ALNWICK CASTLE

Northumbria

Yet another of Northumbria's astonishingly massive Castles, Alnwick (pron. Annik) was the home of the most powerful of all Northern families, the Percys, and as such was the centre of Northumbrian politics for many centuries.

The Castle was founded by Ivo de Vesci around 1096, but isn't mentioned in history books until it was taken by David I of Scotland in 1136.  It then passed to Eustace FitzJohn whose son took on the name de Vesci and had the Castle rebuilt in stone for the first time around 1170.  It was strong enough to withstand a siege by King William the Lion in 1174.  The King was captured and held in Alnwick Castle and a few brief years of peace descended on Northumberland.

In 1309 the Castle passed to Henry de Percy who immediately started to rebuild the Castle on a grand scale.  His work was carried on by his son, also Henry, who completed the rebuild before his death in 1352.  During this period the oddly-shaped shell keep was converted into the huge central building of the Castle (pictured above) and the great barbican gatehouse was added (with its famous figures on the parapet being added at a later date).  Huge strong curtain walls with towers were added in the vague shape of the original baileys.

In 1377 the Percys became Earls of Northumberland and despite continuously wavering between loyalty to England and Scotland the Percys became hugely powerful.  In 1537 the 15th Earl, another Henry, bequeathed the Castle to the Crown.  The Crown, however, wasn't very interested and the Castle lay abandoned until Queen Mary I granted it to Thomas Percy (Henry's nephew) who became the 16th Earl in 1567.  The Castle was in poor condition by this time, but the Percys set about repairing and making it habitable.  Nevertheless when Charles I came to Alnwick he stayed in the nearby Abbey instead.

Joceline Percy died in 1670, the last of the male Percy line, and the Castle passed to the Ogles, the Seymours and the Smithsons over the next 100 years; all of whom took the name Percy when they came to live at Alnwick.

Duke Hugh Percy (one of the Smithsons) had the Castle renovated around 1770. A later period of rebuilding occurred around 1854-1865 resulting in the massive building which is Alnwick Castle today.

The Castle is still owned by the Percy family (albeit it renamed ones) and is open to the public during the summer. It was recently used as part of Hogwart's School in the movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".

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2001