Saturday 24 March 2012

Durham Cathedral

This week I travelled North and went to stay with friends in Northumberland. They took me to visit the medieval town of Durham. The first thing you notice is its Cathedral towering over the city.

Durham Cathedral was built in 1093 and took 40 years to complete. It is the only cathedral in England to retain almost all of its Norman architecture. Its stunning stone vaulted ceiling must be one of the most spectacular architectural sites in England. The height is breathtaking.

In more recent times it has been used as a film set for the Harry Potter films. Many scenes having been filmed in and around the cloisters.







.
     



               In the middle ages the cathedral provided a refuge for fugitives.Anyone who had committed a serious offence could claim sanctuary by knocking on the door. The fugitives were given 37 days to organise their affairs. They had to decide to either stand trial or to leave the country by the nearest port.








I climbed the 325 steps to the top of the tower and had a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside. I'm not sure which was worst the climbing of the steps or looking down from a great height!

3 comments:

  1. Glad you enjoyed your visit to Durham Cathedral. I hope you'll come back again.
    Michael Sadgrove (fellow sexagenarian)
    Dean of Durham

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful cathedral and unbelievably old.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fascinating! I love old Cathedrals... could spend hours wandering around them! :o)

    ReplyDelete

Thank-you for reading my blog. I would love to read your comments.