Durham Cathedral: Readers choice for Britain's best building

Durham Cathedral: Readers choice for Britain's best building
In September, we asked you to vote for the building you thought should be included in our Britain's best buildings series, and you chose Durham Cathedral. We were as good as our word -- so, concluding our series celebrating the best of UK architecture, design critic Jonathan Glancey explores this astonishing building's history and looks at what it tells us about architecture today

[@57monks]

I am from the US and made a special trip to Durham just to see the cathedral. It is breathtaking in every way. I spent 3 hours there and was aided by a lovely docent who offered to give me private tours to various parts of the building. When you go make sure to see the magnificent brass panel “ I am the Morning Star”, just one of many treasures.

[@jimmypimps2734]

I lived in Ushaw Moor next to it and we use to bike there and find the secret tunnels

[@georgealderson4424]

I have visited several times amd feel at home. Thank you for the video-9 minutes well spent even at 3.45am. Blessings and peace to everyone

[@IamSquirrel]

Doing my maternal genealogy and adore this short video. I am direct descendant of a Durham. He decided to go to Scotland and fight with Robert the Bruce. My family still carries the Durham name. Thanks.

[@matthehat]

Did he seriously just sit on Bede?? I'm by no means religious, but that's really not on

[@lordjesuschristhavemercyon3251]

Yeah, NO SITTING ON SAIN BEDE YOU CRAZY MAN.

[@briansmith9439]

The ceiling vaults look quadripartite, having 4 bays, (see 5:36) but many written descriptions state they were sexpartite, or 6-bay, vaults. For comparison, Notre Dame de Paris has, or had, sexpartite vaults. The Wikipedia entry (not exactly a scholarly source) for the cathedral has the following: "There is controversy between John James and Malcolm Thurlby on whether these rib vaults were four-part or six-part, which remains unresolved." Perhaps the weaker 6-bay design was replaced by the stronger 4-bay vault at some point. The design for the vaults seems to have been a logical progression from an earlier and simpler ribbed vault design as found in Lessay Abbey in Normandy to the more-complicated architecture at Durham.

[@jinxcabbage]

fantastic

[@dronedurham3348]

Still Britains best building :)

[@MercurialRed9]

Not a big fan of religion with, Chris Hob, but these cathedrals are still stunning pieces of architecture, especially considering when these were built.

[@tomthx5804]

Not a big fan of atheists, but you are right.

[@ATheMad]

TraffordReds9 stunning?? go on the Lumiere..then that's stunning.

[@AndreasMartinLaute]

I think the biggest Romanesque Cathedral in Europe is situated in Speyer, Germany.

[@andyconroy7025]

Laila (31 today 05 April 2015) woz here when aged 12 (probably on Sunday 28 July 1996). Unfortunately The Shrine of Saint Cuthbert area of The Cathedral was closed off so she has yet to visit The Shrine.

[@Drivingdrew719]

I gotta visit this place..my last name is Durham..😮

[@SeedsofJoy]

Does anybody know the chamber music at the very end of the video?

[@georginacox3909]

William The Conqueror came to Barking Abbey too.

[@omgletsdance5448]

I went there today cuz I was in the Durham coister

[@dinerouk]

Bill Bryson, ex-US citizen and travel writer was once Chancellor here.

[@NkechiR]

Does anyone know the choral pieces that accompanied the documentary?

[@ilkercolak9608]

I want to subbtitle for that video how can I get it or can you add subtitle for taht video

[@Nonamearisto]

They used this in Avengers Endgame for some of the pillars in Asgard.

[@YooTuba]

I know, it doesn't seem like sitting on anyone's burial spot is good...especially when it's a piece of centuries-old stonework with artistic and historic value even if one isn't into religion.

[@joshuadavies108]

Does anyone know the name of the piece of music which is heard at the beginning of the video? Thanks in advance

[@faizalazrizul]

It's Allegri's Miserere Mei I know you comment this quite long ago but hope this helps

[@rickythe2nd63]

Definitely not Allegri's Misarere

[@sarum1surplice]

Jonathan Glancey seems to display little respect for some of the things in the Cathedral: sitting on Bede's tomb, leaning against an altar, etc.

[@AlbionTarkhan]

Readers of the guardian? I’m surprised they didn’t chose a mosque

[@dlwatib]

WTF? The video ends right as the host takes a breath before telling us all the stories that Durham Cathedral has to tell. We don't even get a full explanation of why it's considered Norman Romanesque and not Gothic. Clearly it has all the hallmarks of Gothic architecture: pointed arches, pointed groin vaults supported by buttresses, large windows letting in generous amounts of light through stained glass. It was begun by the Normans in the Romanesque style but as it rose the style changed to Gothic and the result is clearly a transitional style that successfully incorporates elements of both. Since Gothic is most distinctive at the tops of the arches and vaults, the entire effect is almost pure Gothic.

[@scattyuk]

+dlwatib The vast majority of the building is Romanesque. Even on the upper sections of the towers, the arches are round. Inside the pillars are almost all in the romanesque style. The great screen is neo-gothic but not medieval. The ribbed vaults were a brand new invention in Durham as far as we know so it's premature to call it gothic and it's just at the cusp of transitional.

[@ldmikeski]

The cathedral construction started in 1093 the building technology at that time was round arches the walls and isles are all of this type. By the time they came to put the roof on technology had changed and roof support was more like what we know as gothic, this enabled the builders to roof in stone rather than wood, the first stone roofed building in England

[@thedativecase9733]

Most of the building is Romanesque. You can tell almost by the "feel" of the architecture - a kind of heaviness - big chunky columns, rounded arches all dictated by the technology of the 11th and 12th centuries.

[@martijnkeisers5900]

Thank you France!😊

[@markharris1223]

He is trying to talk to Bede in the way he knows best.

[@Kingclown64]

The tomb is really old and st cuthbert was there

[@lordjesuschristhavemercyon3251]

Yes, Saint Cuthbert was! Saint Cuthbert, Pray for Us!

[@Nonamearisto]

Romanesque-style buildings were not an outgrowth of the Byzantine style, although there are some buildings (like Spoleto's Cathedral in Italy) which have Romanesque and Byzantine elements. This is not quite accurate, but then again, The Guardian rarely is.

[@Nonamearisto]

@@acbulgin2 It's hard to nail down an exact first major example of Romanesque, but it began either in France or Italy.

[@meng-hsuanlee8543]

@@Nonamearisto There’s no one single origin point. It’s a continuation from late antiquity when the Roman round arch / vaulting system was used to build Christian basilicas all across Europe. The vaulting system was continued through the early middle ages and flowered during the Carolingian period (Charlemagne). We can say that the Carolingians set the stage for what art historians call the Romanesque around the year 1000. Since the Carolingian empire encompassed huge swaths of Europe it’s hard to pinpoint one origin. Yes France and Italy but also Germany etc.

[@slenderman8244]

He seems too excited O.e

[@faizalazrizul]

This reminds me of harry potter haha

[@thomasparker5393]

It was actually used as direct inspiration for at least two parts of Hogwarts! If you Google the model for the movies there's one part that looks exactly like the cathedral just with extra spires added on the tops of the towers.

[@carlsimmons7042]

They used parts of the cathedral in the movies. Many scenes were filmed there and also in Anwick castle

[@andrewashdown3541]

Weird choice. Lincoln is generally regarded as the 'finest' cathedral in these isles, with Durham sharing runner-up position with Wells and Canterbury; others would favour Salisbury or Ely.

[@Mk1Male]

To whom do you refer to when you post _"Lincoln is generally regarded..."_ ? Possibly just your opinion?

[@andrewashdown3541]

@@Mk1Male Alec Clifton-Taylor

[@Mk1Male]

@@andrewashdown3541 One person then. 🙄

[@andrewashdown3541]

@@Mk1Male Well, Jenkins goes for Wells & Johnson Durham, but if you look at Wilson, Bony, Cannon, Draper or Binski - you can see they concur by implication though they do not state it in such bald & ultimately meaningless terms. ACT's book is widely respected & his view shared by most of the experts I've spoken to.

[@miltonjavier6173]

💍

[@geoffwheadon2897]

As a Durham Lad I've definitely seen better vids than this, to actually sit on the venerable Bedes tomb ?, a quick skit through the cathedral, not impressed.

[@cyan_ghost1727]

waluigi

[@peterreid]

is this in america?

[@dlwatib]

You're kidding, right? You can't really be that stupid, can you?

[@peterreid]

?

[@peterreid]

dlwatib what do you mean dude? i dont know durham, north carolina well because i live on the west coast. i dont know how that is so stupid.. i was just checking

[@DoubleMannings]

peter reid 'Britain's' best building??

[@peterreid]

DoubleMannings and your point is?

[@hatecrewsix2]

nein!!!

[@nurlatifahmohdnor8939]

gloom = su-ram

[@nurlatifahmohdnor8939]

Page 14 Above the nave is a great stone vault, or ceiling, built in 1133.

[@ukipwarrior]

awful building hate religion roll on marxism

[@tomthx5804]

When your beloved Marxism stops killing millions of people every time it takes root, let me know.

[@davidmccourt9949]

chris hob what a stupid comment

[@SonOfFurzehatt]

@@bertibear1300 you don't know what Marxism is, do you?