Auckland Castle

Auckland Castle, also called Auckland Palace, is a former bishop's palace in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England, that for centuries served as the residence of the bishops of Durham. It was probably begun around 1183 by Hugh de Puiset, bishop from 1153 to 1195, and was largely complete in its early form by the first half of the thirteenth century. Later bishops reshaped it, including Baroque work commissioned by John Cosin in the 1660s and Gothick alterations by the architect James Wyatt around 1795, giving the building its present mix of Gothic and Gothic Revival features. The Auckland Castle Trust, formed after a donation and purchase by Jonathan Ruffer, acquired the property in 2012 and reopened it to the public on November 2, 2019, following an extensive restoration. It is now run as a tourist attraction with museums, galleries, restored state rooms, and gardens, while still housing the bishop's offices, and it is a Grade I listed building along with several structures on its grounds.