The towers of Durham cathedral were immediately visible from the moment I rode out of the railway station courtyard. This massive building dominates the city from its position high above a loop in the River Wear. The top of the central tower was covered by scaffolding, giving it the appearance of a bandaged finger.
Durham cathedral is a very important building in the development of western medieval architecture: it is the first large building to feature a rib vault.
Following their conquest of England in 1066, the Normans embarked on a widespread building campaign of castles and cathedrals to reinforce their power in their newly acquired lands. The construction of Durham cathedral was begun in 1093 after the Norman subjugation of the North: the sanctuary was built by 1099 and the transepts by 1110. After a brief hiatus, the nave was added between 1128 and 1133. Apart from the towers which were added in the thirteenth century, the cathedral was almost entirely constructed within a 40 year period. This remarkably short timespan gives the building a strong sense of architectural unity.
This cathedral shows many features of the Norman Romanesque style of architecture. It is impressive in its size and it relies on mass for strength. Thick walls are pierced with relatively small round-arched windows so that the weight and outward thrust of the stone vault can be supported. The elevation is in three stages: powerful columns, alternating between compound and round, support the upper levels. The long east end was originally square. Norman architects made use of decorative effects on columns and walls: Durham is noted for spiral, chevron and quadrille patterns which add to the consistency of the design.
The stone vaults were started about 1100, but it is clear that the overall design of the cathedral had been resolved before construction started and included provision for the vaults and their supporting ribs. The vaults are the conventional groin vault – two semi-circular vaults intersecting at right angles – but reinforced by diagonal transverse ribs. These ribs channel the outward thrust of the vault down to areas of the walls that could be more easily strengthened by pilasters. These vaults embody the structural principles of Gothic architecture (pointed arch, rib vault and flying buttress) nearly half a century before the accepted birth of Gothic architecture in 1144 at St Denis in Paris.
This architectural innovation at Durham makes the cathedral a vital transitional building: it belongs firmly to the Romanesque period but is also a harbinger of Gothic architecture. The building clearly looks toward the future but it also shows an impressive mastery of its innovative forms. K. J. Conant writes about it: “Durham has an air of serene finality which belongs to the greatest masterpieces… (It is) a summit of achievement: one of the noblest in scale of Romanesque monuments and most beautifully set.”
This mastery of the rib vault raises then a question about its origins. The master of Durham showed that ribbed vaulting could be used over high and wide spaces. That this was done with such assuredness suggests that it was not an experiment; the technique must have been attempted prior to Durham.
12 August 2016
