CITY OF DURHAM 



small chamber shown on the plan of about 1775 

 may have been his work. It appears more 

 likely that he formed his steward's chambers in 

 the apartments cut off from the Great Hall, and 

 the 1775 plan shows two large chambers in this 

 position divided by a smaller compartment 

 which may well have been devoted to stores. 

 The windows of this building are all of two 

 lights and square-headed with a splay running 

 round the head, jambs, and mullions, but a mid- 

 i8th century picture^* shows four centred, 

 arched and hooded heads to the upper windows. 



The Great Hall, known also as Bek's Hall, 

 Hatfield's Hall, and the White Hall, occupies the 

 greater part of the west side of the courtyard 

 and is one of the finest examples of a castle hall 

 both for size and simple grandeur now existing 

 in this country. There was a previous building 

 on the site, but of what nature is unknown. 

 Early Norman work exists at the north end of 

 the undercroft, and the lower portion of the 

 north-west angle and part of the north wall also 

 date from this period. Although now covered 

 by the buttresses and other work attributed to 

 Bishop Tunstall, the platform upon which the 

 north-west corner of the hall and the north wall 

 are built is undoubtedly of early date and 

 probably formed the base of a tower flanking 

 the original north and west curtain walls. The 

 hall was originally built by Bishop Anthony 

 Bek (1284-13 1 2) and was approximately the 

 same size as the existing hall, being loi ft. in 

 length by 35 ft. in width. ^^ Alterations and 

 repairs have left little of Bek's work visible. On 

 the east side of the hall the lower part of the 

 wall up to the offset below the window sills and 

 a small portion of the stone work above are 

 original. Of the same time also are the three 

 little windows which formerly lighted the 

 undercroft, with semicircular heads worked out 

 of one stone and widely splayed inner jambs. 

 The entrance doorway now much decayed and 

 partly coated with plaster is also of Bek's time. 

 It has a pointed arch of two richly moulded 

 orders and moulded jambs with detached shafts 

 and boldly moulded capitals. Bishop Cosin's 

 octagonal buttresses may possibly incase the 

 original square buttresses of Bishop Bek, 

 though they are not in alignment with the but- 

 tresses of this date on the west side. 



Little of Bek's work can be identified on the 

 west side of the hall beyond the range of square 

 buttresses and the southernmost window with 

 a pointed head, the tracery of which has been 

 renewed and does not fit on to his work. Recent 



** By W. Coster Brown and dating to about 1760 

 to 1770, in the possession of Miss Charlton, South 

 Street. 



'^ There appears to be no documentary evidence of 

 Bek's work on the castle ; cf. Boyle, Guide to the 

 County of Durham, 152. 



repairs to the interior of this wall have disclosed 

 the original jambs of a window at the north 

 end, of Bishop Hatfield's time, which was 

 destroyed doubtless by Bishop Neile when he 

 constructed the Black Chamber. A picture 

 hanging on the Great Staircase indicates four 

 square-headed muUioned windows in the west 

 wall of the hall, two at the top and two at the 

 bottom, suggesting that at one time there 

 existed an upper chamber. On the outside, at 

 the north end, there are three small pointed 

 windows such as would be used for latrines, at 

 such a height as would suggest the division of 

 the north end of the hall into several floors, 

 long before the lime of Bishop Neile. 



About 1350 Bishop Hatfield lengthened the 

 hall*" southward 30 ft. 6 in. and in doing so cut 

 away half the western staircase. This extension 

 may be identified from the courtyard by the 

 string-course under the parapet, which is not 

 quite at the same level as the older string. Hat- 

 field's wall also is sHghtly out of alignment with 

 the earlier wall to the north, but this is hardly 

 distinguishable. In the south wall he inserted 

 a double window, divided by a large square 

 muUion carrying two pointed arches, each filled 

 in with two lights, the tracery of which can still 

 be seen, though the window is partly built 

 up. Each window contains a central mullion 

 with filleted roll nosing and deep hollow splay 

 on either side, and has been finished at the top 

 with some kind of splayed abacus to receive 

 tracery. The head of each light is finished with 

 an ogee arch cusped, and a large central quatre- 

 foil with ogee cusping. Seen from the interior, 

 the first window from the south in the west wall 

 has the original jambs, head and inner arch, also 

 the inner sill of Bishop Bek's work. The second 

 window is of Bishop Hatfield's work, except the 

 tracery, which has been inserted and is of the 

 same date as that in Bek's window. The 

 jambs have detached and banded shafts finished 

 with moulded capitals ; the window, however, 

 has been cut short for the insertion of a pointed 

 doorway into the pantry, and has been further so 

 iU-treated that it is impossible to say of what 

 mouldings the outer arch originally consisted. 

 Late repairs have disclosed the original lower 

 transom of this window still in position. The 

 two other west windows are modern, but are 

 supposed to be copies of Hatfield's work; cer- 

 tainly the square abacus on the outer jambs and 

 the banded columns on the inner jambs have 

 been repeated, but every other feature is new. 

 The two larger pointed windows on the east 

 side are also stated to be restorations of Hat- 

 field's work; they are of three lights with a 

 transom, the tracery being composed of two 

 trefoils and a quatrefoil. Each window has two 



*» Hut. Dunelm. Script. Ires (Surt. Soc), 138. 



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