[First published April 2004 by Observer News Service. Copyright Pulford Media Ltd. This article may not be reprinted or distributed either electronically or on hard copy without permission]

The temporal power for the Bishops of the Church of England may have gone but in many cases their grand homes have not. They still stand and the Bishops are still living in them but perhaps not for much longer, as CEDRIC PULFORD reports.

THE COST accountants have moved in where English prince-bishops used to proclaim the power of the Church through the splendour of her buildings.

The buildings are still there and the bishops are still in them. Nowadays, however, the occupants of ancient halls are more likely to point out the draughtiness than the grandeur.

The (Anglican) Church of England has 13 'heritage houses' among the homes of its 44 diocesan bishops. They include a moated castle at Wells in the south-west of England, an 800-year-old palace near Durham in the north-east and a medieval fortified manor house close to the Scottish border. But not much princely pomp is on display. The bishop and his family will typically occupy an apartment in the building, leaving the rest to be used as diocesan offices or rented out for social occasions.

Even this value-for-money approach has not gone far enough for the Church Commissioners, who are responsible for maintaining diocesan bishops' houses (known as 'see houses'). They have signalled their readiness to sell see houses if they do not meet strict economic targets.

'Each house will be regularly assessed to establish whether it is more cost effective than other houses capable of doing the same job, or whose costs were more economic,' the commissioners announced in their latest strategic review.’
Even ancient castles and palaces are not immune. 'It may be that the cost of maintaining these houses will prove to be prohibitive and that a programme of replacement is necessary,' the report added.

Money is tight for the Church of England, which is the UK's largest church. Unlike its counterparts in many countries on the European mainland, it receives no state income. The Church Commissioners have assets of around £4bn, but investment returns fell by 9.3 per cent in 2002 (latest available year). In the parishes, which raise money separately, income is affected by falling church attendance, now around 1.2 million a week in a country (England) of 50 million people.

No 'hit list' of see houses to be sold has been announced, but the church's most senior cleric, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is unlikely to find himself out of his two homes - Lambeth Palace in London and the Old Palace at Canterbury, in south-east of England.

Other bishops will find the future of their houses under review when they reach 62 and are within sight of retirement.

Some bishops will even be happy to see their houses sold. They are keen to shake off the image of grandees living in palaces, rooted in the British author Anthony Trollope's 19th century Barchester novels and income Barchester-style is a distant memory. Last year, the church's 114 bishops (including assistant bishops) received an average annual stipend of £35,100.

One of the grandest see houses is 800-year-old Auckland Castle, once the country home of the prince-bishops of Durham, who wielded temporal as well as spiritual power over a huge swath of northern England. (Durham Castle, formerly the bishop's main residence, is now a prison.)

The present bishop, Tom Wright, still lives at Auckland Castle, but his quarters have been described as 'like a generously sized vicarage'. The building is hired out for conferences, weddings and public events.

In their bid to raise money, the Church Commissioners also have their eyes on the some of the church's treasures. They include a set of paintings at Auckland Castle by the 17th century Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbaran, worth up to Pounds Sterling 15m. Showing Jacob and his 12 sons, they have hung at the castle, in a room built to accommodate them, for 250 years.

The commissioners' announcement two years ago that they plan to sell these 'non-income producing assets' caused a furore in north-east England, where they are seen as part of the region's cultural heritage.

Dr Robert McManners, chairman of the Bishop Auckland Civic Society, wants the Zurbarans to stay where they are but to be more accessible to the public.

'The castle authorities don't publicise their greatest asset. Because of limited opening hours, the paintings are almost kept secret,' he said.

For the moment the Zurbarans remain on the castle walls, but the recent sale by the Duke of Northumberland of Raphael's tiny Madonna of the Pinks for Pounds Sterling 22m has reawakened concern about the commissioners' controversial plans.

The future of the historic Lambeth Palace library in London is also under review. Its gems include the first prayer book of Elizabeth I, the first English edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1563) and the 1587 letter ordering the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots.

Fears have been expressed that the library may be split up, or items sold.

Lou Henderson, spokesman for the Church Commissioners, said: 'All options are open, but we would always behave like responsible stewards. To establish the library as an independent foundation is one possibility.'

The sale of see houses, and possible disposal of church treasures, is a 'slow burn' issue that will work out over years. Unless the accountants change their minds, resistance looks certain. If not from bishops, it will be from heritage-minded members of the public - often the same people who are the last to go to church.

Click here for the CONTENTS page