The Prior of Durham was the head of the Roman Catholic Durham Cathedral Priory, founded c. 1083 with the move of a previous house from Jarrow. The succession continued until dissolution of the monastery in 1540, when the priory was replaced with a Church of England deanery church.
After the Benedictine monastery was dissolved, the last Prior of Durham, Hugh Whitehead, became the first Dean of Durham, heading the cathedral's secular chapter.