Honour for Durham Cathedral

Date : 2002-10-12 Publication : The Journal

Britain's famous buildings, from Durham Cathedral and Blenheim Palace to Tower Bridge, attract huge numbers of tourists every year.
But while these and many other architectural gems around the country are impressive in their own right, the stories behind them bring history to life. The tales associated with them are being unveiled in a new book and BBC series, Britain's Best Buildings by architectural historian Dan Cruickshank.

"It's something that's always fascinated me, the idea of telling the general story of Britain through particular moments in history," he says.

Choosing only eight buildings from a long shortlist was "agony", says Cruickshank. "It was terribly hard to whittle it down." The final eight featured in the book are: Durham Cathedral, Windsor Castle, Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Cardiff Castle, The Midland Grand Hotel, in St Pancras, London, Tower Bridge and Highpoint One, in north London.

But for Cruickshank it's Durham Cathedral, his own personal favourite, where he made the most significant discoveries, finding that the building's design was based on the Book of Revelation in the Bible.

He says the beliefs of medieval monks, as well as the people of the time, are vital to understand the cathedral's true meaning.

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