The Cathedral Towns and Intervening Places of England, Ireland and Scotland:: A Description of Cities, Cathedrals, Lakes, Mountains, Ruins, and Watering-places.Silloway, Thomas W. (Thomas William)
History
The Cathedral Towns and Intervening Places of England, Ireland and Scotland:: A Description of Cities, Cathedrals, Lakes, Mountains, Ruins, and Watering-places.
Silloway, Thomas W. (Thomas William)
Great Britain -- Description and travel
About a mile from the place is the holy well of Jesus Mound, now called
Jesmond, which was formerly a favorite pilgrim resort. During the reign
of Charles I. the city was taken by the Scottish army in 1640, and
again in 1644. The Church of St. Nicholas is an ancient but spacious
structure of decorated English style, having a tower and spire 193 feet
high, of elegant and graceful proportions. St. Andrew's Church is an
ancient Norman edifice with a large, low, embattled tower. There are
other churches of considerable renown,--such as All Saints, with a
circular interior, and Grecian steeple 202 feet high; and last but by
no means least, the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary, of magnificent
early English architecture.
At 9.30 A. M. of the next day, Friday, we left for
DURHAM,
where we arrived in an hour. In all England no more picturesquely
situated place exists, for it is embowered in trees, and stands on a
rocky hill, rising from the River Wear. On the summit is the cathedral
built of yellow stone. It has three towers without spires, which,
together with the roof and a part of the church walls, rise imposingly
out of the surrounding foliage. The place has a population of 14,406.
The river banks are skirted by overhanging gardens with fine walks,
beyond which the houses rise above each other, till all are crowned by
the cathedral itself. To add an intensity of beauty, on the summit of a
rocky eminence near by are the remains of a Norman castle. The division
north of the castle contains most of the stores, and has one of those
English commercial conveniences, a market-place.
Among the public buildings are a town-hall in the Tudor baronial
style, a theatre, seven parish churches, a school of art, and a
university. The old Church of St. Nicholas, now in thorough repair,
is one of the finest specimens of church architecture in the North of
England. The old castle is opposite the cathedral. It was founded by
William the Conqueror, who died Sept. 9, 1087, so that the structure is
eight hundred years old; and was built for the purpose of maintaining
the royal authority in the adjacent district, especially by resisting
the inroads of the Scots. Many additions have been made to it, so that
it is now difficult to say which parts are old and which new; but no
question exists in relation to the great antiquity of the foundations
and lower portions, and of the very ancient date of some of the higher
parts of much above them. For many years it was the residence of the
bishops of Durham, but of late has been given up to the use of the
university.
The See of Durham is the richest in England. The revenues are very
great, and one bishop left $1,000,000 at his decease a few years
ago. Collieries and railroads have given a powerful impetus to this
aristocratic place, which has now considerable trade and large carpet
manufactures. It has long been noted for Durham Mustard, a commodity to
be found in the best groceries of America.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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