The Design in the Context of Anglo-Norman Romanesque: Layout | Durham Cathedral | Briefing | Professor Stalley

Early Architecture in Irreland & Romanesque Architecture in England

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The Design in the Context of Anglo-Norman Romanesque: Layout | Durham Cathedral and Anglo-Norman Romanesque
Professor Roger Stalley
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There is some evidence that plans for a new cathedral were drawn up c. 1083–1088, when a new cloister garth was laid out: the church envisaged at this time was smaller than the church that was eventually built.

In laying out the plan, the master mason(s) exploited the proportional systems encountered in a large number of medieval buildings. These included the 'golden section' [1: 1.61] and the ratio of the side of a square to its diagonal [1.(square root)2 or 1: 1.414]. For example, the diagonal of the cloister (62.71 metres) was used to determine the length of the nave. Several scholars have noted that the overall length of the cathedral (externally 123.09m) is almost exactly the same as that of Old St Peter's, a relationship which is unlikely to have been a coincidence.

Use also appears to have been made of a unit corresponding to 4' 8". The width of the central part of the choir at 32'8", for example, corresponds to seven of these units. The height of the choir was approximately 77', significantly close to its width of 79', suggesting that the intention was to build 'to the square' (i.e. the overall vertical section of the building was intended to fit within a square).

A choir with a length of four bays is characteristic of the larger English churches of the time. During the course of the eleventh century there was a tendency in European architecture to extend the length of the choir, a development reflected in the layout of Durham. The eastern limb of the building could thus contain the stalls of the monks, as well as the high altar and the shrine of St. Cuthbert (located within the apse).

The termination of the choir with an apse, flanked by smaller apses in the aisles, (a layout often referred to as 'apses en échelon'), was a standard arrangement in northern Europe. It was widely used in Normandy before being introduced to England after the Norman conquest. An early example of the scheme could be found at Canterbury Cathedral (1070–77). In many instances apsidal chapels opened from the transepts, creating a series of 'staggered' apses at the east end of the church, a layout illustrated in the abbey church of St Albans (begun c. 1077). This arrangement was precluded at Durham by the inclusion of an eastern aisle in the transepts, the individual bays of which were designed to accommodate altars.

The triple apse arrangement found at the east end of Durham contrasts with plans involving some form of ambulatory behind the high altar, as found in such buildings as Winchester cathedral (1079), St. Augustine's Canterbury, St. Peter's at Gloucester (1089), or Norwich Cathedral (1096).

The eight bay nave was not as long as some Anglo-Norman buildings, the longest being that at Norwich with fourteen bays. At Durham building was restricted to the west by the rapid fall in ground at the edge of the valley of the river Wear.