Durham Castle

The Norman castle at Durham, built on a peninsular overlooking the River Wear, was begun in 1072 and positioned adjacent to a Benedictine monastery. St. Cuthbert was buried here.

Work on the cathedral began in 1092 and the Bishop of Durham was invested with the responsibility of both the cathedral and fortress.

The Prince-Bishops had absolute power over their bishopic and along the coast. In return they were expected to levy an army for the King especially if there was any threat from the Scots.

Only the chapel and part of the undercroft of the Great Hall survive to this day but the layout of the keep and courtyard follows the original pattern.

New bishops embellished the castle with increasingly elaborate buildings leaving their coats of arms in conspicuous places. At the same time they maintained the site's importance as a stronghold and the castle was never taken by force. The bishophic lost a good deal of its political power during the Reformation.

After the Civil War the last substantial addition was made and the site remained as a comfortable episcipal palace until 1832. The last Prince-Bishop William van Mildert gave it up and surrendered part of his income to found the third university in Britain.

The keep was almost totally rebuilt and adaptation of other buildings was carried out.

In the 1930's a huge rescue operation had to be carried out to underpin the subsiding foundations as, while the cathedral was built on solid bedrock, the castle was built on less substantial material.

Despite considerable rebuilding and adaptation the impressive nucleus of a medieval city remains.