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Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral was
founded as a shrine for the body of St Cuthbert. When Viking raids forced
the monks
on Lindisfarne to flee in
875. They carried with them the body of the saint, they reached Durham in
995 after time at Chester le Street and Ripon. In Durham the coffin seemed
to become rooted to the ground and the spot for the new shrine was revealed in a
vision. By 998 they had built a church (nothing remains of this early
building) it quickly became a place of pilgrimage. The Bishops became
Prince Bishops of Durham giving the city the right to raise armies, own
nobility, coinage and courts. All these privileges were ended in 1836.
The present Cathedral Church of Christ and blessed Mary the Virgin was built
between 1093 and 1133 to a plan of Bishop William of Calais. He died but
the work continued under Bishop Flambard. It is possibly the finest Norman
building in Europe. St Cuthberts body was brought to his shrine behind the
high altar in 1104. The Cathedral was the first in Northern Europe to be
covered with stone ribbed vaulting and it has the earliest pointed transverse
arches in England. There are few monuments because of a long held rule
that no one should be buried in the shrine of st cuthbert. From the South
side aisle a door leads to the monks dormitory, a great timbered hall 194ft by
39ft where some of
the Cathedrals prized possessions can be seen, they include St Cuthberts
illuminated manuscripts. In front of the font is a line of marble, the
nearest point that women were allowed to get to the altar. Almost no
amount of time is to long to spend in this unique place of worship. Hexham Abbey Newcastle Cathedral St Michael's Church, Alnwick Situated on a hillside overlooking the river on the Northern outskirts of the town. This church of perpendicular design built of local stone weathered with age represents all that is important in the area, solid & upright. Rebuilt in the mid 15th Century from money raised by the way of tolls granted to the town by King Henry VI. The Nave is definitely 14th Century while the chancel is 15th Century. Interestingly there is no crossing between the two. The church contains some interesting items, two 14th Century Tombs, together with a wonderful 14th Century Flemish carved chest. St. Pauls Church, Jarrow The Parish Church of St Pauls Jarrow has been a place of worship for 13 Centuries. The Church & Monastery was built on land given by King Ecgfrith of Northumbria in 681AD.the Monastery where Bede came as a boy thrived in the 7th & 8th Centuries. Outside the Church are the remains of the domestic buildings of the Monastery. The Chancel of St Pauls is the original Saxon Church built as a separate Chapel. |
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