The cathedral building and grounds

The Quire is located just behind the crossing of the Nave, and can be accessed from the North and South Quire aisles, as well as from the crossing.

This space was once entirely enclosed behind screens, and is where the monks of the monastery would gather seven times a day to sing the divine office. Their monastic life was organised around this daily prayer and praise.

The Quire was one of the earliest parts of the cathedral’s structure. It was important for the High Altar and the Shrine of St Cuthbert to be installed as soon as possible, so that worship and pilgrimage could begin.

Cathedrals are named as such after the Cathedra, also known as the Bishop’s Throne. The Cathedra at Durham was built by Bishop Thomas Hatfield (1345-1381), and to this day is the highest in Christendom. Hatfield’s tomb, which lies beneath the Cathedra, holds the only figure in the cathedral to have escaped destruction during the Reformation.

The finely carved wooden stalls date from the 1660s and are carved in the style of Bishop Cosin, whose name is associated with a local Durham style of carving that uses designs based on fruit.

The organ was originally built by ‘Father’ Willis in 1876, replacing the famous ‘Father’ Smith organ of 1686 that had stood above the quire screen. In 1905, the Willis instrument was rebuilt by the Durham firm of organ builders, Harrison and Harrison, who continue to care for it today. The organ boasts a total of 5,746 pipes and its concept, design, placing, voicing and environment make it one of the most triumphantly successful organs of the English-speaking world.