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| Hothouse towers: Auckland Castle's skyscraping revamp | Hothouse towers: Auckland Castle's skyscraping revamp |
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| After 1,000 years, the fortified stronghold of Durham’s mighty bishops is finally opening to visitors. Our writer scales its siege tower – and marvels at the prospect of a 13-orb glasshouse | After 1,000 years, the fortified stronghold of Durham’s mighty bishops is finally opening to visitors. Our writer scales its siege tower – and marvels at the prospect of a 13-orb glasshouse |
| The golden-tipped spikes of a razor-sharp tower poke out above the rooftops of Bishop Auckland. It looks as if a giant beard-trimmer has been planted in the centre of the historic County Durham market town. As you get closer, this mysterious structure takes on a more primitive air, its great timber frame recalling the medieval siege engines that were used to breach castle walls. | The golden-tipped spikes of a razor-sharp tower poke out above the rooftops of Bishop Auckland. It looks as if a giant beard-trimmer has been planted in the centre of the historic County Durham market town. As you get closer, this mysterious structure takes on a more primitive air, its great timber frame recalling the medieval siege engines that were used to breach castle walls. |
| It seems fitting. The tower tops the new visitor centre for Auckland Castle, seat of the mighty prince bishops of Durham. On Saturday, the castle finally opened its fortified doors to the public – for the first time in almost 1,000 years (a short period when limited visiting was allowed notwithstanding). “The castle has always greeted the town with gates and a big wall,” says David Maddan, chief executive of the Auckland Project, which has overseen the £12.4m Heritage Lottery-funded refurbishment of the majestic complex. “We wanted the visitor centre to bridge the gap – and give the impression of the town breaching the walls.” | |
| Designed by Irish architect Niall McLaughlin, whose work revels in the power of archaic forms and mystical allusions, the idea for the tower began as a light-hearted quip in a meeting. “It was my childlike reaction when I visited the site for the first time,” McLaughlin recalls. “I thought, ‘If I was a kid and I went to the castle, I wouldn’t have something to climb up and look down from – which is surely what every castle needs.’” | Designed by Irish architect Niall McLaughlin, whose work revels in the power of archaic forms and mystical allusions, the idea for the tower began as a light-hearted quip in a meeting. “It was my childlike reaction when I visited the site for the first time,” McLaughlin recalls. “I thought, ‘If I was a kid and I went to the castle, I wouldn’t have something to climb up and look down from – which is surely what every castle needs.’” |
| More of a fortified palace than a fairytale castle, what stands in Bishop Auckland today is the result of centuries of mutilations and additions. Bishop Hugh Pudsey first established a manor house here in 1183, which expanded over the years as subsequent bishops grew in wealth and influence, enjoying a position of power second only to the king. Fragments of the original structures were heavily overwritten in the 1790s by James Wyatt, whose crenellated confections turned the place into a gothic fantasy. | More of a fortified palace than a fairytale castle, what stands in Bishop Auckland today is the result of centuries of mutilations and additions. Bishop Hugh Pudsey first established a manor house here in 1183, which expanded over the years as subsequent bishops grew in wealth and influence, enjoying a position of power second only to the king. Fragments of the original structures were heavily overwritten in the 1790s by James Wyatt, whose crenellated confections turned the place into a gothic fantasy. |
| The course of history took an unlikely turn in 2012 when the site was bought from the Church of England by investment banker Jonathan Ruffer, an evangelical Christian philanthropist with a vision to transform it into a heritage attraction, complete with a museum of world religion (still under construction). His ambition extends beyond the conservation of the castle to reviving a number of vacant buildings in the town and commissioning ambitious works of contemporary architecture – of a calibre the princely bishops would surely regard with pride. | The course of history took an unlikely turn in 2012 when the site was bought from the Church of England by investment banker Jonathan Ruffer, an evangelical Christian philanthropist with a vision to transform it into a heritage attraction, complete with a museum of world religion (still under construction). His ambition extends beyond the conservation of the castle to reviving a number of vacant buildings in the town and commissioning ambitious works of contemporary architecture – of a calibre the princely bishops would surely regard with pride. |
| Backed by Ruffer’s infectious enthusiasm, McLaughlin’s whimsical suggestion gained ground and the 35-metre tower now stands proudly above the castle entrance. A staircase climbs around its lift-shaft, with fun balconies projecting from its landings, offering exhilarating views. Standing on the broad deck at the top, you can peek down into the castle’s walled gardens and stable blocks, and appreciate its strategic location in a natural amphitheatre of rolling hills, with the Roman fort of Binchester visible beyond. | Backed by Ruffer’s infectious enthusiasm, McLaughlin’s whimsical suggestion gained ground and the 35-metre tower now stands proudly above the castle entrance. A staircase climbs around its lift-shaft, with fun balconies projecting from its landings, offering exhilarating views. Standing on the broad deck at the top, you can peek down into the castle’s walled gardens and stable blocks, and appreciate its strategic location in a natural amphitheatre of rolling hills, with the Roman fort of Binchester visible beyond. |
| The medieval themes continue below, where the large pitched roof of the centre’s exhibition space has been decorated with colourful heraldry, giving it the air of an old market hall. Meanwhile, its facade has been designed to open up with a series of big shutters, to be fitted with coloured enamelled panels that will tell the history of the castle and are designed to recall hanging banners, all adding to the atmosphere of theatrical pageantry. (Every summer, Ruffer stages a spectacular outdoor performance, complete with a Viking longboat rising from a lake in the castle’s grounds.) | The medieval themes continue below, where the large pitched roof of the centre’s exhibition space has been decorated with colourful heraldry, giving it the air of an old market hall. Meanwhile, its facade has been designed to open up with a series of big shutters, to be fitted with coloured enamelled panels that will tell the history of the castle and are designed to recall hanging banners, all adding to the atmosphere of theatrical pageantry. (Every summer, Ruffer stages a spectacular outdoor performance, complete with a Viking longboat rising from a lake in the castle’s grounds.) |
| McLaughlin’s expressive entrance building provides a prelude of what’s to come. While the opulent interiors of the bishops’ palatial quarters have now been opened, following an exemplary restoration by architects Purcell, a good chunk of the site is still shrouded in scaffolding, where the Faith Museum is being finished. Also designed by McLaughlin, this structure summons further archaic forms, conceived as a great stone barn with details that hint at its role as “a secular building that deals with sacred matter”. The architect was fascinated by how both Shinto shrines in Japan and ancient Christian chapels in Ireland have the same curious detail of their end roof rafters criss-crossing out of the building’s peak. | McLaughlin’s expressive entrance building provides a prelude of what’s to come. While the opulent interiors of the bishops’ palatial quarters have now been opened, following an exemplary restoration by architects Purcell, a good chunk of the site is still shrouded in scaffolding, where the Faith Museum is being finished. Also designed by McLaughlin, this structure summons further archaic forms, conceived as a great stone barn with details that hint at its role as “a secular building that deals with sacred matter”. The architect was fascinated by how both Shinto shrines in Japan and ancient Christian chapels in Ireland have the same curious detail of their end roof rafters criss-crossing out of the building’s peak. |
| “I was interested that they kept the same forms even when they were later built of stone,” he says, “turning a practical construction detail into a divine detail.” He has incorporated a similar motif at either end of his big barn, which will stand as a monolithic ingot of local iron-rich sandstone, completing one side of the castle courtyard. The nature of the displays is still being determined, but it will be worth visiting to see the ceiling alone – a beguiling spider’s web of slender steel bracing finished in shimmering gold. | “I was interested that they kept the same forms even when they were later built of stone,” he says, “turning a practical construction detail into a divine detail.” He has incorporated a similar motif at either end of his big barn, which will stand as a monolithic ingot of local iron-rich sandstone, completing one side of the castle courtyard. The nature of the displays is still being determined, but it will be worth visiting to see the ceiling alone – a beguiling spider’s web of slender steel bracing finished in shimmering gold. |
| It’s already quite a prospect, but it wasn’t quite enough for Ruffer, who was looking for “an extra wow” to lure visitors to the depressed former mining area. Behind the brick walls of the grade II-listed garden will soon rise an extraordinary sight. Where the green-fingered Bishop Trevor once grew exotic pineapples in the 18th century, in his specially made “pinery-vinery” hothouses, will stand a cluster of impossibly thin glass bubbles. Bulging like a clump of frogspawn above the wall, this modern take on a glasshouse is the vision of Pritzker prize-winning Japanese practice Sanaa, which has brought its ferociously minimalist standards to its first permanent project in the UK. | It’s already quite a prospect, but it wasn’t quite enough for Ruffer, who was looking for “an extra wow” to lure visitors to the depressed former mining area. Behind the brick walls of the grade II-listed garden will soon rise an extraordinary sight. Where the green-fingered Bishop Trevor once grew exotic pineapples in the 18th century, in his specially made “pinery-vinery” hothouses, will stand a cluster of impossibly thin glass bubbles. Bulging like a clump of frogspawn above the wall, this modern take on a glasshouse is the vision of Pritzker prize-winning Japanese practice Sanaa, which has brought its ferociously minimalist standards to its first permanent project in the UK. |
| “We initially wanted to use 0.8mm thick glass, of the kind used for iPhone screens,” says architect Lucy Styles, as if this were a perfectly normal thing to attempt to make a building out of. Reality intervened, so the 13 interconnecting spheres, each six metres in diameter, will be made of 6mm laminated glass – still incredibly thin for a structure of this size – produced by a car windscreen manufacturer nearby. Taking inspiration from the golden age of Victorian greenhouses, the glass panes will be relatively small, just half a metre wide, forming a curvaceous grid that will wrap its way around the bulging domes, supported by barely visible steel columns. It promises to be a mesmerising experience, akin to crawling inside the bulbous conjoined lobes of a fly’s eye. | “We initially wanted to use 0.8mm thick glass, of the kind used for iPhone screens,” says architect Lucy Styles, as if this were a perfectly normal thing to attempt to make a building out of. Reality intervened, so the 13 interconnecting spheres, each six metres in diameter, will be made of 6mm laminated glass – still incredibly thin for a structure of this size – produced by a car windscreen manufacturer nearby. Taking inspiration from the golden age of Victorian greenhouses, the glass panes will be relatively small, just half a metre wide, forming a curvaceous grid that will wrap its way around the bulging domes, supported by barely visible steel columns. It promises to be a mesmerising experience, akin to crawling inside the bulbous conjoined lobes of a fly’s eye. |
| Inside this ethereal glass cloud, still a few years from completion, visitors will find a Mediterranean grove of citrus trees sprouting from a compacted earth floor, moving through to a restaurant housed in another rippling glass enclosure, where it is planned to serve seasonal food, much of it grown in the garden. In true Sanaa fashion, it looks like a magical place of layered views and reflections, with pocket gardens visible through skylights in a mezzanine level, and a sweeping staircase bringing visitors down to an outdoor terrace. | Inside this ethereal glass cloud, still a few years from completion, visitors will find a Mediterranean grove of citrus trees sprouting from a compacted earth floor, moving through to a restaurant housed in another rippling glass enclosure, where it is planned to serve seasonal food, much of it grown in the garden. In true Sanaa fashion, it looks like a magical place of layered views and reflections, with pocket gardens visible through skylights in a mezzanine level, and a sweeping staircase bringing visitors down to an outdoor terrace. |
| “The site has always been a place of experimentation,” says Styles. “From the cutting-edge pinery-vineries, to the gothic deer house, we hope we’re adding to the tradition of radical follies.” | “The site has always been a place of experimentation,” says Styles. “From the cutting-edge pinery-vineries, to the gothic deer house, we hope we’re adding to the tradition of radical follies.” |
| This article was amended on 5 November 2019 to reflect that Auckland Castle was opened to limited visitors from 2012-16, and to correct the spelling of David Maddan. |