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St Cuthbert's 7th Century coffin
© Jarrold Publishing, Chapter of Durham
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Where is St Cuthbert buried? |
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The timing of Raine’s excavation coincided with the period of Catholic emancipation and the building of St Cuthbert’s R.C. Church in Durham. James Raine was intent to show that the body in the Cathedral was indeed that of Cuthbert.
Never the less, the legend persisted in some quarters and in 1896 William Brown published articles in Ushaw Magazine in which he told the story of the hiding of the body in a place known only to three Benedictine monks.
Inscription on slab which replaced the shrine in 1542
© Jarrold Publishing, Chapter of Durham |
He reasoned that so many relics were hidden at the dissolution, quoting the recovery of the Priory stone altar and other items at the time of the Rising of the North in 1569; it would have been natural to hide the most precious relic of all. Most of his argument was also based on the belief that, if the body remained incorrupt for 852 years, then there was no reason to believe that it would then decay.
It may have been the publication of Brown’s articles that led to the final opening, although this is not the reason given at the time. Archaeologist Canon Greenwell opened the grave in the presence of a number of observers, including the medical man Dr Selby Plumber. Careful notes were kept of the excavation and on Sunday 12 March 1899, Selby Plumber, in the presence of Dean Kitchin, Canon Fowler M.R.C.S. and Canon Greenwell, carried out a careful examination of the skeleton which had been removed from the grave.
The notes made at the time and Plumber’s article for the 'Newcastle and Durham Medical Journal' of 1899 are held in Durham Cathedral library. It is worth noting that the Dean wrote to Plumber saying that he knew Plumber would give the unbiased truth, since he was not at all committed to the veneration of St Cuthbert!
Words: Lilian Groves - Durham Cathedral
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