History
In around 1183 Bishop Pudsey established a manor house on the site. Bishop Bek, who preferred the town as his main residence over Durham Castle due to its proximity to hunting grounds, later converted the manor house into a castle.
After the dis-establishment of the Church of England, at the end of the first civil war, Auckland Castle was sold to Sir Arthur Hazelrig, who demolished much of the castle, including the chapel, and built a mansion. After the restoration of the monarchy, the new Bishop of Durham, John Cosin, in turn demolished Hazelrig's mansion and rebuilt the castle converting the banqueting hall into the chapel that stands today.
In 1756 Bishop Trevor bought a set of paintings of Jacob and his 12 sons painted by Francisco de Zurbarán which still hang in the castle's long dining room today. The seventeenth century paintings' intended destination was South America. However, they were captured by pirates and never made it to their destination. Eventually, the paintings came into the possession of James Mendez who sold 12 of the 13 to Bishop Trevor in 1756 for £125.
Trevor was unable to secure the 13th portrait, Benjamin which was sold separately to the Duke of Ancaster and hangs in Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincs. Trevor commissioned Arthur Pond to produce a copy of the Benjamin portrait. The copy together with the twelve originals were hung in the castle's long dining room, which Trevor had James Wyatt redesign to take the portraits.
Read more about this topic: Auckland Castle
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