Castle’s Future Hangs in the Balance
Published on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 7:11 pm
The Church is looking to sell the 12th century palace.
The future of Auckland Castle is in dispute, after some Church officials have said the bishop’s palace should be sold.
One such dignitary is the former Bishop for Urban Life and Faith, the Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, who believes that the castle is a prime asset which should be disposed of in order to provide greater pastoral care for people living in cities.
He wrote in a recent book, “If the Church spends excessively on bishops and their houses there is going to be less in the way of cross-subsidisation and selective allocations to the dioceses, and thus the money demanded from poorer parishes will be greater.”
The reverend is one of many of the opinion that it is not appropriate for the modern Church to keep such properties, and it should be sold for an estimated £2 million.
The Bishop of Durham, however, opposes the proposal, and is insistent that he and his successors should continue to occupy the six-bedroom apartment in the 90-roomed 12th century palace.
It has been suggested that the castle could be turned into a hotel, apartments or museum, although there are concerns that buyers may be in short supply because of grade 1 listed status and the presence of tombs and a chapel.
This article originally appeared in Issue No. 22. Read or download The Bishop Press Issue No. 22 (PDF).
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