This book contains fifteen essays that synthesize the documentary and archaeological evidence for the development of early medieval Durham and asses its archaeological potential. It systematically extracts the important aspects of materials related to architectural history of the Durham cathedral.

Having won more than one recent poll as Britain’s best-loved building, the appeal of Durham Cathedral appears abiding, which begs the question whether an iconic sacred building can retain meaning and affective pertinence for contemporary, secular visitors. Using the example of Durham Cathedral, this book sets out to explore wherein the appeal of historic churches lies today and considers questions of how and why their preservation into a post-Christian era should be secured. By including feedback from visitors to the cathedral, and the author’s own very personal account of the cathedral in the form of an ekphrasis, this work seeks to privilege an interpretation of architecture that is based on the individual experience rather than on more conventional narratives of architecture history and cultural heritage policy. Recognising the implication of our choice of narrative on the perceived value of historic churches is crucial when deliberating their future role. This book puts forth a compelling case for historical sacred architecture, suggesting that its loss - through imperceptive conservation practices as much as through neglect or demolition - would diminish us all, secularists, atheists and agnostics included.

This important addition to the literature is the first overall study of the architecture of Norman England since Sir Alfred Clapham's English Romanesque Architecture after the Conquest (1934). Eric Fernie, a recognized authority on the subject, begins with an overview of the architecture ofthe period, paying special attention to the importance of the architectural evidence for an understanding of the Norman Conquest. The second part, the core of the book, is an examination of the buildings defined by their function, as castles, halls, and chamber blocks, cathedrals, abbeys, andcollegiate churches, monastic buildings, parish churches, and palace chapels. The third part is a reference guide to the elements which make up the buildings, such as apses, passages, vaults, galleries, and decorative features, and the fourth offers an account of the processes by which they wereplanned and constructed. This book contains powerful new ideas that will affect the way in which we look at and analyze these buildings.