Bells Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Durham | Page 7

have
called in workmen in both capacities, and they have reported to us that
three of its sides are out of perpendicular, that many of the Key and
cornerstones of its windows have fallen out, that in other respects it is
defective, and that besides, its woodwork is in a state of great decay so
that it cannot be expected to stand for any length of time. Some are of

opinion that the belfry should be totally removed as it cannot stand
longer; others on the contrary, wish it to be perfectly restored; a thing
which exceeds our means, unless we have the advantage of charitable
aid. In this state of doubt and hesitation, we have recourse to you, as
members to their head, presuming not to engage in any such great and
stupendous alteration with reference to your church, without your
advice.
"If, which God forbid, the tower should fall, the solemn fabric of our
choir, and the shrine of our most holy patron, would without doubt, be
broken down and irrevocably laid flat on the ground, for that is the
direction in which it leans. We confess that whenever winds and storms
are high, and we are standing at our duty in that part of the church we
tremble for our fate, having positive danger before our eyes."
Shortly afterwards, the rebuilding of all the upper part of the central
tower was commenced and continued for some years. It was not
complete in 1474 when Richard Bell was prior, as in a letter written at
the time he mentions the "reedificacion of our steeple, begun but nogt
fynyshed, in defaulte of goods, as God knoweth." It is therefore most
probable that the upper portion was not completed until towards the
close of the fifteenth century.
We have now reached a period when the glories of Gothic architecture
were fading, during which many of our finest churches suffered
considerably. Durham is no exception to the rule, and we find during
the next two centuries a long record of destruction and so-called
improvement. This, perhaps, reached its worst stage during the time of
Wyatt, who in 1796 pulled down the magnificent Norman
chapter-house. During the last decade, however, this has been
completely rebuilt from as nearly as possible the original design. Wyatt
also rebuilt the turrets on the eastern transept or Nine Altar Chapel
from his own design, and removed the great Early English rose window
in the east end and replaced it by the present one. The original stained
glass was taken out of all the windows of the east end, and Raine, in his
history, tells us that it "lay for a long time afterwards in baskets upon
the floor, and when the greater part of it had been purloined, the

remainder was locked up in the Galilee.... At a still later period, about
fifteen years ago, portions of it were placed in the great round window,
and the rest still remains unappropriated." This was written in 1833. It
is also on record that Wyatt formed a scheme to re-open the great
western doorway of the cathedral by the pulling down of the Galilee
Chapel, from which he intended constructing a carriage-drive to the
castle. This abomination was actually commenced when Dean
Cornwallis arrived, and he, with the assistance of John Carter, and the
Society of Antiquaries, was fortunately able to put a stop to it. Thus
was this beautiful and unique specimen of Transitional Norman
architecture preserved to us.
Wyatt contemplated several other "improvements" of a similar
character, one of which was the surmounting of the central tower by a
spire, but fortunately he was not allowed to carry them out.
During the present century many restorations have been made, of which
we will mention only the most notable:--The central tower was restored
by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1859.
During 1870 to 1876 extensive internal alterations were made. A new
choir screen and pulpit were erected, the floor of the choir laid in
marble mosaic, the choir stalls returned to their original positions, and
the walls of the church scraped in order to clear them from the many
coats of lime and distemper which lay on them.
[Illustration: The West End (from an Old Print).]
The Norman chapter-house has lately been restored and in great part
rebuilt as a memorial to the late Bishop Lightfoot.

[Illustration: The Exterior, From Palace Green.]
CHAPTER II
DESCRIPTION OF THE EXTERIOR

Approaching the Cathedral Church of Durham from the north by the
large open space between it and the Castle, known as the Palace Green,
we obtain a complete elevation of the whole structure. There is little
room to doubt, though the details naturally vary with the date of
erection, that the original plan of Carileph's church has been carried out
in its