Bells Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Durham | Page 5

of the Cathedral
and City of Durham.
The condition of the place at this time must have been very wild, and it
certainly was a natural stronghold. The only open spot seems to have
been the plateau where the cathedral now stands. The site is curiously
described in a Saxon poem, from which the following is a translation:--
The City is celebrated In the whole Empire of the Britons The road to it
is steep It is surrounded with rocks And with curious plants The Wear
flows round it A river of rapid waves And there live in it Fishes of
various kinds Mingling with the floods. And there grow Great Forests,
There live in the recesses Wild Animals of many sorts In the deep
valleys Deer innumerable.
As soon as possible a stone chapel was built, in which the body of S.
Cuthbert was placed. Bishop Aldhun, not satisfied with this,
determined to establish a great church. Work was immediately

commenced and progressed so rapidly that the building, known as "the
White Church," was consecrated in A.D. 999. Of this there would seem
to be no authentic remains existing; although some authorities think
portions of it are included in the present cathedral. Bishop Aldhun died
in 1018. The next date of importance is the year 1081, when William of
Saint Carileph was appointed Bishop by the Conqueror. He was a monk
of the Benedictine order, and at once drove out and dispossessed the
secular clergy at Durham, replacing them from the Benedictine
Monasteries which were established at Jarrow and Monkwearmouth.
Bishop Carileph is the man to whom we owe the present Cathedral of
Durham. In 1088 he was obliged to flee into exile in Normandy, where
he remained three years, through his having taken part in the rebellion
against William II. It was probably during this time of banishment that
he conceived the idea that if he returned to Durham he would build a
more worthy church, such as were already erected and in course of
construction in Normandy.
Soon after his return in 1091 he commenced to carry out his scheme;
and we learn that on the 11th of August 1093, the foundation stone of
the new church was laid, with great pomp.
The work proceeded rapidly, commencing at the east end. By the time
of Bishop Carileph's death, which occurred in 1096, the walls of the
choir, the eastern walls of the transepts, the tower arches, and a portion
of the first bay of the nave, were completed. It is also very probable
that the lower portion of the walls of the whole church are of Carileph's
time.
After the death of Bishop Carileph the see of Durham remained vacant
for three years. The monks, however, were not idle during this period,
and they continued the work vigorously, completing the west walls of
the transepts and the vaulting of the north transept. In 1099 Ralph
Flambard was appointed bishop, and he held the office until 1128. He
carried on the building as the funds at his disposal would allow,
sometimes rapidly and at others more slowly. Before his death it would
appear that he completed the nave as high as the wall plates and
altogether finished and roofed the aisles. The western towers as far as

the height of the roof of the nave are also the work of Flambard. In
1104 the work was so far advanced as to permit the removal of the
body of S. Cuthbert, from the temporary shrine which Bishop Carileph
had erected over it, into the new church. This ceremony was performed
on August 29th, 1104, and the coffin was placed in a shrine behind the
high altar.
On Flambard's death in 1128 the see was again left vacant for five
years, but we are told that the monks continued the work and
completed the nave. The portion built by them at this time must of
necessity have been the vaulting and roof, the architectural features of
which are quite in accordance with the date, being late Norman.
Flambard's successor was Galfrid Rufus, who was Bishop from 1133 to
1140.
During his episcopate the chapter-house, which had been commenced
by the monks, was completed. Rufus also replaced the then existing
north and south doorways of the nave, by those standing to-day.
The next bishop, William de St Barbara (1143 to 1152), does not
appear to have added anything to the cathedral. During his time of
office the see was usurped by William Cummin, and building
operations were no doubt neglected through the troubles arising from
the usurpation. His successor, Hugh Pudsey (1153 to 1195) was,
however, a great builder; appointed to the see at a comparatively early
age, and, living as he did, at a time when very great changes were
taking place