Main content

Durham Cathedral

Episode 1 of 15

Dr Jonathan Foyle scales Britain's most iconic structures to reveal the buildings' secrets. His journey begins in the north east of England at Durham Cathedral.

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day, to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of how our architecture and construction have developed over 1000 years.

Jonathan's journey begins in the north east of England at Durham Cathedral, one of the finest surviving examples of Norman architecture in the UK.

Jonathan, who has never climbed before, is aided by Lucy Creamer, one of Britain's top climbers, as he conquers his fears to scale over 140 feet to the top of Durham Cathedral to investigate how the Normans revolutionised building in this country. On his climbs, he comes face to face with the crumbling 1000-year-old stone with oyster shells hiding in the mortar, discovers carved stone arches influenced by the art of the Middle East and he braves a tightrope nearly 100 feet above the nave, to get a closer look at the revolutionary and beautiful stone ceiling.

Available now

28 minutes

Audio described

Last on

Fri 25 Aug 2023 03:20

More episodes

Previous

You are at the first episode

See all episodes from Climbing Great Buildings

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jonathan Foyle
Presenter Jonathan Foyle
Participant Lucy Creamer
Participant Lucy Creamer
Camera Operator Ian Burton
Camera Operator Ian Burton
Director Kasia Uscinska
Series Producer Adam Barry
Series Producer Adam Barry
Executive Producer Emma Read
Executive Producer Emma Read

Broadcasts

  • Mon 6 Sep 2010 18:30
  • Wed 29 Sep 2010 18:30
  • Wed 29 Sep 2010 23:55
  • Fri 15 Oct 2010 16:00
  • Fri 3 Dec 2010 18:00
  • Wed 12 Jan 2011 04:20
  • Mon 24 Jan 2011 13:45
  • Mon 21 Feb 2011 18:00
  • Sun 7 Aug 2011 18:00
  • Wed 10 Aug 2011 01:30
  • Wed 10 Aug 2011 18:00
  • Wed 7 Sep 2011 18:30
  • Mon 12 Sep 2011 18:30
  • Tue 3 Jan 2012 19:30
  • Wed 4 Jan 2012 02:30
  • Wed 4 Jul 2012 19:30
  • Sat 6 Apr 2013 11:00
  • Thu 24 Aug 2023 19:30
  • Fri 25 Aug 2023 03:20

Featured in...