Alnwick Castle

The ancient seat of the earls and dukes of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle dates from 1138, when Eustace de Vesci replaced the earlier timber motte and bailey castle with a heavily fortified Norman shell-keep and curtain wall around the inner bailey. In the 14th century the castle was greatly extended by the Percy family, which followed the de Vescis and constructed the outer bailey, massive barbican with its drawbridge, iron 'yett' and portcullis, and the postern gate. The castle was one of the largest in the north of England, amounting to a small self-contained town with a bakehouse and brewhouse, school, chantry chapel and prison, as well as military storehouses, a smithy and horse mill, stables and cart sheds. By the early eighteenth century, however, the castle was neglected and partly in ruins. Its fortunes were revived by Elizabeth Seymour, following her marriage to a Yorkshire landowner, Sir Hugh Smithson. As the first Countess from 1750 and the first Duchess of Northumberland after 1766, her enthusiasm for her ancestral home brought about the restoration of the castle by the architects James Paine (1716-89) and Robert Adam (1728-1792), with further alterations being carried out for the fourth Duke by Anthony Salvin (1799-1881).

Over a number of years, we have carried out two detailed access audits of the entire castle, including the terraces, courtyards and baileys, state rooms, museums and restaurants. The audits included historic research to identify 'conservation barriers' and recommended a range of access improvements to maintain and enhance the castle's potential as one of the North of England's major visitor attractions. To link to Alnwick Castle's website, click here.