All about Alnwick

History of the town

Originally held by the De Vesci family for several centuries at the dawn of the second millenium, Alnwick Northumberland was handed on to the house of Percy in 1309. The Percy's are still seated in the castle at the centre of the town. A picturesque marekt town, it was voted by Country Life in 2002 as "the best place to live in Great Britain". With a population of around 7,000 it is located 32 miles south of the Scottish border & 5 miles inland from the North Sea at Alnmouth. It lies at 55°25 00 N, 01°42 00 W upon the river Aln & dates back to approximately 600AD and despite much of the town being razed to the ground in 1424 by Scottish invaders, over the centuries it has thrived as an agricultural town, the location of Alnwick Castle and home of the Earls of Northumberland and as a stopping place on the Great North Road between Edinburgh & London.

Despite it's recent growth it still has much of its original character. Most recently it has become a modern rural communter town. It is twinned with Bryne in Norway, Lagny-sur-Marne in France and the German town Voerde. Alnwick being inherantly rural by nature, the city of Newcastle is easily commuted to by both road and rail and so much of the town's occupants work elsewhere. There are a number of large acclaimed employers in the town, which includes the testing facility Sanofi. Alnwick also boasts one of the biggest second hand book stores in Europe; Barter Books. The main east-coast railway line is situated around 4 miles along the river Aln and can be accessed via Alnmouth railway station. The town once had its own rail link, but this ceased in '68 because of the terminal nature of the line and the lack of opportunity for it to be developed. The building itself is incredibly ornate, which is due to the station's frequent use by royals visiting the Percys at Alnwick Castle. Barter Books is now it's main resident and much of the grandeur of the station is visible from within the store, which is a wonderful place to stop off and browse over a cup of coffee in front of their roaring fire.

At the very core of the town centre is a once thriving cobbled Marketplace which acted as a venue for the cattle market which was once the main industry of the town. Beautiful little picture postcard streets such as Fenkle Street, Pottergate and Narrowgate surround the marketplace, many of which are cobbled, and all of which are lined by charismatic period buildings. Historically, Alnwick was surrounded by a defensive wall to stave off attacks from invaders, but this wall has since been almost completely demolished, and only one of the majestic gatehouses survive. Hotspur tower, as it is known, was built at the turn of the second millenium and derives its name from the 2nd Earl of Northumberland, known as Harry Hotspur, who gained notoriety as a key combatant in William Shakespeare's Henry the 4th Part 1. Harry Hotspur lived at Warkworth Castle and that's where much of the filming was carried out.

Alnwick Castle looms over the town and is the home of the Percy family, the Duke of Northumberland & the world famous Alnwick Garden. It dominates the west of Alnwick above the river Aln. the castle is home to commerce, education & tourism - It currently provides an education centre for American students studying in Europe; is the HQ of Northumberland Estates and is a tourist attraction in it's own right. Open from April to September (the Gardens all year round), it is the second biggest inhabited castle in England after Windsor Castle. Benjamin Disraeli once described Alnwick as 'Montacute'. the castle is popular with TV & film-makers, with Blackadder, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, Elizabeth all filmed here. Most famously, Alnwick Castle found fame as Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter films.

Another fine building in the town centre is the gothic Pottergate tower. This is a beautiful ornate gatehouse which was built in the eighteenth century on the site of the original gate. It once had an elegant spire, but this proved to be quite delicate and was destroyed a short time after it was built by a storm. The Playhouse is an all purpose arts centre, which contains a theatre, a cinema and a gallery. The weekly newspaper is the Northumberland Gazette which covers the town and the district & their head office is in the town. Alnwick has numerous opportunites for leisure & sports which include the new Willowburn leisure centre, football, rugby and cricket clubs. Because of the nature of the area there is also opportunities for rock climbing, walking, water sports, horse riding, cycling & there are also dozens of golf courses in the area, including some links courses on the coast.

There are numerous memorials around Alnwick dedicated to the countless wars between the Percy family and the Scots. On a hill facing the castle on the north bank sits a large stone cross which commemorates the killing of King Malcolm III of Scotland whilst invading on the outskirts of the town. Near the entrance to Hulne Park an engraved memorial records the place where William of Scotland was siezed by Odinel de Umfraville in the 1100s.

Brizlee tower is just one of the dozens of other dedicated buildings across the town. It sits on a ridge in Hulne park and acts as a beacon which would be lit whenever anything of note happened so that the people of the town could be made aware. Designed by Robert Adam it was completed in the 1780s. The White Swan Hotel contains the lounge and fittings from the RMS Olympic which was identical to the RMS Titanic and the RMS Gigantic (in the same fleet). Both were broken up after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 for fears of a flaw in either the design or build. The Northumberland Fusiliers museum is located within Alnwick Castle. The Percy Tenantry Column was erected to thank the 2nd Duke of Northumberland for giving them a rent reduction during a time of particular hardship for farmers. This column has the Percy lion at its very top - the emblem of the Percy family and is a striking landmark at the southern entry to the town.

A Shrove Tuesday football match is played beneath the shadow of Alnwick Castle between the parishes of St. Paul's and St. Michael's. The ball is thrown from the castle walls and the game is won by whichever team is first to score 3 'hales' or goals. Alnwick Fair is held annually and is a costumed re-enactment of a mediaeval fair in which the townsfolk of Alnwick dress up in period costumes. Alnwick also hosts an international music festival, and a Mediaeval Tournament – a jousting spectacular on the pastures overlooked by the castle. Amongst the famous people born in Alnwick are George Biddell Airy who was the Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881, The philosopher Bernard Bosanquet, and the geologist Ralph Tate.

All about Alnwick

History of the town

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