Historic paintings inspire rugby team
Published on Saturday, April 16th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
After the Zurbarans recently secured their future here in Bishop Auckland, they have now been honoured further by having a rugby team named after them.
Bishop Auckland Rugby Club third team shall now be known as ‘The Zurbarans’ as tribute to the 8ft high iconic 17th Century paintings by Fancisco de Zurbaran that have hung in Auckland Castle for more than 250 years.
Recently it was discovered that the artworks faced being auctioned by the Church Commissioners, who maintain the bishop’s houses for the Church of England. A campaign was launched to save the paintings, and benefactor Jonathan Ruffer bought the paintings for £15m, ensuring they remained in the north-east.
The Zurbarans rugby team played their first home game last Saturday, but unforuntely lost 42-28 to Yarm. This season is the first since 1994 that Bishop Auckland Rugby Club has had enough players to field three teams. Spokesman for the club Kevin Watson said that Saturdays game was an extremely important event in their history. He said, “We have always had the Bishop of Durham’s Mitre as the club emblem, so it seems fitting when giving a name to any of the club’s teams, it must have a link to our beloved castle.”
This article originally appeared in Issue No. 54. Read or download The Bishop Press Issue No. 54 (PDF).
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