Member Article

Auckland Castle to get £17 million museum extension

A £17 million investment is set to give Auckland Castle a dramatic new museum extension - the first transformation of the building in nearly 300 years.

Work will begin on the two-storey annexe next year and is expected to be completed in time for spring 2018 opening.

Specialist conservation architect Purcell – which has an office in Newcastle - and Niall McLaughlin Architects have been appointed to work together on the development.

The development is part of £50 million plans by the charitable Auckland Castle Trust to turn the former home of the Bishops of Durham into a major heritage and visitor attraction that could ultimately create 130 full-time or equivalent jobs.

David Ronn, Auckland Castle’s chief executive, has described the proposal as “ambitious and innovative,” and the “most significant alteration to the castle for nearly three centuries,” that will importantly create “multiple opportunities” for the area.

He added: “This is an ancient site and a building dating back 1,000 years. To incorporate any addition into such a setting is both architecturally and historically challenging, but we are creating something extremely special here at Auckland Castle.

“I am hugely excited by what we are doing here and by what the future holds. We have the chance to do something exceptional for the castle and for the town of Bishop Auckland, to create an extraordinarily beautiful building that blends the past with the future and which will house a world class exhibition of 5,000 Years of Faith, charting how our spiritual beliefs have shaped Britain’s history and who we are today.”

The new museum will be built on to the castle’s existing 16th called because that is where Scottish prisoners of war were once housed – and will offer around 450sq metres of permanent exhibition space.

At the same time the Scotland Wing will be renovated along with the remainder of the castle and its state rooms.

The Auckland Castle Trust is putting £7 million into the ambitious project and is working towards a submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the remaining £10 million.

The HLF has already awarded the project their initial support,* including a development grant of £1 million. David Ronn described that support as a “massive statement of its commitment to the scheme.”

This is being spent on researching the site, surveying the buildings, carrying out archaeological investigations, designs and working with the community and stakeholders as the first step to securing the other £9 million.

Planning permission has yet to be sought from Durham County Council, but both the Auckland Castle Trust and the architects’ have been working closely with the local authority, English Heritage, the HLF and Bishop Auckland Civic Society on the blueprints.

The proposed new extension will have the feel of a medieval tithe barn from the outside with a long, steep roof and low eaves, and will be similar in scale to the existing Scotland Wing.

Inside, the building will be naturally divided into bays, emulating its ancient foundations. The roof will be supported by a lattice of small, intricate beams, creating a breath-taking effect. Glass insets in the roof will allow light to filter in.

Robert McManners, chairman of Bishop Auckland Civic Society, described the extension as an “excellent design. It is not too flamboyant, the exterior sits with what is already there but at the same time it has a modern interior that works with today’s cultural thinking. It is a fitting piece of architecture.”

Mr Ronn added: “Tithe barns were originally designed to be communal buildings, where crops produced by different growers were stored under one roof in the village, and people would congregate as a result. This building will also have a sense of community, a different purpose but for the benefit of the people of Bishop Auckland.”

The exhibition will concentrate on the religious convictions of the many peoples who have inhabited the British Isles over the last five millennia and cover everything from

Paganism to Roman beliefs, the rise of Christianity and on to today’s multi-cultural, multi-faith society.

Running in both the new extension and the Scotland Wing, the display at what is regarded as one of the most important ecclesiastical complexes in Europe, will be broadly chronological, object rich, showcase items rarely seen outside London and make the most of modern technology to appeal to families and academics alike.

It will run alongside the site’s permanent galleries, telling the story of the Prince Bishops and the ‘palace’ they called home for 900 years until it was bought in 2012 by the philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer and handed over to the Auckland Castle Trust.Mr Ruffer’s aim is for the developments at the castle to help regenerate the town of Bishop Auckland following the closure of the coal mines and subsequent industrial decline.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .