What's On

An exhibition in Open Treasure, Durham Cathedral's award-winning museum, showcasing the exquisite and extraordinary maps, charts and atlases in the Durham Cathedral Library collections, including early maps of Durham.

For millennia humans have strived to understand our place in the world.  We have recorded the places we have lived, worked and travelled in with drawings and maps. Explore some extraordinary examples of these from the Cathedral’s own collections, discover the people involved, and find out about the work that made it possible.

A selling exhibition of prints of Durham Cathedral, Northumberland and the region by local artist Norman Wade in the Undercroft Restaurant. Durham Cathedral received Norman's remaining artwork after he and his wife passed away as a legacy gift, to sell in support of the cathedral which they both loved.

Put your questions to candidates for the City of Durham constituency during a hustings at Durham Cathedral. The panel will be chaired by the Dean of Durham, the Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett.

The hustings is organised by Durham Churches Together, and will be broadcast by Durham Hospital Radio. All are welcome.

Make your Christmas a crafty one with an adult crafts session in the beautiful surroundings of Prior’s Hall.

Visitor access to the nave of the cathedral will be limited during this service.

A special advent procession for St Chad's College, Durham University.

A special advent procession for St John's College, Durham University.

Prior's Hall

We invite all cathedral Patrons, Corporate Partners and 2020 Club Members to join us for a warming glass of mulled wine and a delicious mince pie. 

A special advent procession for St Mary's College, Durham University.

Get crafty and make your own Christmas wreath for your door or dinner table with the help of a local artist. Enjoy sessions at 1pm and 6pm.

Visitor access to the nave of the cathedral will be limited during this service.

A special carol service for Durham School.

Join Durham Cathedral Choir and the Reg Vardy Band for a spectacular evening of festive classics.

Education Centre

Come and hear the Christmas story told by a friendly fox, and then make and take a Christmas decoration that you can take home as a reminder of your visit. Suitable for pre-school children.

A special carol service for the Freemasons.

Visitor access to the nave of the cathedral will be limited during this service.

Visitor access to the nave of the cathedral will be limited during this service.

All are welcome to our traditional festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which always starts in darkness with a solo chorister singing the first verse of Once in Royal David's City. These services are a highlight of the Advent and Christmas season, during which lessons are read and the Cathedral Choir sings beautiful music to herald the birth of Christ. 

All are welcome to our traditional festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which always starts in darkness with a solo chorister singing the first verse of Once in Royal David's City. These services are a highlight of the Advent and Christmas season, during which lessons are read and the Cathedral Choir sings beautiful music to herald the birth of Christ.

All are welcome to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Join with the churches of Durham and gather for a serivce of reflection on the past, of thanksgiving for the blessings of God in the present and of hope for the year to come. You are invited to gather in Durham Market Place at 6pm with lanterns and process to the cathedral for 6.30pm.

We recall the visit of the wise men to the Christ Child at Bethlehem and is celebrated in a choral service of the Eucharist when we gather at the crib scene and symbolically offer the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh while also offering through prayer our own gifts and talents in the service of God. 

Graduation ceremonies for Durham University. Please note, visitor access to parts of the cathedral will be restricted during ceremonies. There is usual access to Open Treasure, the cathedral's world-class museum. 

Relive the revival of a traditional English festival. Enjoy music and traditional dancing in Durham City Marketplace, and follow the plough as it is processed up to the Cathedral to be blessed by the Dean of Durham, the Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett.

Enjoy a tour of Durham Cathedral followed by afternoon tea served in the Chapter House, the filming location for Professor McGonagall's classroom in the first two Harry Potter films. 

We celebrate the Epiphany season with a service of readings and music that follows the journey of the Three Kings as Christ is revealed to them. 

Hear the great Christmas cycle by the French 20th-century composer Olivier Messiaen, performed by Daniel Cook, Master of the Choristers and Organist of Durham Cathedral. The nine pieces each portray one aspect of Christ’s birth and coming among us.

Prior's Hall

A talk from Richard Gameson, organised by the Friends of Durham Cathedral as part of their lecture series.

Don't miss this great opportunity to discover how your business can support Durham Cathedral and the benefits that a partnership with the cathedral can offer.  You'll also have a chance to explore the cathedral with exclusive behind-the-scenes insights from our property team. 

Durham Vocal Festival celebrates the finest youth choirs in North East England, from primary to university level. This annual event is a wonderful celebration of the young vocal talent the region has to offer. 

The festival which recalls the visit of Mary and Joseph to the Temple to give thanks for the birth of Jesus also marks the official end of the Christmas season and was a festival in the middle ages when candles were blessed for use in church and at home. 
Candlemas is marked at all of our services on this Sunday with a particular focus at the Eucharist at 11.15am and a candlelit Evensong at 3.30pm.

Durham Cathedral Choir and renowned period orchestra The Avison Ensemble join forces to present Monteverdi’s much loved masterpiece.  Conductor: Daniel Cook,  Leader: Pavlo Beznosiuk

Enjoy a tour of Durham Cathedral followed by afternoon tea served in the Chapter House, the filming location for Professor McGonagall's classroom in the first two Harry Potter films. 

A unique evening of sitar, orchestral and choral music, presented by Opera North.

Conducted by Harish Shankar, the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North join forces for this wide-ranging and powerful concert. At its heart is a newly commissioned concerto from composer and sitar virtuoso Jasdeep Singh Degun, in which the complex rhythms and gorgeous melodies of Indian classical raag strike up conversations with the orchestra, as the sitar by turns draws in, creates quickfire exchange with and finally comes harmoniously together with the orchestra.

The concerto is paired with the full force of the Chorus of Opera North, whose programme includes the delicately beautiful Humming Chorus from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Purcell’s exquisite Dido’s Lament, extracts from La traviata and The Magic Flute, and concludes with Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music.

A chance to experience a walking tour of Durham Cathedral's historic woodlands and riverbanks guided by an expert walk leader. Starts from the cathedral visitor desk.

Tour of Open Treasure, led by a British Sign Language interpreter and a Gallery Attendant.

Enjoy a tour of Durham Cathedral followed by afternoon tea served in the Chapter House, the filming location for Professor McGonagall's classroom in the first two Harry Potter films.

Durham Cathedral Choir joins forces with period instrument performers The Avison Ensemble to perform Bach's stunning St John Passion.

Enjoy a tour of Durham Cathedral followed by afternoon tea served in the Chapter House, the filming location for Professor McGonagall's classroom in the first two Harry Potter films.

Enjoy an evening of divine desserts at Durham Cathedral's Undercroft Restaurant. Feast upon a main course prepared with locally-sourced ingredients before indulging in unlimited helpings of delicious miniature puddings. The ultimate indulgence for those looking for a unique dining experience.

Enjoy a tour of Durham Cathedral followed by afternoon tea served in the Chapter House, the filming location for Professor McGonagall's classroom in the first two Harry Potter films.

A chance to experience a walking tour of Durham Cathedral's historic woodlands and riverbanks guided by an expert walk leader. Starts from the cathedral visitor desk.

Enjoy a tour of Durham Cathedral followed by afternoon tea served in the Chapter House, the filming location for Professor McGonagall's classroom in the first two Harry Potter films.

A chance to experience a walking tour of Durham Cathedral's historic woodlands and riverbanks guided by an expert walk leader. Starts from the cathedral visitor desk.