If the commissioners are determined to treat the paintings as mere chattels... then it is vital we find the right repository for them

Dr Robert McManners

A Church of England spokesman said: "The board of governors has yet to decide the other circumstances of a sale such as means and timing.

"It has heard, and is sympathetic to, the view that the natural destination of the paintings is in the north-east of England."

Money generated by the sale would go to the commissioners' general capital fund, which they say will benefit "areas of need", such as the North East.

'Wrong decision'

Dr Robert McManners, is one of the castle trustees and chairman of Bishop Auckland Civic Society, which is campaigning to keep the paintings where they are.

He told BBC News Online: "I am very disappointed. It is the wrong decision, I can't understand why it is being taken.

"We are now in a damage-limitation exercise to keep the paintings in the region, such as at Bowes Museum which is only 12 miles away from the castle.

"If the commissioners are determined to treat the paintings as mere chattels and sell them then it is vital we find the right repository for them."

There are fears the paintings, valued at �2.5m in 1994 and now worth considerably more, could be split up to go overseas.

A detail from one of the Zurburan paintings

The Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Michael Turnbull has said he hoped the paintings could be housed at the nearby Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle.

Mr McManners said he hoped the National Heritage Lottery Fund or the National Arts Collection Fund could provide money for the paintings to be bought.

The works of art have hung for 250 years in Auckland Castle, the Bishop of Durham's home, where they are on public display for about 80 days of the year.

The Right Reverend Richard Trevor, Bishop of Durham from 1752 to 1771, paid �125 to a peddlar for the set of paintings in 1756.

They were the focal point of his campaign to provide equal rights for Jews, who had a lowly legal status in 18th Century England.

'Deeper significance'

He built the long dining room at Auckland Castle to display the paintings, as part of a plea to church colleages for racial and religious tolerance.

Mr McManners told BBC News Online: "He was a social and religious visionary.

"The paintings have a deeper significance than merely a collection of great art.

"The Church of England is not taking into acount the full reasons why the paintings are in Auckland Castle - at the forefront of Bishop Trevor's campaign."

The plan to sell is an attempt to replenish the pension funds of the church.

The annual cost of providing security for and insurance of the art collection is valued at up to �20m.