A magic lantern slide circa 1900. Religious slides . Despite the scale of Durham Cathedral, the area of St Cuthbert's shrine wasn't particularly large, and would have been crowded with pilgrims, and cramped. The Chapel of the Nine Altars, constructed around 1280, was built to increase the amount of space inside the cathedral. In providing nine new altars so close to St Cuthbert's shrine, this chapel was ideal. Constructed around 1280, the Chapel of the Nine Altars was inspired by a similar extension to Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, completed in 1247.