ALNWICK ABBEY
SUMMARY and LOCATION:
NGR: NU 17860 14069
Alnwick Abbey, in Northumberland, lay on the north bank of the river Aln about a mile above the town. It was founded by Eustace Fitz-John, sheriff of Northumberland, in 1147. It is said that the convent arrived (from Newhouse) in 1148.
The abbey was initially suppressed in 1536 but was refounded by the King and finally suppressed on 22 December 1539. By 1551, the site was in the possession of Ralph Sadler and Laurence Winnington who sold it to Francis Brandling. In the mid 18th century it was acquired by John Doubleday of Jarrow, who built a house adjacent to the surviving north gatehouse to the precinct. The site is now owned by the Northumberland Estate.
There are no visible remains of the main abbey complex. The site was excavated by W H St John Hope in 1884 and the full plan was recorded.
St John Hope notes that the site had been entirely robbed of stone and was ‘a perfectly level green field’. No records of the removal of the abbey stone are known, but it may have been done as part of the remodelling of Alnwick Castle in the 1760s.
Following excavation, the site was left with the outlines of the monastic buildings marked in concrete; sadly, these are no longer visible, however, they do show well as parch-marks in the pasture on dry years (see Google Earth 2006).
The impressive 14th century north gatehouse to the precinct survives intact with few later alterations.
There is currently no public access to the gatehouse or the monastic site.