3693 x 2574 px | 31,3 x 21,8 cm | 12,3 x 8,6 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
2011
Informations supplémentaires:
Alnwick Castle is a castle and stately home in the town of the same name in the English county of Northumberland. It is the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest, and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a Grade I listed building. Alnwick Castle guards a road crossing the River Aln. Yves de Vescy, Baron of Alnwick, erected the first parts of the castle in about 1096. It was built to protect England's northern border against the Scottish invasions and border reivers. The castle was first mentioned in 1136 when it was captured by King David I of Scotland. at this point it was described as "very strong". It was besieged in 1172 and again in 1174 by William the Lion, King of Scotland and William was captured outside the walls during the Battle of Alnwick. Eustace de Vesci, lord of Alnwick, was accused of plotting with Robert Fitzwalter against King John in 1212. In response, John ordered the demolition of Alnwick Castle and Baynard's Castle (the latter was Fitzwalter's stronghold), however his instructions were not carried out at Alnwick. When the Vescy family became extinct, Alnwick Castle and the surrounding manor were bequeathed to Antony Bek the Bishop of Durham. The Percy family benefited from England's wars with Scotland; through his military accomplishments Henry Percy, 1st Baron Percy (1273–1314), enhanced his family's status in northern England. In 1309 he purchased the barony of Alnwick from Bek, and it has been owned by the Percy family, the Earls and later Dukes of Northumberland since. The stone castle Henry Percy bought was a modest affair, but he immediately began rebuilding. Though he did not live to see its completion, the building programme turned Alnwick into a major fortress along the Anglo-Scottish border. His son, also called Henry (1299–1352), continued the building.
