Alnwick ( ) is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England, of which it is the traditional

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the

River Aln The River Aln () runs through the county of Northumberland in England. It rises in Alnham in the Cheviot Hills and discharges into the North Sea at Alnmouth on the east coast of England. The river gives its name to the town of Alnwick and the ...

, south of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

and the Scottish border, inland from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

Alnmouth Alnmouth () is a coastal village in Northumberland, England, situated east-south-east of Alnwick. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 562, reducing to 445 at the 2011 Census. Located at the mouth of the River Aln, the vill ...

and north of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. The town dates to about AD 600 and thrived as an agricultural centre.

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a G ...

was the home of the most powerful medieval northern baronial family, the

Earls of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...

. It was a staging post on the Great North Road between

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

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 Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''wic'' ('dairy farm, settlement') and the name of the

river Aln The River Aln () runs through the county of Northumberland in England. It rises in Alnham in the Cheviot Hills and discharges into the North Sea at Alnmouth on the east coast of England. The river gives its name to the town of Alnwick and the ...

Alnwick Castle in winter (2013) - panoramio

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 A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

in 1309. 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 Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big head" ...

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 William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

of Scotland was captured during the second Battle of Alnwick by a party of about 400 mounted knights, led by

Ranulf de Glanvill Ranulf de Glanvill (''alias'' Glanvil, Glanville, Granville, etc., died 1190) was Chief Justiciar of England during the reign of King Henry II (1154–89) and was the probable author of ''Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie'' ( ...

Hulne Priory Hulne Priory, Hulne Friary or Hulne Abbey was a friary founded in 1240 by the Carmelites or 'Whitefriars'. It is said that the Northumberland site, quite close to Alnwick, was chosen for some slight resemblance to Mount Carmel where the order ori ...

, outside the town walls in

Hulne Park Hulne Park is the only one remaining of the three parks that once surrounded Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, providing wood and meat for the Percy family, the Dukes of Northumberland. The park is walled, and was landscaped by Capability Brown ...

, the Duke of Northumberland's walled estate, was a monastery founded in the 13th century by the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

; it is said that the site was chosen for some slight resemblance to

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...

where the order originated. In 1314, Sir John Felton was governor of Alnwick. 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 William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale (1425 – 22 February 1452) was a late Medieval Scottish nobleman, Lord of Galloway, and Lord of the Regality of Lauderdale, and the most powerful magnate in Southern Scotland. He was kil ...

and

George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest (c. 1427 – 12 March 1463)Alan R. Borthwick, 'Douglas, George, fourth earl of Angus (c.1417–1463)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University ...

. There was a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

congregation in Alnwick in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Sir Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...

mentions Alnwick as a possible location for Lancelot's castle Joyous Garde. A Royal Air Force distribution depot was constructed at Alnwick during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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

Geography

Alnwick lies at (55.417, -1.700) ¹. The

forms its unofficial northern boundary.

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. George Tate
''The History of the Borough, Castle, and Barony of Alnwick''
(Vol. 1). Alnwick: Henry Hunter Blair, 1866. Alnwick Town Hall was the home of the common council of Alnwick. By the time of the 2011 Census, an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

covering only part of Alnwick parish existed. The total population of this ward was 4,766.

Economy

Some major or noteworthy employers in the town are: * Barter Books, one of the largest second-hand bookshops in England, set in the town's former railway station * Quotient Sciences Alnwick, a large

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

manufacturing, research and testing centre *

NFU Mutual NFU Mutual (NFUM) is a UK insurance composite, its directors and executives are directly answerable to customers/ policyholders (who own the business) for conduct of business as NFUM is and mutual and so has no shareholders to hold it to acc ...

, provider of insurance, pensions, investments *

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United K ...

Education

Secondary schools in Alnwick include

The Duchess's Community High School The Duchess's Community High School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is a community school administered by Northumberland County Council. History In 1809, the Du ...

Landmarks

The town's greatest building is

, one of the homes of the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

, and site of

The Alnwick Garden Alnwick Garden is a complex of formal gardens adjacent to Alnwick Castle in the town of Alnwick, Northumberland, England. The gardens have a long history under the dukes of Northumberland, but fell into disrepair until revived at the turn of the 2 ...

The town centre is the marketplace, with its

market cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosse ...

, and the relatively modern 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. 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). Front of Bailiffgate Museum squared up

Alnwick's museum,

Bailiffgate Museum The Bailiffgate Museum is a small independent museum in Alnwick, Northumberland, England, dedicated to the history of Alnwick and North Northumberland. It is staffed by trustees and volunteers. Introduction The museum is located in one of the ...

, 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. Other places of interest in and near the town include: Brizlee Tower - Alnwick - Northumberland - UK - 2006-03-04

Brizlee Tower - Alnwick - Northumberland - UK - 2006-03-04

Brizlee Tower Brizlee Tower (sometimes Brislee Tower) is a Grade 1 listed folly set atop a hill in Hulne Park, the walled home park of the Duke of Northumberland in Alnwick, Northumberland. The tower was erected in 1781 for Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumber ...

, a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

folly tower A folly tower is a tower that has been built as an architectural folly, that is, constructed for ornamental rather than practical reasons. Folly towers are common in Britain and Ireland, and often do have some practical value as landmarks, or as vie ...

on a hill in Hulne Park, the Duke's walled estate, designed by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...

in 1777 and erected in 1781 for

Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, (c. 17146 June 1786), was an English peer, landowner, and art patron. Origins He was born Hugh Smithson, the son of Lansdale Smithson (b. 1682) of Langdale and Philadelphia Revely. He was a grandson of ...

. * Camphill Column, an 1814 construction celebrating British victories in Europe, and possibly erected as a reaction against the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. * the

Bondgate Tower Bondgate Tower also known as the Hotspur Tower or the Hotspur Gateway in reference to Sir Henry Percy commonly known as Harry Hotspur son of the 1st Earl of Northumberland and father of the 2nd Earl of Northumberland. Although commonly calle ...

, also known as the Hotspur Tower, part of the remains of the ancient town wall and named after Sir Henry Percy, also called Harry Hotspur, the eldest son of the 1st Earl of Northumberland. * The

Nelson Memorial, Swarland The Nelson Memorial, Swarland is a white freestone obelisk at Swarland in north Northumberland, England. Erected in 1807, two years after the death of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, victor of the Battle of Trafalgar, it was placed by his ...

, emphasising a local link to the admired

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

. * the

Tenantry Column The Tenantry Column is a monument to the south of Alnwick town centre, in Northumberland, England. It was erected in 1816 by the tenants of Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland in thanks for his reduction of their rents during the post-Napoleo ...

—much in the style of

Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...

, tall and topped by the Percy Lion, the symbol of the Percy family—designed by Charles Harper and erected for

Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland Lieutenant General Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland (14 August 174210 July 1817) was an officer in the British army and later a British peer. He participated in the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Long Island during t ...

in 1816 in gratitude to the Duke. * the

White Swan Hotel The White Swan Hotel () is a 28-story luxury hotel in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, located on Shamian Island, overlooking the Pearl River and facing the White Swan Pool. The hotel is reached by its own private causeway. History The hotel opened ...

, an 18th-century coaching inn that now houses the First Class Lounge and other fittings from the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'' near-identical sister ship RMS ''Olympic''. * the

Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland The Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland, formerly the Northumberland Fusiliers Museum, is a museum located within the Abbot's Tower of Alnwick Castle in Alnwick, Northumberland, England. History The museum was first established at Fenham Barra ...

, found within Alnwick Castle. * St Michael's Church on Bailiffgate, a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building dating from the 15th century with fragments from the 12th century. *

RAF Boulmer Royal Air Force Boulmer or RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer. The Scho ...

was an airfield during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It now has a role in early warning

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

surveillance and communications. * The

Fenkle Street drill hall The Fenkle Street drill hall is a military installation in Alnwick, Northumberland. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The building, which was originally designed as a library and completed in 1834, was extended to form the headquarters o ...

converted from a library in 1887.

Sport

Alnwick RFC Alnwick RFC is an amateur rugby union club based in the town of Alnwick, Northumberland in north-east England. The club play in Regional 1 North East, a level five league in the English rugby union system and are the most northerly rugby union ...

* Alnwick Town A.F.C.

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.

Transport

Road

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

Rail

The

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

between

(journey time approximately 1:10) and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(journey time approximately 3:45) runs through Alnmouth for Alnwick Stationabout awaywith a weekday service of 15 trains per day north to Edinburgh and 13 trains per day south to London. The

Alnwick branch line The Alnwick branch line is a partly closed railway line in Northumberland, northern England. A heritage railway currently operates a mile of the line, which originally ran from Alnmouth railway station, on the East Coast Main Line, to the town o ...

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 A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

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 , approximately from Lionheart, although it is yet to carry passengers over the full length.

Air

Newcastle Airport Newcastle or New Castle Airport may refer to: * Newcastle International Airport, an airport in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK ** Newcastle Airport metro station, the Tyne and Wear metro station serving the airport * Newcastle Airport (Nevis), no ...

lies around 45 minutes drive-time away and provides 19 daily flights to (

London Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acros ...

and London City), with regular flights to other UK centres.

Town twinning

Bryne Bryne () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Time, Norway, Time municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality of Time and it is also List of urban areas in Norway by population, o ...

, Norway *

Lagny-sur-Marne Lagny-sur-Marne (, literally ''Lagny on Marne'') is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France from the centre of Paris. The commune of Lagny-sur-Marne is part of the ...

, France *

Voerde Voerde ([]) is a town in the Wesel (district), district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, approximately south-east of Wesel, and 20 km north of Duisburg. City structure According t ...

, Germany

Notable people

Born in Alnwick

William of Alnwick William of Alnwick (lat. Guillelmus Alaunovicanus, c. 1275 – March 1333) was a Franciscan friar and theologian, and bishop of Giovinazzo, who took his name from Alnwick in Northumberland. Little is known of his early life. By 1303 he was a li ...

(–1333), Franciscan theologian and Bishop of Giovinazzo * Martin of Alnwick (d. 1336), Franciscan friar and theologian *

Henry 'Hotspur' Percy Sir Henry Percy (20 May 1364 – 21 July 1403), nicknamed Hotspur, was an English knight who fought in several campaigns against the Scots in the northern border and against the French during the Hundred Years' War. The nickname "Hots ...

(1364?–1403), son of the 1st Earl of Northumberland *

John Busby John Busby (24 March 1765 – 10 May 1857) was an English-born surveyor and civil engineer, active in Australia. __NOTOC__ Early life Busby was born in Alnwick, Northumberland, England, eldest son of George Busby, a miner and coalmaster of St ...

(1765–1857), mining engineer * William Davison (1781–1858), pharmacist, apothecary, publisher and printer *

Prideaux John Selby Prideaux John Selby FRSE FLS (23 July 1788 – 27 March 1867) was an English ornithologist, botanist and natural history artist. Life Selby was born in Bondgate Street in Alnwick in Northumberland, the eldest son of George Selby of Beal a ...

(1788–1867),

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and artist *

William Henry Percy The Honourable William Henry Percy (24 March 1788 – 5 October 1855) was a British Royal Navy officer and politician. Family Percy was the sixth son of Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley, and his wife, the former Isabella Susannah Burrell, d ...

(1788–1855), naval commander and politician * James Catnach (1792-1841), publisher *

George Biddell Airy Sir George Biddell Airy (; 27 July 18012 January 1892) was an English mathematician and astronomer, and the seventh Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881. His many achievements include work on planetary orbits, measuring the mean density of the E ...

(1801–1892),

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The post ...

from 1835 to 1881 * George Tate (1805–1871), tradesman, local topographer, antiquarian and naturalist * Thomas Turner Tate (1807–1888), mathematical and scientific educator and writer *

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the ''Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', ''Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' se ...

(1833–1895), Australian colonial politician, premier of Victoria, born in Alnwick in 1833 * T. J. Cobden Sanderson (1840–1922), artist and

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

associated with the Arts and Crafts movement *

Ralph Tate Ralph Tate (11 March 1840 – 20 September 1901) was a British-born botanist and geologist, who was later active in Australia. Early life Tate was born at Alnwick in Northumberland, the son of Thomas Turner Tate (1807–1888), a teacher of math ...

(1840–1901), botanist and geologist * Bernard Bosanquet (1848–1923), philosopher *

Jim Hilton Jim Hilton (29 December 1930 – 26 November 2008) was a cricketer who played for Lancashire and Somerset. He was born in Werneth, Oldham, Lancashire, and died at Oldham. His name was Jim, not James. The younger brother of England and Lancash ...

(1894–1964), painter for Shell Oil and immigrant to Canada * David Adam (1936–2020), English minister and Canon of York Minster *

Sid Waddell Sid Waddell (10 August 1940 – 11 August 2012) was an English sports commentator and television personality. He was nicknamed the 'Voice of Darts' due to his fame as a darts commentator, and worked for Granada, Yorkshire, BBC and Sky Sports. Du ...

(1940–2012), commentator and television personality *

Jeremy Darroch David Jeremy Darroch (born 18 July 1962) is an English businessman who was the CEO of Sky from December 2007 until becoming executive chairman in January 2021. Early life He was born and brought up in Alnwick, Northumberland, the son of a tax ...

(born 1962), chief executive of

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

* Jonny Kennedy (1966–2003), spokesperson with the skin condition

Epidermolysis Bullosa Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of rare medical conditions that result in easy blistering of the skin and mucous membranes. Blisters occur with minor trauma or friction and are painful. Its severity can range from mild to fatal. Inherited E ...

Stella Vine Stella Vine (born Melissa Jane Robson, 1969) is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting, with subjects drawn from personal life, as well as from rock stars, royalty, and other celebrities. In 2001, she ...

(born 1969), artist *

Kelland Watts Kelland John William James Watts (born 3 November 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL League One club Wigan Athletic, on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United. A product of the Newcastle Unite ...

(born 1999), professional footballer

Died in Alnwick

(died 1093) *

Tip Tipping Tip Tipping (13 February 1958 – 5 February 1993) was an English film and television stuntman and actor. Biography Prior to his career as a stuntman, Tipping served in the Royal Marines and 21st SAS Regiment. He appeared in television serie ...

(1958–1993), actor, died in a

parachuting Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

accident at

Brunton Brunton may refer to: Places *Brunton, Northumberland, England (near Alnwick) *Low Brunton, Northumberland, England (near Hexham) *Brunton, Wiltshire, England *Brunton Memorial Ground, Radlett, Hertfordshire, England *Brunton, Fife, Scotland; a Lis ...

Stan Anderson Stanley Anderson (27 February 1933 – 10 June 2018) was an English football player and manager. The only player ever to have played for and captained all the big 3 NE teams, Sunderland, Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Playing career Anderson se ...

(1871-1942), English international rugby union player

Appearances in film and television

Filming location

Alnwick town has been used as a setting in films and television series. ; Films * 2012 ''

Villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...

'' * 2011 ''

Your Highness ''Your Highness'' is a 2011 American stoner comic fantasy film directed by David Gordon Green. It stars Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel and Justin Theroux. Written by McBride and Ben Best, the film was released on ...

'' ; Television * 1987 '' Treasure Hunt'' - Episode: Northumberland (1987) * 1991–1993 ''

Spender ''Spender'' is a British television police procedural drama, created by Ian La Frenais and Jimmy Nail, that first broadcast on 8 January 1991 on BBC1. The series, which also starred Nail as the titular character, ran for three series between 1 ...

'' * 1998-2011 ''

History's Mysteries ''History's Mysteries'' is an American documentary television series that aired on the History Channel. Overview The 154 episodes of the series were produced from 1998 to 2011. Each season consisted of 12 to 14 one-hour episodes that focused on ...

'' - Episode: Doomed Sisters of the Titanic (1999) * 2011- '' All Over the Place '' - Episode: Tree Houses, Buses and Pie Eating! (2011) * 2011- '' All Over the Place '' - Episode: Scary Castles, Teapots and Onion Eating! (2011) * 2013- '' The Other Child'' * 2014 ''

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarrag ...

'',

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

murder mystery Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

, Series 4, Episode 1: On Harbour Street (2014)'' * 2015 ''

'',

, 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. * 2013- '' Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green'' - Episode: More Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green: Industrial Heritage (2015) * 2018- '' The Heist'' * 2012- '' Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways'' - Episode: Chris Tarrant: Railways of the Somme (2019)

Freedom of the Town

The following people have received the Freedom of the Town of Alnwick. * Bill Batey: 2019 * Adrian Ions: 12 November 2021 * William "Bill" Hugonin : 18 March 2022.

References

External links

Visit Alnwick
– Alnwick Tourism Association
Alnwick described
on the ''Keys to the Past'' website. * {{Authority control Market towns in Northumberland Towns in Northumberland Civil parishes in Northumberland