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‘Greater and More Splendid’: Some Aspects of Romanesque Durham Cathedral

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2011

Michael G. Jarrett  and
Howard Mason
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Extract

Preliminary study for a group of perspective reconstruction drawings of the exterior of Durham Cathedral has led to a reappraisal of the original design and of its progress towards completion. The west towers may be fifty or more years earlier than the generally accepted date of c. 1200, preceding the Galilee chapel. The paired eastern towers strongly suggest links with the ‘imperial’ churches of the Rhineland, and are not readily paralleled in Normandy. Some English churches with eastern towers are listed, indicating that they were not especially rare.

Durham was built on the largest scale to house the body and shrine of St Cuthbert. It was an avant-garde showpiece indicating the wealth and importance of its bishop and monastic community at both English and European levels.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 75 , September 1995 , pp. 189 - 233
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 1995

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