Cuthbert was born around the year 635. Bede records that as a young man he was guarding the sheep on the Lammermuir hills to the north west of Lindisfarne. One night, in a dazzling stream of light, Cuthbert saw angels carrying a soul into heaven. He later discovered that he had seen his vision on the night that Bishop Aidan had died at Bamburgh. Immediately he gave up his flocks and entered Melrose Abbey where he trained to be a monk. Eventually he was persuaded away from his preferred life of a hermit to become the 6th Bishop of Lindisfarne and was famed for his wisdom, humility, deep spiritual devotion and miracles of healing.
But Cuthbert still needed to be alone with God for long periods, even in the midst of a demanding and effective ministry. This solitude he found initially on Hobthrush, now St. Cuthbert’s Island, just below the Priory on Lindisfarne and accessible (with care!) at low tide. But even Hobthrush was not remote enough
for him in later life and he moved to the Inner Farne where he died in 687.
Many years later, to protect his body, the monks took Cuthbert’s unusually well preserved body on a journey of about 30 years. Finally they settled in the place where they found a Dun Cow which, according to legend, was the prophesied place for Cuthbert’s remains to lie in peace. It is now the site of Durham Cathedral which was built around his grave.
The work of St Cuthbert’s Centre draws its inspiration from some of the key qualities of Cuthbert’s life which are expressed in our Mission Statement which you will find on our Mission page. The Centre has been developed in a 19th century Presbyterian church by the Northumberland District of the United Reformed Church and welcomes visitors throughout the year.