Many of the monastic buildings survive; the monks' refectory now contains part of the cathedral library, which holds significant collections dating back to the sixth century.

[9] A more prosaic set of reasons for the selection of the peninsula is its highly defensible position, and that a community established there would enjoy the protection of the Earl of Northumbria, with whom the bishop at this time, Aldhun, had strong family connections.

[10] The defensible position, flow of money from pilgrims and power embodied in the church at Durham all encouraged the formation of a town around the cathedral, which established the core of the city.

Bishop William of St. Calais demolished the old Saxon church, and on 11 August 1093, together with Prior Turgot of Durham (Aldwin's successor), he laid the foundation stone of the great new cathedral.

William of St. Carilef died in 1096 before the building was complete and passed responsibility to his successor, Ranulf Flambard, who also built Framwellgate Bridge, the earliest crossing of the River Wear from the town.

[17] The five-aisled building occupies the position of a porch and functioned as a Lady chapel with the great west door being blocked during the Medieval period by an altar to the Virgin Mary.

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.

It is reputed that the prisoners' bodies were buried in unmarked graves (see further, '21st century' below), and the survivors were shipped as slave labour to the American Colonies.

Bishop John Cosin (in office 1660–1672), previously a canon of the cathedral, set about restoring the damage and refurnishing the building with new stalls, the litany desk, and the towering canopy over the font.

[17] During the 18th century the Deans of Durham often held another position in the south of England and after spending the statutory time in residence, would depart southward to manage their affairs.

In 1777 the architect George Nicholson, having completed Prebends' Bridge across the Wear, persuaded the dean and chapter to let him smooth off much of the outer stonework of the cathedral, thereby considerably altering its character.

[20] In 1794 James Wyatt drew up plans to transform the building, including the demolition of the Galilee Chapel, but the chapter later decided against many of the intended changes.

A circular aperture about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in the tracery of the adjoining window about 10 feet (3 m) above the level of the floor directs a beam of sunlight to fall upon the line at the precise time when the sun passes the meridian.

[23] In 1847 the architect Anthony Salvin removed Cosin's wooden organ screen, opening up the view of the east end from the nave,[24][25] and in 1858 he restored the cloisters.

[24] In 1892 Scott's pupil Charles Hodgson Fowler rebuilt the Chapter House as a memorial to Bishop Joseph Barber Lightfoot.

In the 1930s, under the inspiration of Dean Cyril Alington, work began on restoring the Shrine of Saint Cuthbert behind the high altar as an appropriate focus of worship and pilgrimage, and was resumed after World War II.

[31] In the Galilee Chapel a wooden statue of the Annunciation by the Polish artist Josef Pyrz was added in 1992, the same year as Leonard Evetts' Stella Maris window.

In its discussion of the significance of the cathedral, Historic England provided this summary in their 1986 report:[5] The relics and material culture of the three saints buried at the site.

[34] In 2004 two wooden sculptures by Fenwick Lawson, Pietà and Tomb of Christ, were placed in the Nine Altars Chapel, and in 2010 a new stained glass window of the Transfiguration by Tom Denny was dedicated in memory of Michael Ramsey, former Bishop of Durham and Archbishop of Canterbury.

[35] In 2016 former monastic buildings around the cloister, including the Monks' Dormitory and Prior's Kitchen, were re-opened to the public as Open Treasure, an extensive exhibition displaying the cathedral's history and possessions.

[44][45] There is some evidence that the aisle of the choir had the earliest rib vaults in England, as was argued by John Bilson, English architect, at the end of the nineteenth century.

Since then it has been argued that other buildings like Lessay Abbey in north-west France provided the early experimental ribs that created the high technical level shown in Durham.

[46][47] The building is notable for the ribbed vault of the nave, with some of the earliest transverse pointed arches supported on relatively slender composite piers alternated with massive drum columns, and lateral abutments concealed within the triforium over the aisles.

These features appear to be precursors of the Gothic architecture of Northern France, possibly due to the Norman stonemasons responsible, although the building is considered Romanesque overall.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site description makes this comment about the architectural style:[48]Though some wrongly considered Durham Cathedral to be the first 'Gothic' monument (the relationship between it and the churches built in the Île-de-France region in the 12th century is not obvious), this building, owing to the innovative audacity of its vaulting, constitutes, as do Spire [Speyer] and Cluny, a type of experimental model which was far ahead of its time.

Semi-circular arches were the type used prior to the adoption of the structural pointed arch—the limitations of which is that their height must be proportionate to their width".Saint Cuthbert's tomb lies at the east in the Feretory and was once an elaborate monument of cream marble and gold.

Burials include: William de St-Calais, Ranulf Flambard, Geoffrey Rufus, William of St. Barbara, Walter of Kirkham, Robert of Holy Island and Richard Kellaw, all in the chapter house; Nicholas Farnham; John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville, in the south transept; Robert Neville, Bishop of Durham, in the south aisle; the heart of Robert Stitchill; Bishop Anthony Bek; Thomas Sharp, in the Galilee chapel; Thomas Mangey, in the east transept; Thomas Langley, whose tomb blocked the Great West Door necessitating the construction of the two later doors to north and south; James Pilkington, at the head of Beaumont's tomb in front of the high altar; Alfred Robert Tucker, outside the cathedral;[51] Cyril Alington, Dean of Durham and author; John Robson, canon of Durham; Bishop J.

Durham is a "New Foundation"[52] cathedral in which there are not specific roles to which members of the chapter are appointed, with the exception of the Dean and the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity.

[61][62] The girls and the boys serve alternately, not as a mixed choir, except at major festivals such as Easter, Advent and Christmas when the two "top lines" come together.

[91] Durham Cathedral, a poem by Letitia Landon, appeared in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book of 1835, with an engraving of a painting of the interior by Thomas Allom.