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Durham Castle and Cathedral

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Date of Inscription: 1986
Criteria: (ii)(iv)(vi)
Core zone: 6.65 ha
County of Durham, England
N54 46 29 W1 34 34
Ref: 370

Brief Description

Durham Cathedral was built in the late 11th and early 12th centuries to house the relics of St Cuthbert (evangelizer of Northumbria) and the Venerable Bede. It attests to the importance of the early Benedictine monastic community and is the largest and finest example of Norman architecture in England. The innovative audacity of its vaulting foreshadowed Gothic architecture. Behind the cathedral stands the castle, an ancient Norman fortress which was the residence of the prince-bishops of Durham.

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