Place:Alnwick, Northumberland, England

Watchers
NameAlnwick
Alt namesBondgate-without-Alnwicksource: Family History Library Catalog
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish, Urban district
Coordinates55.417°N 1.7°W
Located inNorthumberland, England
See alsoCoquetdale Ward, Northumberland, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Alnwick District, Northumberland, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area 1974-2009
Contained Places
Castle
Alnwick Castle
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Alnwick is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.

The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea at Alnmouth and north of Newcastle upon Tyne.

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.

Alnwick was an ancient parish in the Coquetdale Ward which became a civil parish the 19th century. Denwick was originally a part of the parish which was made into a separate civil parish in 1894. Alnwick was an urban district from 1894 until 1974. Other than Bondage without Alnwick, Alnwick did not have any townships within its parish and remains as a civil parish today. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and Alnwick became part of the Alnwick District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The name Alnwick comes from the Old English wic ('dairy farm, settlement') and the name of the river Aln.

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.

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.

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.

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 and George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus. There was a Church of Scotland congregation in Alnwick in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Sir Thomas Malory 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 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.


Research Tips

  • Northumberland Archives previously known as Northumberland Collections Service and Northumberland County Record Office. Now based within Woodhorn Museum in Ashington and providing free access to numerous records for local and family historians alike.
Full postal address: Museum and Northumberland Archives, Queen Elizabeth II Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF; Phone: 01670 624455
There is a branch office in Berwick upon Tweed.
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