Durham, The Cathedral Nave And The Screen c.1877

Photo ref: 9418

More about this scene

The 900-year-old nave measures 61m long, 12m wide and 22m high. Its massive columns support the impressive stone-ribbed vaulted roof, the earliest example of rib vaulting in Europe. This structural innovation was of enormous significance, as it became a widely used feature in later Gothic cathedrals. The magnificent Neville screen was a gift from the Neville family in celebration of the victory against the Scots at the battle of Neville's Cross in 1346. In honour of his victory, Ralph Neville became the first layman to be allowed burial in the cathedral. Behind the screen is the tomb of St Cuthbert. A wooden plaque bears the following inscription: 'Borne by his faithful friends from his loved home of Lindisfarne, here, after long wanderings, rests the body of St Cuthbert in whose honour William of St Carileph built this cathedral church, and at his side lies buried the head of St Oswald King of Northumbria and martyr, slain in battle by the heathen whom he so long defied'.