Durham City

The city can trace its history back a thousand years, to the arrival of a religious community seeking a permanent resting place for the body of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. As a shrine for their saint, they built first a wooden, then a stone church, on top of a rocky hill, protected on three sides by the River Wear. Following the Norman conquest of 1066, King William also found this site appealing and realised it offered an ideal strategic location from which to rule Northumbria and defend the region against the Scots. The community of Cuthbert gave way to Benedictine Monks and a Bishop appointed by the king. They began the building of the Cathedral, to provide a monumental shrine for St Cuthbert, and the Castle, to act as protection for the Cathedral and to provide a palace for the Bishop. Tourist Info Durham Cathedral Beamish Museum (near Durham) Durham Castle Heritage Centre