Geography
Bishop Auckland in County Durham is situated at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless. The town nestles in the rivers' valley and is a fantastic location to explore the beautiful Durham countryside. Bishop Auckland is located about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Darlington and 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Durham. The town is served by Bishop Auckland railway station, which marks the point where the Tees Valley Line becomes the Weardale Railway. The town is not served directly by any motorways but has excellent road links up into the Dales to the West or to the East you are only a short distance from the A1.Notable wards include Cockton Hill, Woodhouse Close, and Henknowle. Additionally, once neighbouring villages such as South Church, Tindale Crescent, St Helen Auckland, and West Auckland now more or less merge seamlessly into the town.
History
The town has a number of Grade I listed buildings. The grounds of Auckland Castle alone contain seven such structures. Additionally Escomb Saxon Church, St Andrew's parish church, St Helen's church, St Helen Hall, West Auckland Manor House, the East Deanery and the 14th century Bishop Skirlaw bridge are all Grade I listed. Other notable buildings include the town hall, a Victorian railway viaduct and Binchester Roman fort. Bishop Auckland is built on the line of the old Roman road which explains why Newgate Street (call in and see us at 115 Newgate Street) and Cockton Hill Road are so straight.
Education
There are plenty of good schools to choose from either in the town or the surrounding villages: http://www.townpages.com/county-durham/bishop-auckland/schools.htm
Sports
Bishop Auckland is famous for its amateur football team, Bishop Auckland AFC, which won the FA Amateur Cup 10 times in the Trophy's 80 year history, having appeared in the Final on 18 occasions. Bishop Auckland Football Club also helped out Manchester United after the Munich Air Crash in 1958 by donating three of their players, Derek Lewin, Bob Hardisty and Warren Bradley.
The adjacent village of West Auckland is notable for having been home to the team to win one of the first international footballing competitions, the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, sometimes referred to as The First World Cup. Its team of local coal miners won the cup in the Easter of 1909 and again in 1911, defeating the mighty Juventus in the final. This story was portrayed in the 1982 television movie "The World Cup - A Captain's Tale" made by Tyne Tees Television and starring Dennis Waterman. The cup itself was stolen from West Auckland Town F.C. in 1994 and a replica now resides in West Auckland working men's club.
In terms of sports facilities, Woodhouse Close Leisure Complex, a council run leisure centre, has a 25-metre (82 ft) by 10-metre (33 ft) swimming pool and a 10-metre (33 ft) by 5-metre (16 ft) "learner" pool, as well as a gym, sauna, steam room and spa pool. Additionally, football pitches, tennis courts and bowling greens are provided at the Town Recreation Ground and Cockton Hill Recreation Ground. Henknowle Recreation Ground has a 5 a side pitch and a basketball court.
Notable People
Stan Laurel of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy lived in the town during his childhood attending the town's King James 1st Grammar School. His parents owned the now demolished Eden Theatre, which was located at the junction of Newgate Street and South Church Road, in August 2008, a statue of Stan Laurel was unveiled on the site that his parent's theatre once occupied.
If you're thinking of selling, buying or letting in Bishop Auckland, visit our local homepage for sales and lettings and find out how we can help.