Durham and North England

Durham is lovely historical town situated on the meanders of river Wear and surrounding hills. The landscape is dominated by the Cathedral and Castle College, UNESCO listed sites, which together with the bailey colleges occupy the peninsula.

Durham peninsula with the Cathedral on the right and Castle College on the left

The Cathedral itself is a truly impressive structure, being voted Britain's best building multiple times and also plays key role in the history of Durham. It all began with Saint Cuthbert (634-687), bishop and a monk in the Lindisfarne monastery, and soon after his death he was regarded as the patron saint of the North England region. Despite being buried originally in the Lindisfarne monastery, his remains were moved in order to safe them from Viking raids. According to the legend, when the monks carrying Cuthbert's coffin on their shoulders arrived at Durham peninsula, it suddenly became very heavy and could not be moved. That was considered a sign that this is the place where St. Cuthbert should rest and they built a shrine around it. Durham quickly became one of the most frequently visited pilgrimage sites in Britain and more monumental structure to commemorate St. Cuthbert was needed – hence the Cathedral was built in 1093, mixing Norman and Gothic style.

In proximity of the cathedral fortress was built – which has in early 19th century lost its original purpose and was donated to the university – that is when the oldest of Durham University colleges (Castle College) was established. Many colleges followed as the University grew, first only on the Bailey (central location on the peninsula close to the cathedral), but later due to further expansion more colleges were built in the hills to the south (so called 'hill colleges').

In the 19th century multiple coal mines were opened in the North-East England and the importance of Durham city slowly declined, as the main industrial activities developed in the nearby Newcastle. Today, Newcastle agglomeration is one of the biggest in the country with tree quarters of a million people living there, and Durham with its 50 thousand inhabitants lies just on the outskirts of this urban area.

Durham is quite distinct city in the area, not only thanks to the very sizeable student population, but also due to its slightly different economic focus – most of the North-East region was badly struck by the closing down of unprofitable mines during the Thatcher era and many settlements in the region have still high figures of unemployment. Durham seems to have recovered quite swiftly, also thanks to the university, which is the biggest employer in the town and brings in a lot of funding. Nowadays the centre of the city is dominated by the students – from sport events to culture, from shops to social life. But that does not exclude the local community, which is always invited and often participates on student events.

Every time I leave England for holidays I realise how much I am love with this small English town and I do not even want to think about how close is the end of my studies in here.