Alnwick Castle, mainly the castle behind Hogwarts

Hogwarts castle is probably one of the most iconic locations in the Harry Potter franchise. And, of course, the movie series didn’t disappoint in capturing the majestic atmosphere of the wizard school. Now, enough with the magical world of wizards! Let’s return to the dull reality where we are all muggles without any supernatural power. Even if it seems like an excellent tool for dealing with daily chores (like Molly Weasley showed us), considering the amount of harm we can do already is enough to make me grateful we don’t have magic. Seriously can you imagine the disaster we would create if we could teleport and shoot fireballs? Returning to today’s post, Hogwarts may be an entirely imaginary place, but it was filmed in real castles. After all, especially in the earlier movies, CGI was nowhere near as widespread as it is now.

Alnwick Castle

Let’s start with the OG location of our wizard school. Used in the first two movies, the Alnwick Castle gave us a much closer look at Hogwarts, especially for the exterior scenes. Many people have considered it the main face of Hogwarts, and fair enough, it was the first castle used for the series. Its main competitor for this title is a cathedral (more on that in a later post). So, yeah, it would be awkward to give the title of ‘real life Hogwarts’ to a non-castle structure.

Its origines

Now a bit of history on this place. Built in 1096 by a Norman nobleman with the most Italian name ever, Ivo de Vesci, it frequently came under attack from the still independent Scots. When building your living place right next to one of Scotland’s main cities, Edinburgh, you have to expect some unwanted guests. For those wondering why a Norman from France would build a castle in northern England, go read my post on William the Conqueror (who visited England quite long ago). Also, at the time, Edinburgh was just a major city and not the capital of Scotland. We all know and appreciate its rich historical heritage. At the time, the capital of Scotland was a city further north in the kingdom called Scone. Yes, just like the pastry.

The castle found itself in a pickle when the current de Vesci baron, Eustace, was accused of treason against King John. Eustace eventually managed to flee to Scotland, but his possessions, including the castle, couldn’t escape with him. As a punishment, John ordered the Alnwick Castle to be demolished. Fortunately for the Harry Potter series, this project was never carried out. In a bit of twisted irony, this (potentially false) accusation of treason pushed Eustace to side with France during the conflict known as the First Baron War, where he would eventually die. The legend says he was shot through the head by an arrow, which sounds familiar.

Going to the House of Percy

The castle remained in the hands of the Vesci family until some political shenanigans from King Henry III resulted in the region being sold to the Percy family, who still owns the castle today. The castle changed hands numerous times within the family, particularly during the War of the Roses, as it was a key defensive position for the Lancaster faction.

The Gunpowder Plot marked the beginning of a period of negligence for the castle by the Percy family. This lasted until Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, as he brought the family back on its feet once and for all.

Stay tuned and follow me! My next story is about the second major location that served as the setting for Hogwarts, the Durham Cathedral!