For some 750 years Durham Castle was the ceremonial palace of the Prince Bishops of Durham. Since the 1980s it has been the home of the University College, the foundation College of the University of Durham.
Within the castle are many interesting features including the Great Hall and the Black Staircase, but the part of the castle that interested me the most was The Norman Chapel:
The chapel features an unusual array of carvings, some thought to show religious scenes and values, others simply decorative. One of its capitals depicts a man with two dogs hunting a stag which may be a representation of St Eustace, who converted to Christianity when he saw an apparition of Jesus appear between the horns of the stag he was hunting. Others include the earliest known representation of a mermaid in England, as well as leopards, a snake and a green man.*
In particular I was intrigued by the thought of the mermaid representation being the first in England.
Grey towers of Durham
yet will I love thy mixed and massive piles
Half Church of God, half castle ‘gainst the Scot
And long to roam these venerable aisles
With records stored of deeds long since forgot.’Sir Walter Scott (From Harold the Dauntless)
*Durham World Heritage Site, A Guide to the Castle and Cathedral – Published in 2013 by Durham World Heritage Site.
That truly is a magnificent castle,isn’t it? It’s unbelievable to think they had such rudimentary tools [and presumably , no scaffolding] yet the work cannot even begin to be replicated today. Those workers were truly artisans who took great pride in their work. I think,nothing in architecture today, is comparable.
Thanks so much for showing these photos, Cherie.
Wouldn’t they be shocked to come back and see a great clock epoxied to their building?
I think it sad it is used for students who will no doubt erode it over time with the stomping of the masses feet to and from classes.
It is pretty amazing, you should see some of the things inside. No photographs allowed though, probably mostly because of the students.
I would love to have gone to school there
For a while I tried to make a year in Durham palatable to a certain student, as the University has an excellent reputation in (astro-) physics, and I have the pleasure to know certain profs. But the young astrophysicist did not want to spend one year without a certain Miss J.. : )
What wonderful buildings – not “only” to study but also to to learn getting deep respect with one’s ancestors’ genius.
Yes it would be a wonderful place to study I can just imagine myself there. The daughter of one of my friends is studying there and he got to stay in the keep when the students weren’t in residence.
Some wonderful images Cherie ~ it really is incredibly imposing. Some of those arches are just beautiful. It does have quite a spooky atmosphere from your images, I think quite foreboding
Going inside is like stepping back into another time.
I definitely have to visit Durham one day!
There are the wonderful bridges too which I didn’t go to see. Maybe next time
Thanks for the photos. I have never been to Durham Castle.
I think you would enjoy it
Nice views of the courtyard and I’m pleased to see from your comments that you took the tour. I love the dining room, the corridor to the chapel & the staircase.
I was in there this year for only my second time as an afterthought due to being rejected by the Cathedral for internal photographs.
I’m supposed to be writing a guest post on Durham Cathedral using some external winter shots that I’ve already published. I had thought to give her some extra material for the Castle which will obviously incorporate similar views to the ones you have here.
You like the same things as me in the Castle.
I was disappointed that I couldn’t take photos inside the Cathedral. I would have been happy to pay a fee for the privilege.
Your guest post sounds interesting.
The guest post material is a bit odd as it doesn’t sit well in my mind. I have exterior images of a river side walk in the snow & summer pictures of the cloisters. I’ll have to split it into two posts. What’s interesting is that the people reading the post won’t have even heard of Durham before. I’m sure the Cathedral was accessible for photographs many years ago with the use of permits. So many organisations are concerned about the ease they think people can make money from their properties. I experienced a voluntary arrest from a Gardener in July whilst on a visit to Hutton in the Forest near Penrith. They all got very touchy about their copyright policy when I told them that the images, even though for just a hobby, might not be just for personal use & I had to explain & insist to the administrator in her office that I wasn’t in it for making money. I used the experience to take the bull by the horns and gave her a photography lesson in RAW / jpeg & why I would need to return if I was going to sell them. She also didn’t understand that someone like myself who travels the country couldn’t really find the situation for profiting from from such an obscure location. Lastly there were concerns as my pictures would possibly shown on google images if there were sufficient hits which worried her even more as they could be stolen & sold. I settled her mind a little when I said that I watermark all the images now !
The voluntary arrest sounds like a real nightmare!!