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. Alnwick has been described as 'The best place to live in the country' (Country Life Magazine October 2002), and no doubt the Eight thousand inhabitants of this exquisite Northumbrian town would agree.

It sits on the river Aln in Northumberland, North East England a stone's throw from Berwick & the Scottish borders and a five minute drive to the coast. Records show that Alnwick's history stretches back as far as six hundred AD, and has emerged through countless invasions by the Scots including an attempt in about 1400AD to raze it to the ground. It has remained a successful market town over the centuries, largely due to its location on the A1 - the main transport link from the Captal to Scotland. Having successfuly retained much of its original charm depsite its constant growth, it is a great success with tourists. It is twinned with the German town Voerde, the Norwegian town Bryne and Lagny on the outskirts of Paris.

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.

In the heart of Alnwick is the Marketplace which centres around an ancient market cross. One of the sides of the marketplace is made up by one wall of the relatively modern Northumberland Hall, a grand multi-purpose building which houses the newly established Lionheart radio station. The streets around the marketplace form the CBD of the town. Amongst the most noteable are Fenkle Street, Narrowgate, & Bondgates Within and Without, which vary from being wide cobbled areas to narrow lanes barely wide enough for a single vehicle. The town was once surrounded by a defensive wall, and one of the original gates exists to this day. The Hotspur tower was named after Harry Hotspur, an Earl of Northumberland who featured in Shakespeare.

Undoubtedly the most impressive of all of Alnwick's buildings is the castle around which the town was established. It is still the seat of the long line of Dukes of Northumberland, and home of the Alnwick Garden - project of the current Duchess of Northumberland. Along with being home to the Percy Family the castle acts as a base for Northumberland Estates, a seat of learning for college students from the USA studying in Europe and a world renowned visitor attraction. Due to it's fantastic condition and location, TV and Filmmakers have constantly thought it a suitable location for their productions. These include Robin Hood Prince of thieves, the Fast Show, Harry Potter, Yellow Submarine, Blackadder I, Elizabeth amongst hundreds of others.

Another fine building in the town centre is the gothic Pottergate tower. This is a beautiful ornate gatehouse 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. 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. Because of the proximity of Alnwick to the Scottish border wars between the Percy family representing the English and the Scots were commonplace in Alnwick. At every turn across the town there are memorials to these wars, one of which can be found on the riverbank facing Alnwick Castle which celebrates the slaying of King Malcolm of Scotland in 1093 on that very spot, and another on the lead up to Hulne Park is a memorial to the place where William the Lion of Scotland was captured by the English armies in the 12th century.

Other places of interest in Alnwick include Brizlee Tower - a Grade 1 listed folly overlooking Hulne Park, the Duke's walled estate, designed by Robert Adam & erected in 1781 for the 1st Duke of Northumberland, The White Swan Hotel, a Coaching Inn from the 18th century which now houses the First Class Lounge and other items from the RMS Olympic - sister ship to the Titanic, the Northumberland Fusiliers Museum, the 83 feet tall Tenantry Column, topped by the Percy Lion (the symbol of the Percy family) which was designed by Charles Harper and built in 1816 to honour the 2nd Duke of Northumberland.

The Shrove-tide football match is held annually on the banks of the river Aln overlooked by the castle on Shrove Tuesday. Two of the town's parishes compete to be the first to score 3 'hales' (goals). The match is kicked off by the Duke of Northumberland tossing the ball from the castle ramparts. Other annual events include an International music festival for which people travel from far and wide to take part, a re-enactment of a mediaeval fair where all attendees dress up in period outfits, and a mediaeval tournament which is held beneath the castle and comprises jousting and various other mediaeval entertainments

. Airy is just one of the famous people to have been born in the town. Others include philosoper Bernard Bosanquet, and Ralph Tate, who was a leading light in the field of geology.