Waking up in Durham, on the morning of Saturday May 23rd, 2020. We dress and go out into the quiet brightness of South Bailey and walk down to the Cathedral for Morning Prayer in the Cathedral. Then back to College for breakfast.
We are treating ourselves to a day in and around the most wonderful Cathedral in England. Sure, we say that about Oxford, St Albans, and Canterbury, while others have their own lists. But surely, Durham must come at or near the top of everyone’s list. As we exit the front door of St John’s College for the second time this morning, we turn left instead of right and walk down to Prebends Bridge. Is it possible to ever tire of this view, or of taking photographs of it?
The River Wear, with the great Norman cathedral standing on top of that rocky outcrop around which the river sweeps in a tight bend. Crossing the bridge we walk down the path along the west bank to cross over Framwellgate Bridge and then up the path on the other side. As we walk through the cut alongside the Music School, I pay my usual homage to the commemorative plaque to John Meade Falkner (1858-1932), who spent the last years of his life there, when it was called Divinity House. Then we enter the Cathedral by the great north door. When I was studying Theology in Durham in the closing years of the 1970s, I would walk this way every morning from our little rented house in Atherton Street to St John’s College, taking this short cut through the Cathedral and the Close. It’s astonishing how you can become so accustomed to a place’s grandeur and sanctity, that you almost don’t notice it, almost take it for granted. Almost, you have to revisit it to remind yourself of what it truly means. That’s why we’re taking our time today. We walk around slowly, reminding ourselves of the things that were once so very familiar. The Frosterley marble of the pillars in the Nine Altars chapel, the massive pillars of the nave. We spend time praying at the shrine of St Cuthbert, and the shrine of St Bede.
I quietly say to myself the words above Bede’s tomb, which I’ve blogged about before:
Christus est Stella Matutina,
qui nocte saeculi transacta
lucem vitae sanctis promitit,
et pandit aeternam.
(Christ is the Morning Star, who when the night of this world is past, gives to his saints the promise of the light of life, and opens everlasting day.)
We’re surprised to find it’s nearly lunchtime, so we go out into the cloisters to enjoy a leisurely lunch in the Undercroft, followed by a visit to the Cathedral Shop (of course!) and then the library and the Open Treasure exhibition.
By this time we need some fresh air, so we got for a wander around the city, including the two addresses where we lived during our time here over 40 years ago. Then it’s time to return to the Cathedral for Evensong, sung by the Cathedral choir.
Where shall we eat this evening? A quick Google search and we opt for Restaurant 17 on Elvet Bridge, that promises “Upscale European meals & global wines are the draw at this intimate eatery with a romantic ambiance.” What’s not to like about global wines, intimacy and romance? Bon appetit! And, Cheers!
Godspelled 