The Auckland Project

About

The Auckland Project is a visitor destination located in the market town of Bishop Auckland, home to the mighty Prince Bishops of Durham. Opening over the next two years, The Auckland Project will be a place that captures the imagination. Centred in and around 900-year-old Auckland Castle, it will also include a Spanish Gallery and restaurant, Faith Museum, Mining Art Gallery, Auckland Tower visitor centre, re-imagined Walled Garden and Deer Park.

 Auckland Tower – open

Mining Art Gallery – open

Deer Park – open

Auckland Castle – in development

Spanish Gallery – in development

Walled Garden – in development

Faith Museum – in development

Auckland Castle was one of the primary homes of the powerful Prince Bishops of Durham. It was where they came to hunt and entertain, among the landscape of the surrounding parklands. It also houses Jacob and his Twelve Sons, a rare cycle of paintings by Spanish master painter Francisco de Zurbarán. The Castle is currently undergoing major conservation work, which will transform its state rooms back to their original Georgian Gothic splendour, as designed by the renowned English architect James Wyatt. It will reopen to visitors in 2019.

Auckland Tower is the starting point for visits to The Auckland Project. Here, you can find all the information you need to explore. Scale the Tower to the 15m-high viewing platform, offering unsurpassed views across Auckland Park, Bishop Auckland town and the rural landscape beyond.

After visiting Auckland Tower, experience life through the eyes of prominent mining artists at the Mining Art Gallery, located nearby in the Market Place. With three permanent galleries and one temporary exhibition space on the ground floor, the gallery explores working life in the coal mines through original artefacts and artworks by mining artists such as Tom McGuinness and Norman Cornish.

Visit aucklandproject.org to keep up to date with venue openings, as well as exhibitions, events and activities taking place throughout the year.