 Priory - West Tower When Rufus was killed in an "accident" some suspected it was murder, the Flambards fell from the favour of King Henry I and was banished. He later returned and was responsible for the initial building of Durham Cathedral. If he had stayed, perhaps the whole building would have been completed in the Norman style, whereas his contribution was limited to just the nave (below the clerestory, which was added later) and the crossing. By 1150 the initial church was complete with an apse at the east end and cruciform in shape. Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen (1135-1154) persuaded the Pope to set up a community of Augustine monks and create the whole building infrastructure for a major monastery. With the High Altar dedicated to Christ the Saviour, it is not surprising that the town became known as 'Christe Churche'. In 1290, a clerestory was built above the triforium and the roof dramatically raised, which greatly improved the nave illumination. During this work, a legend arose that an exceptionally skilled carpenter worked on the massive wooden beams used in the roof, but was never present at meals, nor seen receiving his pay. Eventually, amid much distress, there was a crisis because one of the beams had been mistakenly cut one foot too short. The next morning, miraculously, not only was the beam the correct length, but it had been placed in exactly the right position. The carpenter was never seen again and it was universally accepted that he must have been the Christ. The beam can still be seen high up on the southern side at the rear of the Lady Chapel. The tower, quire and lady chapel were rebuilt/added in the 15th century. There is little sign of the cloister or other monastic buildings which were removed at the Dissolution. The quire contains an extraordinary array of medieval fittings which have survived the Reformation, notably the choir stall misericords (13th to 16th century) and the largely intact Jesse Tree reredos. To the left of the high altar is the beautiful chantry chapel built for the last of the Plantagenets, Margaret, the Countess of Salisbury, niece of both King Edward IV and King Richard IIII. Her ancestors, the Montacute Earls of Salisbury, were great patrons of the priory. Unfortunately, she was beheaded (1541) in the Tower of London by order of her rival to the throne, King Henry VIII, and she was not buried in the grounds or entombed in the Priory. More? See History/Early Years The Priory has been an ongoing project in respect of maintenance. Long before the west tower was built (15th Century) the church had a centrally located tower (13th Century) but it collapsed and that project was discarded. Fortunately for us previous generations have made an immense effort to preserve this grand church. Whilst on the subject of towers, during the peak period of smuggling, it is said that a lookout would have been posted in the tower. With a panoramic view of the harbour and town he would let the smugglers know which direction the customs men were coming from by turning the weather vane to point to their location and course. We have records and pictures of previous work being undertaken. See Photo Gallery . Recently, running up to the Millennium the Priory has had the stonework cleaned and repaired. Some work required scaffolding to surround much of the church for at least a year or more. Maintaining the stonework is really an ongoing job and extremely expensive. Visitors to the Priory by their voluntary donations (there is no entrance charge) help fund the maintenance along with bequeaths from the supportive public. In 1906 the tower was surrounded in scaffolding for maintenance and restoration of the walls adjacent to the south nave aisle and choir aisle were in progress. 1912 saw the installation of a new floor in the nave. This involved stripping out the pews of 1841. The new floor was made up of six inches of concrete, then a one inch screed of fine cement layered on top. On the top of all this was laid wooden blocks In fact underpinning of the Priory's walls have been a major priority and even today there is concern over some parts of the church. Foundations were not exactly top of the list when the Priory was constructed. Photo Album
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