The town's greatest building is Alnwick Castle, one of the homes of the Duke of Northumberland, and site of The Alnwick Garden; it dominates the west of the town, above the River Aln. Outside the line of the walls, the old railway station building is relatively ostentatious for such a small town, due to its frequent use by royal travellers visiting Alnwick Castle. The town dates to about AD 600, and thrived as an agricultural centre. Historically, the town was partly within the Bamburgh Ward and Coquetdale Ward and later included in the East Division of Coquetdale Ward in 1832. Golfers can find thirteen golf courses within 30 minutes drive of the town. Its collection is specifically dedicated to local social history. Alnwick Castle was the home of the most powerful medieval northern baronial family, the Earls of Northumberland. Alnwick Hall is a historic manor in Morris Township, New Jersey. It was started in 1968.[6]. -1.700)1. The museum has recently had a major refit funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Surrounding the market place are the main shopping streets: Narrowgate, Fenkle Street, and Bondgate Within. The castle is the hub of a number of commercial, educational and tourism operations. In 1314, Sir John Felton was governor of Alnwick. Currently, it houses American students studying in Europe through a … Alnwick town lies adjacent to the A1, the main national north/south trunk road, providing easy access to Newcastle upon Tyne (35 miles (56 km) south) and to the Scottish capital Edinburgh (80 miles (130 km) north). Pottergate Tower, at the other side of the town, also stands on the site of an ancient gate, but the tower itself was rebuilt in the 18th century. Substantial ruins remain. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. The town is an 'A1 Town', there are several such similar towns in the North of England such as (North to South), Berwick Upon Tweed (28.1 miles North), Morpeth (28.3 miles South), Newton Aycliffe (65.1 miles South) and Wetherby (116 miles South). [10] Local artist Stella Vine donated three of her paintings to the museum, as she had grown up in Alnwick. It was built in 1904 for Edward P. Meany, legal counsel for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Judge Advocate General of New Jersey and Vice President of the New Mexico Central and Southern Railway. The total population of this ward was 4,766.[8]. From 1945 to 1975, it was the location of a teacher training college for young women and "mature students" (persons of more than 21 years in age). It was a staging post on the Great North Road between Edinburgh and London, and latterly has become a dormitory town for nearby Newcastle-upon-Tyne[citation needed]. Alnwick Hall was built for Edward P. Meany, New Jersey Judge Advocate General and one-time director of AT&T. It is the second largest inhabited castle in England, after Windsor Castle. Book your tickets online for the top things to do in Alnwick, Northumberland on Tripadvisor: See 18,285 traveler reviews and photos of Alnwick tourist attractions. There was a Church of Scotland congregation in Alnwick in the 17th and 18th centuries.[4]. What are the top attractions to visit in Alnwick? The castle is the hub of a number of commercial, educational and tourism operations. Some major or noteworthy employers in the town are: The town's greatest building is Alnwick Castle, one of the homes of the Duke of Northumberland, and site of The Alnwick Garden; it dominates the west of the town, above the River Aln. The castle is popular with film-makers: Blackadder, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Harry Potter; are some of the films shot here. In 2003, the Willowburn Sports and Leisure Centre was opened on the southern outskirts of the enlarged town (replacing the old sports centre located by the Lindisfarne Middle School and the now-demolished Youth Centre). Since then, The Abbey has served as a church, an office building, a bank, and even a medical imaging center! Find what to do today, this weekend, or in September. Newcastle Airport is the nearest, however for alternative flights, Edinburgh Airport, Leeds Bradford Airport and Manchester Airport are all within 150 miles (240 km). Other places of interest in and near the town include: Major events in the Alnwick calendar include: Alnwick Fair was an annual costumed event, held each summer from 1969 to 2007, recreating some of the appearance of medieval trading fairs and 17th century agricultural fairs. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, 32 miles (51 km) south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, 5 miles (8 km) inland from the North Sea at Alnmouth and 34 miles (55 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne. In medieval times, Alnwick was a walled town, although due to fluctuating economic conditions during the Middle Ages, the walls were never completed. It has now been discontinued.[12]. Since the 2010s, the Aln Valley Railway Trust have worked to reopen the branch as a heritage railway but, due to construction of the A1 Alnwick bypass removing a section of the original trackbed on the edge of the town, their purpose-built Alnwick Lionheart terminus is located near the Lionheart Enterprise Estate on the outskirts of the town.