In Lindisfarne and Durham - 4 September 2008
We were so close to Lindisfarne that we were able to take immediate advantage of access to the Island which was from 9.45 to 4.45 that day because of the tide). The causeway was still fairly wet but, despite that, the car park was already full when we arrived so some intrepid souls must have set off while the tide was still receding. We took the shuttle to the Castle to save a bit of time although the distance is quite walkable and it was a lovely, though cold, day.
Twice a day, a long, narrow neck of land sinks under the North Sea tide for five hours separating Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, from the coast. At low tide, visitors stream over the causeway to the island, made famous for several reasons. Firstly St Aidan, an Irish missionary, founded a monastery at Lindisfarne and became Bishop of Northumbria. He’d arrived in Northumbria in AD 635 from the island of Iona, off western Scotland, to found the monastery on Lindisfarne from which so much of pagan England was converted. The monastery became one of the most important centres for Christianity in England. This and other monastic communities thrived in Northumbria becoming rich in scholarship, although the monks lived simply. It also emerged as a place of pilgrimage after miracles were reported at the shrine of St Cuthbert, Lindisfarne’s most famous bishop. But the monks’ pacifism made them defenceless against 9th century Viking raids.
St Cuthbert, the monk and miracle worker, was most revered of all. He lived as a hermit on Inner Farne (a chapel was built there in his memory) and later became Bishop of Lindisfarne.
The Island was also made famous because of the Lindisfarne Gospels. Held in the British Library in London, this book of richly illustrated portrayals of Gospel stories is one of the masterpieces of the Northumbrian Renaissance which left a permanent mark on Christian art and history writing. The work was carried out by monks at Lindisfarne under the direction of Bishop Eadfrith around 700. Eadfrith himself was the scribe (though other monks did the illustrations) and he spent at least two solid years writing the Gospels in Latin. Monks managed to save the book and took it with them when they fled from Lindisfarne in AD 875 after suffering Viking raids. Other treasures were plundered. Nothing remains of the Celtic monks’ monastery, but the magnificent arches of the 11th century Lindisfarne Priory are still visible.
The Priory was built by Benedictines in the 11th century on the site of St Aidan’s earlier monastery. But after 1540, stones from the priory were used to build Lindisfarne Castle.
In 1902 the Castle was spied by Edward Hudson and he bought it from the crown and commissioned Sir Edwin Lutyens to restore it. He made it into his second residence. Edward Hudson enjoyed inviting his friends to stay in the castle. One of these was Madame Suggia who would practise her cello and perform concerts for other guests on holiday. In 1908 the then Prince and Princess of Wales visited the Castle and in 1944 it was given to the National Trust.
Suzi and I were very impressed to find that children visiting the castle were given a couple of tasks to perform. One was to match names to portraits hanging in the various rooms and the other was to find eight miniature cellos hidden around the Castle. Even Suzi and I had to take up that challenge!
Knowing that we wanted to visit Durham before the end of the day, we hurried down the A1(M) and had a great journey. We passed through Alnwick on the way and would have loved to have lingered but it was such a happening place that we couldn’t find a single parking space and thought we’d better hurry on.
Durham was pretty busy too and all the parking possibilities are some distance from both the Castle and the Cathedral. However, we managed to park near the river and paid a very quick visit to the Cathedral.
Durham Cathedral has been described as ‘one of the great architectural experiences of Europe’. From quite a distance, one can take in at a glance what it is that makes Durham unique – the Cathedral and Castle positioned on an acropolis surrounded by the River Wear with the mediaeval city gathered at its feet.
All the historic functions of this site are clear defensive military fortification, religious shrine, academy and market place.
The Cathedral is renowned as a masterpiece of Romanesque (or Norman) architecture, the style brought from France to Britain through the Norman conquest of 1066. It was begun in 1093 and largely completed within 40 years. Durham is one of a handful of English cathedrals to have preserved the unity and integrity of its original design, and the only one that retains almost all of its Norman craftsmanship. It’s part of a World Heritage Site, one of Britain’s best loved buildings and an icon of north-east England. But this great church was built to be the shrine of a humble saint, a place for pilgrims and as a home for a community of prayer. In a new millennium, it continues to stand as a sign of faith.
Then we turned to the Castle
Few buildings in England can boast a longer history of continuous occupation than Durham Castle. Founded soon after the Norman Conquest, the Castle has been rebuilt, extended and adapted to changing circumstances and uses over a period of 900 years. From being a key fortress in the defence of the border with Scotland, it was gradually transformed in more peaceful times into an imposing and comfortable palace for the Bishops of Durham. Since 1837, soon after the foundation of the University of Durham, it has served as a residential college for many generations of students.
The peninsula of Durham had already been occupied by the former monks of Lindisfarne some seventy years before the Norman Conquest as a resting place for the body of their patron, St Cuthbert and it is likely that some fortifications were built early in the eleventh century on the site of the present Castle to supplement the natural defences provided by the steep and narrow gorge of the River Wear.
It is impossible to set a date when the Castle’s military functions ceased and its residential ones began. The military significance of Durham Castle finally vanished in the first half of the seventeenth century. The union of the English and Scottish crowns under James I and VI in 1603, the changing methods of warfare and the dilapidations which the building s suffered during the Civil War and Commonwealth all combined to make it obsolete as a fortress.
Suffice it to say, the Castle is very beautiful and appears extremely well maintained. Unfortunately, it’s only possible to explore the interior by means of a guided tour and the last one had already gone for the day.
Leaving the Cathedral and the Castle, we paid a quick visit to the Durham Library where they were very hospitable and gave us free internet access. Suzi managed to choose a B&B in York and, leaving Durham just as the rain started, we had a wonderful run down to York. We discovered our B&B easily, found them extremely accommodating, and went out to an excellent dinner near Bootham Bar, one of the City’s four Bars, and still had a long evening to unpack and start to sort ourselves out for the remaining days of our lovely holiday.