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 Castles of England - Alnwick Castle






Map by mapchart.net - Some rights reserved.


Location
Alnwick, Northumberland, England

Description
Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England (after Windsor Castle). The Castle contains the finest collection of Italian paintings in the north of England and also one of the most important collections of Meissen porcelain in Britain. The castle is made up of two main rings of buildings. The main rooms are in the inner ring which surrounds a small courtyard. The outer ring forms a bailey around the central block. As the castle expanded a large number of buildings were built along the south wall of the bailey. The buildings along the south wall are connected to the central block by a link building. There are towers at regular intervals along the walls of the outer bailey. (These features can be clearly seen by zooming in on the Google Map satellite image below).

History
It has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309. The earliest mention of Alnwick Castle in the history books appears soon after 1096 when the baron of Alnwick built the earliest parts of the Castle.

The Arts
Alnwick Castle has featured in numerous movies including: Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (1991), Monk Dawson (1998), Elizabeth (1998), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2007). It has also been used in many TV series such as Blackadder (1983), Famous Five (1995-96), Ivanhoe (1997).


Other Castles in the Area
  Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland
  Chillingham Castle, Northumberland
  Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland
  Edlingham Castle, Northumberland
  Warkworth Castle, Northumberland







Warkworth Castle
Alnwick Castle, seat of the Duke of Northumberland, is seen here across a carpet of daffodils.

Photograph by Stephen McKay. Some rights reserved.  (view image details)

Warkworth Castle
Keep of Alnwick Castle

Photograph by David Hawgood a. Some rights reserved.  (view image details)

Warkworth Castle
Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

Photograph by Derek Voller. Some rights reserved.  (view image details)

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