[2] A college for a dean and nine canons was established immediately west of the castle's enclosing wall by Bishop Booth in the fifteenth century.

[2] In 1603 after the Union of the Crowns, Tobias Matthew invited Anne of Denmark, Prince Henry, and Princess Elizabeth to stay at Auckland on their journey from Scotland to London.

[5] After the disestablishment of the Church of England at the end of the First English Civil War in 1646, Auckland Castle was sold to Sir Arthur Haselrig, who demolished much of the medieval building, including the original two-storey chapel, and built a mansion.

[6][7][8] After the Restoration of the Monarchy, Bishop John Cosin in turn demolished Hazelrigg's mansion and rebuilt the castle, converting the banqueting hall into the chapel that stands today.

[6][9] In 1756, Bishop Richard Trevor bought the notable set of paintings, Jacob and his twelve sons, by Francisco de Zurbarán which still hang in the Long Dining Room.

However they never reached their supposed destination, eventually coming into the possession of James Mendez who sold twelve of the thirteen to Bishop Trevor in 1757.

[10] Bishop Trevor was unable to secure the 13th portrait, Benjamin, which was sold separately to the Duke of Ancaster and hangs in Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire.

[11][12] Shute Barrington, Bishop of Durham from 1791 to 1826, employed the eminent architect James Wyatt to match the disparate architecture of the palace in the late 18th century, including its Throne Room and Garden Screen.

[13] In 2001 the Church Commissioners voted to sell the paintings, a decision that was revoked in 2011 following a donation of £15 million by investment manager and philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer; new arrangements placed the paintings, along with the castle, under the Auckland Castle Trust, making them available to the public after centuries during which they hung in a private home where they could be seen only by invited guests or by special arrangement with the Bishop's staff.

[19][20][21] By the time of the opening day, a new 115-foot (35 m) high tower had been erected as a visitor centre; the structure has a lift and a staircase as well as balconies for views of the castle from above.

[23] Other attractions already operating at or near the Castle include the Mining Art Gallery (in a nearby former bank building)[22] showing work mainly by self-taught or night school-educated miners; this attraction opened in 2017 (thanks to support provided to the Castle Trust by Bishop Auckland and Shildon AAP and Durham County Council);[24] an open-air theatre, Kynren, depicting "An Epic Tale of England" with a cast of 1,000; and the Bishop Trevor Gallery at the Castle; the latter started displaying the National Gallery's Masterpiece touring exhibit in October 2019.

[31] In June 2024, archaeologists working on the Auckland Project announced the discovery of a Golden Primrose flower decoration along with at least seven large wall remains and cellars filled with rubble.

[2] Within the gates, the Faith Museum is to the north, within a gabled stone building intended to reflect the form of medieval tithe barns.