Durham Cathedral

Durham Priory was a Benedictine priory associated with Durham Cathedral, in Durham in the north-east of England. Its head was the Prior of Durham. It was founded in 1083 as a Roman Catholic monastery, but after Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 the priory was dissolved and the cathedral was taken over by the Church of England. Historically, Durham Priory was one of the most important land owners in County Durham along with the Bishop of Durham until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. Until then, Durham Priory was home to between 50 and 100 Benedictine monks. Durham was the largest and richest of the monasteries associated with Durham; the other cells were in Coldingham Priory (until 1462), Jarrow and Monk Wearmouth, Finchale, Farne, Holy Island, Lythe, Stamford and Durham College, Oxford (after 1381). The Bishop of Durham was the temporal lord of the palatinate, often referred to as a Prince-bishop. The bishop competed for power with the Prior of Durham who held his own courts for his free tenants. An agreement dated about 1229, known as Le Convenit was entered into to regulate the relationship between the two magnates.After the Benedictine monastery was dissolved, the last Prior of Durham, Hugh Whitehead, became the first dean of the cathedral's secular chapter.Durham Priory held many manuscripts; in the 21st century, steps were under way to digitise the books, originating from the 6th to the 16th century, owned by the Benedictine monastery. The project was being undertaken in a partnership by Durham University and Durham Cathedral.

Palace Green is an area of grass in the centre of Durham, England, flanked by Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. The Cathedral and Castle together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although initially not part of the site itself, Palace Green was added to the UNESCO site in 2008.It is situated on top of the narrow, high peninsula formed by a sharp bend in the River Wear. The Cathedral is on the southern side, facing the Castle across the Green on the north side. To the east are Durham University buildings including the law, theology, classics and history departments, with the music department and the university's special collections library to the west. From the north and east Palace Green is accessed by two cobbled streets called Owengate (formerly Queen's Street) and Dun Cow Lane, the latter taking its name from a local legend involving a milkmaid and her cow. From the west a passageway, 'Windy Gap', leads down to the banks of the River Wear between two buildings which are now part of the university Music School. Early in the twentieth century one of the buildings had been the home of the novelist J. Meade Falkner, author of Moonfleet. In summer, Palace Green is sometimes used by students of Durham University as a croquet lawn on permission from the groundsman of University College Durham.'Palace Green' is also the name of a hymn tune written by Michael Fleming (1928-2006) while a music student at the university, for the hymn 'Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above'.During the COVID-19 Pandemic, marquees on Palace Green have been used as a testing centre run by the University.

The Durham Dean and Chapter Library (also Durham Cathedral Library) is located in Durham Cathedral, Durham, England. Founded in 995 AD, it is one of the largest English cathedral libraries. William de St-Calais donated 46 books. In the 19th century it was located in the Old Frater House, or Monk's Hall, on the south side of the cathedral's cloisters, situated there in 1680 by the Dean of Durham John Sudbury, who fitted up the building.

Bishop Cosin's Library, originally the Episcopal Library or Bibliotheca Episcopalis Dunelmensis, is an historic library founded in 1669 in Durham, England. Owned by the University of Durham, the library is open to the public.

The Bailey, or The Peninsula, is a historic area in the centre of Durham, England. It is a peninsula within a sharp meander in the River Wear, formed by isostatic adjustment of the land. The name 'The Bailey' derives from it being the 'outer bailey' of the Norman motte and bailey-style Durham Castle. Access to the area is restricted by the Durham City congestion charge, which started in 2002 and is the UK's oldest such scheme.

Bishop Cosin's Hall was a college of the University of Durham, opened in 1851 as the university's third college and named after 17th century Bishop of Durham John Cosin. It closed in 1864 due to a fall in student recruitment at the university. It was housed in an 18th century building on Palace Green which still carries its name.

The Assembly Rooms Theatre is a historic 220-seat proscenium arch theatre located in the centre of Durham. During term time, it primarily hosts the work of Durham Student Theatre's 27 resident companies, and also presents the work of external and touring companies at other points in the year. The theatre is managed by Experience Durham, a department of Durham University, and is run by two full-time members of staff alongside a team of student volunteers.

The Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) is an interdisciplinary research centre of Durham University. The IAS - set up to mark Durham's 175th anniversary - is intended to attract scholars and public figures from across the world to collaborate on 'agenda-setting research'. It is housed in the Grade II* listed Bishop Cosin's Hall, an early 18th century building on Palace Green, Durham, within the Durham UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Institute accepted its first fellows in January 2006 and was formally inaugurated into the university in October that year.

Durham College, or New College, Durham, was a university institution set up by Oliver Cromwell, to provide an alternative to (and break the effective monopoly of) the older University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. It also had the aim of bringing university education to Northern England. It received letters patent - though not degree-awarding powers - in 1656, but after Cromwell's death in 1659 the universities of Oxford and Cambridge petitioned his son Richard Cromwell against the new university, and the college ceased to exist with the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

Cranmer Hall is a Church of England theological college based at Durham, England. Cranmer Hall forms part of St John's College, Durham which is a recognised college of Durham University. It stands in the Open Evangelical tradition. Cranmer Hall currently trains ordinands for the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.

St Chad's College is a recognised (independent) college of Durham University in England, founded in 1904 as an Anglican hall for the training of Church of England clergy. The main part of the college is located on the Bailey, occupying nine historic buildings at the east end of Durham Cathedral. It neighbours Hatfield College to its north, while St John's College and St Cuthbert's Society are to its south. The college is named after St Chad of Mercia, a seventh-century bishop. Although it is the smallest of Durham's colleges in terms of student numbers (in 2018–19, the college had 409 undergraduates and 150 active postgraduates), it has the largest staff, extensive college library facilities, and among the highest undergraduate academic results in Durham.

Durham Museum and Heritage Centre is a museum in Durham, England. It details the history of the City of Durham from medieval times to the present day. The museum is located in the redundant church of St Mary-le-Bow, close to the World Heritage Site of Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. It is bounded on the north and east by Hatfield College; on the south by Bow Lane, and the west by North Bailey. The museum contains a variety of objects, models, pictures and audio-visual displays. These exhibitions provide the visitor with an overview of life, labour and leisure in this ancient fortified city, centre of pilgrimage and capital of the Prince Bishops of Durham. The museum also features a centre for making brass rubbings.