Auckland Castle Auckland Castle ( also known as Auckland Palace or locally as the Bishop ' s Castle or Bishop ' s Palace ) is a castle in the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham , England . The castle was owned by the diocese for more than 800 years , being established as a hunting lodge for the Prince Bishop s of Durham . Auckland Castle was the official residence of the Bishops of Durham from 1832 until July 2012 when ownership of the castle was transferred over to the Auckland Castle Trust , a charitable foundation whose aim is to begin a major restoration of the grounds and castle , and set up permanent exhibitions on the history of Christianity in Britain and the North East . The bishop will continue to work in Auckland Castle , but no longer resides there . It is more like a Gothic country house than a true castle with a military function . The Castle ' s Scotland Wing presently serves as the administrative offices of the Durham Diocesan Board of Finance . The castle ' s long dining room is home to 12 of the 13 17th century portraits of Jacob and his 12 sons painted by Francisco de Zurbarán . The room , in which they have hung for 250 years , was specifically designed and built for them . In 2001 the Church Commissioners voted to sell the paintings which have a £20m valuation , but relented until a review in 2010 . On 31 March 2011 Church Commissioners announced that plans to sell off the paintings were shelved following a donation of £15 million from investment manager Jonathan Garnier Ruffer . The castle is surrounded by of parkland , which was originally used by the Bishops for hunting and is today open to the public . The castle and its grounds contain seven Grade I listed buildings . These include a Deer House within the park which was built in 1760 . It is a large stone castellated structure and acts as a shelter for deer . There is a viewing room for people to view the deer . 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 . Culture . Auckland Castle was shown on BBC ' s " Antiques Roadshow " programme in 2006 , and two episodes were shown Auckland Castle also provides the setting for Lewis Carroll ' s story " A Legend of Scotland " . Part of the building is called ' Scotland ' because it was used to house Scottish prisoners . The Scotland Wing presently serves as accommodation for the Durham Diocesan Office .