Alnwick Explained

Static Image Name:File:Alnwick Castle in uk.jpg
Static Image Caption:The town of Alnwick, including Alnwick Castle
Country:England
Official Name:Alnwick
Coordinates:55.4134°N -1.7069°W
Population:8,116
Population Ref:(2011 census)[1]
Region:North East England
Civil Parish:Alnwick[2]
Unitary England:Northumberland
Lieutenancy England:Northumberland
Constituency Westminster:North Northumberland
Post Town:ALNWICK
Postcode District:NE66
Postcode Area:NE
Dial Code:01665
Os Grid Reference:NU186129

Alnwick is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.

The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, 32miles south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, 5miles inland from the North Sea at Alnmouth and 34miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne.

The town dates to about AD 600 and thrived as an agricultural centre. Alnwick Castle was the home of the most powerful medieval northern baronial family, the Earls of Northumberland. It was a staging post on the Great North Road between Edinburgh and London. The town centre has changed relatively little, but the town has seen some growth, with several housing estates covering what had been pasture, and new factory and trading estate developments along the roads to the south.

History

The name Alnwick comes from the Old English wic ('dairy farm, settlement') and the name of the river Aln.[3] The history of Alnwick is the history of the castle and its lords, starting with Gilbert Tyson, written variously as "Tison", "Tisson", and "De Tesson", one of William the Conqueror's standard-bearers, upon whom this northern estate was bestowed. It was held by the De Vesci family (now spelt "Vasey" – a name found all over south-east Northumberland) for over 200 years and then passed into the hands of the House of Percy in 1309.[4]

The castle was founded as a timber structure by Ivo de Vesci in about 1096. In 1136 it is first recorded as being captured by David I of Scotland. In 1147, Alnwick Abbey was founded for Premonstratensian canons, a short distance west of the castle.[5] At about the same time, the castle was rebuilt in stone.[6]

At various points in the town are memorials of the constant wars with the Scots, in which so many Percys spent the greater part of their lives. A cross near Broomhouse Hill across the river from the castle marks the spot where Malcolm III of Scotland was killed during the first Battle of Alnwick in 1093. At the side of the broad shady road called Ratten Row, leading from the West Lodge to Bailiffgate, a stone tablet marks the spot where William the Lion of Scotland was captured during the second Battle of Alnwick in 1174 by a party of about 400 mounted knights, led by Ranulf de Glanvill.[7]

Hulne Priory, outside the town walls in Hulne Park, the Duke of Northumberland's walled estate, was a friary founded in about 1240 for the Carmelites by William de Vesci.[8] It is said that the site was chosen for some slight resemblance to Mount Carmel where the order originated.[9]

In 1314, Sir John Felton was governor of Alnwick.[10] During the 14th century the Percys did extensive work on the castle, adding new towers in the outer wall, strong gates to the wall and keep, and new domestic apartments. After the Percys challenged King Henry IV, the king moved against their castles, taking Alnwick in 1403, despite its improvements.

In winter 1424, much of the town was burnt by a Scottish raiding party. Again in 1448, the town was burnt by a Scottish army led by William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas and George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus. Following these setbacks, in the 15th century both monastic houses gained defensive towers and the town was walled.[11] In addition to the threat from Scotland, Alnwick was heavily contested in the Wars of the Roses.[12] It was held for Henry VI until the Lancastrian collapse of 1461, when it fell to Edward IV. That winter the Lancastrians recaptured it, but in July 1462 the Yorkists retook it. By the autumn the Lancastrians were again in possession, and quickly came under Yorkist siege. Despite Franco-Scottish reinforcements, the Lancastrians abandoned the castle to the Yorkists in January 1463, though by May they had regained it through betrayal. On 23 June it was surrendered to the Yorkists for the final time.[13] According to historian Dan Spencer, this made Alnwick the most besieged place in the country in the Wars of the Roses.[14] Sir Thomas Malory mentions Alnwick as a possible location for Lancelot's castle Joyous Garde.[15]

In the English Reformation, monastic life at Alnwick came to an end, with both Alnwick Abbey and Hulne Priory being suppressed in 1539.[16] [17] Shortly after, the Percys also left Alnwick to decay, only resuming residence in the mid-18th century.[18] Since then the Percys have remained at Alnwick. There was a Church of Scotland congregation in Alnwick in the 17th and 18th centuries.[19]

A Royal Air Force distribution depot was constructed at Alnwick during the Second World War with four main fuel storage tanks (total capacity 1700 tons) and road and rail loading facilities. The tanks were above ground and surrounded by concrete. The site was closed in the 1970s, and its demolition and disposal were completed in 1980.[20]

The Alnwick by-pass takes the A1 London–Edinburgh trunk road around the town. It was started in 1968.[21]

Geography

Alnwick lies at 55.4167°N -1.7°W (55.417,-1.700)1. The River Aln forms its unofficial northern boundary.[22]

Governance

Historically, the town was partly within the Bamburgh Ward and Coquetdale Ward and later included in the East Division of Coquetdale Ward in 1832.[23] Alnwick Town Hall was the home of the common council of Alnwick.[23] By the time of the 2011 Census, an electoral ward covering only part of Alnwick parish existed. The total population of this ward was 4,766.[24]

Economy

Some major or noteworthy employers in the town are:

Education

Secondary schools in Alnwick include The Duchess's Community High School.[29]

Landmarks

The town's greatest building is Alnwick Castle, one of the homes of the Duke of Northumberland, and site of The Alnwick Garden.[30] The castle has extensive grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, which include several follies as well as the ruins of St Leonard's Hospital, Alnwick Abbey and Hulne Priory.

The town centre is the marketplace, with its market cross, and the 19th century Northumberland Hall, used as a meeting place.

The Alnwick Playhouse is a thriving multi-purpose arts centre that stages theatre, dance, music, cinema, and visual arts productions.[31]

In 2003, the Willowburn Leisure Centre was opened on the southern outskirts of the enlarged town (replacing the old sports centre located by the Lindisfarne Middle School and the now-demolished Youth Centre).[32]

Alnwick's museum, Bailiffgate Museum, is close to the Bailiffgate entrance to the castle. Its collection is dedicated to local social history. The museum has recently had a major refit funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Its collection includes a variety of agricultural objects, domestic items, railway items, coal mining artefacts, printing objects, a sizeable photographic collection, paintings and a range of activities for children.[33]

Other places of interest in and near the town include:

Sport

Local media

Local news and television programmes is provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees. Television signals are received from the Chatton TV transmitter. [44]

Alnwick’s local radio stations are BBC Radio Newcastle on 96.0 FM, Metro Radio on 102.6 FM and Lionheart Radio on 107.3 FM, a community based radio station.

Northumberland Gazette is the town’s local newspaper.

Events

Alnwick Fair was an annual costumed event, held each summer from 1969 to 2007, recreating some of the appearance of medieval trading fairs and 17th century agricultural fairs. It has now been discontinued.[45]

Transport

Road

Alnwick lies adjacent to the A1, the main national north–south trunk road, providing easy access to Newcastle upon Tyne (35miles south) and Edinburgh (80miles north).[46]

Rail

The East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh (journey time approximately 1:10) and London (journey time approximately 3:45) runs through Alnmouth for Alnwick Stationabout 4miles awaywith a weekday service of 15 trains per day north to Edinburgh and 13 trains per day south to London.[47]

The Alnwick branch line formerly linked Alnwick's own station, close to the town centre, to Alnmouth station, but this line closed in January 1968. Since the 2010s, the Aln Valley Railway Trust have worked to reopen the branch as a heritage railway but, due to construction of the A1 Alnwick bypass removing a section of the original trackbed on the edge of the town, their purpose-built Alnwick Lionheart terminus is located near the Lionheart Enterprise Estate on the outskirts of the town. The reopening project is ongoing and, as of July 2020, the line's eastern terminus had reached a new station at Greenrigg Halt, approximately 1.5miles from Lionheart, although it is yet to carry passengers over the full length.[48]

Air

Newcastle Airport lies around 45 minutes drive-time away and provides 19 daily flights to (London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City), with regular flights to other UK centres.[49]

Town twinning

Alnwick is twinned with:[50]

Notable people

Born in Alnwick

Lived in Alnwick

Died in Alnwick

Filming location

Alnwick town has been used as a setting in films and television series.

Films
Television

Freedom of the Town

The following people have received the Freedom of the Town of Alnwick.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parish population 2011. 25 June 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150626154128/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11119953&c=Alnwick&d=16&e=62&g=6452732&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1435230378812&enc=1. 26 June 2015.
  2. Web site: Alnwick Town Council Website . Alnwick Town Council . 25 March 2022.
  3. Book: The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names . Victor . Watts . Cambridge . Cambridge University Press . 2004 . s.v. Alnwick.
  4. Web site: The Percy Papers. 12 January 2018 . University of Durham. 17 May 2022.
  5. Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus . Northumberland . Penguin . 1957 . 1st . Harmondsworth . 67.
  6. Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus . Northumberland . Penguin . 1957 . 1st . Harmondsworth . 68.
  7. Web site: John Wilson. Second Battle of Alnwick. BattlefieldsofBritain.co.uk. 2019. 20 July 2020. 28 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200328201237/http://www.battlefieldsofbritain.co.uk/battle_alnwick_1174.html. dead.
  8. Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus . Northumberland . Penguin . 1957 . 1st . Harmondsworth . 195–196.
  9. Book: Mackenzie, Eneas. An Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive View of the County of Northumberland: And of Those Parts of the County of Durham Situated North of the River Tyne, with Berwick Upon Tweed, and Brief Notices of Celebrated Places on the Scottish Border. 1825. Mackenzie and Dent. en.
  10. Felton, Thomas (d.1381) . 18.
  11. Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus . Northumberland . Penguin . 1957 . 1st . Harmondsworth . 41, 67, 73, 196-197.
  12. Book: Spencer, Dan . The Castle in the Wars of the Roses . Pen & Sword . 2020 . 978-1-52679-747-6 . Barnsley . 79–85, 176.
  13. Web site: Simpson . David . Wars of the Roses in the North . 19 June 2024 . England's North East.
  14. Web site: Spencer . Dan . 23 November 2020 . Alnwick Castle and the Wars of the Roses . 19 June 2024 . Dan Spencer.
  15. Whitaker . Muriel A. . 1976 . Sir Thomas Malory's Castles of Delight. . Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature . Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 9, no. 2 . 9 . 2 . 73–84 . 24777076.
  16. Web site: Historic England . 11 May 2016 . Alnwick Abbey . 19 June 2024 . National Heritage List for England.
  17. Web site: Historic England . 11 May 2016 . Hulne Priory . 19 June 2024 . National Heritage List for England.
  18. Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus . Northumberland . Penguin . 1957 . 1st . Harmondsworth . 69.
  19. Book: Scott . Hew . Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation . 1928 . Oliver and Boyd . Edinburgh . 504 . 7 . 8 July 2019.
  20. Book: Whittle, Tim . Fuelling the Wars - PLUTO and the Secret Pipeline Network 1936 to 2015 . 2017 . 207 . Folly Books, Limited . 9780992855468.
  21. Maurice A . Smith . News and Views: A1 Alnwick by-pass . . 57 . 15 February 1968.
  22. Web site: Bridges On The Aln - Introduction. Bridgesonthetyne.co.uk. 18 August 2018.
  23. [George Tate (topographer)|George Tate]
  24. Web site: Alnwick ward population 2011. 25 June 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150626153053/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/alnwick-e05008018#sthash.lEgMqxYJ.dpbs. 26 June 2015.
  25. Web site: 2019-05-10. A Novel Experience - A Visit to Barter Books Alnwick. 2020-09-28. Tracy's Travels in Time. en-US.
  26. Web site: Quotient Sciences Buys Alnwick Research Centre. 25 August 2021. Quotient Sciences.
  27. Web site: Micropub plan for empty town-centre office. 18 October 2022. Northumberland Gazette. 17 May 2022.
  28. News: Northumberland Gazette . Jobs to go with closure of Alnwick operation . 30 March 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112800/http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/local-news/jobs-to-go-with-closure-of-alnwick-operation-1-6724979 . 2 April 2015 . 11 July 2014.
  29. Web site: A Brief History The Duchess's . www.dchs-alnwick.org . 26 March 2020.
  30. News: History museums: Divine detour . The Economist. 27 October 2012 . 10 August 2013.
  31. Web site: History of the Playhouse | Alnwick Playhouse . alnwickplayhouse.co.uk . 2012 . 17 April 2012 . 7 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120407095632/http://www.alnwickplayhouse.co.uk/history-of-the-playhouse . dead .
  32. Web site: Willowburn Leisure Centre. Sports Facilities. 17 May 2022.
  33. Web site: Bailiffgate Museum . 23 December 2008 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081005104825/http://www.bailiffgatemuseum.co.uk/collectionandresearcharea.asp . 5 October 2008 ., Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  34. Web site: Brizlee Tower. Robin Kent Architecture & Conservation website. Robin Kent Architecture & Conservation. 22 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120325050912/http://www.robinkent.com/288.html. 25 March 2012. dead.
  35. Web site: Camphill Column (Alnwick). Keys to the Past website. Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council. 22 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120320054127/http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&prn=N4515. 2012-03-20. dead.
  36. Web site: Bondgate Tower, Bondgate Within, Alnwick - Northumberland (UA) Historic England. 2020-10-03. historicengland.org.uk. en.
  37. Web site: Historic England . 20 February 1952 . Pottergate Tower, Pottergate . 19 June 2024 . National Heritage List for England.
  38. Web site: RMS Olympic at the White Swan, Alnwick . White Swan Hotel, Alnwick . 7 April 2012 .
  39. Web site: Museum enlists force of model recruits. 23 September 2004. Northumberland Gazette. 2 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143831/https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/museum-enlists-force-of-model-recruits-1-1487988. 12 June 2018. dead.
  40. Web site: Boulmer (Longhoughton). Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. 24 November 2021.
  41. Web site: Kelly's Directory of Northumberland (1894). 8 July 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160828020521/http://forebears.co.uk/england/northumberland/alnwick. 28 August 2016.
  42. Web site: Historic England . 11 May 2016 . St Mary's Chantry House . 19 June 2024 . National Heritage List for England.
  43. Web site: Berwick RFC. www.pitchero.com/clubs/berwick. 29 April 2012.
  44. Web site: Chatton (Northumberland, England) Full Freeview transmitter . May 2004 .
  45. News: Death of the Fair . Northumberland Gazette . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080216022203/http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/Death-of-the-Fair.3777345.jp . 16 February 2008 . 23 August 2010 . 14 February 2008 . Northumberland . Jaclyn . Curry.
  46. Web site: A1 Alnwick Lane Configuration Change. Roads.ork.uk. 17 May 2022.
  47. p.34
  48. Web site: AVR January/February 2020 Newsletter. 15 July 2020.
  49. News: How Newcastle Airport's Shiny, New Terminal Was Opened on This Day 50 Years Ago. Evening Chronicle. 18 July 2021. 17 February 2017.
  50. Web site: Twin Towns. Alnwick Town Council. 2023-03-31.
  51. Web site: England's Euro 2022 winners honoured with gold plaques at local football clubs . 22 September 2022 .
  52. Web site: 'Mr Alnwick' awarded honorary freedom of town . Smith . Ian . 24 March 2022 . The Northumberland Gazette . 18 November 2021 .
  53. Web site: Tributes paid to Alnwick man who passed away two days after receiving freedom of town . Smith . Ian . 24 March 2022 . The Northumberland Gazette . 25 March 2022 .
  54. Web site: Bill Hugonin: Tributes paid to highly respected Honorary Freeman of Alnwick . Alnwick Town Council . 21 March 2022 . 25 March 2022 . en.

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