Bishop Auckland is a town in County Durham famed for its castle with historical links to church preachers of the North East.
But where did the town get its name from and how much of it has to do with the Church?
The Northern Echo's Chris Lloyd reported that the earliest name for the town Alclit, had Danish roots after an invasion in the 9th century.
"Ancient chronicles tell how in 844, Aethelred II, the king of Northumbria, was deposed by a man called Raedwulf," Lloyd wrote in a 2022 article.
"According to a monk writing in the 13th Century, Raedwulf decided to defend his territory at a place called 'Alutthèlia'."
Alutthèlia is a misspelling of Alclit which is of Celtic origin and means “the rock of the cleansing river”.
The River Gaunless meets the River Wear at Bishop Auckland and is thought to previously have been named the River Clyde, which also references the rock of the cleansing river.
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Several scholars also suggest that Auckland refers to a Norse term meaning 'additional land' and that the Bishop that came before it was the Bishop of Durham.
King Canute is said to have granted some land to the Bishop of Durham in the early 11th century.
However, other academics have hinted that the name could derive from the numerous oak trees around the town.
The earliest known recording of the town's current name of Bishop Auckland is recorded in around the year 1000 AD according to historian Tom Hutchinson. It referenced land given to the Earl of Northumberland for defending the area's church against Scots.
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