Alnwick Castle

In the civil parish of Alnwick. In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

Medieval motte and bailey replaced by a stone built castle in the first half of C12. It was heavily fortified in C14 when the keep was strengthened but ruinous by C18, when it was restored and extended as a gothic style country house by Robert Adam and others. Further alterations were carried out in the second half of C19 under Anthony Salvin for the 4th Duke of Northumberland. The second largest inhabited Castle in England, after Windsor, and has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309. Mentioned soon after 1096 when Yves de Vescy became baron of Alnwick and erected the earliest parts of the Castle. The 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick rebuilt in the early 1300's and portions of this remain today, including the Abbot's Tower, the Middle Gateway and the Constable's Tower. Otherwise the castle is a rebuilding of 1750.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NU18711357

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 7152
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is N4507 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Web site links
  • http://www.alnwickcastle.com/
    http://www.castlegate.net/castles/Alnwick/index.HTM
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/alnwick/alnwick.php
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/81/alnwickcastle.htm
    http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/alnwick%20castle.htm
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_alnwiick.htm
    http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N4507
    http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/easy_results.asp?index=1&main_query=alnwick%20castle
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=957
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/anwick.html
    http://www.pbase.com/tomstorey/alnwick_castle
    http://www.northofthetyne.co.uk/Alnwick.html
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p115-9
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p12-15
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p36-9
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p170-2
    Pevsner, N. (revised by John Grundy et al), 1992, The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p135-9
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p11-4 [plan]
    Furtado, Peter et al (eds), 1988, Ordnance Survey guide to castles in Britain (London) p181
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p6-9, 39, 52, 53, 55
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p325
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p177-8
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p13-27
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p89
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p54
    Sanders, I.J., 1960, English Baronies. A study of their origin and descent 1086-1327 p103
    Churchill, R., 1954, Fifteen Famous English Homes p23-9
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p12-24
    Evans, Herbert A., 1912, Castles of England and Wales (London) p173-85
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p358-62
    Tomlinson, W.W., 1897, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p376-386
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol1 p175-85 [plan]
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p371-81
    Tate, George., 1866-69, The History of the Borough, Castle, and Barony of Alnwick (Alnwick) Vol1 p372-88
    White, W., 1859, Northumberland and the Border p168-81
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1858, Feudal and Military Antiquities of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders (London: Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute at Newcastle) Vol2 p103-27, 167-85, cxl-cxlvi
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p213
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol4 p36-49
• Journal Articles
  • King, Andy, 2007, 'Fortress and fashion statements: gentry castles in fourteenth-century Northumberland' Journal of Medieval History Vol33 p382 [brief comment about barbican]
    1988, Country Life Vol182 p174-9
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p311
    Allibone, J. 1977, 'Alnwick Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol133 p148-54 [plans]
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
    Batho, G.R., 1958, 'The state of Alnwick Castle 1557-1632' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol36 p129-146
    Batho, G.R., 1957, 'The Percies and Alnwick Castle. 1557-1632' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol35 p48-63
    St Joseph, J.K., 1950, 'Castles of Northumberalnd from the air' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol28 p14-15
    Hunter Blair, C.H., 1944, 'The Early Castles of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol22 p143-6 [plan]
    Hussey, 1930, Country Life Vol66 p16-22, 52-60
    Hussey, 1929, Country Life Vol65 p890-8, 952-9
    1910, Publications of the Surtees Society Vol118 p13, 86
    Knowles, W.H., 1909, 'The Gatehouse and Barbican of Alnwick Castle' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser3] Vol5 p286-303
    Skelly, 1899-1900, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol17 p202-8, 295-6
    1890, The Monthly Chronicle; North Country Lore and Legend p303-11
    Bruce, 1887-8, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol3 p80-4
    Clark, G.T., 1883-4, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol1 p208-51
    W.D., 1873, The Antiquary Vol3 p285-7
    Clark, G.T., 1869, The Builder Vol27 p782-4 [reprinted in MMA]
    Wilson, 1860-62, Tyneside Naturalist Field Club Vol5 p172-7
    Dickson, 1856-62, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol4 p8-10 [plans]
    Donaldson, 1857, The Builder Vol15 p5-6
    Donaldson et al, 1856-7, Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects p7-26
• Guidebooks
  • Anon, 1980, Alnwick Castle, Home of the Duke of Northumberland (English Life Publications)
    Graham, F. 1973, Alnwick, A Short History and Guide (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p3-16
    Duke of Northumberland, 1931, Guidebook (Edinburgh]
    Hartshorne, Charles H., 1865, A Guide to Alnwick Castle (Alnwick)
    Anon, 1851, A Description of Alnwick Castle (Alnwick)
    Anon, n.d., Guide-Book to Alnwick Castle (H.C.Coates &Son; Alnwick)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1415 list of Northumberland Castles [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/numblis2.html]
    Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p347-8
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb22]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p338, 343