Visit to Auckland Castle 17 July 2014
Auckland Castle was the Palace of the Prince Bishops, a glorious selection of old
buildings off the Market Place in Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, looking over the
River Wear. It is one of the most important Episcopal palaces in Europe and the
magnificent home of England’s only Prince Bishop. The castle was in danger of
being sold off by the Church but has been saved for the North East and has only
relatively recently been opened to the public, the current Bishop now living in
Durham. It is run as a Charitable Trust by the current owner, Jonathan Ruffer, and a
team of Trustees who hope to turn it into a heritage tourist attraction and an
ecclesiastical centre.
Originally just a hunting lodge the buildings have been built, demolished, rebuilt,
extended and altered from 12th to 18th centuries. For example the current chapel
was once a banqueting hall which, fortunately, was orientated facing W to E so
making it ideal to become a religious building and is widely known to be the largest
private chapel in Europe. Hidden in the large parkland is a Gothic Revival Deer
House, built in 1760, to provide the deer with shelter and food. It was a grand folly for
entertaining guests. We did not have the opportunity to wander through the park,
which is open all year round for visitors. There is current restoration being done to
the garden adjoining the castle, which will take several million pounds to restore.
Following the Norman Conquest the Bishop of Durham was granted powers to act as
a political and military leader who could raise taxes, mint coins and hold his own
parliaments. This made him the second most powerful man in the country.
Approach to the castle is through a stone archway, down a path past the Bishop of
Durham’s office and into a large courtyard. This has a large walnut tree in the centre,
surrounded by grass and rose beds. Tables and chairs are laid out on the grass for
anyone wanting to catch the sun, of which there was plenty that day.
Our party of 29 broke into two halves so enabling our two guides to speak to a
smaller group. All the rooms were absolutely splendid with the chapel, in my view,
being the best. The screens were magnificently carved, by German artisans, and the
stained glass, Victorian and not early as we are accustomed to in such buildings, was
of glorious colours. Much to our surprise we found that the BBC were doing filming
for Songs of Praise - to be broadcast on 7 September – with Bill Turnbull as
presenter. We were filmed listening avidly to our guide and several individuals were
also filmed talking about our thoughts. (Hope my bit reaches the cutting room floor!).
Another of the large rooms held portraits of all bishops, the latest painting being a
small one of Justin Welby.
There is currently an exhibition in one of the rooms of a large bed, known as the
Paradise State Bed made for Henry VII on his marriage to Elizabeth of York.
Originally it would have been in various colours but the Tudors had it stained dark
brown. It could be taken apart and transported to wherever they were visiting. It was
discovered in a hotel with research proving it was genuine. It certainly wouldn’t have
fitted many modern homes! I understood from our guide that two Italian brothers,
using only their fingers, made the ornate ceiling. What a skill.
What many of us were waiting to see were the paintings of the Twelve Tribes of
Israel, together with that of their father Jacob, painted by Francisco de Zurbaran, a
Spanish painter (1598-1664). It would seem that Benjamin is a copy, as the original
is in private hands and not for sale. They had appeared at Sothebys for sale but
when the locals heard of this there was such outrage and, with the likelihood of
unrest, they were withdrawn. The sons are all attired in different costumes. It was
suggested the artist had seen the various outfits worn by people frequenting the local
markets.
Our trip was very ably supervised by Angela Maguire who did a sterling job in the
absence of Rosemarie Lawson.
Sheila Baker