Durham Catherdral

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham — known as Durham Cathedral — in the city of Durham, England, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093. The cathedral is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture.

In 1228 Richard le Poore came from Salisbury where a new cathedral was being built in the Gothic style.[3] At this time, the eastern end of the cathedral was in urgent need of repair and the proposed eastern extension had failed. Richard le Poore employed the architect Richard Farnham to design an eastern terminal for the building in which many monks could say the Daily Office simultaneously. The resulting building was the Chapel of the Nine Altars. The towers also date from the early 13th century, but the central tower was damaged by lightning and replaced in two stages in the 15th century, the master masons being Thomas Barton and John Bell

Commentary

Durham Cathedral needs to be seen as something of a hybrid, in the sense that, fascinatingly, it incorporates elements ordinarily associated specifically with Gothic architecture (ribbed vaulting) within a framework which is overwhelmingly Romanesque in character (massive round piers, ornate round-headed arches, etc). As such, it ought perhaps to alert us to the possible perils of assuming that there really were specific 'tipping points' where one architectural style morphs into another.