Rannulfus
jam factum invenit. Symeon, Continuato, cap. i., p. 257. Igitur
monachis suas officinas sedificantibus, suis Episcopus sumptibus
secclesise opus faciebat. Symeon, Lib. iv., cap. 8, p. 237.

28 .

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

aisles, whilst those of the south have more in common with
the nave. The north transept was, no doubt, roofed over
earlier than the south, the vaulting of the latter having the
ribs decorated with a moulding, the zig-zag, which, though
abundantly used in the nave, is not found in the choir. The
zig-zag is not, however, in each case quite of the same
pattern. It may be remarked that the diagonal ribs of the
vault of each transept are supported in the bay nearest to
the tower, on the western side by brackets, a plan similar
to that adopted in the nave, whilst on the eastern side they
rest on vaulting shafts similar to those which formed part
of the original roof of the choir. The west side of each
transept (the eastern in both cases being part of Carilef's
work) seems to indicate by its simpler and less ornate
character—which almost gives it an appearance of being
earlier than it is—that, as we might expect, the funds at
the disposal of the monks were not equal to those of the
bishop.
The corbels with grotesque heads upon them,
which support the diagonal ribs of the vault on the west
side of the south transept (the later work) are in every way
similar to the corresponding corbels of the nave, whilst
those on the same side of the north transept (the earlier
work), consisting of grotesque heads under a cushioned
capital, have only a general resemblance. You will also
notice that some of the shafts on the east side of both
transepts are carried up as far as the vaulting, and, indeed,
appear to run through it, being quite useless as supports to
it. It has been suggested that in the first instance it was
intended to place over the transepts a flat wooden ceiling,
which was to be carried on these shafts. If such were the
design, it could only have been proposed as a provisional
and temporary roof, for the main bearing shafts, which are
contemporary with the walls, have been from the first
constructed to support a vaulting of stone. It is possible,
however, that the first intention of Carilef's architect was to
complete the vaulting of the extreme compartment of each

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

29

transept, in the same manner as the adjoining one towards
the tower had been planned and was subsequently carried
out. The design having been changed, these vaulting
shafts were continued up to the filling in between the ribs,
as the best mode of terminating them. Though the original
plan was to place vaulting over the south transept, that was
subsequently altered, the convent, possibly, not having
sufficient means for the work, and for a time it was covered
with a wooden roof and ceiling. You will observe that the
clerestory, on both the east and west sides, at one time consisted of a continuous arcade, on piers constituted of square
blocks of masonry, constructed in such a manner as to preclude
the possibility of there having been a stone vaulting, though
well fitted for a flat wooden ceiling. This arrangement
may have continued until the nave was about to be vaulted,
when the original intention was carried out. This appears
probable from the great similarity between the vaulting of
these two parts of the church, the only important difference
between them consisting in the transept vault having semicircular transverse ribs, a circumstance to be accounted for
from the desire to make the vault of this transept correspond
in that feature with the vault of the north one.
We are next told that, after the death of Bishop Flambard
in 1128, in the interval before the accession of Bishop
Galfrid Rufus in 1133, the monks completed the nave. 1
There was nothing left to complete but the vaulting, for
Flambard had already finished the nave up to the roof.
With this date, about 1130, the architectural features well
agree, notwithstanding the pointed arch of the main ribs. 2
The vaulting, of the nave, richly decorated, as you see it,
with zig-zag moulding, has however, been generally
1

Eo tempore navis secclesias Dunelmensis monachis operi instantibus peracta est. Symeon, Continuatio, cap. i., p. 261.
2
Though this is certainly an early instance of the use of the
pointed arch, it is not a singular one, the nave arcade of Malmesbury
Abbey, built 1115-1139, has pointed arches.

30

DUEHAM CATHEDKAL.

attributed to the time of Bishop Farnham (1241-1248) and
Prior Melsanby (1233-1244). 1
There is no evidence
whatever to support this view, and the characteristic details
of the work are quite at variance with it. 2 The mouldings
are very similar to those on the vaulting' ribs of the south
transept, and agree in every respect with the architecture
of the beginning of the twelfth century, whilst they have
nothing in common with that of the middle of the thirteenth.
As I am now speaking of the nave roof, I will ask you to
notice the lowest stone of the outer order of the mouldings
of the main vaulting ribs. You will observe that it is of a
larger size and projects further upon the capital of the
supporting shaft than those in continuation above it. This
appears to suggest that when Flambard built the walls of
the nave he included the first stone of the ribs in his work,
and that afterwards, when the monks completed the nave
by putting on the vault, they for some reason decreased the
size of this particular moulding, thus making the zig-zag a
less bold feature than had at first been contemplated. In
connection with the attribution of the vaulting of the nave
to the thirteenth century, I would remind you that the
mediaeval architects were not mere imitators nor even
eclecticists, and that architecture was then a living and
growing science, with all the elements of such a condition
inherent in it. It would have been as unlikely for Nicholas
1
I t was repaired by Prior Wessington (1416-1446), at an expense
of £-91 0s. 6d. Among many other works executed by him is
included," Tectura australis partis navis secclesiae cum solucione facta
plumbario pro opere suo, £110." (Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres.
Appendix, No. ccxxviii., p. cclxxiij.) This of course refers to the
wooden roof above the vaulting.
2
Leland, in his Collectanea, says :—Nic. Fernham, episcopus, fecit
testudinem templi 1242. (Vol. i., p . 122, Ed. 1774.) To which roof
this refers, granting that he had any good authority for his
statement, it is impossible to say. It is probable, however, that
Leland's assertion has been the origin of the mistaken notion that
the nave roof belongs to the middle of the thirteenth century.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

31

de Farnham or Thomas de Melsanby to have put such a
vaulting on to the nave as that we are now standing under,
as it would have been for them to have erected a roof of
the style of the fifteenth century. 1 That such an opinion
should ever have been entertained must appear strange
indeed when we remember that the eastern transept, the
chapel of the Nine Altars, was in course of erection at the
very time when the vaulting of the nave is supposed to
have been built. 2 I may here take the opportunit}' of saying
a few words with regard to the original vaulting of the
choir. It was very common in Norman churches to have a
wooden ceiling without any groined stone roof. Such a
ceiling may in the first instance have been placed over the
choir as well as over the nave at Durham, but if that was
so it could only have remained for a very short time, and it
is evident from the nature of the vaulting shafts as well as
from the flying buttresses existing in the triforium of the
nave and the somewhat similar ones in that of the choir,
that a stone roof was intended and provided for from the
first in both cases. There is sufficient evidence, however,
to prove that a stone vaulting was placed over the choir
not long after the completion of the walls, for the marks of
one are still left on the clerestory. But we also have the
evidence of historical relation. In 1104 the church was so
far completed that the monks were enabled to transfer the
1
Instances occur of assimilated work for the sake of preserving
the general harmony and proportions of the building, as, for example,
the nave of Westminster Abbey; but in every such case the
mouldings and all minor details are purely those of the time when
the work was executed.
2
Though it seems scarcely necessary to adduce any evidence in
favour of the nave vaulting belonging to the early part of the
twelfth century, a later date has been, and still is, so persistently
asserted, that it may not be out of place to mention a statement
made by Robert de Gkraystanes which has an important bearing on
the question. Bishop Bek in the year 1300 deposed Richard de Hoton
from the priorate, and intruded Henry de Luceby, prior of Holy
Island, and who had formerly been sacrist at Durham, into the

32

DUEHAM CATHEDRAL.

bod}' of St. Cuthbert from the small building-1 in the
cloister, where it had before remained, to the shrine at the
east end of the choir. At that time a very remarkable event
took place, as we learn from William of Malmesbury's
" Gesta Pontificum."2 He tells us that the wood work
supporting the roof over the shrine was still there when
the body was about to be removed, a fact which implies
that the stone vaulting had only been lately completed. He
says there was some difficulty about taking- down the
woodwork before the body of St. Cuthbert was placed in the
shrine. St. Cuthbert, however, came to the assistance of
the monks, and knocked down the centering- during- the
night, and on the following morning it was found spread
out on the floor, without having done injury to anything
beneath it.
Galfrid Rufus was the next bishop, following Flambard
after an interval of five years, and reigned from 1133 to
1140. We are told that the Chapter-house was completed
by him.3 It was probably begun before his time; but, at
all events, it was then finished.4 The Chapter-house, alas !
prior's chair. Whilst he held the office of sacrist he effected many
works in connection with the church, and amongst others " tectum
navis secclesise de novo reparans." This reparation must have been
done some years before 1300, and therefore at a time so near to that
(about 1245) when it is asserted the vaulting of the roof was built,
that it is almost impossible to believe it could then require any
important repair. Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 77.
1
This building existed until the time of Dean Home, who destroyed
it. The image of St. Cuthbert which it contained was broken up by
Dean Whittingham. Rites of Durham, pp. 58, 59.
2
Rolls Series, Ed. Hamilton, p. 275.
3
Ipsius (Gauf ridi) tempore capitulum monachorum consummatum
est. Symeon, Continuatio, cap. h\, p. 262.
4
The wall arcade of intersecting arches, though of a more delicate
character, has a considerable resemblance to the aisle arcades of the
choir and nave of the church, which I have attributed to the time
of Bishop Carilef, and certainly appears to be of an earlier date than
1133. The west wall, no doubt built during the episcopate of G-alfrid
Ruf us, has apparently been constructed subsequently to the north and

DUEHAM CATHEDRAL.

33

I can hardly say chapter-house, for it is now only a
miserable remnant of a building once probably the finest
Norman chapter-house in England. It was, by an act of
barbarism scarcely credible, almost entirely demolished in
1796, 1 in order, as it is stated, to make the room warm and
comfortable for the members of the Chapter. The Galilee
narrowly escaped being destroyed at the same time, and
was only saved through the intervention of John Carter, 2
who had in vain interceded for the chapter-house.
Although
the subject is a painful one, I cannot refrain from giving
you in a few words some description of what it was before
the destruction took place. This, I hope, when you see
what still remains of the building itself, will enable you to
re-construct it in imagination. The proportions were large,
for it was 78J feet long and 35 feet wide, having an apsidal*
termination at the east end. The vaulting over the apse
south walls, on to which it does not join as if the several parts had
been planned and executed at the same time. The vaulting, now
entirely destroyed, with the exception of three of the corbels and
some stones of the ribs, was of the time of Galfrid Rufus.
1
At a Chapter held November 20th, 1795, present, Mr Dean (Lord
Cornwallis), Mr. Sub-dean (Dr. Cowper), Mr. Weston, Dr. Dampier,
Mr. Egerton, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Bowyer, Mr. Haggett and Dr.
Bathurst, it was ordered that the old Chapter-house, being
pronounced by Mr. Wyatt on his survey thereof to be in a ruinous state r
be taken down by Mr. Morpeth, under contract, also that a new room
be erected on the same site according to the plan given in by Mr.
Morpeth.
2
Carter was an architectural draughtsman, and the engravings of
Durham Cathedral, in the series of English Cathedrals issued by the
Society of Antiquaries in 1801, are from his drawings. The then
dean (Lord Cornwallis) has had the credit of saving the G-alilee, but
it was through Carter having drawn attention to the contemplated
destruction at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries, that the
dean, who had sanctioned the removal, became frightened into
stopping it. I t is to be regretted that public opinion has not since
then been exerted in favour of our Cathedrals and especially of
Durham ; much evil might have been averted had others followed
in the steps of John Carter.
D

34

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

was constructed with great skill, and had four of its ribs
supported by corbels, consisting of figures, associated with
a very characteristic and effective intertwining foliage
pattern, three of which are preserved in the library. The
vaulting ribs of the whole of the groining as well as of that
of the apse and the string course beneath were decorated
with a zig-zag moulding.
Below, an arcade of semicircular headed and intersecting arches ran round the
building except at the west end. Beneath the arcade was
a stone bench, raised on two steps, upon which the monks
sat whilst in chapter; and at the centre of the east wall,
standing on a dais of two steps, was the stone chair,
contemporary with the building, in which the bishops had
been installed up to Bishop Barrington in 1791. Close to
4he bishop's seat was a wooden chair, fastened in the wall,
where the prior sat when the bishop visited the Cathedral
Church. 1
The floor was covered with the monumental
slabs of the bishops buried beneath it, including those of
William of St. Carilef, Ralph Flambard, Galfrid Rufus and
Hugh Pudsey, some of which still remain under the present
flooring. It was lighted at the east end by five inserted
decorated windows of three lights each, and by two
original round-headed ones to the west of them, one on
each side; and at the west end by two window-like
unglazed openings into the cloister, of the same date as the
building, and by a large window of the fifteenth century,
which still exists in a restored form, though only visible on
the outside, being above the ceiling of the present room.
The original doorway was at the west end, and remains on
the inside tolerably complete, but somewhat defaced by
incorrect restorations in plaster. It is, as you will see,
richly moulded and decorated with patterns characteristic
of the early part of the twelfth century. 2 Through it the
1

Rites of Durham, p. 48.
Upon one of the capitals is a centaur shooting- with an arrow.
The sign Sagittarius was the badge of King Stephen (1135-1154),
2

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

35

monks passed into and along the cloister, and so by a
doorway, now blocked up, into the south transept, and
thence into the choir, the present direct way from the
chapter-house into the church being, it is scarcely necessary
to remark, quite modern. The outside of this doorway and
also of that into the " p a r l o u r " still show, as you will see,
in spite of the chiselling they have undergone, many
indications of the elaborate and beautiful way in which
they have been sculptured. It is impossible to speak in too
strong terms of the stupid and unintelligent manner in
which the whole Cathedral has been treated, not only in
Wyatt's time, but even in these later days of architectural
revival. Many important features which, in part at least,
told the story of the Church, and which might have
remained to tell it to future times, have been ruthlessly
swept away. 1 Windows and doorways and mouldings,
historical and architectural facts, of high moment as they
were, have been destroyed without any apparent reason,
and are now as completely gone from us as though they
had never existed. When the destruction of this noble
house took place, the stone roof was allowed to fall on the
pavement, the key-stones of the ribs having been knocked
out. The episcopal chair and the grave covers of the
bishops were broken in pieces, and of the former not a
fragment was preserved.
There is a doorway, now partly effaced, in the south wall,
which leads into three chambers, 2 used as " a prison for the
monks for all such light offences as was done amongst themwho was contemporary with. Bishop G-alfrid Rufus (1133-1140).
1
A portion of the south end of the south transept is still left to a
great extent untouched by the restorer's hand, and shows what the
condition of the building was when Wyatt undertook his destructive
work, and also what we have lost by that operation.
2
Upon the south side of the larger chamber, that adjoining the
chapter-house, are the remains of a mural painting representing
our Lord in glory. In the south wall of the easternmost of the two
inner chambers is a hatch for the purpose of conveying provisions

36

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

selves." 1 Between the chapter-house and the south transept
is a narrow, passage-like room, called the "parlour" in
monastic days, of the same date as the chapter-house itself,
and corresponding in its position with similar passages
which exist under the name of " slype " in other monasteries.
Through this was the way leading into the monks'
cemetery, and it also served as a place where merchants,
displayed their wares and trafficked with the convent. 2
You will observe in the cloister roof, just to the north of
the entrance into the " parlour," an oblong opening.
Through this a chimney once passed to carry off the smoke
from the oven in the south transept where the altar-breads
were baked. Above the " p a r l o u r " was the library, 3 the
approach to which was by a staircase, still in part remaining,
at the south-west corner. It was built in the years 1414
and 1415, according to an entry in the Feretrar's roll, but it
was then probably only altered, for among other works of
Prior Wessington (1416-1446), he is stated to have made
two windows in the library, and to have repaired the roof,
desks, two doors and the books, all of them unnecessary, it
might be supposed, if the room had only been built a few
years before. 4 In the east wall of the cloister, to the south
of the chapter-house, is a doorway, of early twelfth
century date, evidently an insertion. Within it are the
remains of a staircase ascending over the roof of the prison.
for the confined monks, and in the inner chamber, which has had a
strong door between it and the outer one, and which probably was
used as the prison cell, is a latrine.
1
Rites of Durham, p. 48.
2
Rites of Durham, p. 44.
3
Rites of Durham, p. 26.
4
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, Appendix, No. ccxxviii., p. cclxxiii.
Prior Wessington's roof, and his two windows, which have, however,
been restored, still exist. The room is now divided into two parts,
one of which is used as a vestry. It only requires the removal of
two wooden partitions and a plaster ceiling- to bring back the room
to what it originally was.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

37

I t is not improbable that this was the way into the original
dormitory, which, as I have before suggested (page 16)
may have been part of the " habitacula monachorum" begun
to be constructed by Bishop Walcher.
To Galfrid Rufus may be attributed the present great
north and south doorways of the nave, themselves, however,
replacing earlier ones. 1
The sculpturing upon these
doorways and that upon the corbels which once supported the
ribs at the east end of the chapter-house have apparently
been done by the same hand, and there is otherwise much
in common between the decoration of these doorways and
that of the chapter-house itself.
I would particularly draw your attention to the very
beautiful way in which the shafts of both the south 2 and
north 3 doorways are sculptured, as well as to their other
1
The occurrence on the north doorway of the centaur with bow
and arrow, also found on the doorway of the chapter-house, seems
to fix the date to the time of King Stephen, and, therefore, before
the episcopate of Pudsey, to whom it has been generally believed
that these doorways are due.
2
There are three shafts on each side supporting the arch. The
two outer ones have upon them, and extending over both, a diamond
pattern of parallel ridges and grooves which has somewhat the
appearance of a zig-zag when seen only upon one shaft. The inner
one has also a diamond pattern, but of a quite different character,
constituted by lines of zig-zag having the points opposed, the space
in the centre of each diamond being occupied by four leaves
arranged in the form of a cross. The capitals are covered with a
pattern of grotesque animals and foliage work. The two inner
members of the arch have a zig-zag moulding upon them, and the
outer a floriated ornament with eleven medallions set at intervals
upon it, the lower four on each side containing alternately a
conventional leaf and a grotesque animal, the three central ones
having each a leaf.
3
This doorway, which is much loftier than the opposite one, has
only two shafts on each side. The outer one is quite plain, the
inner being most artistically sculptured over the whole surface with
interlacing foliage work, forming circles and lozenges which contain
grotesque beasts and human figures, one a man riding on a lion.

38

DUEHAM CATHEDEAL.

details. The great west doorway does not appear to be an
insertion, and is probably part of Flambard's work. It is
by no means so elaborately ornamented as those we have
just examined, and which, as I have told you, are of the
time of Bishop Galfrid Rufus. 1 When we go outside the
church you must not neglect to examine the skilfullyThe capitals of both shafts have foliage work and animals upon
them, the abacus bearing a leaf pattern, that on the west side
corresponding to that on the east side of the opposite doorway, and
that on the east side (which is also a leaf pattern but of a different
form) corresponding to that on the west side of the same doorway.
The two inner members of the arch are ornamented each with a
zig-zag moulding, and the outer with a foliage pattern, having
eighteen diamond-shaped compartments upon it, containing, in
addition to grotesque animals and birds, some subjects which require
more special notice. Two of them have each a centaur shooting
with bow and arrow and armed with a conical helmet. A third has
two figures embracing. A fourth has a boy laid across a stool and
being whipped by an older person, who has an uplifted rod in his
right hand, while he holds up the boy's dress with his left. A
fifth has a long-bearded figure clothed to the feet, strangling with a
rope another figure whose dress reaches only to the knees, and who
holds in both hands over the left shoulder what looks like a sceptre.
Other two have each a man performing apparently some gymnastic
feat.
And another has a beast like a lion over which a man is
standing, who holds the tail of the animal with his left hand, and
appears to be forcing open the beast's mouth with his right. This
may be a representation of Samson.
1
The arch is supported on each side by two shafts, both of which
are plain, as also are the capitals. The inner order of the arch is
decorated with a zig-zag moulding, and the outer one with a leaf
pattern, which has upon it thirteen medallions. The central one
contains a human face, the others grotesque animals and figures, the
upper part of which is human. The treatment of the sculpture is
flatter and less bold than that of the north and south doorways.
The exterior face of the doorway, which is now within the Galilee,
is much like the inner one, but is deeper, having four orders of zigzag and a hood moulding which consists of a series of diamonds,
each divided into triangular spaces, one sunk, the other in relief.
The medallions contain each a leaf pattern, except the central one,
which has a human face.

DURHAM OATHEDBAL.

39

wrought and early iron work, which covers the south
door, still remaining in a very perfect state. You will also
observe on the north door sufficient indications to shew what
the iron work once there has been, and, indeed, with care and
under a favourable light, the pattern of the very elaborate
design may be made out. The grotesque but effective
sanctuary knocker of bronze of the same date as the door
itself, if it does not invite the unfortunate offender to seek
for that protection now, happily, under more humane
conditions, not needed for his safety, will recall to your
memory how the Church in a ruder age held out her saving
hand, and interposed between the shedder of blood—
often the innocent one, except in the mere act—and the
avenger. 1 Over the north porch, now sadly barbarised by
Wyatt, are still left some slight remains of the two chambers,
once occupied by the men who admitted the suppliants to
sanctuary, 2 which opened by a staircase into the triforium,
and by two small windows, still visible though blocked up,
into the nave aisle. The porch itself, which originally
extended about four feet further to the north than it does
at present, is probably of the same date as the doorway
within, and was also built by Bishop Galfrid Rufus.
It
has, however, been so pared down and otherwise maltreated
by additions and " restorations" that it is somewhat difficult
to come to any decision with regard to the exact time of its
original construction. 3 In its present condition it is a most
unworthy and discreditable portal for so majestic a temple
as that into which it ushers the worshipper.
1
An account of the persons who claimed sanctuary at Durham
and also at St. John of Beverley, with the offences they committed,
has been published by the Surtees Society, Vol. v., under the title,
Sanctuarium Dunelmense et Sanctuarium Beverlacense.
2
Rites of Durham, p. 35.
3
The innermost moulding- appears to remain in its original state,
and much resembles the corresponding one in the arch of the outer
gateway of the Castle. Both structures were probably built at the
same time and during the episcopate of Galfrid Rufus.

40

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

The episcopacy of William de St. Barbara (1143-1152),
so far as we know, was not marked by any important work.
We then come to a great builder, Hugh de Puiset, or
Hugh Pudsey as he is generally called (1153-1195), a
nephew of King Stephen, and a son of the Count of Bar.
He was young when he became bishop, and during the
many years he occupied the See, a large number of works
were effected by him.1 His episcopate comprises a time
when great and important changes were taking place in
artistic and architectural design, and when a new style was
beginning to be developed. H e had two architects whose
names have been recorded, Richard and William,
" ingeniatores " as they are called, and about one of them
Mr. Surtees, the historian of the County of Durham, has
made a curious mistake. He took " ingeniator" to mean
snarer or poacher, and describes Ricardus ingeniator as
" Dick the snarer," instead of which he was an important
landowner in the county, holding a considerable estate, the
reward doubtless of his skill as Pudsey's architect. Bishop
Pudsey, as we are told, began to build what he no doubt
intended to be a Lady Chapel at the east end of the
Cathedral. He caused marble columns and bases to be
prepared for it, which came from beyond the sea. These
still exist in the Galilee, and are made of Purbeck marble.
By the expression " beyond the sea " it is not meant that
the}' came from any foreign country, but that they were
brought by sea to Newcastle from Dorsetshire. He made
some progress in the work, but as it went on, cracks began
to appear in the walls, and Pudsey, thinking it was
distasteful to God and St. Cuthbert, left off building there
and transferred the chapel to the west end, where, under
1
There is a valuable paper by Mr. W. H. D. Longstaffe, " Bishop
Pudsey's buildings in the present County of Durham," in the Transactions of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham
and Northumberland. Vol. i., p. 1.

DUEHAM CATHEDEAL.

41

the name of the Galilee, it still remains. 1 It was erected
about the year 1175, and is a most exquisite specimen of
late twelfth century work, testifying to the taste and power
of artistic design of the architect. 2 There can be no doubt
as to the cause of the shrinking. The foundation of the
Cathedral at the west end is close to the rock, whilst at the
east end the soil is deep and in places of a peaty nature.
The old builders often cared little about the foundations
and appear sometimes to have been wanting in engineering
skill. Indeed they frequently planted the walls merely
upon the surface, and thus, when the soil was of a
compressible nature, shrinking of the walls was apt to take
place. From the same cause that affected Pudse3 r 's work,
the east end of Carilef's choir began early to shew signs of
instability and became ruinous.
Although no words of mine can give you any idea
whatever of the beautiful example of Transitional work you
will see in the Galilee, I think it will be desirable to prepare
you for your visit by a short description of this so unusually
situated Lady Chapel. I shall, however, have to defer the
consideration of some of its details to a latter part of my
address. How it came to be placed at the west end of the
church you have been told already. St. Cuthbert is said to
have had a more than usual monastic dislike to women, and,
1
Novum ergo ad orientalem ejusdem 8ecclesia3 plagam opus
construere coepit. A transmarinis partibus deferebantur columpnse
et bases marmorese. Cumque . . . muris in aliquam vix altitudinem
* erectis, in rimas tandem deisceret, manif estum dabatur inditium id
Deo et famulo suo Cuthberto non fuisse acceptum. Omissoque
opere illo, aliud in occidentem inchoavit ; in quo muliebris licite
fieret introitus : ut quae non habebant ad secretiora sanctorum
locorum corporalem accessum, aliquod haberent ex eorum contemplatione solatium. Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres (Surtees Society), p. 11.
2
Mr. Longstaffe, in the paper on Pudsey's buildings before
referred to, gives some documentary and other evidence in favour of
this date, which indeed the architectural features themselves
sufficiently indicate. Transactions of the Durham and Northumberland Architectural and Archasological Society. Vol. i., p. 3.

42

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

therefore, to have built the Lady Chapel at the east end of
the choir—the ordinary position—and close to his shrine,
would have been most distasteful to him. No woman,
indeed, was allowed to approach further eastward in the
church than as far as a line of dark coloured Frosterley
marble, forming a cross by two short limbs at the centre,
which, as you will see, stretches across the nave between
the piers just west of the north and south doors. 1 The
chapel of the Blessed Virgin, commonly called the Lady
Chapel, was, therefore, placed where we now see it. It
rises almost directly from the edge of the river bank, and is
built against the west front of the church. It is of an
oblong form, of five aisles divided by four arcades each of
four bays, the aisles being all of the same width. The
middle aisle is higher than those adjoining, and these again
are higher than the extreme north or south ones. The
arches, richly decorated with zig-zag, are supported upon
piers, originally of two slender shafts of Purbeck marble,
but now of four, alternately of marble and sandstone,
having capitals of plain volutes which are very characteristic
of the transitional period. I shall have to speak to you
again about these added shafts later on when we come to
discuss Cardinal Langley's work in the Galilee. It was
entered from without through a doorway on the north side,
which has been restored, the old one, however, having been
exactly copied to the minutest parts. The doorway is
deeply recessed, the wall being increased in thickness on
both sides in the manner usual at that time, and is a fine
example of the style in use when it was erected. Access to
the church from the Galilee was obtained through the great
west door, which was probably not blocked up until more
than two hundred years after the Galilee was built. The
chapel was at first lighted by eight round-headed windows,
placed high in the wall above the arches of the outer
arcade on the north and south sides, but it doubtless had
1

Rites of Durham, p. 30.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

43

other windows at the west end, and possibly in the north
and south walls. In these, after the middle of the
thirteenth century, the windows which still remain, though
in a restored form, were inserted, three on the north and
four on the south. It is probable that at the same time five
similar windows were placed in the west wall, of which only
two are now left, the present three fifteenth century
windows, to which I shall have occasion to refer later on,
having replaced the earlier ones. At the time when these
important alterations were made, the original windows
were probably blocked up. Their outline, however, is still
to be traced quite distinctly. You will observe that some
parts of the building do not adapt themselves very
accurately to the older work to which they are attached, a
circumstance which may have arisen from some at least of
the stone work having been prepared in the first instance
for Pudsey's intended chapel at the east end of the choir.
Pudsey's architect appears to have made some changes in
the west front of the church, the wide recesses on each side
of the west door being evidently alterations. This you will
see if you examine that part of the west front which is
above the Galilee roof, where the buttresses flanking the
recess containing the great west window, cut into below,
still remain untouched. This alteration was no doubt made
for the purposes of the altars the bishop proposed to construct there.
1 must not leave the subject of the Galilee without
telling you that the bones of the Venerable Bede were
ultimately placed there in 1370, 1 in front of his altar, where
1
They were removed from near St. Cuthbert's shrine into the
Galilee by the intervention of Richard de Castro Bernardi (Rites of
Durham, p. 39, where the inscriptions upon the shrine are given).
The stone in which the iron rods were fixed for the purpose of
raising the wooden cover of the shrine, together with another stone
also belonging to the shrine, is now in the floor of the nave between
two of the piers of the south arcade near the south door. (Rites of
Durham, p. 87.) The pulley still remaining on one of the beams of

44

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

they were incased in a magnificent shrine of gold and
silver, which had been made long before then by Bishop
Pudsey for their reception, when he removed them from
the coffin of St. Cuthbert.
You will see the plain tomb
where they still repose, having upon it the well-known
inscription, which, however, was only engraved on the
covering slab in 1830,
HAC S U N T IN FOSSA BED>£ VENERABILIS OSSA.

There still remains another and not the least interesting
feature of the chapel, to which I have to draw your
attention. You will see when we visit it some beautiful
and well-preserved fresco paintings on the east wall at its
north end. They are contemporary with the building, and
comprise a king and bishop, probably St. Oswald and St.
Cuthbert, and some tasteful decoration of conventional leaf
forms very characteristic of the art of the period.
The
lower part of the back of the recess, 1 on the sides of which
the figures occur, is filled with a representation of hangings
the middle of which is now defaced, but where, before the
Dissolution, was a picture of our Lady with the dead
Christ. 2 It is not impossible that the principal altar of the
the roof over where the shrine was placed, and which it has been
supposed was used for lifting the cover, was more. probably for
suspending the light in front of St. Bede's altar. Another pulley
occupies a similar position in front of where the altar of our Lady
of Pity formerly stood.
1
Above the recess the wall has been filled with fresco painting
which is now so far destroyed that the subject cannot be made out.
The wall above the arcade to the south of the recess has also been
decorated.
In the wall just north of where the altar stood is a small aumbry,
which has a slit opening into it from above. This was probably an
arrangement for the reception of offerings of money.
2
It is difficult to decide whether the background of hangings
filled the whole space from the first, or there was in the middle a
picture of our Lady and Chrisb. In the latter case the altar of our
Lady of Pity must have existed there from the time of the building

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

45

Blessed Virgin originally stood there, and was transferred
by Cardinal Langley to the position it afterwards occupied
when he probably built up the great western doorway of
the church. 1 The site in question was up to the time of the
Reformation devoted to the altar of our Lady of Pity, 2
which may have been removed thither by Langley from the
recess to the north of it, which is surmounted by an arch
with the dentelie moulding of a date not later than the
commencement of the thirteenth century, a removal
necessitated by his making there one of the two new
doorways into the Galilee. These paintings are not only
of great interest in themselves, but they possess a further
one of being the only specimens of fresco decoration in the
Cathedral which are now anything more than mere
fragments. The arches and capitals in the Galilee have also
been, though slightly, enriched by colour, and among the
designs are a zig-zag and spiral pattern. I t does not
appear that this kind of decoration had ever been used to
any great extent throughout the church, for very few
remains of it were discovered when the modern whitewash
was lately removed. I shall, however, be able to point out
to you in the aisle of the north transept, where the altars of
of the G-alilee. The picture, may, however, have been an insertion
by Cardinal Langley, if he transferred that altar from the recess on
the north.
1
T h e Consistory Court was held in the G-alilee, and over this
doorway is an inscription that has reference to it—Judicium Jehovas
est, Domine Deus da servo tuo cor intelligens ut judicet populum
tuum et discernat inter bonum et malum.
2
This designation, like the Italian Pieta, refers to the Virgin
Mother supporting* the dead Christ. " On the north side of the said
G-alilee was an altar called the Lady of Pity's altar, with her picture
carrying our Saviour on her knee, as he was taken from the cross, a
very dolorous aspect. The said altar was ordained for a chantry
priest to say mass every holy day, having above the altar on the
wall the one part of our Saviour's passion in great pictures, the other
part being above St. Bede's altar on the south side." Rites of
Durham, p. 38.

46

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

St. Benedict and St. Gregory and that of St. Nicholas and
St. Giles once stood, some portions of the pictures which
adorned the wall behind them, including', in connection with
St. Gregory's altar, the upper part of a figure vested with
the pallium. There are also some scanty remnants of
colour left behind the altars of our Lady of Houghall 1 and
our Lady of Bolton 2 in the aisle of the south transept. The
site of the Neville c h a n t y in the south aisle of the nave
still contains sufficient remains of the delicate and tasteful
pattern to enable you to judge what*the design has been;
and slight traces of colour are to be found upon the arches
of the arcade behind the altars in the chapel of the Nine
Altars. It is probable, indeed, that the walls behind all the
altars in the church have been more or less decorated with
painting, though certainly it had not been used generally
on the church itself.
Although we have no record of the builder, or of the
date when it was built, it is certain that the exterior of the
south-east doorway of the cloister, sometimes called the
Prior's door, is of the time of Pudsey, the interior being
Carilefs work. It is a splendid and characteristic example
of his time and very rich in all its details; though bolder it is,
perhaps, a still more beautiful specimen of late twelfth
1

The designation of this and the adjoining1 altar originated in the
fact, that the funds, by which the priest officiating at each was
paid, arose, in one case, out of land at Houghall, near Durham
in the other, from land at Bolton in the parish of Edlingham,
Northumberland.
2
There are still to be seen, built into the wall, two of the pillars
which once supported the altar stone of our Lady of Bolton ; and
by the side of the south wall of the same aisle there exists, possibly
in situ, the only piscina remaining in the church, a stone in the
pavement with a square sloping drain, which belonged, no doubt, to
the altar of St. Faith and St. Thomas the Apostle which stood there.
A part of the drain of the piscina belonging to the altar of the
Blessed Virgin in the G-alilee still remains to the south of Cardinal
Langley's tomb, where the altar stone itself, with its five crosses
upon it, forms part of the floor.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

47

century decorative architecture than the doorway of
Pudsey's great hall in the castle.
From the time of Pudsey we have no account of anything
having been done until the episcopate of Bishop Poore
(1220-1237), and to him—probably from the fact that
he began to make preparations for it—has always been
attributed the building of the eastern transept, commonly
called the Nine Altars, on account of its having originally
contained that number, one placed under each of the east
windows. It was not commenced until after his death,
when in 1242 Prior Melsanby began the work. Bishop
Poore had been a great builder at Salisbury before he came
to Durham, and he must always have the merit of the
intention, if he did not live to carry out the building" of the
noble specimen of thirteenth century architecture we see in
the Nine Altars. It is quite possible, however, that the
plan may have been made during his lifetime, and that to
his taste and judgment part at least of the credit of this
unrivalled design is due. Some time before his episcopate
cracks had begun to appear at the east end of the church,
and there are a number of indulgences in existence, some
of them going back to an early period and one coming
down as late as 1278, granted by various bishops in aid of
the new work, 1 which was to replace the apse then hastening to its fall. Prior Thomas of Melsanby (1233-1244), in
whose time the building of the Nine Altars was commenced,
had been elected bishop by the monks, but was refused
confirmation by the Crown. He was one of the greatest
men who have sat in the prior's chair at Durham, and to him
we must feel deeply indebted for carrying out the building of the Nine Altars. 2 I am glad to be able to tell you
1

Raine's St. Cuthbert, pp. 99-102. Appendix, p. 7.
- Anno Domini mccxlii., incepit Thomas (de Melsanbi) Prior novam
fabricam seeclesiae, circa festum Sancti Michaelis, juvante Episcopo,
et [ecclesiam de Bedlington ad ejus fabricam conferente. Hist.
Dimelm. Script. Tres, p. 41.

48

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

who the architect was. 1 It is very rarely that the name of
any of the mighty builders of old has been preserved.
They had no ambition that their names should be handed
down to posterity. They were content to build and leave the
work and not themselves to speak. I have, however, come
across the architect of " the new work," as the Nine Altars
was called, as a witness to a conveyance of land in Durham. 2
He was Master Richard de Farnham, possibly a brother
or near relative of Nicholas de Farnham, who was at
the time Bishop of Durham. It has been conjectured,
with much probability, that a head in a close fitting
cap, which occurs more than once and which you will see
in the very beautiful arcade of the Nine Altars, may be a
portrait of the architect. 3
Before we examine the eastern transept, it will be desirable that I should give you, by way of introduction, a
brief description of its principal features, including the platform upon which the shrine of St. Cuthbert once stood. To
those of you who are familiar with Fountains Abbey the
resemblance between the Nine Altars at each place, which
were in course of erection at the same time, will at once be
apparent. The level of the floor of this beautiful example
1
There is an inscription upon the corner stone of one of the
central buttresses at the east end which may give the name of the
master mason. Posuit hano petram Thomas Moises. The name still
exists in Durham, and the city may number among its inhabitants
some of his descendants.
2
The deed, one of the muniments of the Dean and Chapter,
conveys land in the Bailey, from Willelmus aurifaber to Thomas
carnifex, son of Lewinus, and Farnham is described as " Magister
Ricardus de Farinham tunc architector novae fabricas Dunelm." 2da
18mee Spec. No. 7.
3
The Rev. J. F. Hodgson, in an appendix to his valuable and
exhaustive paper on Kirkby Stephen Church, in vol. ii., p. 120, Trans,
of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and
Northumberland, expresses an opinion that there are the heads of
two artists who both worked on the Nine Altars represented in the
arcade.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

49

of thirteenth century architecture is lower than that of the
aisles of the choir, which are themselves lower than that of
the choir itself. It has been supposed that the nature of
the ground at the place—about which I have already
spoken—was the cause of this peculiar arrangement.
I
believe another explanation is more likely to be the true
one. In carrying out such a design as that of the eastern
transept height was essentially necessary in order that the
building might be property proportioned. If it had been
constructed on the same level as the choir it would have
been requisite in order to obtain this height that the roof
should have been higher than that of the choir. This, however, would have materially destroyed the general effect of
the church, for the central bay of the Nine Altars forms,
when seen from the west, the ordinary termination of the
choir. To obviate this difficulty the simplest plan was to
lower the level of the floor, and this has been done without
any detriment to the appearance of the church.
The original termination of the choir of Oarilef s church,
as you have already heard, was almost certainly apsidal,
and it must have extended to within a short distance of the
present end of the Nine Altars, if not quite up to that point. 1
In consequence of its ruinous condition, as we are told, it
became necessary to take it down, a process which appears,
from indications we shall see in the existing building, to
have been effected gradually, the new work, the chapel of
1
Dr. Raine, in an account of the Cathedral, which he gave to the
Archaeological Institute, when that body visited Durham in 1854.
says that in making a grave in 1844 the foundation of the outer wall
of the apse was discovered (Memoirs, Newcastle Meeting, vol. i.,
p. 238). The grave must have been that cf the Rev. James Townsend, who was buried in that year, and, as it was made on the platform, close to the east wall, it seems to be certain that the church
originally extended as far as the present east wall of the Nine
Altars.
A very trifling amount of excavation would settle the question of
an apsidal termination and its extent.

E

50

DUKHAM OATHEDEAL.

the Nine Altars, having- apparently been completed, at all
events as far as the vaulting, before it was joined on to the
Norman choir. I t was begun in 1242, and the eastern wall
up to the roof and the arcade all round were, no doubt,
rapidly brought to completion. The south and north walls
(the north being the latest) above the arcade appear to be
somewhat later than the east wall, the windows in form and
details shewing a decided advance beyond its simple lancets.
The large and fine geometrical window in the north side
(called the Joseph window on account of its having contained in its painted glass the history of the Patriarch) well
deserves your attention. 1 You will observe that the main
ribs of the window are double, the clustered shafts of the
inner tracery being joined to the mullions by through
stones. 2 I shall be able to point out to you clear indications
that, as originally designed, the north end was intended
to correspond with the south.
The foundation of the
vaulting pier at the middle of the wall, which coincides
with that still remaining at the south end, is visible in the
pavement, and the somewhat different form of the trefoiled
arches, and the varied quality of the stone at the place,
shew that the pier had been completed at any rate as far as
the top of the arcade, if it was not finished up to the vaulting. You will observe on the exterior that the massive
sustaining buttress of this pier still remains perfect up to
the sill of the window, where it is now abruptly terminated
by a gabled head. The large rose window is one of Wyatt's
" improvements," in 1795, and did not replace the original
1
In the north alley of the said Nine Altars there is another goodly
fair great glass window, called Joseph's window, the which hath in
it all the whole story of Joseph, most artificially wrought in pictures
in fine coloured glass, according as it is set forth in the Bible, very
good and godly to the beholders thereof. Rites of Durham, p. 3.
2
The clerestory window in the west wall of this limb of the eastern
transept corresponds, except in being of a much smaller size and in
having no cusping in the tracery, with the Joseph window.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

51

thirteenth century window, but one possibly put in by
Prior Wessington (1416-1440), 1 who executed many repairs
about the windows, filling' all the lancets with tracery,
which was removed by Wyatt from those of the east end,
but which still remains, though in a restored form, in those
in the south side. The arcade which occupies the wall beneath all these windows, and is continued round the west
side and at the east end of the choir aisles, is singularly
beautiful. 2 It is of the period when what has been called
the Early English style attained its highest perfection.
Nothing, indeed, can exceed the graceful and yet masculine treatment of the trefoiled arches, with their deeply cut
mouldings, raised on slender shafts of marble and surmounted by capitals where the use of foliage, with all the
crisp and forcible character of the style, combines so artistically with the hood moulding and its sculptured heads. 3
You will equally admire the lofty clustered columns which
divide the ba}^s, their shafts alternately of sandstone and
marble, the latter being detached, doubly banded with
marble and carrying capitals where a pattern of foliage, not
so crisp as that of the arcade but quite as lovely, is found in
1

This window, as we know from the entry in the Liber Vitca (Surtees
Society), p. 115. was glazed by Richard Pickering, rector of Hemingburgh (1409-1413), a church belonging to Durham, at an expense
of £14. It is not expressly mentioned in the list of works executed
by Prior Wessington, an account of which is printed, Hist. Dunelm.
Script. Tres, Appendix, No. ccxxviii., p. cclxxii., and may therefore
have been, equally as regards the stone work as the glass, the work
of Richard Pickering.
2
The arcade is deprived of much of its effect by the introduction
of monumental slabs within its arches, a perfectly unwarrantable
and unnecessary tampering with so beautiful a design. I t is deeply
to be regretted that this injurious treatment is still being continued,
and without even the excuse of the person commemorated having
been buried at Durham.
3
Two of the quatrefoils above the arcade arches are filled, one
with a figure, now mutilated, the other with foliage. It does not, however, appear that the remaining quatrefoils ever contained any subject.

52

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

harmonious combination with animal forms.
The whole
composition, its parts admirably fitted to each other, combines to make up a termination which fully rivals the other
glories of the church.
In addition to the entrances into the Nine Altars from
the choir aisles, there are two doorways leading into the
church from without, placed, as at Fountains, at the west
end of the north and south side. That on the north, which,
as you will see, is now built up, is said to have been made for
the purpose of bringing in the body of Bishop Anthony Bek
in 1311, the first person, except the patron saint, ever interred
within the church. 1 There can, however, be no doubt that
both these doorways are part of the original plan and were
constructed when the arcade through which they pass was
built, and with which in the details of their mouldings they
correspond, though there has, apparently, been some trifling
reconstruction in the north doorway.
Into the Nine Altars is projected on the west side a platform, upon which the shrine of St. Cuthbert 2 was placed and
within which his bones still rest. Access'to it was obtained by
two doorways in the screen behind the High Altar, and also
by two staircases, one still remaining, on the south side of the
platform, and another, now destroyed, on the north side. By
means of this provision persons visiting the shrine were
enabled to ascend one staircase and after paying their
devotions to the saint to pass down the opposite one. 3
1
Betwixt the last two altars lieth buried Anthony Bek, Bishop of
Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem, in a fair marble tomb underneath a fair marble stone, being- the first bishop that ever attempted
to lie so near the sacred shrine of St. Cuthbert, the wall being
broken at the end of the alley, for bringing him in with his coffin.
Rites of Durham, p. 2.
2
A minute description of the costly shrine, too long to quote, is
given in the Rites of Durham, p. 4.
3
There still remain in the floor on both the north and south sides
of the platform several holes in the stones, and on the south side the
mark of where a door has turned upon its hinges. These were pro-

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

35

The platform is now oblong in form, having upon the east
side an arcade of round-headed arches supported by shafts
with moulded capitals. This work is simpler than the rest of
the building, but apparently is of about the same date.
When originally constructed at the east end of Carilefs
church, the platform no doubt followed the line of the apse,
having beyond it the ambulatory which was carried round
that part of the church in continuation of the north and south
aisles of the choir. I think I shall be able to prove to you that
the same form was preserved in the platform when the Nine
Altars was commenced, and that it was only after the work
had made some progress that it was enlarged and assumed
a form more in harmony with the form of the building in
which it was to stand. 1 In proof of this I will direct your
bably all connected with the " aimeryes of wainscot, varnished and
gilted finely over with little images; very seemly and beautiful to
behold, for the relics belonging to St. Cuthbert to lie in ; and within
the said almeryes did lie all the holy relics and gifts that was offered
to that holy man, St. Cuthbert . . . so that for the costly riches and
jewels that was in the same almeryes, and other relics that hung
about within the said feretory upon the irons was accounted to be
the most sumptuous and richest jewels in all this land, . . . for great
was the gifts and goodly devotion of kings and queens, and other
estates of that time towards G-od and holy St. Cuthbert in that
church." Rites of Durham, p. i.
1
The platform was until late years surmounted by an oak screen
of very good design and workmanship, and which added materially
to the general effect of the Nine Altars. It has been supposed that
it was placed there when, during the reign of Queen Mary, the old
religion again became possessed of the Cathedral. According to a
privately issued book, called " Record of Works done in and upon the
Cathedral Church and Collegiate Buildings of Durham," printed for
the Chapter in 1858, 1864, and which is an admirable record of destructive work, it was of ; ' inferior workmanship, probably of
James II."s time, which surmounted three sides of the sanctuary,
and much obstructed the view of the Altar-Screen from the Nine
Altars." I need scarcely say it was destroyed, though a portion of
it still exists, but robbed of its cresting, as a screen in the University
Library. I t is represented in Billings' Durham Cathedral, plates
lxvii., lxviii.

54

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

attention to the piers which support the great arch opening
into the Nine Altars, where you will observe that the bases
of the shafts which stand within the limits of the original
platform are placed upon it, whilst the shafts, which were
at first beyond it, now run through its pavement and have

NINE

ALTARS.

their bases concealed within the platform itself. These
piers have generally been considered to have formed part
of the new work, and to have been erected when that was
being carried out. It is possible, however, that they are,
though not in their present form, the piers from which the

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

55

apse of Carilef s church began to curve, having been refaced
and otherwise altered when the chapel of the Nine Altars
was built.
If they are of the same date as the opposite
piers in the east wall, and in connection with which they
support the main transverse ribs of the vaulting, it might
perhaps be expected that they should agree with them
in the arrangement of the shafts.
The apparent intention
has been to make them as similar to those in the east
wall as was possible, consistently with having to deal
with existing and different shaped piers, and there does not
appear to be any reason why all the four should not have
been more or less alike, if they had all been built at the
same time. There is another feature, too, which seems to
favour this view—the fact that the width of the building
between them is above two feet less than that between the
corresponding Norman piers to the west of them. This
would naturally occur if they represent the original piers at
the commencement of the apse, where the choir was beginning to narrow for the curve, but is not easy to explain if
they were entirely built anew when the Nine Altars was in
progress. 1 I may also tell you that the outer Norman wall
of the choir aisles extends on each side up to the west wall
of the Nine Altars, and, therefore, to the same point eastward as the piers in question.
When you come to examine the west side of the Nine
Altars and the connecting portion between the chapel and
the choir, you will find the work no less beautiful than that
already described, but you will observe that a short interval
1

It is possible that the narrowing of these two piers may have
originated in another way. The east wall of the Nine Altars was
built before the work which connects it with the choir was commenced. The two main shafts on the east wall, which had to support
the transverse ribs of the vault, were then constructed of a certain
width apart, a width narrower than that of the choir, and the opposite piers therefore may have been built on their present site to
correspond in position with those already existing in the east wall.

56

DUKHAM CATHEDRAL.

had elapsed before those parts were completed, and that
during this time some changes in the character of the
mouldings and other features had taken place. The treatment of foliage had become more natural and less stiff, and
there is a greater abundance of animal forms and birds than
in the older capitals j 1 the hollows also are not so deeply
cut nor are the mouldings quite so bold, features, all of
them, showing some advance in style.
The point of junction between the Norman choir and the
thirteenth century work, which connects it with the eastern
transept, may be placed at the fourth pier from the great
choir arch on each side. You will observe that the arch of
the triforium next these piers comes close up to them,
whereas in the corresponding piers to the west there is a
space between the arch and the pier. The same feature is
to be seen in the triforium arch which is next to the piers
of the great choir arch and which have five shafts, the
others having only three. It is very probable that the piers
at the entrance of the apse supported a larger transverse
arch than the others, corresponding in this to the great
choir arch, and that the supporting piers had, like those at
the entrance of the choir, five shafts. These piers, the
body of which forms a part of Oarilefs Norman work,
untouched where they face into the aisles, have been
incased on their choir face with very rich and tasteful
decoration of about the middle of the thirteenth century. 2
This includes two arcades, the lower one of six small blank
1
The capitals of the arch of the north and south aisles where they
open into the Nine Altars are singularly beautiful and characteristic.
Those of the south side are carved with foliage, winged beast-lizard
forms and harpies, some fighting ; those of the north side with foliage, birds, and animal forms.
2
The Norman capitals of the bearing shafts of the fourth bay of
the triforium have been carved with foliage work similar to that
of the thirteenth century capitals adjoining them whilst retaining
generally their old form; the capitals of the shafts to the west of
them have been left untouched.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

57

arches, the upper of three much loftier and more highly
ornamented ones into which banded shafts of dark-coloured
marble have been introduced with excellent effect. I will
ask you to examine every piece of detail in this part of the
church with minute attention. It well deserves it, the
triforium and clerestory being* especially worthy of remark. 1
Above, upon each side of the choir, you will notice a figure
1
A more detailed description of the decorative sculpture in this
part of the choir may be useful. On the north side, the capitals of
the outer shafts of the clerestory arches have foliage work upon
them, the middle one having creatures which combine an animal,
bird and lizard form. The string course below has at intervals the
same creatures. The capitals of the triforium arches have, on the
easternmost one, foliage and similar combined forms, on the next,
four human-headed winged beasts, and on the two remaining ones,
foliage. In the spandrils of the triforium arch are two sunk quatrefoils, in each of which is a bunch of foliage in high relief, and below
each quatrefoil there is a bold boss of foliage. The string course
beneath is ornamented with foliage, human figures, two birds, one
tearing the other, and the combined form of animal, bird and lizard.
The capitals of the arch of the arcade consist of mixed foliage, the
combined form and harpies biting each other. The capitals of the
shafts which support the main vaulting rib contain a single subject,
foxes carrying off geese on their backs, the shafts springing from a
lion and griffin combating. The wall arcade below consists of three
slightly trifoliated arches, each under a canopy richly decorated
with foliage, birds and human figures and heads under small
canopies ; the capitals of the supporting detached shafts have upon
three of them foliage and birds, and upon the fourth foliage and
two animals with twisted tails, the shafts springing from Ql) the
upper half of a winged human figure, holding in each hand a
cymbal ('?), (2) a human head, (3) the upper half of a human figure
whose left hand is pulling at a nondescript creature biting his ear,
(4) the upper half of a man with long hair and beard which he is
pulling with his left hand, his right one being broken off.
On the south side the work is similar but not so varied, and it may
suffice to mention that the shafts of the upper wall arcade spring
from (1) a half human figure, (2) a seated cross-legged figure with
his hands clasped over his head, (H) a crouching figure with one
hand on his knee while the other supports the shaft above, (4) a
double-headed animal whose tail ends in foliage.

58

DURHAM CATHEDKAL.

of an angel under a canopy, that on the south side holding
a crown in the left hand, the other having lost the uplifted
hand and what it formerly held. They are the only two
left out of the numerous host of statues once decorating
the church, and whose beauty makes the destruction which
has taken place the more to be regretted. 1
I have already told you that the Norman roof at the east
end of the choir was in so dangerous a condition at the
early part of the thirteenth century as to be unsafe. How
far the cracks extended towards the west we do not know,
but after the Nine Altars was finished and the connecting
part between it and the choir completed, not only was a
new vault put on to the eastern part of the choir, but the
whole of the original Norman vault was taken down. The
reason for this was almost certainly an artistic one; the
sumptuously decorated vault of the Nine Altars being of a
pointed form, while the original plain vault of the choir was
semi-circular, it would have been quite impossible, when the
great transverse arch was taken down, to bring these two
forms into harmonious combination. It was replaced by
one which in every particular of moulding and decoration
corresponds with that of the Nine Altars. The vaulting
had no doubt been begun at an earlier time, but it appears
to have been unfinished in 1278, in which year there is an
indulgence from William, Bishop of Norwich, in furtherance
of the work. 2
Whatever difficulty, however, there may
have been in collecting the necessary funds for the erection
of this noble addition to the church of Bishop William of
St. Carilef, first projected by Bishop Poore, no expense or
pains had been spared in its being carried out to perfection*
and the vault of the Nine Altars and choir, the last part of
this great work, with its enrichment of dog-tooth ornament
1
Several brackets once supporting statues, all of the fifteenth
century, still remain, two in the choir, five in the south, and five in
the north transept.
2
Raine's St. Cuthbert, p. 102.

DUEHAM CATHEDKAL.

59

of various and graceful forms and bosses of foliage and
figure subjects, 1 fitly completes the building in a style no
less beautiful and effective than the walls which support it.
1
The bosses in the roof of the choir and the circular openings
(well-holes) in that of the Nine Altars are so interesting that they
require a somewhat minute description. The westernmost boss of
the choir roof has, within a quatrefoil, the souls of the faithful
being received into heaven, represented by a bearded figure with
long hair, probably Abraham, holding a cloth with both hands, rising
out of which are seen the heads of small human figures. The next
boss contains nondescripts, some with human heads, and foliage.
The third has the Holy Lamb. The fourth has foliage, and the fifth,
foliage and nondescripts.
The circular opening at the north end of the roof of the Nine
Altars has a most beautifully executed pattern, deeply undercut, of
vine leaves and bunches of grapes, and the boss to the north of it
has a similar pattern. The middle and largest opening has figures
of the four Evangelists with their symbols. St. Matthew, who is
writing in a book, is seated with his feet placed on a crouching
human figure, and behind his shoulder is a small youthful figure.
St. Mark, who is on the opposite side, is seated writing, and has the
winged lion at his feet, which stands on a crouching human figure
and is looking up at the Saint. St. Luke, who is also writing, is
seated with the ox, standing on a crouching human figure, at his
side. St. John, a youth, is seated writing, his feet placed on a
crouching human figure, and with the eagle at his right shoulder.
All the figures are very beautifully and artistically sculptured, the
drapery being executed with great skill. The southern opening has
round it four subjects. 1. A draped standing figure, holding a long
shafted cross with both hands, is apparently being censed by a
smaller figure standing at the side. 2. A similar figure, but looking
like a female, holds a staff, and is being censed by a figure at the
side, while a small half-kneeling figure at the feet holds up its hands
in the attitude of prayer. 3. The next group consists of a figure,
with a canopy overhead, having a smaller figure at the feet in the
attitude of prayer, whilst a figure above with bent knees is censing
the principal figure. 4. A standing figure, with the hands clasped
in front of the waist, is accompanied by three figures, one as large
as itself is kneeling behind, while two smaller ones kneel, one in
front of, and the other behind, the feet, the whole three having
their hands raised as if in prayer. The execution of these figures is
much inferior to that of those round the central opening.

60

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

I m a y assert, indeed, w i t h o u t fear of contradiction, t h a t no
m o r e effective or majestic v a u l t i n g c r o w n s any c h u r c h in
our c o u n t r y . 1
I think it will be desirable for me to b r i n g u n d e r y o u r
notice before w e proceed to visit it, s o m e of w h a t m a y b e
called t h e furniture of t h e choir. T h e most i m p o r t a n t , as it is
n o t t h e least s t r i k i n g a n d beautiful object, is t h e l a r g e a n d
lofty t h r o n e , built b y Bishop T h o m a s de Hatfield ( 1 3 4 5 - 1 3 8 1 )
d u r i n g his lifetime, 2 for his tomb b e n e a t h a n d t h e t h r o n e
above. I t is a s t r u c t u r e w o r t h y of t h e P a l a t i n e See of
D u r h a m , a n d of the m i g h t y Prince-Bishop w h o e r e c t e d it.
T h e a l a b a s t e r figure of t h e Bishop still remains, comp a r a t i v e l y perfect, in richly d e c o r a t e d pontifical v e s t m e n t s ,
l y i n g on an a l t a r - t o m b u n d e r a c a n o p y w h o s e g r o i n i n g is
finely o r n a m e n t e d with bosses of boldly s c u l p t u r e d foliage.
U p o n t h e wall a t each e n d of t h e arch, a n d opposite to t h e
head a n d feet of t h e bishop, a r e t w o a n g e l s painted in fresco.
T h o s e a t t h e feet hold a blank shield, b u t a t t h e o t h e r e n d
t h e painting is too much d a m a g e d to allow t h e object t h e y
hold to be m a d e out.
T h e w h o l e t h r o n e has once b e e n
1

During the middle part of the thirteenth century and for manyyears after that time, it is evident that the convent was engaged
upon very extensive works, of which no doubt the Nine Altars and
the choir roof formed an important part. There exists an agreement
made in 1254, between Robert de Neville, lord of Brancepeth, and
Prior Bertram de Middleton and the convent, concerning Neville's
wood at Aldwood, between Brancepeth and Willington. The
agreement was to be in force for thirty years, and the timber
growing upon six acres was to be delivered each year to the convent
to be carried to Durham. There are a number of clauses in the
agreement connected with ensuring the new growing trees being
protected, and with the herbage for cattle and pannage for pigs, the
preservation of wild animals and of the nests of hawks and other
birds. The prior and convent, however, were not to incur any loss
on account of the lord or his servants hunting. Hist. Dunelm.
Script. Tres, Appendix, No. lxvii., p. lxxxiii.
2
Hist. Dunelm. Scrip. Tres, pp. 137, 139, 142. Appendix, No.
cxxxii., p. cxlix.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

61

richly gilded and coloured, and contains many shields with
the bishop's and other arms upon them. In the construction
of the upper portion of the throne you will observe that it
is not well fitted into the space it occupies between the
pillars, and that some of its parts do not quite correspond
with each other. The impression given by these incongruities is, that Hatfield used some pieces of stone work
already carved before he planned the throne, and that it
possibly was, like the Galilee, not intended from the
first to occupy the position in which it was ultimately
placed.
Another beautiful piece of work of about the same
period as the throne is the screen behind the High Altar,
commenced to be built in 1372 and finished before 1380.
when the altar was dedicated. It is commonly called the
Neville screen, on account of the greater part of the expense
of erecting it having been defrayed by John, Lord Neville,
of Raby, 1 though Prior Fossor (1341-1374), 2 Prior Berrington (1374-1391) and others 3 bore some part of the cost. It
was brought from London to Newcastle by sea, and has
always been spoken of as made of Caen stone, " French
peere " as it is called in the Rites of Durham, being really
Dorsetshire clunch. It is, as you will see, a verj- graceful
composition, but suffers somewhat from the absence of the
figures of alabaster, 107 in number, which once occupied the
niches. The central figure was that of our Lady, having
on one side St. Cuthbert, and on the other St. Oswald. 4 The
screen is continued along both sides of the sacrarium forming sedilia of four seats on each side. Immediately to the
west of these sedilia, you will observe a small closet or aumbry
in the wall on each side of the choir, where before the Dis1

Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 135.
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 136.
3
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 136. Inventories of Jarrow and
Wearmouth, Surtees Society, Vol. xxix., pp. 60, 169, 237.
4
Rites of Durham, p. 6.
2

62

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

solution various articles connected with the High iUtar and
its services were deposited. 1 The present doors are modern.
The matrix of a very large brass, but without any portion
of the metal work which once occupied it, still remains in
the centre of the choir in front of the altar steps. It
covered the grave of Bishop Lewis Beaumont (13181333). 2 You will observe upon the second pier from the
great choir arch on each side of the choir that some holes
have been cut in the stonework. These probably mark
where a beam of wood crossed the choir upon which were
placed a cross and lights, and from which the Lenten veil
may have hung. To the east of this the Paschal, " estimated
to be one of the rarest monuments in England," was set up
" from the Thursday, called Maunday Thursday, before
Easter, until Wednesday after the Ascension Day." For
a description of it I must refer you to the Rites of Durham,
where a full account is given. 3
It was ordered to be
defaced in 1579, 4 but could not have been then destroyed,
for there are payments made at various subsequent times for
cleansing1 the Paschal. The altar consists of a slab of red
marble, carried on six supports of the same material inlaid
with marble of a greenish colour. It has been attributed
to Bishop Cosin, but is certainly that put up in Dean Hunt's
time (1620-1638). 5
The various vessels used at the
1
In the north side of the quire there is an almerye near to the
high altar, fastened in the wall, for to lay anything in pertaining- to
the high altar. Likewise there is another almerye in the south side
of the quire nigh the high altar, enclosed in the wall, to set the
chalices, the basins and the cruets in, that they did minister withal
at the high mass, with locks and keys for the said almeryes. Rites
of Durham, p. 11.
2
Rites of Durham, p. 12, where a description of the monument
with the inscriptions upon it is to be found.
3
Rites of Durham, p. 8.
4
By an Act of Chapter, Dec. 1, 1579, "Also it is decreed likewise
that the Paschal shall be defaced by the officers, and such as they
appoint for that purpose, before the next Chapter Day."
5
There are holes on the face of the supporting pillars no doubt

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

63

administration of the Holy Communion, the alms dishes and
candlesticks, of silver gilt, have been usually regarded as
having been given by Bishop Cosin, whose arms they bear.
With the exception of the vessel used for holding the bread
before consecration and its cover, which are original, they
were all recast in 1767, the inscriptions and arms being
retained. 1 Before the Dissolution there were hung in front
of the high altar three silver basins containing wax candles
" which did burn continually both day and night, in token
that the house was always watching to God." 2 The stalls,
with the tabernacle work over them, were erected after the
Restoration, during the episcopate of Bishop Cosin (16601672), and though now deprived of the returns on each side,
which are wanting to complete the design, are remarkable
pieces of carving if we remember the time when they were
designed. It is not impossible that some remains of the old
wood work may have escaped the destruction caused by
the Scotch prisoners, confined in the church after the battle
of Dunbar in 1650,3 and may have to some extent served as
a model for the new work. You will notice at the west
end of the nave a very good example of the same style of
carving, also put up by Bishop Cosin—the canopy over the
font. It is now placed above a most contemptible piece of
pseudo-Norman sculpture in the shape of a font, which
replaces the handsome white marble basin erected in 1663. 4
for attaching- " upon every black pillar three cherubim faces as
white as snow " of which Peter Smart complains. Cosin's Correspondence (Surtees Society), Vol. i., pp. xxvi., 169, 179. Two panels
of blue limestone, now placed one on each side of the present altar,
may possibly have formed part of the pre-Reformation one.
1
Minute of Chapter, Dec. 8,1766. Agreed that all the plate be sent
to London to be exchanged or gilt by the direction of Mr. Dean.
2
Rites of Durham, p. 12.
3
Rites of Durham, pp. 12, 34.
4
In an account of necessary repairs in the Cathedral, June 12,
1663. " To the building of a new font, somewhat suitable to that
which the Scotts destroyed."

64

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

This was recklessly removed not many years ago, 1 with
many other treasures, by those who ought to have had
more regard for possessions which had been handed down
to their care by the pious liberality and taste of great men
of old. 2 Two of the handsome chandeliers in the choir,

THE
1

CHOIR,

LOOKING

WEST.

I t now serves as the font in Pittington Church near Durham.
2
I t is impossible not to regret the destruction of the choir screen
erected by Bishop Cosin. It was a very magnificent work of
elaborately and richly carved oak most characteristic of the time
when it was executed. There was no attempt to imitate the
architectural features of an earlier time, though it was evident that
the artist who designed it was actuated by the reasonable desire to
make it, by a bold and vigorous treatment, harmonise in its general
effect with the building in which it was placed.

DUEHAM CATHEDRAL.

65

after having been cast out of the church, have happily been
restored to their old place, the central and largest one,
which for a time served to light Ryton Church, and was
then sold to a Music Hall in Newcastle, was ultimately
melted. 1
In the nortli aisle of the choir you must not neglect to
examine a stone bench which runs along the side wall,
having the arms of Bishop Skirlaw (1388-1405) upon it.
He was buried close by, in front of the altar of St. Blaise
and St. John of Beverley, which he had founded and where
he had constructed his own monument. 2 In the piers at
the east end of the aisle you will observe that some new
stones have been inserted. This marks the place where
" was the goodliest fair porch, which was called the
Anchorage, having in it a marvellous fair rood, with the
most exquisite pictures of Mary and John, with an altar for
a monk to say daily mass; being in ancient time inhabited
with an anchorite, whereunto the priors were wont much to
frequent, both for the excellency of the place as also to
hear the high mass, standing so conveniently unto the high
altar and withal so near a neighbour to the sacred shrine
of St. Cuthbert, whereunto the priors were most devoutly
addicted." 3 A little west of the bench above mentioned is
a doorway which opened into the Sacrist's exchequer,
afterwards the song school, erected at an expense of £60
by Prior Wessington (1416-1446), 4 a building which
disappeared above two centuries ago. 5 Several marks are
still visible on the piers at the west end of the aisle. They
1

They were ordered to be made by Act of Chapter, Nov. 20, 1751.
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 144. Testamenta Eboracensia
(Surtees Society), Vol. i., p. 307. Rites of Durham, pp. 15, 16.
3
Rites of Durham, p. 15.
4
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, Appendix, No. ccxxviii., p. cclxxii.
Rites of Durham, p. 16.
5
It was taken down by order of Bishop Morton, when Charles
the First visited Durham on his progress to Scotland. Rites of
Durham, p. 81.
2

F

66

DUKHAM CATHEDRAL.

represent the place where " there was a porch . . . having"
in it an altar, and the rood or picture of our Saviour, which
altar and rood was much frequented in devotion by Doctor
Swallwell, sometime monk of Durham, the said rood having
marvellous sumptuous furniture for festival days belonging
to it." 1 In the piers at the east end of the south aisle are
still to be seen the marks left by holes cut in the stone.
Into these were inserted the beams which supported a
screen " all adorned with fine wainscot work and curious
painting," in front of which was placed the " Black Rood of
Scotland " taken from King David at the battle of Neville's
Cross in 1346. It was " m a d e of silver, being, as it were,
smoked all over, . . . with the picture of our Lady on the
one side and St. John's on the other side, very richly
wrought in silver, all three having crowns of gold." 2
Further west in the wall of the south aisle, you will see a
doorway of about the end of the thirteenth century, once
forming the entrance into the revestry, removed without
any cause in 1802. This building extended almost the
entire length of the aisle, and was constructed by Henry de
Luceby, when he was sacrist, 3 who afterwards in 1300,
during the dissension between Bishop Bek and Prior Hoton,
was intruded into the priorate. It was used by the bishop
or his suffragan for mass at the consecration of priests or
giving of any holy orders, and by the monks who said high
mass to put on their vestments. 4 Within it, at the west
end, was a chamber to which access was had by a staircase
opening out of a fifteenth century doorway situated a little
to the west of the greater doorway of the vestry. This
chamber was appropriated to two of the four men who rang
the bells at midnight and other times, and who kept the
1

Rites of Durham, p. 16.
Rites of Durham, pp. 16, 22.
3
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 77.
4
Rites of Durham, pp. 7, 17.
2

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

67

church clean, filled the holy water stones, and locked the
church doors at night. 1
I t is due to Prior Fossor (1342-1374) that the large
window in the north transept was inserted, 2 and which was
lengthened by Prior Castell (1494-1519 ), 3 who filled it with
stained glass. Prom some of the figures therein represented
the name of the window of the Four Doctors of the Church
was given to it. During the priorate of John Fossor, the
great west window of the nave was constructed. 4 The
window at the end of the. south transept, called, on account
of the glass it contained, the Te Deum window, 5 is possibly
the work of Prior Wessington (1416-1446), who made a
window near the clock at a charge of 71s. l i d . 6 This,
however, no doubt refers to a smaller window in the west
wall, the sum being much below what the large south
window must have cost.
In Cardinal Langley's time (1406-1437) a great amount
1

Rites of Durham, p. 19.
The cost of the mason work was £100 and of the glass £32.
Prior Fossor also made a smaller window on the west side of the
same transept, which still exists, and which cost in mason work and
glazing £20, and in addition he glazed the three windows on the
east side of the transept at the cost of £13, 6s. 8d. Hist. Dunelm.
Script. Tres, p. 131. Appendix, No. cxxiv., p. cxlii.
3
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 153. Rites of Durham, p. 27.
4
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 132. I t contained ' ; the Root of
Jesse, in most fine coloured glass, very finely and artificially pictured
and wrought in colours, very goodly and pleasantly to behold, with
Mary and Christ in her arms in the top of the said window in most
fine coloured glass also." Rites of Durham, p. 36.
5
Also in the south end of the alley of the Lantern, above the
clock, there is a fair large glass window called the Te Deum window,
very fair glazed, according as every verse of Te Deum is sung or said,
so is it pictured in the window, very finely and curiously wrought in
fine coloured glass, with the nine order of ang-els, viz.. Thrones,
Dominations, Cherubims, &c, with the picture of Christ, as he was
upon the cross crucified, and the Blessed Virgin Mary with Christ in
her arms, as he was born. Rites of Durham, p. 27.
6
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, Appendix, No. ccxxviii., p. cclxxiii.
2

68

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

of work was done in the Galilee. 1 He found it in a ruinous
condition, and put on a new roof, inserting the three
windows in the middle of the west wall, 2 which he
strengthened by massive buttresses, between two of them
building a small vestry. He also probably blocked up the
original west door of the church, making two new ones, one
on each side, in place of it, and erected his own tomb in
front of the original doorway, behind which he placed the
altar of the Blessed Virgin. The wood work of the reredos
of that altar, of great interest, containing paintings of the
early part of the fifteenth century, 3 was taken away not
many years ago, and scarcely a vestige of it now remains. 4
Why it was thought necessary to destroy this I cannot say,
though I have been told it was to obtain an uninterrupted
view from one end of the building to the other. It is
difficult to speak of the wanton destruction which has taken
place in the Cathedral with any degree of patience. There
has been almost as much mischief done during the last forty
1
Iste cantariam ex mamore in G-alilasa fundavit . . . cum armis
artificiose in summitate ejusdem ostii in marmore insculptis, cujus
sumptibus tota G-alil^ea reparabatur ad summam £449, 6s. 8d. Hist.
Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 146. The work, under the superintendence
of Henry Fereby, Sacrist of the Monastery, went on from March,
1428, to August, 1435, and according- to the bills still remaining in
the Treasury (Misc. Chart., Nos. 5713-5721) amounted to £468, lis.
6Jd.
2
The tracery lights of these contain their original painted glass,
in a patched condition, as described in Kites of Durham, p. 40. The
flight into Egypt may be noticed in the central window.
3
Within the said G-alilee in the chantry, being all of most
excellent blue marble, stood our Lady's altar, a very sumptuous
monument finely adorned with curious wainscot work, both above
the head, at the back, and at either end of the said altar ; the
wainscot being devised and furnished with most heavenly pictures,
so lively in colours and gilting, as that they did. greatly adorn the
said altar. Eites of Durham, p. 37.
4
A few small panels, filled with delicate tracery, were happily
rescued from a joiner's shop and now form part of the pulpit in
Croxdale Church.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

69

years as was done previously during a couple of centuries.
Beautiful pieces of work, containing many interesting
features, have been swept away under the ridiculous notion
of restoring the building to what was called its original
state of Norman simplicity. All the perpendicular tracery
in the windows of the nave .has been destroyed, the south
front having been at the same time refaced, during which
process much Norman detail disappeared. The screen
dividing the nave from the choir and those separating the
transepts from their aisles, and the clock case, which had
been originally erected by Prior Castell and still contained
much of his wTork, with later additions of the time of Dean
Hunt, have all been removed.
Among other reparations made by Cardinal Langley in the
Galilee was the addition to the two original disengaged
shafts of Purbeck marble of two others of freestone. 1
This altered the columns into clustered ones of four shafts,
the first design not, however, being interfered with in the
shafts at the west end of the chapel.
Cardinal Langley's architect probably thought that the
effect of so many thin shafts was confusing, and gave a
feeling of instability to the building, and therefore added
the shafts, which are in no sense constructional. The
manner in which he copied the older capitals and bases in
his added shafts is a by no means common instance
of mediaeval builders copying earlier details in their
own work.
The additional shafts give no support to
the arches and are merely applied against the original ones,
the capitals of which they do not underlie. They were,
therefore, not built on account of any strengthening
purpose, but merely for appearance sake.
1
That the added shafts are due to Cardinal Langley is shewn by
the entry in two of the account rolls, for 1432-3, and 1433-5.
Empcio lapidum. Item in xxix futhers lapidum emptis pro columpnis G-alilese, 56s. 9£d. Empcio lapidum. Item in xii futhers
lapidum emptis pro columpnis Galilese, cum cariagio, 17s. 7d.

70

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

I must now ask you to bring your thoughts back from
the Galilee to the Lantern, under which we are standing.
In whatever way the central tower was finished by Bishop
Carilef, though probably it was comparatively low, with a
short roof-like spire, but very little of the original work
appears to be left above the .lower of the two interior
galleries, itself an erection of the fifteenth century. Hugh
de Derlington, prior from 1258 to 1272 and again from
1285 to 1289, we are told, added a belfry to it. 1 We know
of nothing more in connection with the tower for nearly
two centuries, when, during the night before Corpus Christi
day (Thursday after Trinity Sunday) in the year 1249, it
was set on fire by lightning and great damage ensued. 2 A
graphic account of the catastrophe is given in a letter from
Prior Wessington to the bishop, Cardinal Langley. 3 The
reparation commenced at once and cost the convent
£233, 6s. 8d.,4 but, whatever was then done, the tower was
as soon after as 1455 in a very unsafe state, for a letter from
the prior, William Ebchester, to Bishop Neville, tells a
lamentable story of its ruinous condition. 5
The entire
1
Hist Dunelm. Script. Tres. p. 46. According to Leland this was
in 1264. Itiner., Vol. viii., Pt. 2, p. 12. Ed. 1770.
2
The account of the fire seems to imply that a considerable part
of the bell tower was constructed of wood, having at the top something of the nature of a cupola (tolus), called " le poll," and made
of copper or brass.
3
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres. Appendix, No. cxciii., p. ccxvii.
4
Hist.Dunelm. Script. Tres, Appendix, No. ccxxviii., p. cclxxiii. The
stone," sexies viginti f other," for this work appears to have been bought
of John Claxton of Burn in 1430, and came from his quarry ' juxta
heremetorium de Burn." 1. c , No. cxcv., p. ccxiv. A letter, dated
1432, authorising John Walkere, the proctor of the convent, to
collect alms for the fabric of the church, probably has reference to
the same repairs. He carried with him a silver gilt cross with our
Lord's image and those Of the Blessed Virgin and St. John, a piece
of the white cloth in which the body of St. Cuthbert had been
wrapped for four hundred years, and divers indulgences of Popes,
Archbishops and Bishops. 1. c , No. cci., p. ccxxiv.
5
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, Appendix, No. ccl., p. cccxxxiv.

DUEHAM CATHEDEAL.

71

rebuilding of the upper part of the tower, if we may judge
from the architectural features of the present structure,
then commenced, the new work beginning at the lower
gallery which runs round the inside of the tower. The
gallery 1 itself seems to have been built during the priorate
of Richard Bell (1464-1478), afterwards bishop of Carlisle.2
If any of you will undertake the ascent, you will see among
the corbels, all worth careful inspection, one with a mermaid
holding a comb and a mirror, 3 another with a bell in relief
upon it, and a third with a bell and R. The result of these
various works has been the construction of a lantern of bold
and grand proportions and of striking effect. The tower
was not finished in 1474, for in that year Prior Bell writes to
Dr. Morton about the " re-edificacion of our steple, begun
but nogt fynyshed in defaulte of goods, as God knaweth." 4
The upper stage, the belfry, may perhaps be attributed to
a time still later and one not long before the end of that
century. The exterior has been entirely refaced and much
altered in detail in the year 1859.
It will not be a difficult task for you to bring your eyes
down from the lantern, which has so well deserved
examination, to the nave and its aisles, to some of whose
subordinate features I wish to draw your attention. I am
not going to speak of its general appearance and effect,
nor to describe its several parts and their architectural
1
In the parapet which encloses the gallery, at the centre of each
of its sides and in each angle are the beginnings of what have been
or were intended to be, pinnacles.
2
Three shields of arms occur upon the brackets on the west side.
One, three boars' heads erased within a bordure engrailed (Bp.
Booth).
A second, Paly of six, and in dexter chief a mullet
(Cardinal Langley), and the third a lion passant.
3
Upon one of the Misereres of the stalls in the choir of Carlisle
Cathedral, which are of the time of Bishop Bell, is a mermaid with
a comb and mirror. It was probably a badge of Richard Bell.
4
Eegistrum Parvum, iii., folio 160.

72

DURHAM OATHEDEAL.

characteristics. 1 It tells its own story, and more affectingly
than any words of mine can do. Indeed, to describe a
picture when it is before the spectator is, at the best, but a
waste of words. What I have to tell you is in explanation
of some existing, and other departed, structures in this,
which may be called the people's, 2 as opposed to the choir,
the monastic, section of the church. Before the Dissolution
there was a solid screen of stone constituting" the division
between these two separate parts, and which crossed the
nave between the western piers of the lantern. In front of
it was the Jesus' altar " where Jesus mass was sung every
Friday throughout the whole year." 3 Upon the top of the
screen, which formed the rood loft, was " the most goodly
and famous rood that was in all this land, with the picture
of Mary on the one side and the picture of John on the
other, with two splendent and glistering Archangels, one
on the one side of Mary and the other on the other side of
John. So what for the fairness of the wall, the stateliness
of the pictures, and the livelyhood of the painting, it was
thought to be one of the goodliest monuments in that
1
There are many features at Durham, and especially in the nave,
which recall Waltham Abbey to our recollection. Mr. Freeman has
ably argued that Waltham was built by Harold, other authorities,
however, place it later and after the time of the building" of Durham,
to which time the existing remains at Waltham would seem to
attach it. Waltham, which had belonged to Harold, was given to
Bishop Walcher after he was appointed to Durham, and was afterwards continued to William of St. Carilef. There was, therefore,
such a connection between the places as would account for the
similarity of the two churches, but this connection only took place
after the death of Harold.
2
I n many monastic churches the nave formed the church of the
people whilst the choir served for that of the monks. This will
account for those cases where the nave of a monastic church has
been preserved as a parish church, when the choir has been allowed
to fall into decay or has been used for building material and so
destroyed. The very beautiful nave of Bridlington Priory may be
adduced as an instance.
3
Rites of Durham, p. 28.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

73

church." 1 Immediately to the south of Jesus' altar, in the
aisle, two of whose bays it occupied, was the Neville
chantry, in which was an altar where mass was daily said
for the souls of the members of that great house. 2 In it
were ultimately buried Ralph, Lord Neville, who died in
1367, and Alice de Audley, his wife, who died in 1374. 3 It
may interest you to know that this Lord Neville, who
commanded the English army at the battle of Neville's
Cross in 1346, was the first layman who obtained burial
within the church. 4
His son, John, Lord Neville, and
Matilda Percy, his wife, were also buried in the chantry, 5
as, according to the Rites of Durham, was Robert Neville,
bishop of Durham, who died in 1457. 6 The altar-tombs of
Ralph, Lord Neville, that now the furthest to the east, and
1
Rites of Durham, p. 29.
- This altar is called by John, Lord Neville, in a defeazance,
connected with the chantry priest, dated May 6th, 1378, ;i altare
magna? crucis."' Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, Appendix, No. cxxvii.,
p. cxliv.
:!
Ralph, Lord Neville, and his wife, Alice, had originally been
buried in the nave and were removed into the chantry in the south
aisle in 1116, by license of Cardinal Langley. Hist. Dunelm. Script.
Tres, Appendix, No. clxxxi., p. ccvi.
4
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres. p. 131. Rites of Durham, p. 50.
5
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 137. Rites of Durham, p. 50.
u
Rites of Durham, p. 31 ; and Chambre says " humatus jacet cum
antecessoribus suis in parte australi secclesiae Cathedralis Dunelm."
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 117. Bishop Neville, however, in his
will directs that he shall be buried in the G-alilee, " juxta feretrum
sive tumbam venerabilis patris Sancti Bedae, ante altare ad honorem
ejusdem Sancti constructum." Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, Appendix,
No. cclv., p. cccxli. Leland also (Itinerary, Vol. viii., Pt. 2, p. 8, ed.
1770) makes the following statement, "Robert Neville, Bishope of
Durham, lyithe in a highe playne marble tumbe in the Galile. . . .
There liethe at the hedde of this Neville Richard de Castro Bernardi
undar a flat stone. There liethe at his hed one of the Nevilles.
There is also a tumbe of Bede the noble monke." I t is difficult to
reconcile these conflicting accounts, but the stone which once
covered Bishop Neville's grave is at present placed close to the
tombs of his relatives in the nave.

74

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

of John, his son, tog-ether with the matrix of the brass of
the bishop, all of which formerly stood within the chantry,
are now placed between the piers of the nave arcade. They
are sadly mutilated, due, it is said, to the Scotch prisoners
confined in the church in 1650, but enough is left of that of
John Neville, with the shields of arms of himself and his
wife, and its array of small figures, 1 in niches round the
sides, to show how fine an example it has been of the
sepulchral memorials of its days. The remains of the painted
glass which once occupied the windows lighting the
chantry, containing amongst others the Neville shield of
arms, have entirely disappeared within my own recollection.
To the east of the Neville chantry " was a chamber
where one that kept the church and rung the bells at midnight did lie in." 2 Close by the south door, and fixed to the
pillar opposite, was a holy water stoup, another being in the
corresponding- part in the north aisle, both " of fine marble
very artificially made and graven, and bost with hollow
bosses upon the outer side of the stones, very finely and
curiously wrought." They were taken down by Dean
Whittingham (1563-1579), " and carried into his kitchen, and
put into profane uses," such as steeping beef and saltfish.3
1
These small figures which have hitherto been spoken of as the
children of John Neville, no doubt represent funereal mourners.
There have originally been eighteen of them, and John Neville had
only nine children. Similar representations occur on many tombs.
2
Rites of Durham, p. 84.
3
Rites of Durham, p. 52. " The fairest of them stood within the
north church door, . . . being wrought in the corner of the pillar,. . .
having a very fair screen of wainscot overhead, finely painted with
blue and little gilted stars, being kept very clean, and always fresh
water was provided against every Sunday morning by two of the
bell-ringers or servitors of the church, wherein one of the monks
did hallow the said water very early in the morning before divine
service." 1. c , p. 32. " The one of them, viz., that at the south
door, serving the Prior and all the convent with the whole house.
The other at the north door . . . serving all those that came that
way to hear divine service." 1. c , p. 33.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

75

A third was placed near the prior's door, 1 and a piece
of Frosterley marble let into the corner where the south
transept and south aisle of the nave join may possibly
mark its site. At the west end of the south aisle, near the
Galilee door, " was a grate whither the sanctuary men did
fly to when they came for refuge to St. Cuthbert," and where
" they had meat, drink and bedding and other necessaries
of the house cost and charge, for thirty-seven days." 2
We will now pass outside the church and examine the
cloister, about some of whose surrounding buildings I have
already spoken. It occupies a considerable space of ground
left open at the centre, where the lavatory was placed, in
reference to which I shall presently have to say a few words,
and was enclosed on the north side by the church, and on
the other sides by those various structures which had relation
to the household economy of the monastery and to its
domestic and political life. Around it, in the dormitory and
refectory, the monks slept, lived and ate. They studied in
the library and in the small wooden chambers—carrells, as
they were called—one of which was placed in front of each
compartment of the windows of the north alley, 3 which,
like the east one, was glazed, the latter containing in its
windows the history of St. Cuthbert. 4 In the west alley
the novices had their school where they were taught by
the master of the novices, " one of the oldest monks that
was learned," who had opposite to them " a pretty seat of
wainscot, adjoining to the south side of the treasury door." 5
1

Rites of Durham, p. 35.
Rites of Durham, pp. 35, 36.
3
Rites of Durham, p. 70.
4
Rites of Durham, p. 65.
5
Rites of Durham, pp. 71, 81. In the north-west corner of the
cloister the buttress there is perforated by a "squint." This has
been usually regarded as a provision to allow the master of the
novices to overlook his pupils when at work. We have seen that his
stall was opposite to them in the same alley, and this explanation is
2

76

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.
1

In the treasury, situated at the north end of the crypt under
the dormitory and which is still divided by its ancient iron
grating-, were kept the title deeds and other muniments of
the church—in themselves no small treasure.
At the
other end of the same crypt was the common house, 2 the
only place where there was a fire for ordinary use, and
which was frequented by the monks as their room for converse and recreation, and which had in connection with it
a garden and a bowling alley. 3 In the chapter-house on the
east side the monks met the prior between five o'clock and
six "every night there to remain in prayer and devotion"
during that time. 4 Here also at other times they assembled
in chapter to regulate all matters connected with the life
within the body, and to order the many transactions'which
as a great corporation the convent necessarily had with the
world without. Close by, on the one side of the chapter
house, out of which it opened, was the prison, where for
minor offences a monk was confined; and on the other side
was the passage through which his bod}' was conveyed to
his last home in the cemetery beyond. 5
There was a cloister in the earliest days of the monastery,
but of this nothing remains ; and we are told 6 that Pudsey
erected one, with which some marks on the north and east
walls, indicating that a lean-to roof existed there, may be
therefore inadequate. I am unable to offer any suggestion as to its
use.
1
Rites of Durham, p. 71.
2
Within this house ,did the master thereof keep his 0 Sapientia,
once in the year, viz., betwixt Martinmas and Christmas, a solemn
banquet that the Prior and convent did use at that time of the year
only, when their banquet was of figs and raisins, ale and cakes, and
thereof no superfluity or excess, but a scholastical and moderate
congratulation among themselves. Rites of Durham, p. 75.
3
Rites of Durham, pp. 75, 84.
4
Rites of Durham, p. 73.
5
Rites of Durham, p. 44.
6
Leland. Collectanea, Vol. i., p. 122. Ed. 1774.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

77

connected. The present cloister was begun in his episcopate
and owes much to Bishop Skirlaw (1388-1406), who both in
his lifetime and by will contributed a large sum of money
towards the work. 1 Cardinal Langley, his successor (14061437), followed in his steps, 2 but the building was not
completed before 1418. 3 It has been so much altered in
modern times, that little except the ceiling, the wood of
which is of a very beautiful kind, is left of the structure in
anything like its original state. 4 The dormitory, which
occupies the whole of the western side, has some remains of
a twelfth century building still left in the doorway which
leads into it from the cloister and in part of a window or
other opening 5 on the west side fronting into the monks'
garden, where are considerable remains of the substructure
and north wall of the great latrines, described in the Rites
of Durham, p. 72. The crypt underneath, which extends
the whole length of the dormitory, is a very good example
of plain work of the earliest part of the thirteenth century,
and remains in its entirety, though now divided, as it was to
some extent in older days, into several compartments.
Nothing is left of the building which must have taken the
place of the Norman one at the time when the crypt was
constructed, unless a doorway at the north end is part of it.
1
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 145. Wills and Inventories,
Surtees Society, Vol. ii., p. 44.
2
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 146.
3
By an Indenture made Michaelmas, 1416, Thomas Hyndeley,
mason, and others were bound to complete a fourth part of the
cloister by the same day, 1418. Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres,
Appendix, No. clxxix., p. cciv.
4
Even the roof has been much damaged, as a piece of heraldic
evidence, by the introduction during the present century of coats of
arms which were not there formerly.
5
Close by this opening are some stones in juxtaposition having a
zig-zag moulding upon them. Although they are probably not in
situ they may be portions of the earlier building to which the
adjoining doorway or window belonged. •

78

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

This opened into the church under the south-west tower, and
led probably by a wooden gallery through another doorway
in the tower staircase into the church itself. The dormitory,
as it now exists, was begun in 1398 and completed in 1404,
Bishop Skirlaw being a considerable contributor to the
expense. 1 The contracts for the work with two masons,
John Middleton and Peter Dryng, still exist in the treasury. 2
It was fitted with small wooden chambers for the use of the
monks and novices for sleeping and stud}', 3 and was under
the charge of the sub-prior, who had his chamber at the
north end near the door. These chambers (every monk
having one to himself) were formed by a wooden partition
midway between each window and by another down the
centre of the window, thus giving half a window to light
each cell. The chambers of the novices were at the south
end, " eight on each side, every novice his chamber to
himself, not so close nor so warm as the other chambers,
nor having any light but what came in at the foreside of
their chambers, being all close else both above and on either
side." 4 The room is 194 feet long and 41 feet wide, and is
still covered with its original solid and massive roof of oak
trunks barely touched by the axe. In monastic days " the
mydest of the dorter was all paved with fine tyled stone,
from the one end to the other," which in part remained
until not many years ago. 5 Opening out of the dormitory
to the east, at its south end, where a modern doorway
has replaced the earlier one, is a room which was called by
the monks " the loft,"6 and which forms, in connection with
1
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 145. Wills and Inventories,
Surtees Society, Vol. ii., p. 43.
2
The two contracts, dated respectively 1398 and 1401, are printed
in the Appendix to Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, No. clx., clxiv., pp.
clxxx., clxxxvii.
3
Rites of Durham, p. 72.
4
Rites of Durham, p. 72.
5
Rites of Durham, p. 78.
6
Rites of Durham, pp. 73, 78.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

79

the refectory, the south side of the cloister. I t was the
place where the monks, with the sub-prior presiding,
ordinarily dined, having beneath it what was once the cellar
of the convent. Beyond this, to the east, was the refectory
or frater-house, standing above the early crypt which I
have already described to you, where the prior and monks
dined together on the twentieth of March, St. Cuthbert's
day. 1 Whatever it was before then, though possibly the
original building still remained in part at least unaltered, it
was entirely reconstructed by Dean Sudbury (1661-1684), 2
who made it into the library, transferring the books from
the old library adjoining to the chapter-house and filling it
with the handsome and commodious oak cases which now
furnish it. 3 Near to it, on the south-west, is the kitchen of
the monastery, now attached to the deanery, an octagonal
building which well deserves your examination. I will,
when we visit it, draw your particular attention to the
peculiar and picturesque treatment of its groined roof. It
had at one time a communication with the cellarer's office
on the west—a building but lately destroyed—and with the
loft and refectory on the north side. It was begun and to
a great extent completed during the priorate of John Fossor4
(1341-1374), but was not finished until the episcopate of
Cardinal Langley (1406-1437), who contributed largely to
the work. 5 The roll of expenses, commencing in 1368, still
remains in the treasury. Before leaving the subject of the
cloister and its adjacent buildings, I must tell you that you
will be able to see at the centre of the garth what is left of
1

Rites of Durham, pp. 4, 68.
The east wall does not appear to have been taken down, and
there are still left upon it, behind the book-cases, some remains of
fresco painting-. The present windows are modern and are not even
copies of the characteristic ones of Dean Sudbury's time.
3
A full length portrait of Dean Sudbury hangs at the east end of
the room.
4
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 132.
5
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, p. 146.
2

80

DURHAM CATHEDEAL.

t h e l a v a t o r y . I t was originally an o c t a g o n a l s t r u c t u r e , t h e
upper p a r t being occupied as a dovecot. 1
B e g u n in 1432,
it w a s completed t h e n e x t y e a r .
Some of t h e s t o n e s ,
i n c l u d i n g t h e basin which still exists, w e r e b r o u g h t from
E g g l e s t o n on t h e T e e s , of t h e a b b o t of which m o n a s t e r y
they were bought.2
Before concluding t h e description of t h e c h u r c h , it is
n e c e s s a r y t h a t I should say a few w o r d s to you about t h e
exterior.
W e h a v e a l r e a d y d e l i g h t e d in its n a t u r a l position
a n d t h e s u r r o u n d i n g f e a t u r e s of t h e scene, b u t b e y o n d this
it has c h a r m s of its o w n , which, in spite of t h e d i s a s t e r s
it h a s u n d e r g o n e in t h e shape of p a r i n g d o w n a n d r e f a c i n g ,
still m a k e it one of our noblest c h u r c h e s .
It must be
a d m i t t e d t h a t , on account of t h e removal of some inches
from the surface of t h e s t o n e , 3 a n d t h e c o n s e q u e n t c u r t a i l m e n t of mouldings in their projections a n d hollows, t h e r e
is a w a n t of light and s h a d e which m u c h d e t r a c t s from its
effect when seen n e a r a t hand. I n d e e d , t h e s a m e impression
1
Within the cloister garth over against the Frater house door was
a fair laver or conduit, for the monks to wash their hands and faces
at, being made in form round, covered with lead, and all of marble,
saving the outermost walls. Within the which walls you may walk
round about the laver of marble, having many little conduits or
spouts of brass, with twenty-four cocks of brass round' about it,
having in it seven fair windows of stonework, and in the top of it a
fair dovecot, covered finely over above with lead, the workmanship
both fine and costly. Rites of Durham, p. 70.
2
Hist. Dunelm. Script. Tres, Appendix, No. cccxlvi., p. ccccxliii.
3
About the commencement of the present century, the whole
Cathedral underwent a process of chiselling, in order to render the
surface uniform. This was done under the superintendence of
Wyatt, and in some parts four inches in depth were removed by the
operation. The evidence of this is apparent in several places on the
north side of the choir and nave, where, in consequence of the soil
having accumulated several feet in height, that part of the building
has escaped being pared down. What has been the result is shown
there in the pilasters of the arcade, which have been reduced from
a due proportion to one most inadequate.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

81

made is perhaps one of disappointment.
The east end
is especially flat and bald, and with its ill-designed modern
pinnacles forms but a poor clothing to the wondrous beauty
which is to be seen within the Nine Altars. But with all
these drawbacks, when viewed as a whole and when distance
has lent its compensating power, the Cathedral, its lofty
central tower rising in harmonious combination with the two
western ones, stands sublime in its grand outline and fitly
crowns the hill of Durham.
It has been conjectured that the triforium on each side of
the nave was originally roofed over by a series of gables.
Certain appearances on the north wall and which, before its
refacing, were still more evident on that of the south, have
been thought to favour this conjecture. There are, however,
no corresponding marks on the opposite walls of the clerestory, which ought to have existed had the roof been of the
kind suggested. It is most probable that the roof of the
triforium was an ordinary sloping one but having in it a
series of dormer windows, an arrangement which, equally
with the supposed gables, would have given rise to the
appearances above referred to.
You must not neglect to see the Dun Cow, whose history
is so well known in connection with the church of Durham. 1
1

Rites of Durham, pp. 27, 61, 63. The story is that having fled
from Chester-le-Street and rested with the body of the saint for
some time at Ripon, the monks were desirous of returning to Chester,
" coming with him (St. Cuthbert) on the east side of Durham, to a
place called Ward Law, they could not with all their force remove
his body from thence, which seemed to be fastened to the ground,
which strange and unexpected accident wrought great admiration
in the heart of the bishop's monks and their associates, and ergo,
they fasted and prayed three days with great reverence and devotion,
desiring to know by revelation what they should do with the holy
body of St. Cuthbert, which thing was granted unto them, and
therein they were directed to carry him to Dunholme (Durham).
But being distressed because they were ignorant where Dunholme
was, see their good fortune, as they were going a woman that lacked
G-

82

DUBHAM CATHEDRAL.

The present short-horn and milk-maids of the period, placed
on the north end of the Nine Altars, represent a last century
substitution of the original sculpture.
Hutchinson and
Surtees, the historians of the County, are of opinion that
the subject is representative of the riches of St. Cuthbert's
church, in accordance with the old saying, " T h e Dun Cow's
milk makes the Prebends' wives go all in silk," and that
the legend has arisen out of the sculpture. I confess,
and I think you will agree with me, that I prefer the old
legend as being certainly more picturesque and quite as
likely to be true as the more prosaic explanation of the two
historians.
I have now, I believe, brought under your notice every
part of the Cathedral, including the domestic buildings
immediately in connection with it. I cannot, however,
bring my address to a close without making some remarks
upon the general effect and relation of the church as a
whole.
I assert, and with confidence, that no grander
Norman building exists. Peterborough, Ely, Norwich and
Gloucester, in our own country, and the great church of
St. Stephen at Caen, magnificent as they are in their earlier
portions, shine with a diminished lustre when compared
with the greater glories of Durham. I will even make a
still bolder assertion and say that no more impressive and
inspiring church is to be found in England, nay I would
almost say in Europe. You may go where you will, you
may tell me of the vastness of York, the beauties of
Lincoln, the varied and noble architectural features of
Canterbury, Winchester and Lichfield, and the grace of
Salisbury, but I say the Cathedral Church of Durham is the
grandest structure of them all. I do not say that other of
her cow did call aloud to her companion to know if she did not see
her, who answered with a loud voice that her cow was in Dunholme,
a happy and heavenly echo to the distressed monks, who by that
means were at the end of their journey, where they should find a
resting place for the body of their honoured saint."

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

83

our great churches may not more than equal it in size or
possess in individual parts as striking examples of the
builder's art, but where will you find such a whole as the
majestic church in which we stand? I again assert and
without hesitation that taken in all its parts, and looking at
its wondrous solemnity—I can use no other word—at its
beautiful proportion, and the admirable way in which a
great design has been carried out to perfection, Durham
Cathedral stands unrivalled. Look at the perfect symmetry
of the great arcades of choir and nave; the pillars are
neither too short and broad, nor are they again too lofty
and slender, but are admirably adapted to carry out the
proportions of the whole. Look how the triforium and
clerestory, neither dwarfed into insignificance, nor made
too asserting by their importance, unite with the arcade
which supports them, and form together a design of perfect
and consistent excellence. And if, again, we consider those
parts which have been added to the original church, where
will you find anything to compare with the Galilee? It is
nowhere equalled in its unique beauty and elegance, and
charms us as much by its lightness as the choir and nave
impress us by their imposing massiveness. And the Nine
Altars, so exquisite in all its details, so perfect when taken
altogether, the vaulting so boldly designed, so skilfully
carried out, the shafts of divers colours, the graceful arcade,
the capitals where foliage and animal forms unite in loving
harmony, all combine to produce a building which has
never been surpassed.
This church, our splendid inheritance, we owe to William
of St. Oarilef. The whole plan must have been elaborated
and the main lines laid down by that Bishop. The choir
and the adjacent parts are of his own building, and the
nave, though built by his successor, Flambard, carries out
in all its principal features the original design. The only
difference between the two parts is that in the later nave a
richer effect has been given by the use of zig-zag, and the

84

DUEHAM CATHEDEAL.

varied patterns on the pillars. The work throughout is
harmonious in the highest degree, and that harmony is made
more apparent by the variation.
Two men have, it is
evident, worked upon the church with the same motive and
upon the same plan, and the slight difference in the
character of their work but adds an additional interest and
charm to- the whole. Nor must we forget in the blaze of
glory which surrounds the memory of William of St.
Carilef, that there were also such bishops of the great
Palatine See as Hugh Pudsey and Richard Poore, and that
alongside his mighty church the Galilee and the Nine Altars
have arisen.
In conclusion let me give expression to a thought which
has been present to you whilst we have been standing
within these time-hallowed walls. As we have stood and
in our memory have travelled back to the days of old, and
have recalled how many a great and noble aspiration, how
many a pious and holy intention has been carried out in the
building of this glorious temple, we have said with deepest
emotion—may it have been built for ever, may it be like
the everlasting hills.

E E F E E E N G E S TO THE P L A N
DURHAM CATHEDEAL.

OF

(The pages refer to " A description of the Ancient Monuments. &c.,
of the Church of Durham," Vol. xv., Surtees Society.)
A High
B Altar
C
„
D
„
E
„
F
„
G ,,

Altar
page 6
of S. C u t h b e r t a n d S. Bede 1
of the Archangel Michael 2
of S. Aidan a n d S. H e l e n 2
of S. Peter a n d S. P a u l - 2
of S. Martin
- 2
of S. Oswald a n d S. L a u rence
- 1
H „ of S. T h o m a s of Canterb u r y a n d S. Catherine - 1
I
„ of S. J o h n t h e Baptist
a n d S. M a r g a r e t - 1
K
„ of S. A n d r e w a n d S. Mary
Magdelen
- 1
L
„ in t h e Anchorage
- 15
M ,, adjoining to S. Cuthbert's
shrine
- 3
N
„ in t h e Bevestry
- 17
0
„ of S. Blaise
- 15
P
„ in Bishop Hatfield's
Chantry - 17
Q
„ of S. Nicholas a n d S.
Giles
- 20
R
„ of S. G r e g o r y - 19
S
„ of S. Benedict - 19
T
„ at t h e E n t r a n c e of N o r t h
Aisle of Choir
- 16
U
„ of our L a d y of Houghall 26
W „ of our L a d y of Bolton
- 26
X
„ of S. F a i t h a n d S. T h o m a s
the Apostle - 26
Y J e s u s Altar
- 28
Z Altar in t h e Neville C h a n t r y - 34
a
„
of our L a d y of Pity
- 33
b
„
of t h e Bound Rood
- 35
b* „
of S. Saviour - 33
c
„
of the Blessed Virgin
- 37
d
„
of our L a d y of Pity - 38
e
„
of S. Bede - 39
1 T o m b of A n t h o n y Bek, Bishop
of D u r h a m a n d P a t r i a r c h of
Jerusalem
- 2
2 T o m b of R i c h a r d de Bury,
Bishop of D u r h a m - 2
3 B a n n e r of K i n g of Scotland, the
L o r d Neville, &c. - 5
4 S. Cuthbert's F e r e t o r y a n d Shrine 3
5 Black Rood of Scotland - 16
6 B r a s s of L e w i s Beaumont, Bishop
of D u r h a m
- 12
7 T o m b of W a l t e r de Skirlaw,
Bishop of D u r h a m - 15

8 T o m b of T h o m a s de Hatfield,
Bishop of D u r h a m , and t h e
Bishop's T h r o n e
p a g e 16
9 Choir Screen - 17
10 T o m b of P r i o r J o h n F o s s o r - 20
11 T o m b of P r i o r R o b e r t de
Berrington - 19
12 T o m b of Prior J o h n de
Wessington - 19
13 T o m b of P r i o r J o h n d e
Hemingburgh
- 26
14 T o m b of P r i o r William de
Ebchester
- 26
15 T o m b of P r i o r Robert de
Ebchester
- 26
16 Trellis door
- 32
17 T o m b of P r i o r T h o m a s Castell 29
18 A c h a m b e r for one t h a t kept
t h e church a n d r u n g t h e bells 34
19 T o m b of P r i o r J o h n de
Auckland
- 30
20 T o m b of J o h n L o r d Neville
a n d h i s wife - 50
21 T o m b of Bishop Neville - 34
22 T o m b of R a l p h L o r d Neville
a n d h i s wife - 50
23 T h e N o r t h P o r c h w i t h two
C h a m b e r s above - 35
24 A Holy W a t e r Stone for t h e
people - 32
25 Cross of blue m a r b l e beyond
w h i c h no w o m a n could p a s s 30
26 Holy w a t e r Stone for t h e use of
Convent- 32
27 T o m b of P r i o r J o h n B u r n a b y - 30
28 F o n t
29 T h e S a n c t u a r y - 35
30 T o m b of Cardinal T h o m a s
Langley, Bishop of D u r h a m - 38
31 Shrine of t h e Venerable Bede 38
32 I r o n Pulpit
- 40
33 F o n t 40
34 Graves of Bishops - 47
35 A u m b r y s of Wainscot for Books .71
36 Carrels or P e w s w h e r e i n t h e
Monks d i d Study - 70
37 L a v a t o r y - 70
38 Stall of W a i n s c o t w h e r e the
novices w e r e taught
- 71
39 Seat for Master of novices
- 71
40 Bishop's Seat - 48

KING.

BISHOP.

PRIOR.

William II.

William de Saint Carilef Turgot....

William II.

William de Saint Carilef Turgot

William II.

Interval between W. de
Saint Carilef and
Ralph Flambard ... Turgot

William I I .
Henry I.
Henry I.

Ralph Flambard

Turgot.

Henry I.
Stephen

Interval between Ralph
Flambard and
Algar
Geoffrey Rufus
Algar.
Geoffrey Rufus

Henry
Henry
John
Henry
Henry

Hugh Pudsey
Hugh Pudsey
Philip de Pictavia ...
Richard de Marisco ...
Nicholas de Farnham

II.
II.
III.
III.

Algar

Roger

German
German
Bertram
Ralph Kerneth
Thomas de Melsanby

DATE.

PARTS OF BUILDING.

1088-1091 Crypt under Refectory, and under Entrance Hall
of Deanery. Wall south of Chapter House ?
1093-1096 Choir and Aisles. Vaulting of Aisles. Tower
Arches. Arcade and Triforium on East side
of Transepts. First Bay of Nave and first
Arch of Nave Triforium. Exterior Wall of
Church up to the top of the Arcade.
1096-1099 West side of Transept. Vaulting of North
Transept.
1099-1128 Nave and Aisles. Vaulting of Aisles. West
Doorway. Lower part of Western Towers.

1128-1133 Vaulting of South Transept. Vaulting of Nave.
1133-1140 Chapter House completed. North Doorway
and South-west Doorway of Nave.
circa 1175 Galilee.
c. 1180 Exterior of South-east Doorway of Nave.
c. 1208 Crypt under Dormitory.
c. 1220 Upper part of Western Towers.
Nine Altars commenced.
1242

Henry III.
Henry I I I .
Edward I I I .
Edward I I I .
Edward I I I .
Edward I I I .
Edward I I I .
Edward III.
Richard II.
Richard II.
Richard II.
Richard I I .
Richard I I .
Henry IV.
Henry V.

Walter de Kirkham
Robert de Stichill
Richard de Bury
Thomas de Hatfield
Thomas de Hatfield
Thomas de Hatfield
Thomas de Hatfield

... Bertram de Middleton c. 1255 Junction of Nine Altars and Choir.
... Hugh de Derlington... c. 1270 Vaulting of Nine Altars and of Choir.
William de Cowton ...
1333
Grave-cover of Bishop Beaumont.
... John Fossor
c. 1346 Window (Jesse) in West end of Nave.
c. 1355 Window (Four Doctors) in North Transept.
... John Fossor
... John Fossor
1368-1370 Kitchen of Monastery.
c. 1370 Tomb of Ralph, Lord Neville.
... John Fossor

Thomas de Hatfield ... Robert de Berrington
Thomas de Hatfield ... Robert de Berrington
John de Fordham
Robert de Berrington
Walter de Skirlaw ... John de Hemingburgh
Walter de Skirlaw

1372-1380 Altar Screen and Sedilia.
c. 1375
c. 1386
c. 1390

Bishop Hatfield's Tomb. Bishop's Throne.
Tomb of John, Lord Neville.
Cloisters commenced (not finished before 1418).

... John de Hemingburgh 1398-1404 Dormitory.

Thomas de Langley ... John de Wessington ...

c. 1420

Henry VI.
Edward IV.

Thomas de Langley ... John de Wessington..
Laurence Booth
Richard Bell

c. 1430
c. 1470

Henry VII.
Charles II.

John Sherwood
John Cosin

George III.

John

John de Auckland ...
John Sudbury (Dean)

c. 1490
c. 1671

Egerton William Digby (Dean)

c. 1785

Roof. Three Central West Windows. Two
East Doorways. Cardinal Langley's Tomb.
All in Galilee.
Window (Te Deum) in South Transept.
Lower Gallery of Lantern and Arcade above
it.
Belfry.
Stalls and Tabernacle work of Choir. Litany
Desk. Canopy of Font. Library.
Parapet of Western Towers.

BISHOPS.
990-1018 Aldhun.
1020-1040 Edmund.
1042-1056 Egelric.
1056-1071 Egelwin.
1071-1080 Walcher.
1081-1096 William of S. Carilef.
1099-1128 Ranulph Flambard.
1133-1140 Galfrid Rufus.
1143-1152 William de S. Barbara.
1153-1195 Hugo de Puiset.
1197-1208 Philip de Pictavia.
1217-1226 Richard de Marisco.
1228-1237 Richard Poore.
1241-1248 Nicholas de Farnham.
1249-1260 Walter de Kirkham.
1261-1274 Robert de Stichill.
1274-1283 Robert de Insula.
1283-1310 Anthony Bek.
1311-1316 Richard de Kellawe.
1318-1333 Lewis Beaumont.
1333-1345 Richard de Bury.
1345-1381 Thomas de Hatfield.
1381-1388 John de Fordham.
1388-1405 Walter de Skirlaw.
1406-1437 Thomas de Langley.
1437-1457 Robert de Neville.
1457-1476 Laurence Booth.
1476-1483 William Dudley.
1483-1494 John Sherwood.
1494-1501 Richard Fox.
1502-1505 William Severs.

1507-1508 Christopher Bainbridge.
1509-1522 Thomas Ruthall.
1522-1528 Thomas Wolsey.
1530-1559 Cuthbert Tunstall.
1560-1575 James Pilkington.
1575-1587 Richard Barnes.
1589-1594 Matthew Hutton.
1595-1606 Tobias Matthew.
1606-1617 William James.
1617-1627 Richard Neile.
1628 George Monteigne.
1628-1631 John Howson.
1632-1659 Thomas Morton.
1660-1671 John Cosin.
1674-1721 Nathaniel, Lord
Crewe.
1721-1730 William Talbot.
1730-1750 Edward Chandler.
1750-1752 Joseph Butler.
1752-1771 Richard Trevor.
1771-1787 John Egerton.
1787-1791 Thomas Thurlow.
1791-1826 Shute Barrington.
1826-1836 William Van Mildert.
1836-1856 Edward Maltby.
1856-1860 Charles T. Longley.
1860-1861 Henry M. Villiers.
1861-1879 Charles Baring.
1879 Joseph B. Lightfoot.

PRIORS.
1083-1087
1087-1109
1109-1137
1137-1149
1149-1153
1154-1158
1158-1162
1163-1186
1188-1208
1209-1214
1214-1233
1233-1244
1244-1258
1258-1272
1272-1285
1285-1289

Aldwin.
Turgot.
Algar.
Roger.
Laurence.
Absolon.
Thomas.
German.
Bertram.
William.
Ralph Kerneth.
Thomas de Melsanby.
Bertram de Middleton
Hugh de Derlington.
Richard de Claxton.
Hugh de Derlington.

1289-1308
1308-1313
1314-1322
1322-1342
1342-1374
1374-1391
1391-1416
1416-1446
1446-1456
1456-1464
1464-1478
1478-1484
1484-1494
1494-1519
1524-1540

Richard de Hoton.
William de Tanfield.
Galfrid de Burdon.
William de Cowton.
John Fossor.
Robert de Berrington.
John de Hemingburgh.
John de Wessington.
William de Ebchester.
John Burnaby.
Richard Bell.
Robert de Ebchester.
John de Auckland.
Thomas Castell.
Hugh Whitehead.

DEANS.
1541-1548
1551-1553
1553-1557
1557-1559
1559-1560
1560-1563
1563-1579
1579-1581
1583-1595
1596-1606
1606-1620
1620-1638
1639-1645
1645-1659
1660-1661

1662-1684
1684-1691
1991-1699
1699-1728
1728-1746
1746-1774
1774-1777
1777-1788
1788-1794
1794-1824
1824-1827
1827-1840

John Sudbury.
Denis Granville.
Thomas Comber.
John Montague.
Henry Bland.
Spencer Cowper.
Thomas Dampier.
William Digby.
John Hinchliffe.
Lord Cornwallis.
Charles Henry Hall.
John Banks Jenkinson.
1840-1869 George Waddington.
1869 William Charles Lake.

Hugh Whitehead.
Robert Horne.
Thomas Watson.
Thomas Robertson.
Robert Home.
Ralph Skinner.
William Whittingham.
Thomas Wilson.
Tobias Matthew.
William James.
Sir Adam Newton.
Richard Hunt.
Walter Balcanqual.
William Fuller.
John Barwick.

DIMENSIONS OF THE CATHEDEAL.
FT.

Length of Nine Altars - 131
Width of Nine Altars - 38
Length of Choir - 132
Width of Choir - 39
Width of Choir Aisles 19
Length of north Transept 66
Length of south Transept 66
Width of Transepts
- 37
Width of Aisle of Transepts
- 21
Width of Lantern, east
and west
- 40
Width of Lantern, north
and south
- 39
Length of Nave - 201
Width of Nave - 39
Width of Aisles of Nave
21

IN.

0
6
6
6
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
0

FT.

Thickness of wall between
Nave and Galilee 8
Length of Galilee- 77
Width of Galilee - 49
Total length of church
(interior)
- 469
Height of central Tower 218
Height of western Towers 144
Height of vaulting of
Nine Altars - 77
Height of vaulting of
Choir - 74
Height of Tower Arches
68
Height of vaulting of
Lantern- 155
Height of vaulting of
Nave 72

IN.

0
0
0
6
0
6
0
6
6
0
9

INDEX.
AIDAN, Saint, 4. 7, 8, 11.

Aldhun, Bishop, 11, 13.
„
church of, at Durham,
13, 18, 21.
Aldred, the priest, 6n.
Aldwine settles at Jarrow and
Wearmouth, 17, 18n.
Alnmouth, possibly Tuifirdi, Sn.
Altar, High, 62.
,, Magnae Crucis, 73n.
„ of Blessed Virgin in Galilee, 68, 68n.
„ of our Lady of Bolton,
46, 46n..
,, of our Lady of Houghall,
46, 46n.
„ of our Lady of Pity, in
Galilee, 45, 45n.
„ the present, 62, 62n.
Altar-stone, 46n.
Altars, Nine, 31, 47, seq., 83.
Anchorage, the, 65.
Angels, figures of, in choir, 57, 58.
„
in fresco painting on
Hatfield's tomb, 60.
Apse of Choir, 24, 49, 49n, 53, 55.
Arcade of Nine Altars, 51, 51n.
„
on walls of Aisles of
Church, 25, 32n.
Architect of the Nine Altars, 48,
48n.
Architects
(mediaeval)
not
imitators, 30.
Art, Irish, 5.
Aumbrys near High Altar, 61,
62n.
Bamborough,

Church of St.
Peter at, 5n.
,,
King
Oswald's
arms and hands
at, 5n.
,,
seat of Northumbrian Kings, 11.
Barbara. Bishop William de
Saint. 40.

Barbara, grave of, 14.
,,
ring of, 14.
Barrington, Bishop, 33.
Beaumont, Bishop Lewis, grave
of, 62, 62n.
Beda, Saint, 4,9, 10.
„ altar of, 43, 43n.
„ shrine of, 43, 43n.
,, tomb of, 44.
Bek, Bishop Anthony, 31n, 52,
52n.
„ tomb of, 52n.
Belfry, 70, 71,
Bell, Prior Richard, 71, 71 n.
Benedict Biscop, 17.
Benedictine monks, established
at Durham, 15, 17, 18.
„
at Jarrow and Wearmouth, 17.
Berrington, Prior Richard de,
61.
Billfrith, the anchorite, 6n.
Bishop's seat in Chapter House,
34.
„
throne, 60.
Bishops' graves in Chapter
House, 14.
„
heads of, 14n.
Black Rood of Scotland, 66.
Blessed Virgin, Chapel of, 41.
Bolton, altar of our Lady of, 46,
46w.
Bosses in roof of Choir and Nine
Altars, 59w.
Brackets for statues, 58%.
„
in Transepts and Nave,
58n.
Bridlington Priory, 72n.
Buttery, the, 20n.
Cadwalla, a British King, 2,3n, 4.
Canopy over Font, 63.
Carilef, Bishop William of Saint,
15, 18, 21, 72n.
„
exile in Normandy
18.

ii

INDEX.

Carilef, parts of church built by
him, 22, 24, 27.
Carlisle Cathedral, misereres in,
71n.
Carrels in Cloister for study, 75.
Carter, John, 33. 33n.
Castell, Prior, 67, 69.
Castle of Durham, doorway of
Bishop Pudsey's hall,
47.
„
outer gateway of, 39n.
Castro Bernardi, Richard de, 43n,
73n.
Ceiling of Cloister, 77, 77n.
Ceilings of wood, 28, 31.
Cellar, the great, 20n.
Centaur, a badge of King
Stephen, 34n, 37n.
Centering of vaulting at east
end of Choir, 32.
Chamber for keeper of church,
74.
„
for men who rang the
bells, &c, 65.
Chambers for men who admitted
suppliants to sanctuary, 39.
„
for monks in Dormitory, 78.
„
for novices in Dormitory, 78.
Chambre, William de, 21.
Chandeliers in Choir, 64, 65n.
Chapter House, 14, 32, 76.
„
corbels in 32n, 34.
„
destroyed, 32, 32n.
„
graves of Bishops in, 14.
„
seat of Bishop in, 34.
„
vaulting of, 33.
Charles the First, visit to
Durham, 65%.
Chester-le-Street, 11.
Choir, clerestory of, 22.
„ junction of, with Nine
Altars, 56.
„ Norman vaulting of, 31,
58.
,, present vaulting of, 58.
„ screen, 64%.
,, termination of Carilef s,
23, 49.

Christianity in Roman Britain, 1.
Church, built by Bishop Aldhun,
13, 18.
„
exterior of, 80.
„
site of, 12.
Church of Durham, authorities
for history of, 21.
Claxton, John, of Burn, 70n.
Clerestory of Choir, 22.
„
of Nave, 22.
,,
of South Transept, 29.
Clock, the, 69.
Cloister, 75, seq.
Coldingham, Geoffrey de, 21.
Columba, Saint, 3.
Common House, 76.
Communion plate, 63, 63n.
Congregation of St. Cuthbert.
11, 13. 15.
Consistory Court in Galilee, 45n.
Corbels in Lantern, 71.
„
in Nave and Transepts,
28.
„
of Chapter House, 33n,
34.
Corbridge, cross on dish found
at, 2n.
Corman, 4, 4%.
Cornwallis, Dean, 33n.
Cosin, Bishop, 27%, 63, 64%.
Covey, the, 20%.
Crayke, 11.
Cross of Marble at west end of
Nave, 42.
Crosses, " Anglo-Saxon," 6, 6n,
11.
Crypt, under Dormitory, 77.
„ ' under Priors Hall, 19, 20.
„ under Refectory, 19.
Cuthbert, Saint, 8, seq.
„
body of, transferred
from Cloister to Choir,
32.
„
churches dedicated to,
11.
,,
coffin of, 9.
„
congregation of, 11. 13,
15.
„
image of, 32n.
„
made Bishop, 8.
„
picture of, 44.

iii
Cuthbert, shrine of, 48, 52, 52ft.
Danish invasions, 10.
Denisesburna,
now
Rowley
Water, 3ft.
Derlington, Prior Hugh de, 70.
Destruction of parts of church,
32, 35. 53ft, 64, 64ft, 68,
74, 80, 80ft.
Domestic buildings of Monastery, 27.
Doorway, of Chapter House, 34.
,,
great west, 38, 38ft.
„
north and south of
Nave, 37, 37ft.
Dormer windows in roof»of Nave
Triforium, 81.
Dormitory, later, 77.
„
original, 16ft, 20, 37.
„
crypt under, 77.
Dovecot in Cloister Garth, 80,
80ft.
Dun Cow, the, 81, 81ft.
Dunfermline Abbey, 24ft.
Durham, site of, 12, 12ft.
Durham Church, authorities for
history of, 21.
Eadfrith, Bishop, 6ft.
Eata, Bishop at Lindisfarne, 8.
Ebchester, Prior William de, 70.
Edwin, King of Northumbria, 2.
Egelwin, Bishop, 17ft.
Eggleston, Abbot of, 80.
Elfred Westou, 10.
Episcopal throne, 60.
Ethelbert, King of Kent, 2.
Ethelburga, Queen, 2.
Ethelfrith, King, 3.
Evesham, 17.
Exterior of Church, 80.
Fame, island of, 9.
„ islands, In.
Farnham, Bishop Nicholas de,
30, 30w, 48.
,,
Master Richard de,
architect of the Nine
Altars, 48, 48ft.
Flambard, Bishop Ranulph, 25,
seq.

Flambard, grave of, 14.
„
grave cover of, 34.
.,
ring of, 14.
Font, 63,
„ Canopy over, 63.
Fossor, Prior John. 61, 67, 67ft,
79.
Foundation stone of Cathedral
laid, 21.
Fountains Abbey, Nine Altars
at, 48, 52.
Four doctors, window of, 67.
Fowler, Rev. J.T.,F.S,A., account
of excavations in Chapter House, 15ft.
Frater House, 79.
Freeman, Mr., on Waltham
Abbey, 72n.
Fresco paintings in church, 44,
44ft, 45, 46, 60.
Gables in roof of Nave Trif otium,
81.
Galfrid Rufus, Bishop, 29, 32,
32ft, 34ft, 37,38,39,39ft.
„
grave of, 14.
„
grave-cover of, 34.
„
ring of, 14.
Galilee, 26, 40, seq., 68, seq.
„
additional shafts in, 69.
Gateshead, Bishop Walcher killed
at, 16, 16w.
Gospels, Book of, 6, 6n.
Graystanes, Robert de, 21, 31ft.
Guthred, King, 11.
Habitacula monachorum, built
by Bishop Walcher,
15%, 16ft, 37.
Harold, King, 72ft.
Hatfield, tomb of Bishop, 60.
Hefenfelth (Heavenfield), battle
at, 3.
Hereditary Priesthood in Saxon
Church, 14.
Herefrith, Abbot, 9.
Hethfelth (Hatfield), battle at, 2.
Hexham, Hereditary Sacerdotage
at, 14, 14ft.
High Altar, 62, 62ft.
Hills, Mr. Gordon. 20.

iv

INDEX.

Hodgson, Rev. J. F., on Kirkby : Lindisfarne Gospels, 6, 6%.
Stephen Church, 48n. I Loft, the, 78.
Holy Island, 7.
Longstaffe, Mr. W. H. D., Paper
Holystone, Paulinus' well there,
on Bishop Pudsey's
2.
buildings, 40n, 41n.
Holy Water stones, 74, 74n.
„
on Hereditary SaoerHome, Dean, 32%.
dotageof Hexham, 14,
Hoton, Prior Richard de, 31%, 66.
14%.
Houghall, Altar of our Lady of,
Luceby, Henry de, 31%, 64.
46, 46%.
Hunt, Dean, 62, 69.
Malcolm, King of Scotland, 21.
Malmesbury Abbey, nave arcade
Iona, 3, 4, 7.
of, 29%.
Marisco, Bishop Richard de, 26,
Ireland, a centre of art, 5.
26%.
,,
a centre of missionary
Maserfelth, battle at, 5.
work, 5.
Master of the novices, his seat,
Iron-work on doors of Nave, 39.
75.
Melrose, 8.
Jarrow, 10, 17, 17%, 18.
Melsanby, Prior Thomas de, 30,
„ church at, 17.
47, 47%.
Jesus Altar, 72.
„
elected Bishop, 47.
Joseph window, 50.
Mermaid, 71, 71%.
Junction between Nine Altars
Moises, Thomas, 48%.
and Choir, 56.
Monastical Church of Durham,
a description of, 21.
Kitchen of Monastery, 79.
Morton,*Bishop, 65%.
Knocker (Sanctuary) on North
Morton,^Dr., 71.
Door, 39.
Lady Chapel, 40, 41.
Langley, Bishop Thomas de, 42,
67, seq., 71%, 77, 79.
„
arms of, 71%.
tomb of, 68.
Lantern, the, 70.
„
gallery in, 71.
Latrines, 77.
Laurence, Prior of Durham, 25%.
Lavatory, the, 75, 80, 80%.
Leland ascribes " testudinem
templi"
to
Bishop
Farnham, 30%.
date of Belfry, 70%.
„
says that Bishop Pudsey
built a cloister, 76, 76%.
Lenten Veil, 62.
Library (Dean Sudbury), 79.
(Monastic), 36.
;
Lindisfarne, 5, 7, 7%, 9, 10, 11, J
17%.
(
church at, 24, 24%.

Nave, 22, 25.
„ clerestory of, 23.
„ completed by Flambard,
25, 29.
„ north doorway of, 37, 37%.
„ south doorway of, 37, 37%.
„ vaulting of, 29, 29%, 30.
,, west doorway of, 38, 38%.
Neville, Bishop, tomb of, 73, 73%.
„
Chantry, 73.
„
John Lord, 61, 73%.
„
his tomb, 73.
„
Ralph Lord, his tomb,
73, 73%.
„
Robert de, his wood at
Aid wood, 60 n.
„
Screen, 61.
Neville's Cross, Battle of, 66, 73.
Nine Altars, 31, 47, seq., 83.
„
arcade in, 51, 51%.
„
bosses in roof of, 59%.
,,
doorways of, 52.

INDEX.
Nine Altars, lower than Choir, 49.
„
vaulting of, 58.
Normandy, churches of, 18.
Northumbria, Kingdom of, 2, 8.
Novices, chambers of, in Dormitory, 78.
„
school for, in Cloister, 75.
Oswald, King, 3, 4, 5, 7.
„
arms and hands of, 5, 5n.
„
head of, 5.
„
picture of, 44.
Oven for baking altar breads, 36.
Painted glass, 50, 67, 67%, 68%,
74, 75.
Paintings on reredos of altar of
the Blessed Virgin in
Galilee, 68, 68%.
Pallinsburn, 2.
Pallium, figure vested with, 46.
Parlour, the, 35, 36.
Paschal, the, 62, 62%.
Paulinus, Saint, 2, 4.
JPenda, King of Mercia, 2, 5.
People's church in Cathedral, 72,
72%.
Pickering, Richard, rector of
Hemingburgh, 51n.
Pictavia, Bishop Philip de, 26,
26%.
Piscina, 46%.
Pity, altar of our Lady of, in
Galilee, 44%, 45, 45n.
Platform of St. Cuthbert's shrine,
52.
3
oore, Bishop Richard, 26%, 47.
Porch, north of Nave, 39.
Portrait of Architect, 48, 48%.
Prse-Conquest clergy at Durham,
14.
Prior's door from cloister into
church, 46.
Prior's seat in Chapter House, 34.
Prison for minor offences of
Monks, 35, 35%, 76.
Pudsey, Bishop Hugh, 26, 40.
Pudsey, Bishop, account of his
buildings
by
Mr.
Longstaffe, 40%, 41%.

Pudsey, grave of, 34.
Quarry of stone at Burn, 70%.
Raine, Dr., account of Cathedral,
49%.
Refectory, 19, 75, 79.
„
crypt under, 16%, 19.
Reginald, a Monk at Durham, 9.
Reredos of altar of Blessed Virgin
in Galilee, 68.
Revestry, 66.
Ricardus ingeniator, 40.
Rings of Bishops, 14.
Ripon, 12.
Rood Loft, 72.
Rufus, Bishop, see Galfrid.
Sacrist's exchequer, 65.
Saint Oswald's, near Hexham, 3.
Sanctuary, 75.
„
knocker, 39.
„
persons claiming, 39,
39%.
Saxon clergy, 14.
,,
graves of, in Chapter
House, 14, 14%.
Scotch prisoners confined in
church, 63, 74.
Scotland, Black Rood of, 66.
„
source of Christianity in,
3.
Screen at east end of South Choiraisles, 66.
„ behind High Altar, 61.
„ behind Jesus Altar, 72.
„ Choir, 64%.
„ Neville, 61.
„ round
St.
Cuthbert's
shrine, 53%.
Sculpture in Choir, 56%, 57%.
„
in Nine Altars, 59%.
Sedilia, 61.
Shrine of Beda, 43, 43%.
„ of St. Cuthbert, 52, 52%.
Shrinking of walls of east end of
church, 40, 41.
Site of Monasteries, 13, 13%.
Skirlaw, Bishop Walter de, 77.
„
tomb of, 65.
Slype, the, 36.

INDEX.
Spiral grooving on columns, 23.
Spires surmounting Western
towers, 27, 27n.
Squint in cloister, 75n.
Stalls in Choir, 63.
Statues in choir, 58, 61.
Stephen, King, 40.
,,
badge of, 34n, 37n.
Sudbury, Dean, 79, 79n.
Surtees, the historian of Durham,
40.
Symeon of Durham, his history
of Church, 19, 20.
Te Deum window, 67, 67n.
Tower, central, 70.
Towers, western, 26, 26n.
Transepts, 27, 28.
Treasury, the, 76.
Tuifirdi, synod at, Sn.
Turgot, Prior, 21.
Vaulting of Chapter House, 33.
,,
of Choir (Norman), 31,
58.
,,
of Choir (present), 58.
,,
of Nave, 29, 29n, 30.

Vaulting of Nine Altars, 57.
„
of Transepts, 27, 28.
Virgin, Altar of Blessed, 68, 68n.
,,
chapel of, 41.
Walcher, Bishop, 15, 15n. Km,
17, 37, 72n.
Waltham Abbey, 72n.
Wearmouth (Monk), 17, 18.
,,
church at, 17.
Wessington, Prior John de. 30n,
36, 36n, 51, 51n, 65, 67,
70.
Western towers, 26, 26n.
Westminster Abbey, 31n.
Westou, Elfred, 10.
Whittingham, 8n.
Whittingham, Dean, 74.
Willelmus ingeniator, 40.
William the Conqueror, 15, 17 n.
„ Rufus, 18, 25.
Women not allowed beyond
marble cross, 42.
Wooden ceilings, 28, 31.
Wyatt, his destructive work, 33n,
35n, 80n.