Chapel was Gothic addition at Durham.

THE huge Chapel of the Nine Altars stands at the eastern end of Durham Cathedral and is a much larger structure than the Galilee Chapel at the western end that we featured last week.

The Nine Altars appears to be a natural extension of the nave, but the floor of the chapel is sunken and sits below the rest of the cathedral.

It is possible that unsteady ground was cleared for the chapel’s foundations, because it is known that an earlier attempt to build a chapel on the site now occupied by the Nine Altars failed because of crumbling masonry on unsteady ground.

As mentioned last week, this earlier chapel had been intended for women, and the failure of its completion contributed to the legend that St Cuthbert – who is buried nearby – disliked women.

The Nine Altars was begun during the episcopacy of Bishop Richard le Poore (1228-37), who was also associated with the building of Salisbury Cathedral, where he was later a bishop.

It was constructed in the early English Gothic style, with the measurements and structure based on a transept at Fountains Abbey, in North Yorkshire.

It is the most significant Gothic addition to the Norman cathedral, but is subtle in style and complements the rest of the building.

Unfortunately, the mason made some slight miscalculations with dimensions and a close examination of the arches in the chapel roof reveals a mistake in the vaulting betrayed by a misalignment.

Before the chapel’s construction, the eastern end of the cathedral terminated in the form of three apses near St Cuthbert’s tomb.

The outline of these apses can still be traced nearby in the cathedral floor. near Cuthbert’s tomb.

The new chapel provided space for the increasing number of visiting pilgrims who packed the aisles and nave of the cathedral to view the shrine of St Cuthbert.

Here, pilgrims were provided with nine altars at which to pray.

A number of interesting features can be seen in the chapel, including the elegant columns of Frosterley marble.

It is not a true marble, but a shiny decorative black stone originating from Weardale. It is embedded with the white shells of ancient prehistoric sea creatures.

Another prominent feature of the chapel is a large, white statue that was carved in Rome by architect John Gibson.

The subject is Bishop William Van Mildert, who died in 1836.

Van Mildert was technically the last Prince Bishop of Durham and the man largely responsible for the foundation of Durham University in 1832.

Near Van Mildert’s statue is the tomb of one of the most powerful Bishops of Durham called Anthony Bek (1284- 1311), who held the title Patriarch of Jerusalem.

However, the most beautiful feature in the Chapel of the Nine Altars is arguably the huge Rose Window that was originally made in the 15th century by Richard Pickering, of Hemingbrough.

The rose was reconstructed in the 18th century by James Wyatt and is 90ft in circumference with a central core depicting Christ surrounded by the 12 apostles.

The Chapel of the Nine Altars lies just east of the elevated feretory (a feretory is a chapel for saint’s relics) in which we find the tomb of St Cuthbert at what was once the eastern terminus of the cathedral.

In medieval times, Durham Cathedral was one of the greatest centres of pilgrimage in England, and the chief reason for this pilgrimage was the rich and glorious shrine of St Cuthbert.

Today, the simple grey stone tomb inscribed “Cuthbertus”

is all that remains of the shrine, but prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, the whole area around the tomb was an elaborately decorated shrine described as one of the richest monuments in England.

It was decorated with an “ingeniously made structure of costly green marble and gilded with gold”.

The shrine was bestowed with an incredible number of gifts and jewels, including contributions from kings, queens, churchmen and wealthy nobles.

These gifts were stored in beautifully decorated wainscot lockers on the north and south sides of the feretory, but the lockers also contained relics associated with St Cuthbert and other saints.

They were opened for viewing on special occasions such as the feast days of the saints.

Sadly, the magnificent shrine of St Cuthbert was destroyed in the 16th century on the orders of Henry VIII.

The men who opened St Cuthbert’s tomb found a number of precious jewels and a wand of gold, which were all confiscated by the crown.

Also probably taken from the cathedral at about this time were the beautiful Lindisfarne Gospels, a rich symbol of Northumbria’s Christian culture and prominence dating from the 8th century.

Today, the Lindisfarne Gospels are still cast adrift many miles from their home nation in London’s British Museum.

St Cuthbert’s tomb would not be reopened again until 1827, when the tomb revealed a series of coffins, of which the last contained a skeleton covered in silk.

The oldest, innermost, coffin is preserved and can be seen pieced together in the cathedral museum, but the bones were returned to their grave.

St Cuthbert’s tomb and feretory are hidden from the choir and nave by the magnificent 14th century Neville Screen.

This was once decorated with 107 alabaster figures, but the figures were removed when the shrine was destroyed, and are still said to be hidden somewhere in the cathedral.

The Neville screen was donated by John, the 5th Lord Neville, who died in 1388, and is constructed from Caen limestone from a quarry in Normandy.

After the stone was shipped from France, the massive screen was constructed in London by mason Henry Yavele and shipped to Newcastle.

From there, it was carried overland by carts to Durham.

Today it provides a magnificent backdrop to St Cuthbert’s humble resting place.