The Design in the Context of Anglo-Norman Romanesque: Towers | 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: Towers | Durham Cathedral and Anglo-Norman Romanesque
Professor Roger Stalley Page of 3, back

England, Durham Cathedral, View from southwest

England, Durham Cathedral, Exterior view of the north flank of the nave

Eastern Towers
There is now evidence to show that a number of major Romanesque buildings in England had towers or turrets at the east end of the choir, flanking the high altar. This was almost certainly the case at Winchester and Hereford, and there is good evidence for a similar arrangement at Durham. The remains of a staircase can be found in the galleries at the point where the Romanesque building terminated, and the fact that the apses in the aisles were encased in substantial square foundations suggests a major structure above. When viewed from the east, such towers would have provided the cathedral with a dramatic silhouette, serving to identify the most sacred part of the building where the relics of St. Cuthbert were located. Towers or turrets flanking the choir are a feature of many Romanesque buildings in the area once known as 'Lotharingia' (Belgium, Holland, the Rhineland and eastern France).

The Crossing Tower
although the original crossing tower has been replaced, there is little doubt that some form of tower was constructed in the twelfth century. The standard arrangement in Norman and English buildings was for a square tower, surmounted by a pyramidal roof. The tower at Durham appears to have taken the form of an open lantern, with windows casting light down into the centre of the church, as in the (rebuilt) example at St. Etienne at Caen.

England, Durham Cathedral, North transept and crossing tower

Western Towers
Durham represents an accomplished version of the so-called 'façade harmonique', in which the western facade of a great church is surmounted by two great towers .There were precedents for the twin towered facade in Normandy and it is possible to trace an evolution from Jumièges, to St. Etienne at Caen, through Westminster and Canterbury to Durham (Macaleer).

France, Caen, St. Etienne, Exterior view of west façade showing tower arrangement

France, Jumièges, Abbey Church of Saint-Pierre, West façade showing tower arrangement

The importance of Durham lies in the fact that the base of the towers are open to the aisles and to the nave (in contrast to Jumièges and St. Etienne at Caen). The concept of the twin towered façade seems to have evolved from the Carolingian westwork, in which a large upper gallery, flanked by stair turrets, was incorporated in a block at the west end of the church. Such a gallery was retained at Jumièges, though the arrangement was abandoned later when St. Etienne at Caen was constructed (c. 1063–1100). The design of Durham illustrates the final transition to a system which was to be much favoured in the Gothic cathedrals of France.

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