Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Durham: A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espiscopal SeeBygate, Joseph E. (Joseph Emanuel)
Religion
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Durham: A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espiscopal See
Bygate, Joseph E. (Joseph Emanuel)
Church of England. Diocese of Durham; Durham Cathedral
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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