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'''Durham''' (also known as Durham City to differentiate it from the [[county]] of the same name) is a small city in [[County Durham]] in north-east [[England]].  

'''Durham''' (also known as Durham City to differentiate it from the [[county]] of the same name) is a small city in [[County Durham]] in north-east [[England]].  

== Details ==

== Details  

Th earliest settlement in the Durham area dates to at least 2000 BC, with the present city being traceable to c. 995 AD or before.

Th earliest settlement in the Durham area dates to at least 2000 BC, with the present city being traceable to c. 995 AD or before.

It has been an important ecclesiastical centre since the late tenth century when the body of [[St. Cuthbert]] was brought here and a cathedral erected above the shrine. The [[cathedral]] - and the castle erected after the [[Norman Conquest]] to house the politically - and militarily-powerful Prince Bishops of Durham - are located on a tight loop in the [[River Wear]] and form a natural fortress. Outside this fortress developed the medieval civilian city of Durham, divided into five manorial 'boroughs' belonging to the Bishop, to the Abbot of the monastery attached to the cathedral, and to the Kepier Hospital. The [[Bishop]]s were given quasi-royal powers by the Norman kings of England - they had their own courts, their own tax-raising powers and their own mints , for example. This was partly because the crown wanted to establish a power base in the north equivalent to that of the earls of Northumberland, whose loyalty was doubtful; bishops, being (ostensibly) celibate, would produce no hereditary threat. A rich and powerful bishopric was also able to maintain powerful castles - such as Norham, on the [[River Tweed]] - and armed forces to counter any threat to Northern England from Scotland.

It has been an important ecclesiastical centre since the late tenth century when the body of [[St. Cuthbert]] was brought here and a cathedral erected above the shrine. The [[cathedral]] - and the castle erected after the [[Norman Conquest]] to house the politically - and militarily-powerful Prince Bishops of Durham - are located on a tight loop in the [[River Wear]] and form a natural fortress. Outside this fortress developed the medieval civilian city of Durham, divided into five manorial 'boroughs' belonging to the Bishop, to the Abbot of the monastery attached to the cathedral, and to the Kepier Hospital. The [[Bishop]]s were given quasi-royal powers by the Norman kings of England - they had their own courts, their own tax-raising powers and their own mints , for example. This was partly because the crown wanted to establish a power base in the north equivalent to that of the earls of Northumberland, whose loyalty was doubtful; bishops, being (ostensibly) celibate, would produce no hereditary threat. A rich and powerful bishopric was also able to maintain powerful castles - such as Norham, on the [[River Tweed]] - and armed forces to counter any threat to Northern England from Scotland.