St Cuthbert is the North of England’s best-loved saint. He lived as a monk, bishop, and then hermit, on Holy Island – Lindisfarne. Revered during his own lifetime for his preaching and holiness, Cuthbert was acclaimed a saint in 698.

His community fled Lindisfarne following the Viking invasion in 793. They travelled around the North of England with his body and extraordinary relics for years. They finally settled in Durham in 995.

This Cathedral has grown from the Anglo-Saxon church built to house his shrine and the monks who cared for it.

In September 1104 St Cuthbert was moved into the newly-built Norman Cathedral. The new shrine was made of marble studded with jewels and semi-precious stones.

During the Middle Ages it became a centre of pilgrimage, which continues today. Large numbers of people flocked to the shrine to seek the saint’s blessing and healing powers.

The elaborate shrine no longer exists as it was destroyed in the Reformation. Instead it was replaced in 1542 by the simple marble slab marked ‘Cuthbertus’. The stones around the slab are part of the original construction.

This part of the Cathedral continues to be a place of pilgrimage, prayer and quiet reflection.

• Many people were praying and reflecting next to the shrine so my only photos are taken from below, outside the sacred space.

This sculpture stands inside The Parish Church of St Mary, Lindisfarne:

In the south aisle stands the imposing statue known as The Journey, depicting the monks of Lindisfarne carrying St.Cuthbert’s body on the first stage of its journey to Durham and is probably the first thing to catch the visitor’s eye. The sculpture is an acclaimed work of Dr Fenwick Lawson made up of 35 piece of elmwood, carved principally with a chain-saw. This has been loaned to St Mary’s Church and a bronze copy has been placed in the Millennium Square in Durham, thus marking the start and finishing places of the journey of St Cuthbert’s coffin between 698 and c920.

Cuthbert became prior of Lindisfarne in 664, but decided to move to a quieter life of solitude on the island of Inner Farne:

Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island is one of the most important early centres of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England. Founded in 635 and home to a small number of monks, it was to become a shrine when the body of Cuthbert was exhumed 11 years after his burial and found undecayed. Cuthbert was an exceedingly Holy man who became the prior of Lindisfarne in 664 but left for a life of solitude on the island of Inner Farne. He became bishop of Lindisfarne in 685. Fleeing from the Viking raids, the community of monks left Lindisfarne with the body of Cuthbert in 875, re-establishing St Cuthbert’s shrine at Chester-le-street and then in Durham in 995.

Fenwick Lawson’s original sculpture, ‘Cuthbert of Farne’ was carved from an elm tree in 1983 and stood in the cloisters of Durham Cathedral where it was seen by many millions of visitors. In 1999, the Northern Rock Foundation commissioned the artist to cast Cuthbert of Farne in bronze. This sculpture depicts a contemplative Cuthbert, reflecting his religious life and desire for solitude. His interlaced hands echo the stillness and peace he sought, whilst an eider duck broods in sanctuary at his feet.  Lindisfarne itself is also portrayed, with echoes of the many rugged elements of the island on which he lived.*

More C inspiration can be found in the gallery.

*From English Heritage guidebook 2002 and promotional leaflets 2013.