Alnwick Castle
The home of the Percy family, the Dukes of
Northumberland, since 1309, Alnwick (pronounced
‘Annik’) Castle is steeped in the history of Border conflict and was the
administrative centre for the March.
The Percy family’s influence not just on
the local area, but in the corridors of power in London, was legendary. Harry Hotspur features
in Shakespeare – another Percy in Rowan Atkinson’s Blackadder. The first series
of the TV comedy was filmed at the Castle. More recently, Alnwick appeared in
the Harry Potter movies. It’s the largest inhabited castle in England after Windsor.
The most powerful family in Northumberland were
the English Crown’s men in the North and were thoroughly embroiled in the
action of the time. Their exploits need little expansion on.
The castle can be hired as a wedding venue is
open to the public daily from March to November from 10am to 5.30pm. Malcolm’s
Cross, near Alnwick, marks the spot where the Scottish King Malcolm III, Malcolm
Canmore, was killed in a battle with the English in 1093. https://www.alnwickcastle.com/
