|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alnwick Northumberland
Alnwick Castle, Alnwick Abbey, Alnwick
and the Dirty Bottles.
The town of Alnwick, historically known as the County town of Northumberland, lies in the centre of the county, 33 miles North of Newcastle and 30 miles south of Berwick and on the south bank of the Aln river. The town has been on its present site since the Norman invasion and has a long and colourful history, with the Percy Dukes of Northumberland being the principal landowners for the past seven centuries.
Yvo de Vescy was the first recorded Norman baron of Alnwick from 1096. The de Vescy family held the barony until the end of the thirteenth century when it was controlled by Anthony Bek, the Bishop of Durham. The lands were sold to Henry de Percy in 1309 and the Percies have held the title of Earls and Dukes of Northumberland ever since, not withstanding the occasional seizing of lands by the crown for treason.
The Scottish Borders was a lawless place, and the Percies were Lords of the Marches. Many of these first earls, including the famous Henry "Hotspur" Percy, met with a violent death. When the Eleventh Earl died in 1670 the title came through the female line, settling eventually on Elizabeth Percy, who married Sir Hugh Smithson and set about restoring the castle, making it their principal northern seat. The dukedom was bestowed on them in 1766, and this present line continues today with Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland.
The Alnwick area is mostly agricultural, and from ancient times until the 1770s there were several mills along the Aln river, primarily for the grinding of corn, wheat and other grains. The land around the river was also used by the tanners, to bleach the hides of animals. The town itself was originally a walled town, with four gates. There is only one still standing, Hotspur Tower at the entrance to Bondgate within, built in the 1300s.
Today Alnwick is well known for the annual Fair held at the end of June, as well as the International Music Festival in August. The castle has appeared in many films over the years, most famously as the setting for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter film. With the opening of The Alnwick Garden, created by the present duchess of Northumberland, Alnwick is set to remain as an important landmark in the future of the county.
Fortifications have stood on the site since the 11th century but the castle as it is today was built in the 14th century as the principal seat of the Percy family.
The castle stands on a shallow mound and is made up of two baileys. The main bailey contains an impressive polygonal keep and is entered via an equally notable barbican and gatehouse, the two structures originally being separated by a ditch and a drawbridge. The main feature of the second bailey is the array of towers built into the curtain wall. These are a mixture of original 14th-century and Victorian structures that borrow heavily in their appearance from the medieval surroundings. Linking the two baileys is the Middle Gateway, made up of two imposing octagonal towers.
The castle has undergone two major reconstructions since the mid-14th century. In the 17th century Robert Adam rebuilt many of the structures along Gothic lines, and Capability Brown landscaped the surrounding grounds. In the mid-19th century Anthony Salvin removed much of the Gothic decoration.
Alnwick Castle was the scene of many skirmishes between the Scottish and English armies in the Middle Ages. David I seized the castle in 1138, but it was returned to English hands later that year. In the late 12th century the castle was twice laid siege to by the forces of William the Lion, and was again besieged during the Wars of the Roses.
The town of Alnwick, historically known as the County town of Northumberland, lies in the centre of the county, 33 miles North of Newcastle and 30 miles south of Berwick and on the south bank of the Aln river. The town has been on its present site since the Norman invasion and has a long and colourful history, with the Percy Dukes of Northumberland being the principal landowners for the past seven centuries.
Yvo de Vescy was the first recorded Norman baron of Alnwick from 1096. The de Vescy family held the barony until the end of the thirteenth century when it was controlled by Anthony Bek, the Bishop of Durham. The lands were sold to Henry de Percy in 1309 and the Percies have held the title of Earls and Dukes of Northumberland ever since, not withstanding the occasional seizing of lands by the crown for treason.
The Scottish Borders was a lawless place, and the Percies were Lords of the Marches. Many of these first earls, including the famous Henry "Hotspur" Percy, met with a violent death. When the Eleventh Earl died in 1670 the title came through the female line, settling eventually on Elizabeth Percy, who married Sir Hugh Smithson and set about restoring the castle, making it their principal northern seat. The dukedom was bestowed on them in 1766, and this present line continues today with Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland.
The Alnwick area is mostly agricultural, and from ancient times until the 1770s there were several mills along the Aln river, primarily for the grinding of corn, wheat and other grains. The land around the river was also used by the tanners, to bleach the hides of animals. The town itself was originally a walled town, with four gates. There is only one still standing, Hotspur Tower at the entrance to Bondgate within, built in the 1300s.
Today Alnwick is well known for the annual Fair held at the end of June, as well as the International Music Festival in August. The castle has appeared in many films over the years, most famously as the setting for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter film. With the opening of The Alnwick Garden, created by the present duchess of Northumberland, Alnwick is set to remain as an important landmark in the future of the county.
Over 200 years ago, the owner of the "Cross Keys" pub in Alnwick suffered a heart attack as he changed the display of bottles in the window and cursed the bottles as he died.
A few years later, the bottles were moved again only for the same fate to befall the person concerned. They have remained there ever since, untouched and covered in dust and cobwebs!