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.
The name Alnwick comes from the
Old Englishwic ('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]
At various points in the town are memorials of the constant wars between Percys and 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. 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 by a party of about 400 mounted knights, led by
Ranulf de Glanvill.[5]
Hulne Priory, outside the town walls in
Hulne Park, the Duke of Northumberland's walled estate, was a monastery founded in the 13th century by the
Carmelites; it is said that the site was chosen for some slight resemblance to
Mount Carmel where the order originated.[6]
Sir Thomas Malory mentions Alnwick as a possible location for Lancelot's castle Joyous Garde.[9]
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.[10]
Historically, the town was partly within the
Bamburgh Ward and Coquetdale Ward and later included in the East Division of Coquetdale Ward in 1832.[13]Alnwick Town Hall was the home of the common council of Alnwick.[13] 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.[14]
Economy
Some major or noteworthy employers in the town are:
The town centre is the marketplace, with its
market cross, and the relatively modern Northumberland Hall, used as a meeting place.[21]
The Alnwick Playhouse is a thriving multi-purpose arts centre that stages theatre, dance, music, cinema, and visual arts productions.[22]
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).[23]
Alnwick's museum,
Bailiffgate Museum, is close to the Bailiffgate entrance to the castle. Its collection is specifically 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.[24]
Other places of interest in and near the town include:
the
White Swan Hotel, an 18th-century coaching inn that now houses the First Class Lounge and other fittings from the Titanic's near-identical sister ship
RMS Olympic.[30]
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.[38]
Transport
Road
Alnwick lies adjacent to the
A1, the main national north–south trunk road, providing easy access to Newcastle upon Tyne (35 miles (56 km) south) and Edinburgh (80 miles (130 km) north).[39]
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 Station – about 4 miles (6 km) away – with a weekday service of 15 trains per day north to Edinburgh and 13 trains per day south to London.[40]
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 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Lionheart, although it is yet to carry passengers over the full length.[41]
Lucy Bronze (born 1991), footballer for
Barcelona and
England, played junior football in Alnwick and had plaque erected in her honour at Alnwick Town FC. [44]
2015 Vera,
ITVmurder mystery,
Series 5, Episode 3: Muddy Waters filmed a scene in Alnwick's market place; the filming took place while the market was going on and was not staged for the episode, except for two stalls that were created just for the episode.
^Whitaker, Muriel A. (1976).
"Sir Thomas Malory's Castles of Delight". Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature. 9 (2). Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 9, no. 2: 73–84.
JSTOR24777076.
^Whittle, Tim (2017). Fuelling the Wars - PLUTO and the Secret Pipeline Network 1936 to 2015. Folly Books, Limited. p. 207.
ISBN9780992855468.
^Smith, Maurice A, ed. (15 February 1968). "News and Views: A1 Alnwick by-pass". Autocar. p. 57.
^"Brizlee Tower". Robin Kent Architecture & Conservation website. Robin Kent Architecture & Conservation. Archived from
the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
^"Camphill Column (Alnwick)". Keys to the Past website. Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council. Archived from
the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
^Curry, Jaclyn (14 February 2008).
"Death of the Fair". Northumberland Gazette. Northumberland. Archived from
the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2010.