Durham is a small town of 43,000 residents which is the county town and main centre of County Durham, which lies in north-eastern England, 400 kilometres to the north of London. It is a compact city, built on a peninsular created by the River Wear, and dominated by the historic Durham Castle and Durham Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This university town offers a wide selection of retail outlets and restaurants within a pedestrianised precinct, a busy Victorian market operates in a cobbled Market Place which is located at the base of the peninsula.
Durham can trace its history back to 955 A.D. when a group of devote monks were searching for a resting place for the body of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, for whom they built a church and shrine on top of a rocky hill, protected on three sides by the river. After the Norman invasion this ideal strategic location was used to rule ‘Northumbria’ and defend England against the Scots. In 1090 construction began of the castle and cathedral described as ‘one of the most impressive construction projects ever undertaken’ and which provided a sturdy fortress against the warring Scots to the north!! Completed in 1133, the complex is Britain’s largest and best preserved Norman stronghold and one of its surviving Romanesque palaces, and includes the first ribbed vault construction, and the first stone-roofed cathedral in Europe. The Cathedral houses the shrine and related treasures of St Cuthbert and the remains of the Venerable Bede, author and scholar, famous for his book ‘The Ecclesiastical History of the English People’ for which he is often referred to as the ‘Father of English History’.
For awesome views over the city and surroundings, climb the 325 steps to the top of the tall tower of the cathedral.
Durham is also home to the unique Oriental Museum part of the University of Durham. It is open to the public and displays a remarkable collection covering the entire range of human history and pre-history from civilizations and cultures of Asia, Egypt, North Africa, India, Tibet, China and Japan.
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