Hello, welcome to history here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

In these lessons, we will focus on a specific historical environment, Durham Cathedral.

What can Durham Cathedral tell us about the wider context of this period? What can it tell us about the background story, the people or events at the time? What is the significance of the church and cathedrals in Norman England? Does Durham Cathedral tell us to what extent that Normans reformed the English Church? This is how we will use the site of Durham Cathedral to address broader questions about Norman England.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain how and why Durham Cathedral was constructed as it was.

Before we begin, there are a few key words that we need to understand.

A shrine is a place of worship that is holy because of a connection with a holy person or object.

A nave is the long central part of a church, often with aisles on both sides.

And finally, vaulting are the arches that support a ceiling or a roof.

Today's lesson is split up into two parts.

In the first part, we'll look at the location and the structure of Durham Cathedral, before moving on to the interior design and monastic use.

Right, let's begin with the location and structure of Durham Cathedral.

In 1093, William of St.

Calais ordered the construction of a new cathedral on the site of the Anglo-Saxon building which housed St.

Cuthbert's relics.

The site itself is spectacular.

Have a look at the map of Durham from 1610.

We can see the River Wear meandering across the map in a kind of brownish colour.

And Durham Cathedral and the adjacent Durham Castle are shown situated in a meander of the River Wear.

The cathedral sits atop high ground, overlooking steep river banks which provide natural protection.

As we can see from this photo, Durham Castle is on the left, and the cathedral remained close on the right with its twin tower facade dominating the landscape.

The cathedral was designed to be imposing as Durham and the north had been a difficult area for the Normans to control.

Furthermore, a grand structure was needed to be a worthy pilgrimage site to house the shrine of St.

Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede.

The new Norman cathedral needed to impress people with the Normans' power and might, and demonstrate that a Norman conquest had the support of God.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was the benefit of the site of Durham Cathedral.

Select two correct answers.

A, it had natural protection.

B, it was located on the border of the north.

C, it was on high ground surrounded by a river.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew the correct answers were A, it had natural protection, and C, it was on high ground surrounded by a river.

Okay, let's continue.

Durham Cathedral was built in the new Romanesque style that was fashionable in Western Europe.

Anglo-Saxon churches were generally smaller and often made of wood.

Norman designers, however, built thick stone walls which were three metres thick in places.

They often built square central towers and added depth to walls with pillars and semi-circular arches.

Have a look at the photo on the left.

It shows a Norman doorway of Durham Cathedral, and this shows us some of the Romanesque features.

We can see the stone pillars either side of the doorway, which sits under a round arched window.

And if you look closely at the doorway arch, you can see it has elaborate designs.

This area is known as the tympanum.

You can see some carved geometric patterns, they look like zigzags or chevrons.

These new grander features were designed to impress and recall the power of the Roman Empire, hence being known as Romanesque.

Therefore, Durham Cathedral's Romanesque design represented an architectural revolution which dominated the landscape and became a lasting symbol of Norman control over the English Church.

Through this building, the Normans were identifying themselves as both conquerors and religious reformers.

The cathedral's Romanesque features include huge stone columns and rounded arches.

When I think of the typical Romanesque style, I think of something like the photo on the left.

This is the inside of Durham Cathedral.

Romanesque is essentially a load of big stone columns and arches arranged in this way.

And when you look at ancient Roman architecture such as the Colosseum or Roman aqueducts, even, you see this theme throughout.

This photo also shows us that there was a particular way that Romanesque arches and columns were arranged.

Arches were often arranged in arcades.

This was a row of arches with another row on top of them called the triforium.

And then a third arcade called a clerestory on top of that.

They created an attractive pattern, and sometimes the arches in the top arcade were used windows.

Norman architects had to be careful about where they positioned windows.

Too many windows or windows too low down the walls would mean a high wall would not be able to support the weight above it.

To keep walls strong but still looking Romanesque, many Norman buildings feature blind arcading.

This was a pattern of pillars and arches with no windows at all.

This meant that windows were often small and the cathedral was dimly lit.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

The Romanesque style was characterised by which three of these design elements, A, arcades of arches, B, geometric decorative designs, C, large stained glass windows, D, thick stone walls.

Pause the video, select your three correct answers and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were A, arcades of arches, B, geometric decorative designs, and D, thick stone walls.

Okay, let's continue.

So Durham Cathedral would've been built by a team of Norman masons and carpenters and used the forced labour of English peasants.

Elements of the design were inspired by St.

Peter's Basilica in Rome, for example, the length of the nave is a close match.

Also, if you have a look at the photo on the left, it shows a column with a spiral pattern, which may have also been inspired by St.

Peter's Basilica.

This spiral pattern was only used on the columns in the choir end of the cathedral, a sacred area where the high altar and St.

Cuthbert's shrine were situated.

The spirals represent the prayers of worshipers rising up to the Heavens.

We can see further Christian devotion in the way that the cathedral was built facing east, towards Jerusalem.

And as we can see from this bird's eye view of the floor plan, the cathedral was built in the shape of a cross to remember Jesus' death and to reinforce that Norman Christian devotion.

Okay, let's have another check.

What I want you to do here is change one word to make this sentence correct.

So have a read of the sentence, correct one of the words to make this sentence correct.

Pause the video, have a go and then come right back.

So the word that we needed to change there was window, and we needed to replace that word with nave.

So let's see how this sentence should have read.

Elements of the design were inspired by St.

Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The interior spiral columns and the length of the nave are a close match.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to task A.

Alex here is unsure of the key features of Durham Cathedral.

What I want you to do is advise Alex on the key features of the cathedral's location and structure.

So for example, see if you can compile a bullet point list to give Alex to advise him on the key features of Durham Cathedral's location and structure.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done for having a go at that task.

Let's see what you could have advised Alex.

So you might have in your list the fact that Durham Cathedral was built to house the shrines of St.

Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede.

You might have mentioned that the cathedral was situated in a meander of the River Wear, and that it was situated high above the river, and that there was also Durham Castle, which was located close by.

You might have advised Alex that Durham Cathedral was a grand Romanesque structure with thick stone walls, square central tower, pillars and semi-circular arches arranged in arcades.

You might have also noted that Christian devotion was shown in the architecture by the fact it was built facing east, towards Jerusalem, and that it was built in the shape of a cross to remember Jesus' death.

And finally, the elements of Durham Cathedral were inspired by St.

Peter's Basilica in Rome, such as the length of the nave and the spiral columns.

Okay, great.

So we've now got some understanding of the location and the structure of Durham Cathedral.

Let's now take a closer look at the interior design and monastic use.

So laypeople, those who are not part of the clergy, in other words, the ordinary people that do not work for the Church, they entered into the nave through the western end of the cathedral and faced east to worship.

And if you have a look at the floor plan on the left, I've highlighted that with the green arrow on the map.

So I think it's fair to say that cathedrals and their layouts can be a bit confusing to the uninitiated.

So let's take a whistle stop tour of Durham Cathedral, and we'll start with the nave.

So once somebody has entered the cathedral from the western end, they then face east, and this is what they would've seen, the nave of Durham Cathedral.

So for the ordinary person, an Anglo-Saxon peasant, for example, the everyday experience of visiting the cathedral was the nave.

Once in the nave, this would probably be the largest room that people had ever experienced.

And you can see the view is dominated by the stone pillars on the right and left.

Let's have a closer look at one of those pillars.

These stone pillars are over six metres round and over six metres high.

The nave itself stretches 150 metres long.

This giant space is a magnificent site, considering it was built 1,000 years ago.

People's eyes are immediately drawn towards the extremely high ceilings.

These are 22 metres high, and we can see how those Romanesque arcades have been used to dramatic effect.

The windows allow the light to brighten the ceiling vaulting, creating a Heavenly view.

The nave was a large space with aisles on either side.

You can see the aisles underneath the arches on the left and right.

Let's go underneath one of the arches and have a look at one of the aisles.

So because this was a large space, it was used for multiple purposes.

It was used for worship, feast days and for the justice, so a court would take place here.

And it was also used for entertainment.

Right, let's go back to the centre aisle.

As the congregation sat, they would've seen one of the first examples in Europe of stone ribbed vaulting.

Let's zoom in on that ribbed vaulting.

It's quite difficult to see, but this is a series of bricks or ribs which have been stacked in an arch to carry the weight of the ceiling.

The ribs transmit the load down towards the columns.

If we zoom out, we can also see compound piers, which is essentially a cluster of columns.

Let's have a look at a model which shows the rib vaulting more clearly.

Here is a photo of a rib vault model, and we can see the columns are at the bottom, with the green bricks, the ribs, balanced on top of the columns.

The ribs are stacked upwards towards a central point.

And finally, the purple keystone or capstone is wedged at the top and locks all the stones into position, allowing the pressure to flow outward and downwards towards the columns.

The ribs can stand by themselves without any form of cement and is strong enough to bear the weight of the ceiling or roof.

The stone ribs of the roof were a lightweight, yet strong design, which enabled a higher ceiling and to be held over a wide space.

This was an important innovation because it meant Durham Cathedral could be built at a height which inspired all.

And for the congregation and visiting pilgrims, the enormous height of the roof would've seemed to be reaching towards the heavens.

The cathedral represented a spiritual power and suggested that to resist Norman authority was to go against the will of God.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What did the architectural innovation of stone ribbed vaulting enable? A, broader geometric patterns, B, higher and wider ceilings, C, wider seating for the nave.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was B, higher and wider ceilings.

Supporting the stone ribbed pointed arches were compound piers and columns.

The Normans' huge Romanesque pillars and their capitals, the top parts of pillars, were often decorated, as were their arches over doors and windows.

It's likely they were originally colourfully painted.

The Normans were very fond of using geometric and chevron patterns on the pillars and arches, and they were probably inspired by patterns they'd seen on crusades.

In the photo, I've highlighted in red a chevron pattern on the near column here, and we can see the diamond patterns on the far columns too.

And to the right, we can see an example of blind arcading, here giving the illusion of pillars and arches without weakening the wall structure.

The intersecting arches may represent a motif of Anglo-Saxon decoration.

This motif has parallels in the canon tables found in Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Okay, if we have a look back at Durham Cathedral's full plan here, walking east through the nave, a layperson would've approached the centre of the cathedral, the central crossing.

I'll add another green arrow on the map to show you the central crossing.

In front of the layperson would've been a screen.

The red line on the map shows where the screen was.

Laypeople were not allowed to go beyond this screen in Mediaeval times.

Behind the screen was a sacred space.

Again, let's get back on our tour of Durham Cathedral.

Okay, so we're still in the nave, looking east.

Let's approach the central crossing.

The central crossing provided dramatic focal points for the worshipers.

If we look up, we can see the roof of the central tower.

The central tower was built much later, in 1500.

This tower rose hundreds of feet above the River Wear.

From the central crossing, we can also see the transepts.

If we look left, which is north, and also if we look right, which is south.

This is where you might find a side altar, a chapel and tombs of important people.

But if we look straight ahead, east, again, we can see a screen called the pulpitum.

Now, today, we can see through the screen and you can see the circular window on the other side.

However, in Mediaeval times, the pulpitum would've been a solid, lavishly decorated screen with doors for the clergy to access the choir behind.

Laypeople were not allowed beyond this point in Mediaeval times.

Behind the screen is a sacred space where the clergy conducted the holiest part of the church service.

So let's respectfully venture into the choir.

Here, we can see the choir stalls.

This is where the monks would gather to worship.

Here, they are separated from the layworshipers, but with the acoustics of the cathedral designed to allow their chants and prayers to resonate clearly throughout the building.

This meant that the monks liturgy could still be heard by the worshipers on the other side of the screen while the monks themselves remain secluded.

Over here is also where the official seat or throne of the Bishop of Durham was.

And we can see that this throne symbolises the authority and wisdom of the bishop.

The story goes that in the 14th century, the Prince-Bishop of Durham sent monks to measure the Pope's throne in Rome, and then made sure that his throne was two inches higher.

The Pope was so angry that he placed a cushion on his throne to raise himself higher.

Okay, let's continue to venture east, and we can see the high altar.

That's the table with the cross and two candles.

In the belief of the time, the most sacred part of the mass took place here.

The transubstantiation of bread and wine into the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.

The celebration of the life and the passion, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Behind this altar was the shrine of St.

Cuthbert, which you can just catch a glimpse of through the second screen here.

But to access that, we need to come out of the choir.

Let's leave this most sacred of areas and head beyond the screen here.

We find ourselves in the southern aisle.

And looking along the aisle here, that's the nave where we came from.

Since pilgrims couldn't enter the choir, they walked along this side aisle to access St.

Cuthbert's shrine.

The doors to the cathedral were opened with bells ringing to let pilgrims know that mass had begun, and pilgrims were then guided down this aisle by attendants towards the shrine.

Here is the door to St.

Cuthbert's shrine.

Since this is the resting place of St.

Cuthbert and a quiet place of reflection and prayer, I'll end our tour here.

However, for pilgrims, once inside Cuthbert's shrine, cathedral staff accepted the pilgrims' donation, helped them with their prayers and then guided them out through the exit gates.

Norman reformers were doubtful about some of the Celtic saints worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons.

However, St.

Cuthbert was a saint that the Normans were happy to venerate as the huge numbers of pilgrims who paid to pray at St.

Cuthbert's shrine would have provided a strong argument for keeping the saints at Durham.

True or false, the Normans did not want to keep the shrine to St.

Cuthbert at Durham Cathedral.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that was false.

But why is that false? I want you to justify your answer.

Pause the video, quickly jot down your justification and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew it was false because St.

Cuthbert was a saint that the Normans were happy to venerate as the huge numbers of pilgrims who paid to pray at St.

Cuthbert's shrine would've provided significant income for the Normans.

Okay, let's continue.

So the Normans' religious reforms had a major focus on monastic life, which can be seen at Durham Cathedral.

Norman church reforms promoted a stricter adherence to the Benedictine order, as complete a separation as possible between religious life and secular, non-religious life.

The design of the cathedral helped to accommodate a self-contained community of monks, which meant structures to separate the monks from the laypeople.

The monks needed a space for daily religious routines, places for work, administration and study.

If we have a look at the wider cathedral floor plan on the left, I'll highlight some key areas that the monks used.

There was a dormitory for the monks, which is a sleeping area, which I've highlighted in red.

And there was a refractory, dining room, and a cloisters, which was a covered walkway enclosing a large, open courtyard.

The cloisters had a lavatory in the middle.

This was a place for washing.

Lanfranc's constitutions offered guidance that monks should bathe three times a year, but they did always wash their hands before meals.

And here in this photo, it shows Durham Cathedral's cloisters.

And we can see how it provided monks with a sheltered outside area for meditation.

You can see the sun shining on the open courtyard with the covered walkways surrounding the grassy area.

That's the arches which surrounds the grass square.

Many extensions were made, such as the Galilee Chapel, to accommodate the pilgrim crowds.

Although Cuthbert was the more popular saint, Bede was highly venerated in Europe and his relics were given their own shrine in the Galilee Chapel.

If we have a look at the photo on the left, we can see the tomb of the Venerable Bede, which can be seen in the Galilee Chapel.

Bede was actually originally enshrined next to Cuthbert, before they moved him into the chapel.

The name of the Galilee Chapel also has religious significance.

If you have a look at the floor plan, you can see I've highlighted the Galilee Chapel in red, and we can see that it's on the western end of the cathedral.

And this is where processions started their entry into the building, symbolising Christ's entry into Jerusalem from Galilee.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which two features of Durham Cathedral suggest that there was a separation between the monks and the laypeople? A, there was a dormitory and refractory to accommodate a self-contained community of monks.

B, there was an extension of the Galilee Chapel to accommodate more pilgrims. C, there was a screen which partitioned the nave from the choir.

Pause the video, select your two correct features and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was A, there was a dormitory and refractory to accommodate a self-contained community of monks, and C, there was a screen which partitioned the nave from the choir.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to task B.

So I've got a statement here for you.

The main reason for the construction of Norman cathedrals was to demonstrate Christian devotion.

What I want you to do is use the example of Durham Cathedral and your contextual knowledge to disagree with this statement in one paragraph.

Now, obviously I've given you plenty of evidence in this lesson, which could also agree and back up this statement, but for this task, I just want you to focus your efforts on using examples from Durham Cathedral and your own contextual knowledge to disagree that the construction of Norman cathedrals was to demonstrate Christian devotion.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Well done for having a go at that task.

Let's have a look what you could have written.

Now, obviously there's many ways you could have answered this question, and I've actually got two example answers to show you how you could have written it.

So if you disagreed with the statement because you felt that Durham Cathedral or Norman cathedrals in general were built to project power, then you could have written a paragraph like this.

"Norman Cathedrals did more "than demonstrate Christian devotion.

"Their architecture was purposefully designed "to project power.

"For example, Durham Cathedral was built on high ground "and was surrounded by a river.

"This natural protection "would have put off any Anglo-Saxon rebels.

"Furthermore, the structure had Romanesque features, "strong stone walls and pillars, "which were designed to impress "and recall the power of the Roman Empire.

"Additionally, Durham Cathedral "contains stone ribbed vaulting, "forming pointed arches.

"This was an important architectural innovation "which enabled Durham Cathedral "to be built at an intimidating height, "a sight which projected Norman authority "and could inspire awe and fear "to the Anglo-Saxon population." But perhaps you felt that Norman cathedrals were actually built to showcase their architectural innovations and ambition.

And your answer could have looked like this one.

"Norman Cathedrals did more "than demonstrate Christian devotion.

"They were designed to showcase "the Normans' architectural innovations and ambition.

"For example, Durham Cathedral's design "had Romanesque features, "which followed the latest Western European fashion.

"The Normans subsequently included huge pillars "supporting arcades of arches, "including blind arcading, "geometric designs on pillars, capitals and doorways, "and, most importantly, they built the cathedral very tall "by using innovative stone ribbed vaulting.

"Furthermore, elements of the design "were inspired by St.

Peter's Basilica in Rome, "including the length of the nave and spiral columns, "and by the designs seen by Normans on crusades.

"Therefore, Durham Cathedral was built "to be the biggest, boldest and best." Okay, great, let's summarise today's lesson, the design of Durham Cathedral.

Durham Cathedral was built in the same location as St.

Cuthbert's and the Venerable Bede's shrines.

Situated on a naturally defensive site, Durham Cathedral was constructed in the Normans' favourite Romanesque style.

The Cathedral's architecture projected power and contained ribbed vaulting, an important architectural innovation which enabled the cathedral to be built at a great height.

Durham Cathedral included designs to separate its monastic clergy from laypeople, for example, a screen which partitioned the nave from the choir and to accommodate the needs of the monastic community.

Well done on a brilliant lesson, and thank you for joining me as we delved into the architectural details of Durham Cathedral.

See you in the next lesson.