Durham Cathedral

Why Go

Two saints, one living cathedral

Pilgrims came to Durham long before the present stone church rose above the River Wear. Cuthbert’s shrine drew them to prayer; Bede’s grave carried the memory of a monk who helped preserve the story of England’s early Church. Today the cathedral belongs to the Church of England. Catholics may visit these historic holy places with gratitude and clarity about their present custodian.

From Lindisfarne to Durham

The community that guarded Cuthbert’s body left Lindisfarne amid Viking attacks and eventually settled at Durham. The Norman cathedral was begun in 1093 to house his shrine. The Reformation dismantled its medieval setting, but his grave remains behind the quire. Bede, the monk and historian of Jarrow, is buried separately in the Galilee Chapel; the cathedral recounts the medieval movement of his remains from Cuthbert’s shrine to that chapel.

The high Norman nave, ribbed vaults, and carved piers give Durham its remarkable scale. Cuthbert’s grave lies in the eastern sanctuary behind the quire, while Bede’s tomb is at the western Galilee Chapel: walking between them traces two distinct stories of Northumbrian Christianity.