THE sale of Auckland Castle has been a huge success, the Archbishop of Canterbury said – as he warned the Church of England faced a “difficult dilemma” over other assets.

The Most Rev Justin Welby argued the ancient home of the Bishops of Durham offered more to the community since being bought by philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer and run as a trust.

And he heaped praise on this newspaper, saying: “The Northern Echo mounted an incredibly effective campaign which had an extremely good effect.”

But the Archbishop, speaking at a Westminster lunch, suggested the Church Commissioners would inevitably dispose of other assets in the years to come.

Last month, the Auckland Castle Trust also bought the internationally-renowned Binchester Roman Fort, near Bishop Auckland, dubbed the Pompeii of the North.

Asked about other treasures in the North-East, the Archbishop said: “I don’t know of anything else that there are plans to sell – but I probably wouldn’t.

“I am not on the assets committee of the Church Commissioners, which is a separate organisation.

“Auckland Castle has come out extremely well and is now doing much more for the area than it ever was when it was in the Church’s hands - and will continue to do so.”

On the Church Commissioners, he added: “Their position is to manage assets for the maximum effect of the current church – rather than turning themselves into a heritage funding organisation – so they always face a difficult dilemma.”

The Archbishop was asked if assets were more likely to be sold if they were “further from London”, replying: “I’ve simply no idea, because I haven’t sat in a meeting

“I’m sure they’d say no. Other people – my predecessor in Durham, Tom Wright -would say yes."