Tourists at home

[shewhomust]

durham_rambler's brother (another D.) and sister-in-law (M.) are in between some impressive holidays, and are filling the gap with a short tour of friends and relations in the UK. They fitted us in between an old friend in Easingwold, and a couple of days on Lindisfarne (just because). We had a couple of evenings together, and the day in between - long enough for a lot of chat, a bottle or so of wine and a visit to the cathedral.

It was Sunday, so access to the cathedral itself was restricted. We cut across the west end of the nave, on our way out to the the cloisters; I just had time to photograph this detail of some Restoration woodwork:

It's part of the casing of the old "Father Smith" organ, relocated when the organ was replaced.

Rather than dodge the worshippers in the cathedral, we wanted to visit the cathedral's museum, which currently houses an exhibition around Magna Carta. Durham owns the only surviving copy of the 1216 issues of the Charter (the year after the original, and restating it after the original was rescinded) plus, if I have this right, two copies of the definitive 1225 issue.

There's something a bit off-kilter about the museum: if you've done your due diligence and looked at their website, you'll be fine; but if you just walked in because you were in the cloister and saw the sign, you may be a bit confused. For one thing, the publicity materials, and the people who sell you a ticket, talk about the 'cathedral museum', but the sign about the door says something like 'Open Treasure'. I still think of it as the monks' dormitory, as it was in monastic times, which is how it was referred to in previous incarnations: from the cloister you go up the steps into a large open hall lined with bookcases (it has also, in the past, served as a library). This houses a mixture of large objects: some Anglo Saxon stonework (or casts thereof), some contemporary artworks illustrating aspects of monastic life, and a video about the Magna Carta exhibition. When you have seen as much of this as you want, but not before (the nice lady who checked our tickets encouraged us to go straight to the temporary exhibition; she didn't mention that they operate a one way system), you pass through an airlock to view the documents of the temporary exhibition.

This brings you into a narrow corridor, with glass cases on either side, and display boards in the middle, which make it feel even more cramped. No more than 15 visitors are allowed in at one time, but it feels quite crowded well below that maximum. I do understand that precious documents require tightly controlled conditions, but the overall effect is disconcerting: here is this object we are promoting as immensely important, and it is on display in this very mean little space. The low lighting - and again, yes, I know - adds to the paradox.

At the far end of the gallery, you emerge onto a stairwell, with a choice of stairs or life, but no obvious indication of what you will find at the bottom: we had to encourage D. and M. that yes, there is more to see. Because the best is yet to come: you descend to another carefully controlled environment, but this time the door opens onto the ancuient vaulted room that is the Great Kitchen, and inside are the real treasures: Saint Cuthbert's coffin, his cross, the silk bands given to Cuthbert by Athelstan (yes, tenth century silks), the Sanctuary knocker (the real one - that's a reproduction outside on the door). These things are all immensely impressive in themselves, and they are displayed with the emphasis they deserve.

We left the cathedral through the College. At the gateway into the Bailey we met a man in military dress, crisp knaki and cockade in his beret, studying the notices, and durham_rambler asked if we could help.
Was this, he asked, Saint Nicholas' cathedral?
Durham cathedral is dedicated to Saint Cuthbert, and I told him so.
No, he definitely wanted Saint Nicholas.
Well, the church in the Market Place is Saint Nick's, would that do?
He didn't seem all that sure, but he asked for directions, and we pointed him along the Bailey towards the Market Place.
We were heading towards the Market Place ourselves, and before we got there we met our friend coming back (very much more briskly than we were going). He had found someone to solve his conundrum for him: he wanted Newcastle cathedral. (I should have thought of that).

We had a late lunch at Turkish Kitchen in Saddler Street: new to me, but would go again. Excellent bread, and a glass of pinot grigio rosé. M's halloumi salad was enormous: she boxed up most of the salad part, and we all shared it for dinner.