Auckland Castle Park

The country residence of the Bishops of Durham, since Norman times, is set in a deer park. It once extended to 500 acres. The River Gaunless is partly canalised and there are both avenues and clumps of old trees. The Deer House (1760) is maintained by English Heritage.

Deer parks were common, at least from the Norman Conquest of 1066. Shelters for deer, like that at Bishops Auckland, were less common. It was used as a feeding place for deer and a picnic place for the bishop and his guests. Ladies could watch the hunt from the wall-walk.