The discovery of a historic house in the North East is to feature on an episode of BBC’s Digging for Britain.
TV crews were invited to an archaeological dig in County Durham in July 2024 which highlighted the discovery of a historic house in the grounds of Auckland Palace in Bishop Auckland.
The dig was led by experts and students from Durham University’s Archaeology Department, as well as staff and volunteers from The Auckland Project, a regeneration charity that owns and manages a series of historical sites in Bishop Auckland. It followed months of preparatory work including geophysics surveys.
The ‘North’ episode, airing at 8pm on Tuesday January 14 on BBC Two and iPlayer shows the archaeologists uncovering a historic house built by Sir Arthur Haselrig, who owned Auckland Palace during the middle of the 17th century, including where the various rooms of the house would have been.
The most exciting discovery is the inclusion of masonry from the medieval chapel that was blown up and pulled down by Haselrig to build his new house.
John Castling, archaeology curator at The Auckland Project, said: “It was a privilege to have the Digging for Britain team with us for a second time, to showcase what’s been found on our summer excavation at Auckland Palace. It was great to share the excitement of these discoveries with local residents and visitors through guided tours of our dig sites during the summer excavation. For anyone who missed those, you can now get an up-close view of the archaeology from your living room!”
Professor Alice Roberts and the team highlight the objects uncovered during the dig, which showcase the wealth of the Prince Bishops in the decades before Haselrig, a key ally of Oliver Cromwell, and his fellow Parliamentarians abolished the monarchy and bishops, stripping the Anglican Church of its power and wealth.
Discoveries also show that the house was nearly completed but never lived in, due to Haselrig’s imprisonment in the Tower of London where he eventually died.
Professor Chris Gerrard, the academic lead on the project from the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, said: “It’s not often that houses of this period survive so well, so being able to examine the evidence of these decades of regime change after the Civil Wars is very special.
“Sir Arthur Haselrig lived in a tumultuous time and our evidence sheds light on the competing ideologies, hopes and dreams of the people responsible for the construction and destruction of Auckland Palace. It makes for exciting archaeology and great television and we’re glad Digging for Britain has been able to capture and share the discoveries.”
The Digging for Britain episode will air on Tuesday January 14 at 8pm on BBC Two and iPlayer. All episodes are available to watch on iPlayer from Tuesday January 7.
For more information about The Auckland Project and to book tickets ahead of its reopening in February, please visit: www.aucklandproject.org
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/bbcs-digging-britain-feature-discovery-30775035
