A mighty throne befitting the status conferred on the Prince Bishops is the ‘Object of the Week’.

Today, The Northern Echo visits Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland – soon to reopen after a restoration project - to look at the story behind this historic North-East artifact.

The throne of the Bishop of Durham sits at the heart of 900-year-old Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland.

It is a striking symbol of the power and authority of the Prince Bishops.

Granted exceptional powers, able to mint their own coins, dispense justice and levy taxes, these men governed vast swathes of North-East England. They particularly favoured Auckland Castle as a venue for hunting and entertaining, and created over the centuries a lavish palace befitting their high status. And the throne, elaborately carved and crafted from oak, is weighty with this power.

It dominates the aptly named Throne Room at Auckland Castle, a room epitomising Georgian good taste and the end-point of the processional route through the Castle to meet the Bishop.

The grand space was created by celebrated architect James Wyatt in the 1790s, on behalf of Bishop Shute Barrington (Bishop of Durham 1791- 1826).

Wyatt was the mastermind behind the transformation of Auckland Castle into the Georgian Gothic palace we see today.

Alongside the other State Rooms making up the Castle’s processional route, the grandeur of Wyatt’s remodelled Throne Room was intended as a statement of the Bishop’s immense power, setting it out as comparable to the State Apartments of royal palaces.

The throne itself was made in the late 1700s by Edward Wyatt, using the designs of his architect brother.

At the time of its creation, James Wyatt was developing his own Gothic style and the design of the Throne is an unusual mix of Gothic and Classical characteristics.

Drawn up using Classical proportions, the Throne’s arms are decorated with carved acanthus leaves and Classical-style lions, whereas its back is styled with carved decorations in the Gothic style.

As part of a three-year programme of conservation at Auckland Castle, the original Bishop’s Throne has been carefully cleaned and restored by Cumbrian furniture specialists, Wyn Griffiths and Tarr, and the Throne Room has been painstakingly returned to its Georgian Gothic heyday, laid out for one of Bishop Barrington’s lavish private parties.

Both will be on display when Auckland Castle re-opens to the public as part of The Auckland Project with a Community Day of celebration on Saturday, November 2.

To mark the occasion, The Auckland Project is hosting a day of live music, entertainment and family activities and offering members of the local community the opportunity to be first through the Castle doors. General admission to the Castle will begin the following day (November 3), with tickets available to pre-book until March 2020.

For more information visit aucklandproject.org