MAGNA Carta was read aloud as part of a weekend of heritage events centred on Durham Cathedral.

A modern English translation of the 1215 treaty, which is 800 years old this summer, was read along with the 1217 Charter of the Forest, a less well known but crucially important agreement, in the cathedral’s North Transept on Saturday morning (April 18).

The event marked the start of a day of talks on medieval England by experts in the field, run in conjunction with Durham University.

There were also free guided tours of Durham’s World Heritage Site, a guided history walk, stonemasonry demonstrations and family activities offering youngsters the chance to make a crown or sword and write with a quill.

Durham holds three early versions of Magna Carta including the only surviving version from 1216, which will be the centrepiece of a major exhibition at Palace Green Library running from June to August.

For more information, visit durham.ac.uk/palace.green