ALNWICK, the county town of Northumberland, on the Aln; at the north entrance is Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland, one of the most magnificent structures of the kind in England, and during the Border wars a place of great strength.

Alnwick, situated so near the border, was the scene of countless raids and conflicts during the Middle Ages, and with these fights the castle was always closely associated.