Anger at plans to sell Bishop of Durham's castle and treasures
Four of the 12 Zurbaran paintings displayed at Auckland Castle. Their sale could raise £20m.
It's been the seat of the bishops of Durham for 800 years, but Auckland Castle and some of its most precious contents could be put up for sale.
by the Church of England.
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say they have to look at ways of raising funds in tough times.
They say the sale of the paintings alone (potentially £20m) will raise enough to employ ten clergy for their entire working lives.
Some commissioners also believe it's no longer appropriate or affordable to maintain Auckland Castle as a Bishop's residence in the 21st Century.
The sale of that, potentially as a hotel or flats, could raise many millions.
Sounds like sensible business, but some have accused the Church Commissioners of cultural vandalism, and of destroying County Durham's heritage.
has already by claiming the Church would need planning permission to remove them from a Grade I listed building.
And the Bishop Auckland MP, Helen Goodman, was forthright on the Politics Show today about her opposition to the sale of both paintings and castle.
by what they see as an underhand approach by the Church.
The seat of the Bishops of Durham for 800 years, but Auckland Castle could become a hotel.
The Castle is currently unoccupied as a replacement Bishop of Durham has yet to be appointed following .
The Church's critics accuse them of taking advantage of that to sell them before the public had a chance to protest.
The former Bishop is certainly not somebody who would have kept quiet about plans to sell the artworks had he still been in office.
I can remember him being particularly keen to be interviewed with a Zurbaran in the background because he was so proud of the pictures.
And he has said he's dismayed by the plans.
Of course, spectacular as the pictures are, are portraits of Jacob and his sons some will question whether they are really an integral part of the North East's heritage?
They've been hung in the Castle for 250 years, and can be seen by the public, but the Commissioners argue that it's not up to the Church to maintain them.
They could of course be bought for the nation, but they could also be snapped up by a private collector, or end up overseas, and disappear from view.
What of the sale of the Castle though?
It will be controversial if it goes ahead, and it will anger many in County Durham.
But it's not the first property to be put up for sale by the Church.
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But it is an important part of County Durham's history. Would it feel quite so special as a hotel?
Nevertheless, it seems any building has to pay its way in the 21st Century, so some plan will have to be hatched to find a way of maintaining it.
That may be doubly difficult at a time when councils and public bodies like English Heritage are also short of money.
But at least now these plans have gone public, that debate can take place before anything is sold.
I'm Richard Moss, the 91Èȱ¬'s Political Editor for the North East and Cumbria. Welcome to my irreverent - but hopefully insightful - northern take on reporting politics for Look North and the Politics Show.
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