It was raining when we woke up and raining when we came in and at all times in between. I can’t remember the last time it has rained all day no matter how much I moved around. We went at least 60/75 miles back and forth and never drove out of the rain. Hood and umbrella in hand so all was okay.

First stop was Durham to see the Durham Cathedral where both St Cuthbert and the Venerable Beed are buried. The church was lovely. Julian toured us around and pointed out the highlights. Including that the bishop’s throne in Durham is several inches higher than the Pope’s in St. Peter’s.

The tomb in the church of the Neville’s and I don’t remember which Neville had all the heads chopped off during the reformation. Makes for a kind of morbid scene today. The church supposedly saved all 100 statutes from the knave screen by taking them down and hiding them but they have never been seen again. Somebody should have drawn a treasure map.

The church museum was displaying their copies of the Magna Charta including the only surviving 1216 version. They said due the how quickly they are fading this was likely to be the last time they are displayed. Glad we snuck in before they are hidden away again.

The 1225 version of the Magna Carta held by Durham Cathedral was damaged in the 1740s when a historian Christoper Hunter accidentally knocked over an ink well. It was said that he drank so much coffee (24 cups a day) that he had uncontrollable fits and ticks causing the spill. They never let him back in and changed the rules so only pencils are allowed in the rooms with any manuscripts. A little too late to save the document but makes for a good story.

Surety Barons were established to hold King John to his word in following the Magna Carta. Twenty five barons were named with 8 being from the north. If the King did not follow the agreement then the Barons were to rally and remove him and pass the country onto someone else.

We also saw some holy relics from St Cuthbert. We were not supposed to take pictures but Val did. His coffin dated to 698 was moved once or twice during the medieval era but surprisingly it was not destroyed during the reformation. It has both Viking runes and Roman letters. They opened it in 1827 when he was moved to his current resting place. I guess even Oliver Cromwell didn’t want to mess with the person who basically established christianity in England. More about him later in the trip when we visit Lindisfarne island.

After the church and the museum we wandered around Durham a bit but since it was raining it was hard to go in and out of the shops. They did have a little open market and Val and I both found some things to buy. It was also the drop off day for college students and it appears that Durham is pretty much a college town so it was pretty busy.

After Durham we headed to Raby castle the home of the Nevilles. The Neville’s lost the castle during Elizabeth’s reign when the started an uprising to establish the Catholic Church. The castle is now in the hands of the Vanes. They occasionally use the castle for events but the current Vane does not make his home there.

The castle was redone in the 1700/1800 century to make it more comfortable for “modern” living and has been updated little since then. Most of the rooms were displayed a they were probably in the late 18th early 19th centuries.

The parlor was done with silk damasks wall hangings and gold leaf on pretty much everything else. Unlike the current White House the opulence in this room was tastefully done.

The tour kitchen (not the one used today) was in the same place as the original kitchen but was updated with actual appliances. The kitchen did show how wide the walls of the castle are. In fact they cut out a walkway in the walls so that the kitchen tower could be patrolled.

The dining room was laid out with dessert service with wine glass coolers. W

The chapel was original to the medieval castle. Very small but well set up.

After Raby castle we drove down to the village Staindrop for a stop at St Mary’s Church. It was the Neville family church.

The locals also provided a nice tea and homemade scones and cakes. It was very nice.

We continued on our way back to the hotel for dinner on our own. We didn’t choose as well and it was disappointing but oh well last night was so good and tomorrow we eat at Castle Howard so that should be good.