About Alnwick, Northumberland
After being held by the family of De Vesci (a family still present in Northumberland) for over 200 years in 1309 Alnwick passed into the
hands of the house of Percy, a family who are to this day remain residents of Alnwick Castle.
Country Life magazine once stated that the historic town of Alnwick
in Northumberland is the best place to live in Britain. With seven thousand inhabitants it is approximately thirty miles from Scotland, and
five miles from the coast at the mouth of the river Aln. The history of the town goes back to the 6th century and though much of the
town was burnt to the ground by invating Scots in the 1400s it has thrived as a successful market town.
Built around the impressive
castle at the heart of the town, and the seat of the Earls of Northumberland, it was a staging post on the main trunk road between the
capitals of England and Scotland. Alnwick still retains its historic character despite its development, and now thrives as being a small
town within commutable distance of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the more industrial South-East Northumberland. It has twin towns of
Bryne, Lagny and Voerde in Norway, France and Germany respectively.
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 number work
elsewhere. There are a number of large acclaimed employers in the town, which include the fishing rod manufacturer House of Hardy &
the research and testing facility Sanofi. Alnwick also boasts one of the biggest second hand book stores in Europe. The main east-coast
railway line is situated around 4 miles along the river Aln and can be accessed via the Alnmouth for Alnwick 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.
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 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 survice. 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 combattant in William Shakespeare's Henry the 4th
Part 1
To the north of the town sits Alnwick Castle, which protected the town from invaders from the North across hundreds of years. To this
day the castle is inhabited by the Percys. The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland currently sit in residence at the castle making it the
second largest inhabited castle in the country after Windsor Castle. The Alnwick Garden project sits within the grounds of the castle, and
is a visitor attraction in its own right. Open all year its majesty has received worldwide acclaim. the castle also acts as a headquarters
for the Duke of Northumberland's business operation Northumberland Estates, as a university campus for students from St. Cloud
university in Minnesota, USA, and attracts thousands of tourists each year from across the globe. the castle and its grounds have also
received worldwide attention on the silver screen. It has featured in dozens of movies and television programmes. These include Harry
Potter and the Chamber of secrets, Blackadder, Robin Hood prince of thieves, The fast show, & Elizabeth.
Other noteable buildings within the town walls include Pottergate tower - a fine example of gothic architecture which stands on the site of one of the original gatehouses to the town. It once featured a tall spire which was lost when the town suffered a particularly violent storm in the 19th century. To the south of the town centre there is an arts centre 'The Playhouse'. This features an exhibition space, theatre venue and a cinema.
News in Alnwick is reported by its very own Newspaper for the town and Alnwick district - the Northumberland Gazette which is
published weekly and has its offices in the town. Alnwick and district provides excellent sports and leisure opportunities including a
number of spectacular golf courses in all sorts of terrain, along with all manner of sporting clubs - football, rugby, cricket, horse riding,
water sports, walking - this list is endless.
Across the town in various different locations are structures dedicated to the numerous wars between the Percys and the Scots. On the north side of the river Aln there is a memorial to where King Malcolm of Scotland was killed in the 11th century, and a little way along the river, a stone structure marks the spot where William the Lion was taken prisoner by Odinel De Umfraville in the 12th century.
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 were made aware of it. 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) which were broken up after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 for fears of a flaw in either the design or build and that the same would happen to them. The Northumberland Fuiliers museum is located within Alnwick Castle. The Percy tenantry column is an erection 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.
Every year on shrove Tuesday a football match is played between the two parishes of the town on the pastures below the foot of the castle. The ball is thrown by the Duke from the walls of the castle and the winning team is the first to score 3 goals (or hales as they are known). Also annually is Alnwick Fair, a recreation of a medieval fair where everyone dressed up in medieval dress. Alnwick can also boast an International music festival with participants from across the globe, and a medieval jousting tournament which is held in the shadow of Alnwick CastleBorn in Alnwick were Astronomer Royal George Biddell-Airy, the geologist Ralph Tate, & world renowned philosopher Bernard Bosanquet.
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