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Key Image Durham Cathedral
The College
DH1 3EH Durham
United Kingdom
Denomination: Anglican
Congregation: Durham Cathedral (Diocese of Durham)
Geogr. Coordinates: 54.7735° N, 1.57577° W
Geo Location
Reference year: 1093
Architectural style: Romanesque
Building type: Basilica
Description: Three-aisled, romanesque basilica with gothic modifications, two-aisled transept with east aisle, termination of the chancel as a second transept; large porch (“Galilee Chapel”) at the west end; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 (Durham Castle and Cathedral)
Building material
  • Built from sandstone, most prominent location for the use of Frosterley “Marble” (fossil-rich black limestone)
Font
  • Font with wooden cover (c. 1670)
Organ
  • Build in 1876 by “Father” Willis, refurbished in 1905; more than 5,740 pipes
Noteworthy
  • First successful use of pointed arches in the nave world-wide
  • St Cuthbert’s shrine
  • Astronomical clock (c. 1632)
History:
1017:   Anglo-Saxon precursor building, so-called “White Church”, as a burial place for St Cuthbert
10/08/1093:   Grundsteinlegung unter dem ersten Fürstbischof William of St Calais
1133:   Completion of nave, transept and choir (started in 1093)
1189:   Completion of the western porch (“Galilee”) after a 16-year building period
1226:   Completion of the west towers (begun in 1217)
1242:   Chapel of the Nine Altars in the east replaces the original ambulatory
1490:   Reconstruction of the crossing tower (started in 1465)
Dimensions:
Length [m]:  143
Tower Height [m]:  66
Nave Height [m]:  22
Nave Span [m]:  12
Sources
Cannon, Jon: Cathedral – The Great English Cathedrals, Constable & Robinson, London 2007
Durham Cathedral: Informationsblatt Durham Cathedral
Sadgrove, Michael: Durham Cathedral – The Shrine of St Cuthbert, Durham Cathedral, Durham 2013
Wikipedia: Durham Cathedral, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Cathedral
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