Auckland Castle

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The castle's chapel

The Gatehouse and clocktower to the castle's grounds

Auckland Castle is a castle within Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England. The castle has a large, locally famous arch, which visitors must go under to enter the Bishop's Park. Auckland Castle is also locally known as Auckland Palace or the Bishop's Castle.

It is the official residence of the Bishop of Durham and has been owned by the diocese for more than 800 years, initially serving as a hunting lodge. It is more like a Gothic country house than a true castle with a military function. The castle is open to the public and is available for weddings, conferences and banquets.

The castle is surrounded by a large park that was originally used by the Bishops for hunting. Within the park there is a Deer House which was built in 1760, for the Bishops of Durham. 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.

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, which were saved by Prince-Bishop Trevor in 1756^[1]. Trevor was unable to secure the 13th, Benjamin, so commissioned Arthur Pond to produce a copy, which hangs alongside the 12 other originals^[2].

Part of the building was called 'Scotland' because it was used to house Scottish prisoners. The Scotland Wing presently serves as accommodation for the Durham Diocesan Office.