Template:FP-Durham

The River Wear in Durham, County Durham

Durham Durham is a city in County Durham, of which it is the county town. The city centre stands in a loop of the River Wear, dominated by the vast Cathedral, atop a precipitous cliff tumbling down to the water. The city was founded here in 995 because of its natural defensive position, and as a resting place for the bones of St Cuthbert. The magnificent Norman cathedral was built soon after the Norman Conquest on the site of its predecessor, and Cuthbert’s bones still lie there. The Normans also built an imposing castle, and castle and cathedral served the Prince-Bishops of Durham until their palatine jurisdiction was ended in 1836. Upon the most central and prominent position high above the Wear, the cathedral dominates the skyline. The steep riverbanks are densely wooded, adding to the picturesque beauty of the city. It is the Cathedral and the pilgrim traffic it brought, and the power of the bishops which brought Durham its wealth and fame. Those are gone, but their legacy is there to see. Durham is a university town, home to the University of Durham, founded in 1832; the first university founded in England since the Middle Ages and thus one of the oldest of Britain’s universities. (Read more)