Discover Bishop Auckland, County Durham

Bishop Auckland Town Hall: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bishop_Auckland_Town_Hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1412124.jpg
Author: Neville Davison


Bishop Auckland is a market town in County Durham, England. Located at the confluence of the River Wear and its tributary, the River Gaunless, it has a population of 24,000 people (2012 estimate).

The name Bishop Auckland has to be explained in two parts. The "Bishop" is said to have been derived from the Bishop of Durham while "Auckland" may have been a Celtic name for the River Gaunless. Bishop Auckland was first mentioned in the 11th century. For much of its history is linked to the Bishops of Durham.

Auckland Castle, also called Bishop's Castle, dates back to 1183, when Bishop Pudsey established a manor house on the site. It became the official residence of the Bishop of Durham in 1832.

As with a number of towns in Britain, Bishop Auckland became a major industrial town during the 19th century. It was a railway hub, which helped move large amounts of coal, limestone and ironstone from the surrounding region to the coast. The coal mines went into decline in the 20th century, sending unemployment rates to hit 27% in the 1920s.

Newton Cap Viaduct, Bishop Auckland: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newton_Cap_Viaduct-by-Neville-Davison.jpg
Author: Neville Davison


Today the economy of Bishop Auckland is based on manufacturing. It also has a strong retail sector with a number of shopping centers in town.

Visiting Bishop Auckland

Take the A1(M) motorway from London until Exit 60, then head west on the A689 road towards Bishop Auckland. The A689 continues as the A688 after the roundabout as you approach town.

Places of Interest in Bishop Auckland

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.