River Wear Part 2 from Durham to Sunderland the Great Inundation of 1771 Was the Second Cast Iron One to Be Built in England, with a Span of 236 Feet
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River Wear Part 2 from Durham to Sunderland The great inundation of 1771 was the second cast iron one to be built in England, with a span of 236 feet. On the 17th of November torrential rain resulted in unprecedented damage around the River Wear. It was twice the height ever measured and also affected the Tyne and Tees whose rivers originate in close proximity. The flood was rapid and sudden. The rain was thought far from violent and as a consequence the usual precautions of securing ships was not undertaken. Wearmouth Bridge Durham Cathedral Witton le Wear Bridge Numerous bridges were destroyed including Frosterly Bridge along with those at Wolsingham, Elvet, Witton le Wear and Pretends Bridge at Durham. At Wolsingham the whole bridge was ‘ ruined and prostrated’. The Witton Le Wear bridge was rebuilt in 1798 but the arch collapsed 3 years Durham Cathedral sits on a rocky later due to another flood. A massive bridge building promontory, next to the castle, above the campaign was needed, the cost borne by their medieval city and is surrounded on three private owners. sides by the river Wear. Built of locally quarried sandstone, construction began under the Norman Bishop William of St. Calais in 1093 and continued until 1133 in the Romanesque style, retaining most of Elvet Bridge its Norman craftsmanship to this day. Prentends Bridge Architecturally it is significant because for the first time in Europe it incorporated high- The floods swept away houses, livestock, grain and ribbed vaulting for the roof, supported by flooded mines and equipment killing 30 horses below concealed buttresses and pointed arches ground. The cracking of 34 ships being wrecked on and therefore was the precursor of the the bar was a terrible sound along with the terrible Gothic era of ecclesiastical buildings. The cries of the poor boys and men who could not be pointed arch enabled a thinner, lighter roof rescued. The violence of the flood continued to structure allowing the transfer of the weight cause loss of coal, mills wagons, wood of all kinds of the roof downwards towards the walls. and household goods. Some residents were saved The ribs are also pleasing to the eye, by the unroofing of houses to aid their escape. The allowing a means of greater height making water was 8-9 feet higher than in the previous year. the roof look light and graceful. The failure of the bridges was caused by the blocking of arches with debris, the undermining of foundations and poor maintenance. It led to a more methodical programme of inspection and maintenance with the appointment of highly qualified engineers and architects as inspectors. The bridge they rebuilt at Wearmouth in 1796 Knave Roof Armchair Adventurers Honiton U3A 2020 [5] 20 of 35 The Norman architecture has survived almost intact In 1650 the cathedral was used by Oliver although two chapels and a central tower Cromwell to house Scottish prisoners of war were added later, the latter in the 13th century and in inhumane circumstances after the battle of then replaced in the 15th century in the Gothic Dunbar. Many died and survivors were Perpendicular style. It is the oldest surviving shipped to the American colonies. building with such a large, stone-vaulted ceiling. St. Cuthbert’s shrine was restored in the 1930s. In 1986 the cathedral became a World Heritage Site; it welcomes more than 7000,000 visitors a year. Saint Cuthbert (AD 635 – 687) Norman Knave Arch The knave, choir and transept are Norman; the west end containing the Galilee Chapel is late Norman and in the 13th century the Chapel of Nine Alters was added in the Gothic style. The Chapter House was built between 1133 and 1140, the western towers date from 13th century. 12th century wall painting of St Cuthbert in Durham Cathedral Cuthbert was an Anglo Saxon saint of the early Christian church in Northumbria. He was a monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose, Ripon and Lindisfarne and after his death he became the most important saint of Northern The Rose Window in the Chapel of the Nine Altars England; a cult developed around his relics, eventually centred on Durham Cathedral. The cloisters and original Rose Window, depicting Tradition says he was the son of an Irish Christ and the twelve apostles, are 15th century. King, this is unlikely, but there is some Various restoration works have been carried out in evidence that he spent his early teens as a the 18th/19th centuries to the Chapter House, soldier, possibly being involved in a battle Central Tower and Rose Window. defending the Kingdom of Northumbria against the Mercians. He was brought up as The cathedral, now the seat of the Anglican Bishop a Christian and credited for having saved, by of Durham, was originally founded as a praying, some monks swept out to sea on a monastic site for the shrine of St. Cuthbert, raft. replacing an earlier Anglo Saxon church built in his honour. Bishop William St Calais, the first appointed Life changed for Cuthbert when, aged about Prince Bishop by William the Conquerer, 17, whilst minding sheep, he saw a vision of demolished the old Saxon church and started the a light descending from the night sky and building of the cathedral to house the bodies of St. returning with a human soul to heaven. This Cuthbert, St Oswald and the Venerable Bede. happened on the night that St Aiden of Lindisfarne died (AD 651) and this decided During the Dissolution of the Monasteries St. Cuthbert to enter holy orders so he went to Cuthbert’s tomb was destroyed in 1538 by order of the monastery at Melrose (in present day King Henry VIII but in 1541 the relics were interred Scotland) and spent some years there behind the altar. before becoming Guest Master at the newly founded monastery at Ripon. Armchair Adventurers Honiton U3A 2020 [5] 21 of 35 In his late twenties he returned to Melrose as The ‘Cuthbert Community’ became peripatetic Prior. In AD 664 the Synod of Whitby settled the under the threat of Viking raids in the following ongoing dispute between Roman and Celtic two centuries carrying the remains with them, Christianity. Cuthbert agreed with the Synod’s first settling at the old Roman town of Chester- decision to adopt the Roman faith; the Irish le-Street and then moving on to Ripon and monks of Lindisfarne returned to Iona and the finally to Durham where the first church was Abbot of Melrose became abbot of Lindisfarne built to house the saint. After the Norman and Cuthbert its Prior. He was now about 30 Conquest the Benedictine community began to and remained there for 10 years developing the build Durham Cathedral where the body of St gift of spiritual healing. His compassion, tact Cuthbert was honoured with a new shrine near and patient leadership amongst the local the High Altar. Doubting the truth about the people helped the transition to the Roman tradition of the undecayed body the coffin was Church. reopened in 1104 and the body still found to be ‘incorrupt’. Throughout the middle ages the When he was about 40 he retired to the shrine containing the coffin was visited by many contemplative life of a hermit on Inner Farne pilgrims but at the Reformation, under Henry island where he remained for another 10 years. VIII, the shrine was destroyed, though the relics When seas around the island were too rough survived, interred in a plain grave behind the for crossings Cuthbert was left in peace. High Altar. Reluctantly he was persuaded to leave the hermitage to become a travelling Bishop of In 1827 the coffin was again opened and a Lindisfarne. Feeling the approach of death he skeleton was found and reburied. Objects from returned to Farne where he died on 20th March the coffin can be seen in the Cathedral AD 687. treasury. A postmortem on the remains was performed in 1899 finding them to be “consistent with all that is known of St Cuthbert in his lifetime.” The plain gravestone, marked ‘Cuthbertis’ marks the site today which is still visited by many pilgrims. St Cuthbert’s coffin, Durham Cathedral Monks brought his body back to Lindisfarne for burial. His tomb became a magnet for pilgrims where miracles of healing were claimed, especially after his body was found to be ‘incorrupt’ (undecayed) when the monks opened his coffin a decade or so later upon his elevation to sainthood. St Cuthbert’s Gospel An early 8thC illustrated pocket book written in Latin is the oldest European decorated leather book binding to survive. It may have been present in the coffin of Saint Cuthbert during its travels; purchased by the British Library in 2012 for £9 million, with Lottery funding The incorrupt body of St Cuthbert From Bede’s ‘Life of St Cuthbert’ Armchair Adventurers Honiton U3A 2020 [5] 22 of 35 Durham Castle Many such early castles needed to be built in a few weeks and were constructed of timber. Pre -Norman History: Archaeological evidence It is thought about 1000 of these were made suggests an Anglo-Saxon defensive structure in England. Durham Castle like many were predated the Norman Castle. built in the meander of a river thus ensuring a constant water supply and a supply of fish but also an added defensive strategy. Durham Castle Gatehouse Construction began on the Norman Castle in 1072 under orders of William the Conqueror Map showing extent of the castle fortifications soon after the Normans came north. Works were under the supervision of Earl of Northumberland Built up in layers of earth which was then until he rebelled against William and was compacted, stones were added not only to executed in 1076.