The castle as a palace

The original ceremonial entrance to Durham Castle is perfectly preserved and one of the finest examples of its type in existence. Over the centuries, the 12th century arch was built around, thus protecting it from the elements. Today, visitors can see it as they walk down the Tunstall Gallery.

The gallery was constructed during Tudor times when the Prince Bishops were at the height of their wealth and power and were transforming the castle into a lavish palace. The gallery was a grand entertainment space with huge windows, which would have been incredibly expensive in the 16th century. Today, the space is used to display items from Durham Castle Museum's collections, much as Bishop Tunstall would have done to show off to his visitors 500 years ago.

The Tunstall Chapel is another of the bishop's additions. Built between 1543 and 1547, the seats were designed to fold upwards so that the congregation could stand during services. These seats are called 'misericords' or 'mercy seats'. They are decorated with carvings of an unexpected nature for a chapel - unicorns, griffins, dragons, a pig playing the Northumbrian pipes, and a man wheeling his wife around in a wheelbarrow! Given that these carvings were usually hidden beneath the stall seats, it seems that the church authorities were happy to turn a blind eye to the somewhat subversive whims of the craftsmen 😀.

The Great Hall and the Black Staircase are two other striking features of the revamped castle.Read more