Durham Cathedral, by Rev. William Green well. G9 



end the soil is deep, and in places of a peaty nature. The old 

 builders cared little about the foundations, they frequently 

 planted the walls upon the surface, and thus, when the soil was 

 of a compressable nature, shrinking of the walls was apt to occur. 

 From the same cause that affected Pudsey's work, the east end 

 of Carilef's choir began early to shew signs of instability and be- 

 came ruinous. 



Though we have no record of the builder or of the date when 

 it was built, it is certain that the outer part of the south-east 

 doorway of the cloisters is of the time of Pudsey. It is a 

 characteristic work of his and very rich in its details, although 

 not perhaps so beautiful a specimen of late twelfth century work 

 as the doorway of Pudsey's great hall in the castle. Prom the 

 time of Pudsey we have no account of any work done until 

 Bishop Poore (1220-37), and to him has always been attributed 

 the building of the Nine Altars, probably from the fact that he 

 began to make preparations for it. It was not commenced until 

 after his death, when in 1242, Prior Melsanby began to build. 

 Poore had been a great builder at Salisbury before he came to 

 Durham, and he must always have the credit of the intention, if 

 he did not live to carry out the building of the noble specimen 

 of 13th century architecture we see in the Nine Altars. Some- 

 time before his Episcopate cracks had begun to appear at the 

 east end of the church, and we have a number of indulgences, 

 some of them going back to an early period, and one coming 

 down as late as 1278, granted by various Bishops in aid of the 

 new work. Following upon the building of the Nine Altars was 

 the replacing of the original Norman groining by the present 

 roof, which may be attributed to about the year 1300, and is a 

 good example of early decorated work. Prior Thomas of 

 Melsanby (1233-44), who commenced the building of the Nine 

 Altars, had been elected Bishop by the monks, but was refused 

 by the Crown. He was one of the greatest men who have sat 

 in the Prior's chair at Durham, and to him must be given much 

 of the credit of that beautiful building the Nine Altars. I am 

 sorry I am not able to tell you the name of the architect. It is 

 very rarely that the name of any of the mighty builders of old 

 has been preserved. They did not care that their names should 

 be handed down to posterity. They were content to build, and 

 leave the work and not their names to speak, I once came 



