Great central tower of Durham Cathedral in north-east England, with late 1400s Perpendicular Gothic detail, including finely-sculpted ogee windows, canopied sculpture niches and crocketed finials.
Durham, County Durham, England: great central tower of Durham Cathedral, the last major addition to the cathedral with late 1400s Perpendicular Gothic detail, including finely-sculpted ogee windows, canopied sculpture niches and crocketed finials. It was extensively rebuilt after two lightening strikes in 1429 and 1459 and is now 218 ft high (). Perpendicular Gothic was the final phase of Gothic architecture in England, after the Early English and Decorated periods. It lasted from the late 1300s until the early 1500s and was characterised by strong vertical lines in stone window tracery and very large windows. Durham Cathedral is a Norman Romanesque cathedral church, built between 1093 and 1133 and founded as a monastic cathedral to house the shrine of St Cuthbert (c. 635 - 687 AD) and dedicated to him. The cathedral also houses the shrine of the ‘Venerable’ St Bede (673 - 735 AD). About 80 miles north of Durham is the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and among the saints there was St Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne from 695 until his death. In 875, after Viking raids, the monks fled Lindisfarne carrying St Cuthbert’s relics, which were brought to Durham in 995 and housed in a cathedral built by Saxons specifically for that purpose. Venerable Bede’s bones were buried alongside St Cuthbert’s relics in 1022. The Normans wanted a symbol of their power and authority and, in 1093, the old Saxon church was demolished and building of the present mighty Cathedral began, next to a great Norman fortification, Durham Castle.
Size: 2765px × 4156px
Location: Durham Cathedral, Durham, County Durham, England
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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