External gate to the castle.
The history of the castle began in the 11th century, when a Norman knight, and not just a knight, but the standard-bearer of Guillaume the Conqueror himself, that is, a person who was highly trusted and … faithful - Gilbert de Tesson built a wooden fortress here. But two years later, this "faithful" de Tesson, for some unknown reason, took part in the rebellion against the English king William II, the son of the Conqueror. But the rebellion was suppressed, and de Tesson was deprived of all his possessions. The following year, Alnwick passed into the hands of Baron Yvo de Vescy, who began by building a stone castle on the site of the fortress of Gilbert de Tesson.
Internal gate to the castle.
But for a long time he did not manage to be the owner of the castle. He did not have a son, but he had a daughter, Beatrice, who married Eustace Fitzjohn, and when de Vescy died in 1134, Eustace received the title of Baron Alnica and became his new owner. He was close to Queen Matilda and actively helped her in the struggle for the English throne with King Stephen. In addition, Fitzjohn also supported the Scottish King David I, who also fought against Stephen. Apparently he believed that one way or another, but the king will be overthrown and someone will reward him. But it turned out differently: in 1138, the king took the castle from Fitzjohn. And he was left with nothing. But only at that time the castle could be taken away from the lord, but since the nobility remained with them, after suppressing the uprising, Stephen returned his favor and the castle (that's how it is!) And even allowed him to finish its construction. In 1157, this in every respect Fitzjon died and was buried in Wales.
View of the central part of the castle.
However, for some reason all the heirs of de Vescy became famous for being in a rather difficult relationship with the kings. So, in 1172 and 1174, the Scottish king William I the Lion twice besieged the castle of Alnwick, but William de Vessey, who owned it at that time, managed to fight back. During the second siege, taking advantage of the fog, the troops of the British who came to the aid of the castle imperceptibly crept up to the army of the Scots and took prisoner … their king himself! In 1184, William de Vessey died, and Alniks was succeeded by his son Eustace, whose wife, by obvious irony, was the daughter of William the Lion.
Scheme of George Tate Castle, made by him in 1866.
Then on the English throne in 1199 was John Lackland, Wilhelm Leo claimed his rights to Northumberland and for 14 years sought recognition of his claims in the negotiations, during which John Lackland twice came to Northumberland and stayed at Alnwick Castle. And, apparently, Eustace de Vessey, as they say, did not like this king either, and in 1212 he organized a conspiracy against him. John found out about the conspiracy, got angry and several times ordered Alnik to destroy, but only the orders were not carried out. Seeing such an obvious weakness of the royal power, de Vescy in 1215 openly joined the uprising of the barons against John, in addition, and at the same time joined the army of the Scottish king Alexander II, which entered Northumberland. At this point, John Landless became seriously angry and in 216 he burned Alniks. Well, Eustace de Vescy himself was killed in the same year during the siege of Barnard Castle.
This is how the English castles were defended at that time. Battle at the walls of Lincoln Castle. 1217 "Big Chronicle" by Matthew of Paris (1240–1253). (British Library)
Then, in the mid-1260s, John de Vescy, the next heir to Eustace, took part in the uprising of Simon de Montfort against Henry III. In 1265, at the battle of Evesham, he was wounded and taken prisoner, his land and castle were taken from him, but then again forgiven and the rights to possession of the castle were returned. That is, it was easy and even pleasant to be a rebel at that time. In case of defeat, you essentially did not lose anything, but in case of victory, you also received new lands and honors! However, when in 1288 another de Vescy died without leaving an heir, the castle came under the rule of the Bishop of Durham, who then sold it to Sir Henry Percy.
View of Alnwick Castle by Canaletto. The year is 1750. (Bridgeman Art Library)
The members of the Percy family were also distinguished by their restless character and only so, one might say, they were engaged in that for centuries they rebelled against both the English kings and the Scottish ones. Henry, 1st Lord Percy, having received Alnwick Castle, continued this tradition and rebelled against King Edward II, albeit unsuccessfully. He lost the castle, but again only temporarily, since the English kings sacredly respected the ownership of the property, and having received it back, he renovated and improved it!
Wonderful Landscape by William Turner 1829
In 1399, King Richard II accused the Earl of Northumberland and his son of treason. Most likely, he had good reason for this, because in response they conspired with other barons, revolted and put Henry IV on the English throne. But the memory of kings is short. In 1403, Percy (now they were all called by the family name Percy!) Decided that the king had not thanked him generously enough for his help and rebelled again. He lost the battle with the royal troops, lost the castle, but as soon as he was free, in 1405 he again took up arms against his king, and then made a third attempt to overthrow him. In 1409 he was killed, so he was unable to reclaim the castle.
Castle wall.
But it was succeeded by the next Henry Percy, who managed to become a close friend of the future King Henry V, to whom he was devoted all his life. The subsequent years were spent in wars with the Scots, well, and then came the time of the War of the Scarlet and White Rose, in which in 1455 another Earl of Northumberland was killed at the Battle of St. Albans. His son, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, fought against both Scotland and the Yorkists, and died at the Battle of Towton. This also decided the fate of Alnwick Castle, which went to the crown, and then was transferred to Lord Montagu, but not completely. Because in 1469 Edward IV returned him to his rightful heirs. But again, only for a while. Because after Tom Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, was executed by order of Queen Elizabeth for supporting Mary Stuart in 1572, the county and the castle again went to the king.
Courtyard
And then - then, of course, the castle was returned to its rightful owners. However, in England to become the legal owner means to be titled. And it so happened that in 1766 Sir Hugh Smithson was granted the title of 1st Duke of Northumberland, and with the title he received both the land and the castle! He began to restore the castle, he was very successful in this, glorifying it with its luxurious interiors. And since then, the Dukes of Northumberland have been living in this castle and for visiting it they charge £ 12.50 from adults, and half less from children over five years old!
Courtyard gate.
The last time large-scale construction work was carried out here in the 19th century. Then Walter Scott came to visit the castle and, having examined it, complained that such an ancient and beautiful castle did not have a main tower and that this was a big omission. And what do you think? Another duke, Algernon Percy, who even received the nickname "The Builder Duke", immediately built such a tower and today it houses a library of 16 thousand volumes - it is impossible to imagine even how many medieval miniatures there can be in these books - and a collection of paintings. In addition, the castle houses the Museum of Antiquities, which contains finds made in Northumberland over the years, a beautiful park, a garden of water sculptures, a garden of roses and a labyrinth of bamboo thickets. So keeping it all in order is not cheap at all and £ 13, if you think about it, is not that much.
Exhibits of the Museum of Antiquities of Alnwick Castle: swords and spearheads of the Bronze Age.
Bronze and iron spearheads.
In the castle museum you can see these truly amazing multi-barreled cannons.
Tashka and saber of the Northumberland Artillery Volunteers.
Very representative khaki British infantry uniform. That was exactly what he was then, and not at all yellow-brown.
Well, what modern museum can do without such animation compositions ?!
Northumberland Fusiliers helmet.
A touching stuffed regimental dog - "regimental pet"
And this … this we all know what it is. But the piercing bayonet betrays the Chinese origin of this sample.
Well, what castle can do without portraits of noble ancestors? There are many of them in this castle too. Here, for example, is a portrait of Admiral Algernon Percy by Anthony van Dusk (1599-1641).
In addition, films are filmed on the territory of the castle. In addition to the already mentioned "Harry Potter" (the scene where he flies on a broom!), Many other famous films were filmed here, for example, "Ivanhoe" in 1982, and from modern ones - it was filmed in the 5th season of the series "Downton Abbey" …
This bronze figure of a knight stands in the courtyard of the castle. But she's already very strange in appearance …
