St Peter’s Chapel, attached to Auckland Castle is rich with history and well worth a visit. On my visit a guide told us about the extensive history of the chapel but sadly a guidebook was not available and searching the internet does not easily reveal its treasures.

The original chapel was destroyed after the Civil War. After the Restoration of the Monarchy, Bishop Cosin rebuilt the castle and turned the banqueting hall into a chapel.  It is the largest private chapel in Europe. The side aisles were added by Bishop van Mildert in 1828. In the 1880s, Bishop Lightfoot added the heraldic shields and angels on the roof as well as the tinted stained glass windows and the carved oak reredos on a Frosterley marble plinth.

It is an impressive building with battlements, crocketted pinnacles and large stained glass windows.

Auckland Castle: It used to be that the power of the Prince Bishops of Durham was second only to the English monarchy. Commissioned to defend that monarchy, the Bishops were placed strategically close to the border between England and Scotland – who weren’t always on the best of terms – so they needed a home to match their status.

These men were so powerful that they could raise their own armies and mint their own coins. It’s no surprise then that they enjoyed Auckland Castle and its lush surroundings as their countryside estate, when the pressures of London, York and Durham became too much. While their role has changed with the passage of time, the Bishop of Durham still has influence throughout the modern world.

The exact date of the foundation of St. Anne’s Church is not known. The present Grade 2 listed 19th century structure is the successor to at least three previous chapels on the same site, the first recorded of which was well established by the late 14th century. It is most likely to have originated some tow hundred years earlier than tha, when Bishop Hugh du Puiset (1153-1195) made his Manor House at Auckland the principle residence of the Bishops of Durham, with all the staff and dependent required for their princely  as well as Episcopal state.

It seems to have been originally a ‘chapel of ease’ outside Auckland Castle walls, for the purpose (according to Matthew Richley, a local C19th historian)

“of preventing overcrowding of the Bishop’s own chapel and of keeping its congregation more select; and of providing accommodation for the elderly, infirm and others unable to attend the ancient Parish Church of St Andrew.”

Another local antiquarian, William Hutchinson, writing in 1794, says,

“This chapel was of great antiquity, and dedicated to St Anne, appertaining to the guild instituted in the Church of St Andrew, in which chapel the guild was held to the time of Edward VI” *

*From a chuch leaflet – A brief historical outline of the Church of St Anne, Bishop Auckland

The Mining Art Gallery located in Bishop Auckland contains artwork of prominent artists including art from  Tom McGuiness and Norman Cornish. The Mining Art Gallery provides a unique insight into the lives and souls of coal miners by depicting their life in the mines and the communities that grew around them.

These incredible pieces illuminate and preserve a vital aspect of coalfield heritage for us to appreciate and study.

Culture, life, and community sprung out from mining in the North East; it’s our history, it’s our character, and it’s who we are. These inspiring works showcase the resilience and courage of those who lived and worked in the mines, and give an incredible perspective on how human creativity and spirit can shine even in the darkest places.

Created in partnership with Dr Robert McManners OBE and Gillian Wales, the gallery will take you on an exploration of the art, culture, and context of the mining industry and its place in the history of County Durham.

The life size bronze statue of Stan Laurel is located on Theatre Corner, the site once occupied by the Eden Theatre owned by his parents. Laurel, featured in his iconic head-scratching pose, dressed in dungarees, with paintbrush in hand, is standing on a cubed marble plinth, with 13 iconic film reels at his heels.

When we arrived at breakfast I found to my disappointment the bread that accompanied the continental breakfast selection was stale and inedible!

We had booked tickets to visit Auckland Castle, the former home of the Prince Bishops of Durham. We arrived with plenty of time to spare so we used the opportunity to book tickets to visit the Mining Art Gallery. The gallery exhibits paintings from prominent artists of the area using art as a medium to portray the life of a coal miner and the social history of the North East mining community. When we arrived we were given a brief history of the gallery and how it came into being before being left to wander through the gallery at our leisure. I was blown away by both the presentation and story that the gallery tells.

We stopped for refreshments in the delightful Fifteas Vintage Tea Room in Bishop Auckland square before making our way to the castle for our allotted timeslot. The chapel at the castle is amazing, from its wooden carvings to its stained glass windows, all with stories to tell of the former Bishops of Durham. It is a shame that there is not a guide book that collates all this information. We had lunch in the tearoom before taking a walk round the extensive grounds. We had hoped to find the historic deer house but we failed to find it on our walk.

Before we left Bishop Auckland, we visited St Anne’s Church and then walked a little further to see the Stan Laurel statue that had been shown in one of the art displays in the Mining Art Gallery. It took us a little longer to find it than we expected but we got there in the end.

We returned to the hotel to freshen up and relax before a return visit t0 Marco Pierre White for our evening meal.

After breakfast which was almost back to normal, we headed off to the National Railway Museum. Our second attempt at visiting was successful and we arrived before the museum had opened. The museum is interesting, telling the progressive story of ‘Locomotion’. One of its prized exhibits is the original Locomotion No. 1, designed by George Stephenson to work on the Stockton and Darlington railway. It was the first steam locomotive in the world to pull  a passenger train on a public railway.

Another delightful exhibit is the moving mechanical sculpture from 1984  named ‘A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley’, designed by Rowland Emmett who is better known for the inventions of ‘Caractacus Potts’ which starred in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

We had lunch in the museum café before heading off to Darlington to visit St Cuthberts Church and the Head of Steam museum. Whilst checking the post code for the church, I found that it was only open until 1pm so it was another church with its doors closed for us. Destination No.2, the Head of Steam, was open and ready for visitors. As we were paying for our tickets, somehow the card machine slipped out of the hands of the man who was serving us, crashing onto the floor and falling apart. The machine proved difficult to reassemble so we agreed to pick up the receipt when we left the museum. In the event this wasn’t necessary, the gentleman caught up with and gave us the receipt as we were viewing the first exhibits.

The museum explores the history of the Stockton & Darlington railway. One of the main exhibits being a replica of Locomotion No. 1, the original having been relocated to National Railway museum at Shildon. The museum site also includes a number of historical buildings including the old goods shed which can be seen outside from the back of the museum. There are plans to expand and include these buildings as part of the museum experience.

We had time on our hands so before we headed back to the hotel we made our way to Binchester Roman Fort, stopping for refreshments at Bishop Auckland. At Binchester we were given an introductory talk about the site. We had the fort completely to ourselves. The Roman bath exhibit is exceptional. A unique aspect is a Roman child’s tiny footprint (with a slightly less distinct adult footprint) imprinted in the flooring.

As we were leaving, we were told that a fire had broken out near Durham city center and the roads there were affected. Our SatNav suitably navigated us past the problem roads and the town seemed undisturbed by the emergency. It turned out that a fire had broken out in a cavity wall of a new development causing a lot of smoke in the immediate area but it had been quickly contained. This was good news, our restaurant for the evening (Bistro Italiano) was near to the  site of the fire.

Our meal was lovely. The fish I chose was succulent and delightful. The restaurant was quiet and, as we got chatting to the owner, we found that this was because people had cancelled due to reading news reports about the fire. As we were about to leave a couple arrived on spec, asking if they were too late. They were informed ‘no you are not too late, your table is being prepared’. How lovely is that