Building In Bishop Auckland, County Durham
A tower based on a siege engine amongst eclectic buildings
Go visit Bishop Auckland and as my brother-in-law said, you could be 'On the Continent'. We certainly had a bright sunny day.
Our desire was to go 'up' the Auckland Tower. You certainly can't miss it! And there is competition! The whole street scene has an eclectic mix with a gothic looking Victorian Town hall, a Georgian arched Castle gateway, the Church of St Annes with its corbelled octagonal belfry and a grand War Memorial in blue and red stone. Nearby there are Tudor looking buildings and of course a Castle.
It was a nice surprise that there is no admission fee for the Tower which can be a starting point for exploring the town. There is plenty of information and tickets for other attractions.
Niall McLaughlin Architects designed the tower basing it on siege
engines, using in particular Viollet-le-Duc's drawings to win over the
residents in the area. Niall McLaughlin came upon this idea as a
whimsical remark to investor Jonathan Ruffer, 'that every castle
should have a tower to climb up'. Bishop Auckland Castle does not have
a tower
Originally the Tower was going to be made in stone, but Historic England rejected this, so it was constructed as an open timber building, 29metres high, and wedge shaped.
From a distance it looks like steel,
but on closer inspection you can tell it is wood. To be precise,
European Larch and has a glued laminate. This over time will fade to
show the naturally weathered silver grey of the Larch.
When inside look up to the sloping ceiling panels, lighting, and you will see the structures are quite remarkable.
The tower offers a viewing platform at 15metres, which is high
enough to afford views over the town and landscape beyond. There is the Roman fort of Binchester, some of the 11 arches of Newton Cap
Viaduct (Depending on season), now famous for 'Kynren'. And of course
the Castle!
Get 2 points if you have visited this place. Already visited by 11 VIPs.
Login to the VIP area to add places to your bucket list, mark them as visited and more importantly see where you rank on the league table.
What three words
models.bunny.trout
Lat / Long
54.665764, -1.67205
Show Place On Google Maps
Turn left out of Northgate carpark and walk to roundabout and then right to market place, pass the Town Hall and church. Around the corner and the tower should be highly visible pass the war memorial.
What three words
bond.trunk.else
Lat / Long
54.665764, -1.67727
There is parking in the town of Bishop Auckland, we chose North Bondgate Carpark.
Contributed by Rosalind Parker
Thanks for reading through and getting to the end of this post. I enjoy exploring the Fabulous North (Especially as a Southerner residing up North). I like 'snippets' of information, and more so, if they are obscure, amusing or meaningful. The photographs are taken on a mobile phone, without any enhancements.
The ruins of an old lead and fluorspar mine in the Pennines with the headframe and some buildings still visible.
A restored 19th century mining museum in the centre of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where you can experience the life and work of the lead mining families of the North Pennines.
Founded about AD 670–675, it is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon churches in England.
A Grecian style summerhouse on the banks of the River Wear named after a Polish entertainer.
Once a former chapel, but is now a museum, packed full of local heritage.
A beautiful folly set in the grounds of the Gibside estate which is now a holiday home.
We post all our new places daily on our Facebook Groups page, so join the group today and be notified when we add a new place.