England
County Durham

County Durham Travel Guide - Historic Churches

Durham Cathedral Durham, County Durham Durham is one of the high points of cathedral architecture in this or any other land. The site helps; the church is perched above a bend of the River Wear and ringed below with trees. The cathedral was founded in 995 as a final resting place for the remains of Saint Cuthbert, which had been carted about for over a century since they were removed from Lindisfarne and the threat of the Danes. Cuthbert's followers built the White Church here, but it was pulled down by the second bishop of Durham when the present building was begun in 1093. The nave is astonishing; the relatively slender composite piers alternate with massive drum columns. In this building the three main innovations of the revolutionary Gothic style come together: pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses (hidden here above the aisle vaults). Durham, County Durham, England, Website: Durham Cathedral Email: enquiries@durhamcathedral.co.uk Phone: 0191 386 4266 Fax: 0191 386 4267

Escomb Saxon Church Escomb, County Durham One of the most complete Saxon churches in the UK, St John's, Escomb has been a place of worship since approximately 670 AD. The building materials that make up the church go back a lot further, though; many were taken from the old Roman fort at Binchester, and Roman inscriptions can be seen on many of the stones used in the construction of the church. Escomb, County Durham, England, Location: In the centre of Escomb, 1½ miles west of Bishop Auckland Website: Escomb Saxon Church