Durham is situated on a long U-bend in the River Wear. William the Conqueror chose the place in 1072 for a fortress against the Scots. Their was already a Anglo-Saxon cathedral at Durham but this was pulled down and a new one was begun by the Normans in 1093. Durham Cathedral is considered by many to be the great example of Romanesque architecture in England. The castle at Durham became the home of Durham University in 1837.