Roofs

        Today was our first day touring around Durham to see structures that are still standing--and what a relief it was! Our first stop after the briefing was Escomb Church, the oldest standing church in Britain! Luckily I found my video camera on the bus so I was ready! The church has been altered over time but still retains the original Saxon windows and stonework, as well as a very interesting Anglo-Saxon sun dial which appears to combine older pagan beliefs with the new Christian religion that was in the 7th century entering England. It was small and I'm sure, in the period, very dim and mysterious inside. Apparently it would have been plastered white originally. The circular churchyard also may reveal an older pagan holy site.

 View of the Chancel (clerical) end of the church

 Circular thing slight left above newer window is Anglo-Saxon sun dial

Interior of the church while seated in the nave, towards the Chancel

 The original medieval baptismal font (originally had lock to stop people stealing holy water to sell)

Front view of Escomb

         Escomb is in such a small town that to actually go in one must go and ask the vicar for the key. The main keys were lost so Professor Streete saved the day by pursuading them to find the spares. The church fell into ruin in the 19th century but luckily the residents realized its significance and moved the parish back in to keep it up.
        We reboarded the bus and headed for Hexham Abbey, the 7th century bishop's seat of the famous Wilfrid, a fairly cheeky fellow who was keen on power, as Professor Lomas would say. We saw his throne and went down into the crypt, which smelled very old and was cramped. The crypt used to house the relics of St Andrew but of course those are long gone with the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. Much of the church was restored in the 15th century with some really cool danse macabre paintings inspired by the plague in the chancel. They also had a 7th century silver, gold-gilded chalice for communion. For some reason I did not take any pictures at Hexham Abbey...
         Our last stop of the day was Bede's World, which, despite its name, is not a place with rides and fireworks. Instead, it is the site of the monasteries of Wearmouth-Jarrow where Bede spent much of his life and wrote his many works. They had a small, clean museum with lots of models and a few artifacts, as well as the monastic church which has been significantly altered. Originally it was two churches in line, and the smaller chapel on the left is the original, only it has been glued onto a newer church to create one large building. You can still see the Anglo-saxon stonework and small windows, though.

        My favorite things in the museum were the fragments of the oldest stained glass in Northern Europe which have been excavated on the monastery site. Stained glass was brought in from France by Benedict Biscop, who hired stonemasons and glaciers from Gaul to build Christian churches in the 7th century. Before that, the Anglo-Saxons had no stone or glasswork.They had some of the fragments laid out and others actually hung in patterns possible for the period (though they have no proof that's how they were, it was still cool).

        A final highlight of the day: I saw CUBE parked outside Bede's World today. It is an international movement! I sort of felt like somehow, Guido was following me to make sure I was doing well :)