THE Church of England raised hopes yesterday that its most valuable collection of paintings could stay in the North-East, even though they are to be sold off to help hard-up parishes.

The board of governors of the Church Commissioners voted to strip the Bishop of Durham's Auckland Castle home of 13 life-sized portraits by 17th Century Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbaran.

But they bowed to pressure from the country's top arts institutions, business leaders and politicians and agreed that their rightful home is in the region, where they have hung for 250 years.

The Northern Echo supported the views of Bishop Auckland Civic Society, the town's MP, Derek Foster, and other art lovers by calling for the paintings to be retained.

Until then, senior commissioner Lady Gill Brentford had insisted they be sold to the highest bidder, which could have meant them being split up or sold abroad.

Bowes Museum, at Barnard Castle, is keen to acquire the portraits and is already sounding out funding bodies. They could also return to Auckland Castle for part of the year. Estimates to their value range from between £5m and £20m.

The commissioners said last night they had only approved the sale in principle, adding it was "sympathetic to the view that the natural destination of the paintings is in the North-East".

Mr Foster said: "It is a huge breakthrough. Without The Northern Echo's campaign, the paintings would have been sold on the nod."

Bowes Museum director Adrian Jenkins said: "The next stage will be to clarify the value of the paintings.

"All concerned can then establish the way forward to keep them in the region."

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