Auckland Castle

Auckland Castle

Shown within County Durham
Building
Alternate names	Auckland Palace, Bishop's Palace, Bishop's Castle
Type	Castle/Palace
Address	Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, DL14 7NR
Owner	Church of England
Coordinates	54°39′59″N 1°40′13″W / 54.6664°N 1.6702°W / 54.6664; -1.6702

Auckland Castle (also known as Auckland Palace or locally as the Bishop's Castle or Bishop's Palace) is a castle in the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England.

The castle has been the official residence of the Bishop of Durham since 1832. However, it has been owned by the diocese for more than 800 years, being established as a hunting lodge for the Prince Bishops of Durham.^[1] It is more like a Gothic country house than a true castle with a military function. The Castle's Scotland Wing presently serves as the administrative offices of the Durham Diocesan Board of Finance.

The castle's long dining room is home to 12 of the 13 17th century portraits of Jacob and his 12 sons painted by Francisco de Zurbarán. In 2001 the Church Commissioners voted to sell the paintings which have a £20m valuation, but relented until a review in 2010.^[2]

The castle is surrounded by 800 acres (3.2 km²) of parkland, which was originally used by the Bishops for hunting and is today open to the public.^[3] The castle and its grounds contain seven Grade I listed buildings^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}. These include a Deer House within the park which was built in 1760. It is a large stone castellated structure and acts as a shelter for deer. There is a viewing room for people to view the deer.

History

In around 1183 Bishop Pudsey established a manor house on the site.^[11][12] Bishop Bek, who preferred the town as his main residence over Durham Castle due to its proximity to hunting grounds, later converted the manor house into a castle.

After the dis-establishment of the Church of England, at the end of the first civil war, Auckland Castle was sold to Sir Arthur Hazelrig, who demolished much of the castle, including the chapel, and built a mansion.^[13][14][15] After the restoration of the monarchy, the new Bishop of Durham, John Cosin, in turn demolished Hazelrig's mansion and rebuilt the castle converting the banqueting hall into the chapel that stands today.^[13][16]

In 1756 Bishop Trevor bought a set of paintings of Jacob and his 12 sons painted by Francisco de Zurbarán which still hang in the castle's long dining room today. The seventeenth century paintings' intended destination was South America. However, they were captured by pirates and never made it to their destination. Eventually, the paintings came into the possession of James Mendez who sold 12 of the 13 to Bishop Trevor in 1756 for £125.

Trevor was unable to secure the 13th portrait, Benjamin which was sold separately to the Duke of Ancaster and hangs in Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincs. Trevor commissioned Arthur Pond to produce a copy of the Benjamin portrait. The copy together with the twelve originals were hung in the castle's long dining room, which Trevor had James Wyatt redesign to take the portraits.^[17][18]

Culture

Auckland Castle was shown on BBC's Antiques Roadshow programme in 2006, and two episodes were shown

Auckland Castle also provides the setting for Lewis Carroll's story "A Legend of Scotland". Part of the building is called 'Scotland' because it was used to house Scottish prisoners. The Scotland Wing presently serves as accommodation for the Durham Diocesan Office.

Notable structures

Image	Name	Listed	Co-ordinates	Notes	Ref(s)
	Auckland Castle	Grade I	54°39′59″N 1°40′13″W / 54.6664°N 1.6702°W / 54.6664; -1.6702 (Auckland Castle)	Probably begun in 12th Century and completed in 13th century.	[4]
	West Mural Tower and West Walls	Grade I	54°39′59″N 1°40′21″W / 54.6663°N 1.6725°W / 54.6663; -1.6725 (West Mural Tower and West Walls)	First wall built 14th century	[5]
	Entrance Gateway	Grade I	54°39′57″N 1°40′16″W / 54.6657°N 1.6712°W / 54.6657; -1.6712 (Gatehouse)	Built by Thomas Robinson in 1760 for Bishop Trevor	[6]
	Chapel of St Peter	Grade I	54°40′01″N 1°40′12″W / 54.6669°N 1.6699°W / 54.6669; -1.6699 (Chapel of St Peter)	Built as Great Hall around 1190. Completed 1249. Converted to chapel 1661-65	[7]
	Screen wall	Grade I	54°39′58″N 1°40′11″W / 54.6662°N 1.6698°W / 54.6662; -1.6698 (Screen wall)	Built around 1795 for Shute Barrington by James Wyatt	[8]
	Deer Shelter	Grade I	54°40′07″N 1°40′00″W / 54.6686°N 1.6666°W / 54.6686; -1.6666 (Deer Shelter)	Built around 1760	[9]
	Castle Lodge	Grade I	54°39′56″N 1°40′16″W / 54.6656°N 1.6710°W / 54.6656; -1.6710 (Castle Lodge)	Built 17th Century	[10]
	11 Market Place	Grade II*	54°39′56″N 1°40′17″W / 54.6655°N 1.6715°W / 54.6655; -1.6715 (11 Market Place)	Built early 18th Century. Formerly known as 18 Castle Square	[19]
	15 and 16 Market Place	Grade II	54°39′57″N 1°40′18″W / 54.6658°N 1.6716°W / 54.6658; -1.6716 (Park gate-houses)	18th Century park gate-houses	[20]
	17 and 18 Market Place	Grade II	54°39′57″N 1°40′18″W / 54.6658°N 1.6718°W / 54.6658; -1.6718 (17-18 Market Place)	Built early 18th century	[21]
	12 Market Place	Grade II	54°39′56″N 1°40′17″W / 54.6656°N 1.6713°W / 54.6656; -1.6713 (12 Market Place)	Built early 18th Century. Previously known as 19 Castle Square.	[22]
	2 and 3 Castle Square	Grade II	54°39′58″N 1°40′17″W / 54.6662°N 1.6715°W / 54.6662; -1.6715 (2 and 3 Castle Square)	Medieval use unknown. Later Prebends' College, then carriage house.	[23]
	Westcott Lodge	Grade II	54°39′58″N 1°40′17″W / 54.6660°N 1.6713°W / 54.6660; -1.6713 (Westcott Lodge)	Built early 18th Century.	[24]
	Six pillars	Grade II	54°39′58″N 1°40′20″W / 54.6662°N 1.6723°W / 54.6662; -1.6723 (Six Pillars)	Possibly 17th Century hay shed.	[25]
	Garden and Drive Walls	Grade II	54°39′57″N 1°40′12″W / 54.6658°N 1.6701°W / 54.6658; -1.6701 (Garden and Drive Walls)	Built 18th and 19th century. Railings added 19th Century	[26]
	Jock's Bridge	Grade II	54°40′16″N 1°40′10″W / 54.6710°N 1.6694°W / 54.6710; -1.6694 (Jock's Bridge)	Built 1819, forms park boundary wall.	[27]
	Trevor's Bridge	Grade II	54°40′14″N 1°40′04″W / 54.6706°N 1.6679°W / 54.6706; -1.6679 (Trevor's Bridge)	Built 1757	[28]
	Ice House	Grade II	54°40′15″N 1°40′02″W / 54.6707°N 1.6672°W / 54.6707; -1.6672 (Ice House)	Probably built late 18th Century	[29]
	Footbridge over Coundon Burn	Grade II	54°40′18″N 1°40′01″W / 54.6717°N 1.6670°W / 54.6717; -1.6670 (Footbridge over Coundon Burn)	Built mid 18th Century	[30]
	Footbridge over Coundon Burn	Grade II	54°40′20″N 1°39′50″W / 54.6721°N 1.6639°W / 54.6721; -1.6639 (Footbridge over Coundon Burn)	Built 1827	[31]
	Footbridge over Coundon Burn	Grade II	54°40′17″N 1°39′41″W / 54.6714°N 1.6614°W / 54.6714; -1.6614 (Footbridge over Coundon Burn)	Built 18th Century.	[32]
	Well head	Grade II	54°40′21″N 1°39′32″W / 54.6724°N 1.6588°W / 54.6724; -1.6588 (Well head)	2m high pyramid. Part of 18th Century water supply to castle.	[33][34]
	Cistern	Grade II	54°40′22″N 1°39′24″W / 54.6727°N 1.6567°W / 54.6727; -1.6567 (Cistern)	Part of 18th Century water supply to castle.	[35][36]
	Milestone on Castle Drive	Grade II	54°40′26″N 1°39′23″W / 54.6740°N 1.6565°W / 54.6740; -1.6565 (Milestone on Castle Drive)	18th Century	[37]
	Park Gates and Screen Wall	Grade II	54°40′27″N 1°38′38″W / 54.6741°N 1.6439°W / 54.6741; -1.6439 (Park Gates and Screen Wall)	Built late 18th Century	[38]
	Lodge Farmhouse	Grade II	54°40′37″N 1°39′49″W / 54.6770°N 1.6635°W / 54.6770; -1.6635 (Lodge Farmhouse)	Built 1779 for John Egerton	[39]
	Stables and Barn of Lodge Farmhouse	Grade II	54°40′37″N 1°39′50″W / 54.6770°N 1.6638°W / 54.6770; -1.6638 (Stables and Barn of Lodge Farmhouse)	Built 1779.	[40]
	Stables and Barn of Lodge Farmhouse	Grade II	54°40′37″N 1°39′48″W / 54.6769°N 1.6632°W / 54.6769; -1.6632 (Stables and Barn of Lodge Farmhouse)	Built 1779.	[41]

References

Bibliography

• Fordyce, William (1857), The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham, A. Fullarton and Co., http://books.google.com/books?id=kDdNAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover, retrieved 2009-06-06 
• Whellan, William (1856), History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham, William Whellan and Co., http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vN4MAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover, retrieved 2009-06-06 
• Hutchinson, Tom (2005), The History of Bishop Auckland, Seaham: The People's History, ISBN 1-902527-59-3 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Auckland Castle

• Official site