Auckland Castle is widely considered to be one of the North East’s most important medieval residential complexes, a significance amplified by the extensive survival of its medieval parkland setting. Recent years have seen several excavations by Durham University and The Auckland Project which have brought a great deal of new information to light that has enhanced the understanding of the site and its significance – not least the discovery of Bishop Bek’s magnificent early fourteenth century two-storey chapel. This talk will highlight some of these remarkable discoveries and describe how they have transformed our understanding of the medieval Prince-Bishop’s palace at Auckland.
John Castling is the Auckland Project’s archaeology curator, as well as a doctoral researcher at Durham University focussing on the Roman and medieval archaeology of County Durham
