Alnwick Castle

Summary

A Grade I listed medieval castle in Alnwick, Northumberland, seat of the Percy family — Dukes of Northumberland — rebuilt in its present form from the 14th century onwards, with major restoration by the 1st Duke of Northumberland in the 1760s under architects James Paine and Robert Adam, and a second restoration for the 4th Duke by Anthony Salvin from the 1850s; one of the largest inhabited castles in England; used as a filming location for Prince Valiant (1954), Becket (1964), Mary Queen of Scots (1971), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Elizabeth (1998), Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Downton Abbey (ITV, 2015 to 2016), and Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023).

About this location

Alnwick Castle stands above the River Aln in Alnwick, Northumberland, approximately thirty miles north of Newcastle. The site has been fortified since the Norman Conquest; the first castle was built by Yves de Vescy after the Conquest. The castle passed to the Percy family in 1309, when it was purchased by Henry Percy, 1st Baron Percy, and the family has held it almost continuously since. The Percys are among the most powerful noble families in English history, and Alnwick Castle served as their principal seat and the base from which they exercised control over the north of England and the Scottish border.

The castle is built in a typical Norman plan of inner ward and outer ward with two baileys, set on a high mound above the river. The extensive restoration and redecoration carried out for Hugh Smithson Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, from the 1760s gave the state rooms their current character, with work attributed to James Paine and Robert Adam incorporating Italian Baroque-influenced interiors. A second and more extensive campaign of works for Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, from the 1850s was directed by Anthony Salvin, who restored many of the medieval features of the exterior while the architect Luigi Canina provided the Italian Renaissance interior scheme for the state rooms; this scheme remains largely intact.

The castle retains its medieval towers and curtain walls, with the distinctive outer gatehouse and the great round towers of the bican forming the most recognisable elements of the exterior silhouette. The Alnwick Garden, a separate attraction adjacent to the castle, was developed by Jane Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, from 2001 and is not managed as part of the castle’s filming programme.

Alnwick Castle has been used as a filming location for more than a dozen productions. Feature films include: Prince Valiant (Twentieth Century Fox, 1954); Becket (Paramount/Wallis, 1964, directed by Peter Glenville, starring Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole); Mary, Queen of Scots (Universal, 1971, directed by Charles Jarrott); Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Warner Bros., 1991, directed by Kevin Reynolds, starring Kevin Costner — the castle exterior stands in for Nottingham Castle); Elizabeth (PolyGram/Working Title, 1998, directed by Shekhar Kapur, starring Cate Blanchett); Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Warner Bros., 2001, directed by Chris Columbus — Alnwick serves as the external courtyard of Hogwarts where broomstick flying lessons take place); Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner Bros., 2002, directed by Chris Columbus); Your Highness (Universal, 2011); Transformers: The Last Knight (Paramount, 2017); and Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (Paramount/eOne, 2023). Television productions include: The Black Adder (BBC One, 1983); Robin of Sherwood (HTV/Goldcrest, 1984 to 1986); The Virgin Queen (BBC Two, 2005); The Hollow Crown (BBC Two, 2012); and Downton Abbey (ITV Studios, 2015 to 2016, in which Alnwick stands in for a Scottish castle).