History of Four Clocks

In 1996 a group of Bishop Auckland churches met to work together to try and identify and address local concerns. They commissioned Barnardo's Spectrum Project to do a survey of needs. The survey highlighted numbers of issues. Bishop Auckland Community Partnership was formed in 1997 to progress work on the needs raised in the survey. The Partnership is comprised of local people and representatives of local agencies. From the survey list the Partnership chose to focus on the need for a centralized community welfare, support and advice resource. A feasibility study of potential premises in Bishop Auckland identified the former Methodist Church on Newgate Street as the best site for the resource centre. The Partnership registered itself as a charity and fundraised for four long years, eventually achieving over £1.2 million to allow the group to buy the former Methodist Church, known locally as the Four Clocks, and to convert it into the much needed central support centre. Bishop Auckland Community Partnership's Patron is the Honourable Derek Foster. Currently the Partnership's management committee meets bi-monthly with quarterly sub committee meetings. Picture: Bishop Auckland Community Partnership.