The Romanesque cathedral church of St Cuthbert is cruciform with two W towers. There is a later-12thc. extension off of the W end of the church, referred to as the Galilee, and a 13thc. one at the E end with a series of chapels called the Chapel of the Nine Altars. The main entrance to the cathedral church is on the N side of the nave, the two doorways on the S side of the nave opening into the former priory cloister. A later doorway has also been created in the S wall of the S transept, leading into the parlour/slype. Behind the central W doorway of the nave (no longer in use) is an altar. Two side doorways into the Galilee from the nave and a doorway on the N side of the Galilee are the only entry points into that space. Of the priory, which was sited to the S of the cathedral, there remains a late medieval cloister having four walks and priory buildings on three sides. Those along the S walk consist of the original parlour/slype (now blocked at one end and and two post-medieval doorways inserted in the N and S walls). South of this are the chapter house, a space containing a former monastic prison, and the old prior's lodgings. A refectory building with an 11thc. undercroft (the 1st floor rebuilt later) is built along the S walk, with a 14thc. Kitchen SW of it. The building along the W walk of the cloister originally included the dormitory. It is now used as a cafe (at ground level) and museum (at first-floor level).

Robert Horne (dean 1551-3 and 1559-61) and especially William Whittingham (dean 1563-79 and ardent reformer) wreaked havoc on many of the monuments, including the monks' graves in the cemetery. Whittingham is said to have re-used some of the stones for domestic purposes and to have broken up others. Some damage was also caused by Scottish soldiers when imprisoned in the church in the 17thc. In 1777 it was agreed that J. Wooler give an estimate of 'Repairing and Beautifying' the church. Following this, drastic stonework 'restoration' took place. In 1795, James Wyatt wrote up a report on the condition of the stonework, which resulted in further action being taken. The 'repairs' throughout this long period resulted in significant chiselling back of the surface of much of the stonework on the E, N and W exterior walls, destroying much of the carved detailing. Despite an outburst of criticism at the time, this came too late to rectify the damage that had already taken place. During this period, in 1795/6, the vaulting of the chapter house and the whole of its E end were also taken down, Wyatt having stated that the walls of it were ruinous. The medieval walls were consequently covered over with lalth and plaster. This lasted until the 1830s, when Ignatius Bonomi caused this later surface to be removed, thus revealing the 12thc intersecting arches. An excavation of the chapter House carried out in 1874 brought to light the original E foundations, as well as a number of bishops' graves. The excavation also exposed a small section of a yet earlier walling running N-S. A reconstruction of the chapter house was undertaken in the 1890s, including a new apse and vault. Many 12thc. carved stones had survived in storage and some were re-employed in various places in the new work., confirming authenticity of much of the carved detailing undertaken in the new work. John Carter's drawings of 1795, executed before the chapter house was altered, were extensively consulted to aid a proper restoration, though the form of the new keystone of the E vault has been found not to be entirely authentic. The original still survives, now in storage (see: Inv. No. DURCL: 17.5.21). Later work on the chapter house floor also revealed more carved stones, including parts of the bishop's chair. By this time, the upper stonework on the S exterior of the nave had been resurfaced with new stone, begun shortly after George Pickering's report on the state of the stonework in 1849 (Curry, 1985, p.22). The difference in the appearance of this stonework remains noticeable. Despite all the interventions, large parts of the Romanesque structures (both the cathedral and the priory buildings) survive, particularly on the interiors. These include the interior of the cathedral, parlour/slype, chapter jouse, ground floor of the 11thc. dormitory buildng (on the E side of the cloister), 11th/12thc. basement of the refectory, and various carved stones of the 12thc. dormitory on the W side of the cloister. A number of carved fragments remain re-used in various walls of S and SE of the cathedral and other places. Kept in the cathedral lapidary is a large collection of loose stones from various buildings. For many, the original locations cannot currently be ascertained. Some, too, have come from other sites.

Further changes took place in the 19thc. These include: the removal of the revestry in 1801-02, which had been built against the S exterior of the chancel; the removal in 1845 of stone blocking of the W doorway of the nave; restoration of the exterior N choir clerestory windows about 1847; and restoration work on the Galilee. In the late 19thc., a room under the stables, built against the S exterior of the reredorter, was discovered. When subsequently cleared out, several medieval carved stones were found. Just N of the monks' reredorter, an underground passageway was also discovered. This leads up to an opening in the SW corner of the Galilee floor. The construction date for this is unknown, but appears to be post-Reformation. Several medieval stones were discovered within it, some of which remain in situ built into the passageway walling (Greenwell, 1913, fn. 220).

Domesday Book does not include Durham. Symeon of Durham, a monk of Durham writing in the early 12thc., is the primary source of the early information. According to Symeon, the history of the cathedral begins in the year 995, when Bishop Aldhun arrived in Dunelm/Dunhelm with the body of St Cuthbert. A small, roughly built wooden church was quickly built in which Cuthbert's body was placed. Aldhun soon began a larger church, called the Great Church, but while it was being built the body of St Cuthbert was moved into another stone church called the White Church which had been built after the temporary wooden church. The body of St Cuthbert remained in the White Church for three years, at which time Aldhun dedicated the Great Church and translated Cuthbert's body there. It may be that the White Church became part of the larger church, which some have suggested, but this is uncertain. When Bishop Aldhun died about 1019, however, thr church was unfinished and was only completed later. In 1070, due to unrest because of William the Conqueror's devastations in the north, Cuthbert's body was temporarily removed to Lindisfarne. Walcher, of foreign birth, a cleric and not a monk, became bishop in 1072, the first person chosen by King William I for this position. Walcher established monks at Jarrow, where the ruined church was restored. Turgot (later prior at Durham and then bishop of St Andrew's), who was also a cleric, went to live with the monks at Jarrow. Subsequently, Bishop Walcher gave Wearmouth (now called Monkwearmouth) to Aldwin (one of first monks who had gone to Jarrow) and Turgot. At Wearmouth, the two established a new monastery and Turgot became a monk. At about this time, Bishop Walcher began building monastic buildings at Durham. At the time of his murder in 1080 his new buildings were unfinished. His body was first taken to Jarrow by the monks there. They later took it to Durham, where it was hurriedly buried. The following bishop, William of St Carilef, took up his bishopric in January 1081. In he 1083 brought monks from both Jarrow and Wearmouth to Durham, where he created a Benedictine monastery. Canons who had been living at Durham and refused to follow the new rule were asked to leave. Turgot, one of the monks who had moved to Durham, became prior at the new monastery in 1087. The next year Bishop William was banished and went to Normandy. Not until 1091 was he permitted to return to Durham. During his absence, the monks constructed a new refectory. In 1092, soon after Bishop William's return, the Great Church built by Bishop Aldhun was taken down and in the following year present cathedral was begun. According to early documents, the first foundation stones for the new church were laid by Bishop William, Prior Turgot and King Malcolm of Scotland. Bishop William probably paid for the construction of the cathedral, while the monks continued work on their own offices. Following William of St Carlilef's death at Windsor in January 1096, his body was taken north and placed in a church dedicated to St Michael. The next day the monks were given possession of his body who had it buried 'in the spot which the bishops had selected'. For three years, the see of Durham remained vacant. Symeon's account ends with the death of Bishop William, but the history of Durham was continued by others. The first of these states that after William's death the monks continued work on the church. Although in 1099 Ranulf/Ralph Flambard was consecrated bishop, he was captured and put into prison in the Tower of London in 1100 by order of king Henry I. He seems to have escaped to Normandy in 1101, where he resided for an unspecified period before the see of Durham was returned to him. Symeon's 1st continuator states that when Ranulf arrived in Durham as bishop, he found that the monks had continued work on the church up to the nave (usque navem). In 1104, according to William of Malmesbury, the vault (presbiterii testudinem) over the choir was finished, the scaffolding coming down the night before the translation of St Cuthbert into the choir (Winterbottom, no. 135, pp. 418 and 419). The following day, with Alexander, future king of Scotland in attendance, the coffin holding St Cuthbert was opened and moved into the new church. It is possible that the White Church/Chapel continued to be used until the monks could move into the new church (Raine, 1842, p. 58, and Fowler 1903, pp. 68 and 249). At some point, the exact date not recorded, a monument was erected over the spot in the cloister where the saint's body had formerly lain. Records state that monument was sited in front of the Parlour/Slype. A number of construction projects carried out during Ranulph's bishopric are recorded, including the enlargement in both width and length of the of the monks' 'court' (i.e. cloister). Bishop Flambard died in 1128, by which time, according to Symeon's continuator, work on the nave of the cathedral church was complete up to the testudinem. Following Flambard's death there was no bishop at Durham until 1133, though the monks continued construction on the nave of the church, which the sources state was completed by them. Geoffrey Rufus was consecrated bishop in August of 1133 and died in 1140. Records state only that he completed the Chapter House. Laurence of Durham had been favoured by Bishop Geoffrey, but William Cumin, with the support of the king of Scotland, attempted to impose himself as bishop of the diocese after Bishop Geoffrey's death. This led to extensive disquiet. The monks refused to accept Cumin as their next bishop. Several of them left the priory and went to live at the nearby hospital of St Giles, established during Bishop Flambard’s episcopacy. William de St Barbara was consecrated bishop of Durham at Winchester late in 1143, though it was not until 1144 that he was able to take possession of his see. A new dormitory was built on the W side of the cloister, it having previously been sited on the E side of the cloister. According to Symeon of Durham's second continuator, it was during William of St Barbara's episcopacy that the dormitory was finished (dormitorium monachorum perfectum est) (Arnold, p. 167). Bishop William died in 1152/3 and was succeeded by Hugh de Puiset (nicknamed Pudsey), bishop from 1153 to 1195. Hugh began an extension at the E end of the cathedral, intended for women (who were barred from entering the main part of the church). However, after tructural faults developed, this plan was abandoned. Following this, Puiset built a structure at the W end, referred to as the Galilee. This was probably finished before 1186, when it is mentioned in a charter as the Gililea (see: Early Yorks. Charters, II, no. 949). Further extensive building work was undertaken at the E end of the cathedral in the the 13th century with the construction of the Chapel of the Nine Altars. Along with this, a new vault was erected over the chancel. Work on the upper parts of the two W towers also appears to be of 13thc. date. The remains of St Bede were moved to the Galilee by Bishop Skirlaw in 1370. Skirlaw also rebuilt the upper level of the W range (monks' dormitory), this having previously been largely rebuilt in the 13thC. Leland states that Bishop Hugh du Puiset began the cloister during the reign of King Richard I (Hearne, p. 122). The present cloister, however, was begun in the late 14thc. and finished in the early 15thc. Between 1428 and 1435, the windows of the Galilee were altered and the roof lowered by Bishop Langley, who founded a chantry there. He also had large buttresses built on the lower W exterior, the side doorways leading from the Galilee into the nave built, and much of the central doorway blocked, with an altar then constructed on the W side of it. Under Prior Wessington, in the early 15thC., a library was built over the Slype/Parlour. During a storm in 1429, the upper part of the tower over the crossing was damaged severely. Although rebuilt, it was only finished in the 1480s. St Cuthbert's shrine was despoiled in 1538. The priory was dissolved the following year, and St Cuthbert's shrine entirely destroyed in 1541.

The authors would like to thank staff at the cathedral for their continuous help, advice and kindness. They wish also to thank Jon Turnock for help in measuring loose stones.

MODERN SCIENTIFIC TESTS:

Investigations and dendrochonological tests carried out in the late-20thc. on the N and S doors of the 6th bay of the nave have resulted in significant findings (see: C. Caple, 1999).

NOTES ON HISTORY:

In early sources, four churches are mentioned: the Chapel of Wands , the White Church, the Great Church (begun by Bishop Aldhun) and the present church (begun by Bishop William of St Carilef). There has been disagreement in interpreting the texts concerning the 'White Church' and the 'Great Church'. Symeon of Durham (Historia Dunelmensis Ecclesiae) indicated that each of the four churches was distinct and different. The manuscript Cosin. B.II (about 1660) states that the White Church was on the site where the tomb of St Cuthbert (in the present cloister) had been located. It also suggests that the White Church was still in existence when Walcher became bishop of Durham: "Hic Walcherus reperiens in alba Ecclesia, qua erat in Loco ubi nunc est tumba St Cuthberti in claustro ..." (Cosin MS. B.ii.2, p. 20). The earliest reference to William of St Carilef building the monument over Cuthbert's former position in the cloister is given in the Rites of Durham (16thc.). Davies (1672) wrote that the "White Chappel ... was a part of the Great church." (p. 112). Bishop Horne (mid-16thC.) was responsible for the destruction of Cuthbert's monument in the cloister, of which nothing is known to have survived. Other authors continued to repeat this series of events throughout the rest of the 19thc. Fowler's translation (1903) of the Rites and his notes, acknowledged that there was confusion (p. 249). Harvey and Rollason (p. 527) brought up the issue again in 2020. The monks would certainly have needed some sort of church in which to celebrate services between the taking down of Bishop Aldhun's Great Church and the translation in 1104, when they were able to move into the eastern section of the new church, the remaining parts still under construction.

Symeon of Durham's comment that the church of Durham was nearly finished in 1104, when the translation of St Cuthbert took place, must refer to the presbytery of the church. Once this area of the church was complete, it would have been sectioned off so that services could take place. Use of the word ecclesia for the presbytery of a larger church is not uncommon during this period.

The 12thc. dormitory along the W side of the cloister, formerly on the E side, was built by Bishop William of St Barbara according to Symeon of Durham's second continuator. It was constructed against the S exterior of the W end of the church and SW tower (the exterior of the tower and the 12thc. doorway leading to the dormitory still remain) It could therefore not have been built until the 12thc. sections of this tower had been completed. The rere-dorter that was connected to it was presumably built at the same time.

Connections involving Durham Cathedral and Scotland were strong. The diocese of Lindisfarne had encompassed an area as far as the River Forth in Scotland for several centuries. The monks left Lindisfarne with Cuthbert's body in 875 and wandered with it until settling in Chester-le-Street in 883. Until at least 995 the see continued to be called that of Lindisfarne. Before going to Lindisfarne, Cuthbert had been a monk at Melrose, which remained a possession of Durham until 1136, when it was exchanged for St Mary's Church in Berwick. Malcolm, king of Scotland, participated in the laying of the the foundation stones for the new church. Thereafter, the kings gave and confirmed numerous churches south of the River Forth to the Durham monks. The Earls of Dunbar were also great patrons, with their own strong ties to Durham. Coldingham, which King Edgar gave to the Durham monks in 1098, later became a priory of Durham, possibly in 1147. Alexander, Edgar's brother and later king, was in attendance at the opening of St Cuthbert's coffin in 1104 according to one document. In 1107 Alexander, by then king, chose Turgot, prior of Durham, to become bishop of St Andrews, and it was Durham Cathedral that provided inspiration for new church at Durnfermline begun around the time that King David made it an abbey in 1128. It was in Durham that the kings of England and Scotland met in 1139 to agree a peace treaty, by which agreement King David of Scotland's son, Henry, became Earl of Northumberland. It seems not unlikely that King David considered Durham rightfully part of his domain, at least ecclesiastically, perhaps because St Cuthbert had been born in the territory controlled by David before he ascended the throne; Cuthbert had first become monk at the cell in Melrose; and there were numerous churches dedicated to Cuthbert within King David's realm. In 1140, Prince Henry, son of David I, announced that the possessions of the monks were under his care and ordered that these be awarded peace and protection. He, along with Hugh de Morville, a friend of King David, supported William Cumin's attempt to become bishop of Durham in the same year. It is likely that King David was inititally supportive of Cumin, who was his chancellor. (see: Dialogi Laurentii Dunelmenis, 1880, pp. vi-ix and xiv-xvii)

NOTES CONCERNING FEATURES IN BUILDINGS:

Lower raised string courses appear on the exterior walls of the cathedral from the outset. However, there is no evidence for such use on the early interior walls and pier bases. The feature appears first on the crossing and transept pier bases, as well as on the S and N interior walls of the transepts. They continue to be systematically employed on the interior nave walls and piers after this.

The bishop's chair in the chapter house is sometimes incorrectly called the prior's chair. The Rites of Durham (Fowler, p. 56) states that the bishop's chair was made of stone and that the prior's chair was wooden.

NOTES CONCERNING LOOSE AND REUSED STONES:

Many of the loose stones, as well as those re-employed in several modern walls are of unknown origin. Some of these may be compared with those remaining in situ, but few can be assigned a specific place within any existing building. The lack of information concerning the finds of the bulk of loose stones complicates any confident assignment of original stone placement, especially since many monastic buildings no longer survive.

In his Itinerary around England in the 16th c., Leland (pt 1, p.74) records that in the 'sancturary or holy chirch yard' S of the cathedral were many ancient tombs, as well as an ancient cross.

The grave cover for Earl Gospatic, which was found in the monks' cemetery in 1821, seems likely to be that that of Gospatric III, Earl of Dunbar (d. 1166) (see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). In the Liber Vitae of Durham, listed for the kalends of January can be found: 'Cospatricius comes et monachus'. This is unlikely to refer to Gospatric I, who had been Earl of Northumberland for a short time but was exiled in 1072. He went to live in Scotland and is recorded to have been buried in the porch of Norham, having died about 1073. Gospatric II, Earl of Dunbar, died in 1138 in the Battle of the Standard. Although it is uncertain where he was buried, it seems unlikely he could have become a monk of Durham. The inscribed cross and lettering on the grave cover are similar to that found on grave covers of 12thc. graves of the bishops in the chapter house.

Raine (1833, p. 127) makes reference to a grave cover found in the cemetery on the north side of the church: 'the ridged coffin lid of a child, exhibits the external character of the roof of a house during the Norman period. The tiles or slates are of the shape and arranged after the fashion of the scales of a fish'. There are several coped grave covers in the cathedral stone collection. Whether any one of these is the one referred to by Raine is uncertain

When the eastern section of the chapter house was taken down, a number of carved stones were kept. Greenwell, in his 1879 address (1883 printed version, p. 190), noted that the chamber immediately S of the Chapter house was 'known to be filled with broken stone, most probably from the destroyed part of the Chapter-house'.

Possibilities for the original locations of some of the more ornate stones of the later 12thc. include the monks' infirmary and the guest house. The latter is known to have had Romanesque decoration. Stylistically, these seem to represent a phase of construction which is later than Bishop William II's dormitory. Some of these stones may be compared to those of the Galilee, including the exterior of the N doorway, which is stated to have been a copy of the original. The S face of the E cloister doorway into the nave, clearly reused from another location, and the ornate entrance doorway in the castle were probably work carried out for Hugh de Puiset.

The guest house was sited S of the monks' infirmary. In his 1833 publication, Raine states: "The hall itself was spacious and stately, built during the best Norman period, and divided into aisles by pillars and arches of rich workmanship, the lower part of one of the columns of which was found in situ in 1829, when the house belonging to the fourth stall was so tastefully repaired, and was placed upon the surface of the ground, where is now stands. There were Norman columns of the same bold pattern at Holy Island." Carved stone matching this description are now in the cathedral stone collection, and other loose stones still at Durham appear to be related. It remains uncertain how many of the ornately carved stones preserved come from the guest house.

Certain stones may also come from the late-12thc. laver, found in excavatons carried out on the suggestion of W. St John Hope.

Some of the loose stones kept in the refectory undercroft have a number on them painted in red. The significance of some of these numbers has not been deduced by the authors, but Eric Cambridge has discussed the sources for many of these and other stones in his unpublished list of loose carved stones.