IWalls & gates · listed 1952Alnwick CastleOn the list as The Castle, Stable Court and Covered Riding School Including West Wall of Riding SchoolPhoto: Thomas Quine · CC BY 2.0
The Castle, Stable Court and Covered Riding School Including West Wall of Riding School · Photo: Thomas Quine · CC BY 2.0AHistory Grade
History of Alnwick · Historic England
249 listed buildings, 5 of them Grade I
On the Historic England list, all of them stand inside Alnwick’s built-up area, 295 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 2 scheduled monuments. We have photos of 19 of its listed buildings and 8 old views of the town. 20% of its homes were built before 1919. Alnwick grades A for history: #3 of 20 in Northumberland.
Listed buildings
249
295 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
5
exceptional interest
Grade II*
11
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
2
1 registered park or garden
Homes built before 1919
20%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Alnwick in 29 photos and old views
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed, and the town before 1950. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Church of St MichaelGrade I listed
Town HallGrade I listed
No 20 and Mill at RearGrade II listed
Ye Olde Cross Public House 'Dirty Bottles'Grade II listed
South Chapel at Alnwick CemeteryGrade II listed+24See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.
Through time
Alnwick from 1822 to 1945
An old map and 8 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
1822
1844
c. 1866
c. 1900
1905
1905
c. 1908
1908
1945Public domain, from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server. Each credit opens the image’s page with its full description and history.
The map
Where Alnwick’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.
Grade IGrade II*Scheduled monumentPark or garden400 m from Alnwick Castle
Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+
5 of 5Grade I buildings stand within 400 m of Alnwick Castle, a five-minute walk. So do 131 of the 249 listed buildings.
0 of 6neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 36% were built before 1919.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
249 listed buildings by grade
5 Grade I11 Grade II*233 Grade II
Historic England lists buildings in three grades: Grade I for buildings of exceptional interest (about 2.5% of all listed buildings), Grade II* for particularly important buildings of more than special interest (about 5.8%), and Grade II for buildings of special interest (about 91.7%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.
Every entry on the National Heritage List for England whose point lies inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings. Neighbourhood dots: the population-weighted centre of each Census 2021 output area, coloured by its neighbourhood’s (LSOA’s) share of homes built before 1919 (Valuation Office Agency, March 2025).
Grade I
The 5 Grade I listed buildings in Alnwick
Buildings of exceptional interest, about 2.5% of all listed buildings; 5 of these stand within 400 m of Alnwick Castle. Every one is photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
IChurch · listed 1977St Michael's ChurchOn the list as Church of St MichaelPhoto: Mick Knapton · CC BY-SA 3.0
IPublic · listed 1952Town HallPhoto: Gordon Hatton · CC BY-SA 2.0
IPublic · listed 1952Northumberland Hall (Assembly Rooms)Photo: John Firth · CC BY-SA 2.0
IHouse · listed 1952Bondgate TowerOn the list as The Hotspur Gateway or Bondgate TowerPhoto: Benjamin Smith · CC BY-SA 4.0
Grade II*
The 11 Grade II* listed buildings in Alnwick
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Every one is photographed.
II*Public · listed 1977Bondgate HallPhoto: Mick Knapton · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*Church · listed 1952Church of St PaulPhoto: Barabbas1312 · CC BY-SA 3.0
II*House · listed 1952Dorothy Foster's HousePhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*House · listed 1977General Lambert's HousePhoto: Magnus Manske · CC BY-SA 3.0
II*House · listed 1952Pottergate TowerPhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*House · listed 1952St Michael's PantPhoto: The joy of all things · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*Public · listed 1977The Old Post OfficePhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*House · listed 19521, BailiffgatePhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*House · listed 19522, BailiffgatePhoto: The joy of all things · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 197727, Fenkle StreetPhoto: Barabbas1312 · CC BY-SA 3.0
II*House · listed 19524 and 5, Percy StreetPhoto: Richard West · CC BY-SA 2.0
Historic streets
Bondgate Within has the most listed buildings
Streets by the listed entries with an address on them. One entry can be a whole terrace, so long rows count once.
Bondgate Within20 listed
Bailiffgate15 listed · 2 II*
Fenkle Street13 listed · 1 II*
Market Street10 listed
Bondgate Without9 listed
Narrowgate9 listed
Green Batt6 listed
Percy Terrace6 listed
Clayport Street5 listed
Walkergate5 listed
Howick Street4 listed
Lisburn Street4 listed
Of the 249 entries, 132 are named by a street address; the rest are named buildings such as churches, halls and bridges.
What’s protected
Most of Alnwick’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas188
Walls, gates & bridges17
Inns, shops & warehouses15
Public & civic buildings15
Churches, chapels & priories10
Memorials, crosses & tombs4
188 entries (76%) are houses, terraces and villas. 10 are churches, chapels and priories, including 1 of the 5 Grade I buildings.
Buildings are sorted by words in each entry’s name (church, gate, inn, memorial…): the list’s open data has no building type. An entry named only by its address counts as a house.
Grade II
233 Grade II listed buildings
Most listed buildings are in this grade, which covers buildings of special interest. Open any building to read its official list entry.
The first 150 of 233 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Alnbank HouseAlnwick Baptist ChurchBali HaiBarndale CottageBarndale HouseBlack Swan Public HouseBlakelaw CottageBurgage walls between No 5 and Cornmarket Market Street and between No 5 and the Terrace on east side of Dodd's LaneCamphill CottageChurch of St James (Presbyterian)Churchyard Gates of the Church of St Mary and St MichaelClive CottageClive Terrace (1-8)Coates the PrintersColumn CottageCorner CafeCouncil Office Former WorkhouseCrown Public HouseDoric HouseDorothy Foster CourtDukes CottagesEasycare CentreEyecatcher in Swansfield Park Wall West Side near 'Eastview'Farmbuildings with Attached Walls South West of Greensfield FarmhouseFormer Correction House Yard at Rear of No 34Former Malthouse to North of No 20Former Railway TerminusFormer Sion Meeting HouseFormer Workhouse and Keeper's HouseFountain in Garden to South of Linhope HouseFreelandsGarden Wall on North and East Sides of Green Batt House and Gate PiersGarden Walls and Gates to Linhope House Closing East End of South StreetGardeners Cottage near West Entrance to Castle Kitchen GardenGate Piers and Gates to the Parish Church of St PaulGates, Railings and Steps to Sheraton HouseGlebelands LodgeGreen Batt HouseGreensfield Farmhouse with Attached Wall to NorthGrosvenor Terrace (1 and 2)Grosvenor Terrace (3, 4 and 5)Grove HouseHappy HavenHigh Pant (Clayport Bank)Hope HouseHope House KincraigHouses Occupied by Mr Wilkinson and Mr SparksHowick House Howick Street GarageKitchen Garden WallsLinhope HouseLloyds BankLoan EndLodge and Gates at Alnwick CemeteryLovaine PlaceLovaine PlaceMarket CrossMethodist ChurchN and B Pringle'sNo 20 and Mill at RearNorth Chapel at Alnwick CemeteryNumber 2, The Tanners Arms and Numbers 4 and 6Number 39 Including the Hat ShopOutbuilding Range to North of Greensfield FarmhouseOuthouse to South East of St Thomas's FarmhousePantPant Outside Westgate HousePercy HousePercy VillaPiers and Railings in Front of the Roman Catholic Church of St MaryQueens Head HotelRear Elevation of Number 6 Fenkle StreetRetaining Wall to ChurchyardRobertsons PantRoman Catholic Church of St MarySavings BankShelter Shed 30 Metres South of Greenfield FarmhouseSheraton HouseSouth Chapel at Alnwick CemeterySouth RoadSt Thomas's FarmhouseStables South West of Bondgate HallSteele's Gift ShopTerrace of 4 Houses on West Side to North of Wall an Drear of No 2 Green BattTerrace on East Side and at Rear of No 39 Market PlaceThe Co-OpThe Corn ExchangeThe Cross HouseThe Dukes SchoolThe Fleece InnThe George Public HouseThe Globe InnThe KennelsThe KilnThe Market TavernThe Nag's Head Public HouseThe PinfoldThe Victoria Infants SchoolThe White Swan HotelWall at Rear of Number 22Wall to South of Methodist ChurchWalls Enclosing Yard at Rear of Number 8 to North and EastWar MemorialWater Tower on West Side of Kitchen GardenWest Wing of the Convent of the Sisters of MercyYe Olde Cross Public House 'Dirty Bottles'1 Hope Terrace and 5 South Street1 Hotspur Street1 and 2 Pottergate and 5 Northumberland Street1 and 3, Bondgate Without1, Bondgate Within1, Percy Terrace1, South Street1-3, Croft Place1-3, Northumberland Street1-4 Clive Nurseries and Clive Villa1-5, Narrowgate1-7, Prudhoe Street10 and 11, Market Place10 and 11, Percy Terrace10, Bondgate Within10, Bondgate Without10, Market Street11 Narrowgate11, Market Street12 and 14, Bondgate Within12 and 14, Bondgate Without12 and 14, Green Batt12, Market Street13 and 15, Bailiffgate13 and 15, Market Street13, Canongate13, Percy Terrace13-17, Bondgate Without13-17, Howick Street14 and 16, Saint Michael's Lane14, Bailiffgate14, Fenkle Street14, Walkergate15-19, Fenkle Street16 and 18, Fenkle Street16, Bondgate Within16, Narrowgate16-20, Bailiffgate17 and 19, Bailiffgate17 and 19, Clayport Street17 and 19, Market Street18, Narrowgate19 and 21, Howick Street19-23, Green Batt1A and 1B, Bailiffgate
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 11% of Alnwick
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Alnwick 197140 ha
40 hain conservation areas, of 362 ha inside the built-up area.
221 of the 249 listed buildings stand in one.
Historic England’s conservation areas layer, supplied by councils (incomplete in places, so a page fact, never graded). Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.
How the list grew
More than half of Alnwick’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1977
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1977 · 2131952 · 21
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 21 entries were listed in 1952, 4 of the 5 Grade I buildings among them. 213 came in 1977, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 0 have been added in the last 15 years.
Monuments & landscapes
Monuments, parks and gardens
Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.
2 scheduled monuments
Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Secretary of State, advised by Historic England.
1 registered park or garden
Alnwick CastleGrade I
History Grade
Alnwick grades A for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.
Protected heritage, for its size and in all (277 points, 329 per 10,000 residents)More than 95% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (20%)More than 62% of UK towns
Two measures, each ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, with protected heritage counting twice as much as the age of homes. Protected heritage counts each listed building by its grade (Grade I three points, II* two, II one), each scheduled monument and battlefield two, and each registered park or garden by its grade; it is ranked both per 10,000 residents and as a total, so a village with one fine church doesn’t outrank a historic city. The second measure is the share of homes built before 1919, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records. History is a character grade: it describes the town and isn’t part of the overall grade.
Born here
26 notable people born in Alnwick before 1900
The 20 best known on one timeline, earliest first.
Beatrix de Vesci
Thomas Grey
Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland
Katherine Percy
Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland
John Busby
Prideaux John Selby
George Biddell Airy
George Tate
Robert Henry Bow
James Patterson
T. J. Cobden-Sanderson
Day Bosanquet
Bernard Bosanquet
Marion Isobel Newbigin
Phelan Gibb
Edmund Hodgson Smart
Thomas Lee
F. M. Powicke
Bill Miller
1050120013501500165018001950
George Biddell Airy1801–1892 · English mathematician and astronomer (*1801 – †1892)
Bernard Bosanquet1848–1923 · English philosopher (1848–1923)
PS
Prideaux John Selby1788–1867 · English ornithologist, botanist and illustrator (1788–1867)
HN
Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland1393–1455 · English nobleman and military commander
HN
Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland1478–1527 · English noble
T. J. Cobden-Sanderson1840–1922 · British artist and bookbinder. (1840–1922)
FP
F. M. Powicke1879–1963 · British historian (1879-1963)
BV
Beatrix de Vesci1090–1115 · Anglo-Norman noble
Everyone born in Alnwick → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Alnwick has the 21st most Grade I buildings of 722 towns its size
Places of 5,000–13,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Alnwick5
#27 of 722for listed buildings per resident (295 per 10,000). Brecon, Dartmouth and Malmesbury lead.
20 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Alnwick
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alnwick | 8,432 | 249 | 5 | A |
| Shilbottle | 1,787 | 10 | 0 | C+ |
| Longhoughton | 1,173 | 12 | 1 | B+ |
| Warkworth | 1,412 | 75 | 2 | A |
| Amble | 5,852 | 20 | 0 | B |
| Felton | 1,270 | 37 | 1 | A |
| South Broomhill | 1,520 | 0 | 0 | C− |
| Longframlington | 1,357 | 16 | 1 | A− |
In brief
Alnwick in brief
Few towns are as rich in listed heritage as Alnwick: per resident it has more than 95% of UK towns. All told, the list holds 249 listed buildings, 5 of them Grade I. Its Grade I buildings cluster together: 5 of them stand within 400 m of Alnwick Castle. Only 20 of the 722 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
A conservation area has protected part of it since 1971. Most entries on the list, 76%, are houses, terraces and villas. George Biddell Airy (1801), Bernard Bosanquet (1848) and Prideaux John Selby (1788) are among the 26 people born here before 1900. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: it also has 2 scheduled monuments; and 20% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 15% in the typical UK town.
Questions about Alnwick’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Alnwick?
Historic England lists 249 buildings inside Alnwick’s built-up area: 5 Grade I, 11 Grade II* and 233 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Alnwick?
5, including Church of St Michael, Northumberland Hall (Assembly Rooms), The Castle, Stable Court and Covered Riding School Including West Wall of Riding School, The Hotspur Gateway or Bondgate Tower and Town Hall.
Which street in Alnwick has the most listed buildings?
Bondgate Within (20), Bailiffgate (15) and Fenkle Street (13) have the most listed entries named by an address. One entry can be a whole terrace.
Are there scheduled monuments in Alnwick?
Yes, 2 scheduled monuments, including Bondgate Tower and St Mary's Chantry House.
How many conservation areas are there in Alnwick?
1, covering about 40 hectares of the town. The largest is Alnwick.
When were Alnwick’s buildings listed?
The first in 1952; the most, 213, in 1977.
Are there old photos of Alnwick?
Yes: 8 public-domain photos and postcards from 1822 to 1908, and an old map from 1945, all on this page.
Who was born in Alnwick?
Among people born before 1900: George Biddell Airy (1801), Bernard Bosanquet (1848), Prideaux John Selby (1788), Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (1393) and Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland (1478).
How old are the homes in Alnwick?
20% of homes were built before 1919 and 36% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).
© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The National Heritage List for England is the official, up-to-date register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England; check an entry on Historic England’s website before relying on it.
Sources: Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only · Historic England conservation areas (supplied by local planning authorities; October 2026). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.