There are ancient knockers and then there is The Sanctuary Ring in Durham Cathedral. Placed on the North Door of the Cathedral shortly after it was completed, it offered temporary refuge to those fleeing justice.
The right of claiming ‘sanctuary’ or protection in a religious building dates back to ancient times. As Ina, King of the West Saxons, 693 stated: “…(if) anyone accused of a capital offence flies to a Church, his life shall be spared, and he shall make compensation according to justice.”
Fugitives would usually be protected from the law for 40 days, before having to either face trial or go into exile for the rest of their lives, unless they were granted a royal pardon. At Durham, the protection only lasted 37 days – a time limit apparently set by Saint Cuthbert when he appeared in a vision to a monk. The right of sanctuary was abolished in England in 1624.
Ring or knocker?
Although it is often called a ‘sanctuary knocker’, the Durham Sanctuary Ring was not used in this way. There is no evidence of a ‘knocking plate’ having been attached to the North door, and anyone trying to use the ring this way would have badly bruised their fingers! Instead, a monk was stationed on watch in a small room above the door, and as soon as he saw someone grasp the Ring he would ring a bell to declare that sanctuary had been granted.
The Sanctuary Ring on the door of the Cathedral today is a replica, placed there in 1980. The original, on permanent display in Durham Cathedral Museum, dates from the 1100s, so was made at about the same time as the door. It is made of bronze, and weighs about 30kg.
The design is based on a medieval ‘Hellmouth’ image, designed to frighten away evil, and shows the head of a lion eating a man. The man’s legs hang out of the lion’s mouth and a double-headed snake bites his feet, forming the handle. The lion’s eyes may have once been made of coloured glass.
The Durham Sanctuary Ring is a unique survival among English door rings of this time, although there are similar examples in Europe, for example at Le Puy Cathedral in France and Payerne in Switzerland.
