Celebrating the Bishop Auckland Heritage Action Zone
At a special event held yesterday (Monday 12 June) at Bishop Auckland Town Hall and The Fox’s Tale café, the two organisations reflected on the achievements of the scheme, which has seen an investment of almost £2 million to reinvigorate the historic area.
Established in 2017, Bishop Auckland Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) is a five-year programme, which has revitalised neglected historic buildings and brought them back into use for the local community and visitors.
Restoring Buildings
The Bishop Auckland HAZ has facilitated the repair and restoration of 12 buildings, including the Grade I listed West Mural Tower at Auckland Castle and numerous sites on Newgate Street, such as Nos.2 to 4 (now home to The Fox’s Tale café) and No.25 (which is currently being developed into a new business and community hub by Bishop Auckland College). In addition, the scheme funded the restoration of two Victorian public water fountains and repairs to the historic grounds of Auckland Castle.
The HAZ has also paved the way for further investment in historic buildings, with Durham County Council spending £1.5 million revamping the Town Hall, amongst other projects.
Involving the Local Community
Over the past five years, the HAZ has run dozens of community events and activities that involved more than 20,000 attendees and participants, including the establishment of an annual heritage and history festival and through numerous volunteering and training opportunities.
New Research
Research into Bishop Auckland’s history has formed a major part of the HAZ, leading to the new listing or listing amendment of 12 buildings. Amongst these is Gregory’s, a former butcher’s shop turned delicatessen, which is still in business after 170 years.
The celebration event launched the publication of a new book about Bishop Auckland. Written by Historic England staff Clare Howard, Jayne Rimmer and Jules Brown, 'Bishop Auckland: The growth of a historic market town' brings together recent research into the town’s archaeology, history and architecture. It tells the story of the establishment of the bishops’ palace, and of the settlement which grew alongside it to become a thriving industrial town.
The Heritage Action Zone has made a great start in unlocking the potential of Bishop Auckland’s historic buildings and heritage. It’s wonderful to see new businesses thriving in formerly empty buildings and so many local people taking an active interest in the town’s history. There is more to do but the HAZ has laid solid foundations for the ongoing regeneration of Bishop Auckland through the Town’s Fund and Future High Street Funds, and the major investment of The Auckland Project.
'Bishop Auckland: The growth of a historic market town' is available from Liverpool University Press: https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/
