Architectural Description and Analysis | Durham Cathedral | Briefing | Professor Stalley

Early Architecture in Irreland & Romanesque Architecture in England

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Architectural Description and Analysis| Durham Cathedral and Anglo-Norman Romanesque
Professor Roger Stalley

The Plan
The building takes the form of a Latin cross, centered on the four great piers of the crossing. The choir extended four bays to the east and originally terminated with a short bay which lead into a semicircular apse (some remains of which were recovered in nineteenth-century excavations). The aisles also terminated in apses and these were encased with rectangular outer walls. The transepts, which extend north and south for four bays, are furnished with an aisle on the eastern side. Stair turrets project at the north-west and south-west angles. The aisled nave is eight bays long, and terminates at the west in two towers. Throughout the building there is an alternating system of major and minor piers.

Closer scrutiny of the plan reveals a number or irregularities which have a bearing on the history and design of the building:

•	in the choir the major piers are longer and more substantial than those elsewhere.

•	in the transepts the piers are irregularly spaced and the ribs of the vault (indicated on plans by dotted lines) are not well co-ordinated with the piers.

•	at the west end of the nave the alternation of piers is interrupted by an extra set of major piers, which are there to support the towers.

WE'LL INSERT THE PLAN WHEN WE HAVE INFORMATION

The Interior Elevations of the Building
Durham is built with a three storey elevation, comprising an arcade, gallery and clerestory. The main arches, which are supported alternately on cylindrical (minor) and compound (major) piers, have their soffits (under surfaces) decorated with roll mouldings. The minor cylindrical piers are furnished with incised decoration—spiral patterns, zig-zags, losenges and flutes. The gallery opens to the nave through a sub-divided arch. Single round headed windows provide illumination at clerestory level.

England, Durham Cathedral, View of the nave, gallery, clerestory, compound piers, and cylindrical piers

England, Durham Cathedral, Cylindrical pier in the nave showing incised zig-zag (chevron) decoration

England, Durham Cathedral, Detail of cylindrical pier in the nave showing incised zig-zag (chevron) decoration

In the choir a slight offset at the base of the gallery provides a ledge for the support of engaged shafts (three above the minor piers), one at each side of the major piers). The gallery has an outer enclosing arch, with a pair of sub arches below. it is noticeable that the clerestory windows are not aligned vertically to the arches of the gallery. The present vaults over the choir belong to the thirteenth century, but at certain points the marks of the earlier Romanesque vault can be seen.

The minor piers of choir and transepts are not constructed as complete cylinders. On their outer (aisle) face a group of responds is incorporated into the pier, designed to provide a support for the ribs of the aisle. A corresponding set of responds was provided along the aisle wall.

The original ribbed vaults survive in the aisles, and these are decorated with a torus or roll moulding on their soffits. It is important to note that the diagonal ribs are depressed, following only a segment of a circle (i.e. they do not form a complete semi-circle). The aisle walls in the choir (i.e. the 'dado'), like those throughout the building, are decorated with intersecting arches, supported on pairs of engaged shafts.

England, Durham Cathedral, North nave aisle looking east, Compound pier of nave arcade

England, Durham Cathedral, Vault of north aisle

In the transepts certain alterations in the design can be observed, the most important of which is the addition of a wall passage at clerestory level. Furthermore, above the minor piers, there are now two, rather than three, engaged shafts. In the outer bay these do not support any ribs; they are in fact redundant, continuing upwards, before vanishing into the cells of the vault. The high vaults are irregular in plan, the outer two bays of both transepts being covered by a single quadripartite vault. At the south-west and north-west corners the ribs spring awkwardly from the angle of the stair turret. On the west walls, the ribs are supported by sculptured corbels rather than engaged shafts.

In the south transept the clerestory windows are flanked by tall, narrow arches, which have been blocked, evidently when the ribbed vault was constructed. By contrast, in the north transept the corresponding arches take a different form, being carefully designed to fit within the curve of the vaulting cells. Another difference between the two transepts can be found in the decoration of the ribs. In the south transept they are ornamented with chevron ornament, whereas in the north a plain torus moulding suffices.

Although the design of the nave broadly follows that of the transepts, further alterations can be detected. The minor piers were slightly enlarged and now took the form of pure cylinders. Without any engaged shafts to support the ribs of the aisle, the latter are, as a consequence, supported on the abacus of the main capital. Against the aisle wall a circular respond was introduced to correspond with the curved face of the minor piers.

In the gallery a second order was introduced into the enclosing arch. Inside the gallery itself (and not visible from ground level) quadrant arches were placed at the back of all the piers; these contrast with the semi-circular arches found in the equivalent position in the choir. At clerestory level the design is similar to that in the north transept with sub arches flanking the main window opening.

The nave is covered by quadripartite ribbed vaults, arranged in pairs over each of the double bays. The ribs themselves spring from corbels set in the wall, rather than from engaged shafts as was the case in the choir. Above the major (compound) piers are transverse arches, which accentuate the rhythm of the double bays. These transverse arches are pointed in profile, a contrast to those in the transept which are stilted semi-circles.

England, Durham Cathedral , Quadripartite vaults in the nave

England, Durham Cathedral, Chevron ornament in the nave

Chevron ornament was employed extensively in the nave, decorating most of the arches as well as the ribs of the vault. The chevron is, however, absent from the first two (eastern) arches, and from the first arches north and south of the gallery.

Towers were constructed above the western bays of the aisles, each of which was widened to allow for the greater dimensions of the towers. Apart from an extra set of major piers, the existence of the towers is not immediately obvious from inside the building, and the main elevations of the building continue unbroken to the west façade.

The west façade which overlooks the steep valley of the river Wear, is partially blocked by the addition of the Galilee Chapel c. 1175–80. This takes the form of a five aisled building, with a series of three arcades, richly decorated with chevron ornament. The piers consist of clusters of four slender detached shafts, surmounted by plain 'chalice' capitals. In contrast to the main body of the cathedral, the Galilee chapel was not covered by a stone vault.

England, Durham Cathedral, Galilee Chapel

England, Durham Cathedral