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Durham City is in North East England. It is a university town and is the administrative centre of County Durham. Durham City lies on the main railway line between London and Edinburgh and is close to the A1(M) motorway.
Durham Castle and Cathedral, together with other historic buildings near to them, make up a single designated World Heritage Site.
Other tourist attractions in Durham City include the DLI Museum and Art Gallery, which displays memorabilia from the Durham Light Infantry army regiment and shows works of contemporary art, the university’s Oriental Museum of eastern art and archaeology and the Gala Theatre and Cinema which houses a 500 seat theatre, two cinema screens and a café bar.
Visitors also enjoy strolling along the picturesque river-banks, hiring rowing boats and punts or cruising along the River Wear on the Prince Bishop sightseeing boat.
Durham City’s Victorian market hall and many cafes and restaurants add to the destination’s appeal for many tourists.
World Heritage Sites (WHS) are locations that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has identified. They are places that UNESCO regards as very important to conserve for the benefit of future generations. WHS are very special locations, historically, scenically or culturally.
The UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is responsible for the UK’s World Heritage sites. The devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland identify sites in their own that they think should be on UNESCO’s list.
Durham City’s World Heritage Site is made up of several historic buildings, including the Norman Castle and Cathedral that date from the 11th and 12th centuries. The Prince Bishops of Durham were church leaders who ruled over the virtually independent part of northern England that reached as far as the Scottish border from the late eleventh century until 1603. What is now Durham’s WHS was the Prince Bishops’ seat of civil and religious power – effectively their capital city.
Durham Cathedral includes two Christian shrines – those of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede, a historical scholar who lived in the 7th century. It has been a place of religious pilgrimage for almost a thousand years.
EVIDENCE LOG 1 - Finding your nearest World Heritage SiteIn 2012 there were 28 World Heritage Sites in the UK. Durham Castle and Cathedral is one of them. It was designated a WHS in 1986.
Visit UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in the UK webpage, (www.unesco.org.uk/world_heritage_sites_in_the_uk), to find a map of the 28 World Heritage Sites in the UK. Identify your nearest WHS (apart from Durham City) and write a short description of its character on the Evidence Log.