ALNWICK, a market-town and parish in the eastern division of COQUETDALE ward, county of NORTHUMBERLAND, 34 miles (N. by W.) from Newcastle upon Tyne, and 319 (N. by W.) from London, on the great north road, containing 5927 inhabitants. This place derives its name from its situation near the river Alne. In 1093, it was besieged by Malcolm III., King of Scotland, and bravely defended by Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland. Malcolm, with his son and heir, Prince Edward, were slain during the siege, which event is commemorated by a cross, erected about a mile from the town, called Malcolm's Cross, rebuilt in 1774 by the Duchess of Northumberland, a lineal descendant of the Scottish monarch. In 1135, the town was taken by David, King of Scotland; and, in 1174, William, King of Scotland, with eighty thousand men, laid siege to it, but was defeated and captured by Ralph de Glanville, who sent him prisoner to London, whence he was afterwards ransomed by his subjects for £100,000. In 1215, Alnwick was nearly reduced to ashes by King John; but it appears to have been speedily rebuilt, for, about five years afterwards, Gualo, the pope's legate, summoned a council of the Scottish bishops to be held here. In 1328, it was again besieged by the Scots, under Robert Bruce, their king, but without success. In 1411, the castle (supposed to have been originally erected by the Saxons, on the site of a Roman fortress, and which was, at the Conquest, the baronial residence of the then Earl of Northumberland) was embattled, and the town surrounded with a strong wall, to protect it from the predatory incursions of the Scots, by whom, in 1448, it was burnt, in revenge for the burning of Dumfries by the English. After the battle of Hexham, in 1463, the castle, which was in the interest of the house of Lancaster, was summoned by the Earl of Warwick; but the garrison, though unable to sustain a protracted siege, retained possession till they were relieved by Sir George Douglas, who, at the head of a considerable force, afforded them an opportunity of retiring unmolested. Alnwick abbey was founded, in 1147, by Eustace Fitz-John, who endowed it for Premonstratensian canons: the abbots were summoned to some of the parliaments in the reigns of Edward I. and II.; its revenue, at the dissolution, was £ 194. 7: only the gateway remains, which has been fitted up as a lodge to the castle. Here were also an hospital, founded by some of the Percy family, and dedicated to St. Lawrence, and a chapel, dedicated to St. Thomas. Alnwick is situated on the irregular declivity of an eminence rising from the river Alne, over which, at the northern extremity of the town, is a neat stone bridge of three arches: the streets are spacious, well paved, and lighted with gas, under an act obtained in 1822j the houses, built of stone, are chiefly modern, and many of them elegant; and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water from cisterns and reservoirs, and by pumps erected by the corporation in various parts of the town: assemblies occasionally take place. A subscription library was established in 1783, and a scientific and mechanics' institute in 1824. The castle, now the magnificent residence of the Duke of Northumberland, is a stately structure, comprising two spacious wards, with lofty towers and exploratory turrets: it has been repaired with a due regard to its ancient style, and fitted up with the most sumptuous grandeur. The town walls were strengthened by four square and massive gateway towers, of w.hich Bondgate is the only one remaining, and is now used as a prison. The trade and manufactures are inconsiderable: the parish contains coal, limestone, freestone, whinstone, and marble. The market is on Saturday: fairs are held on the 12th of May, the last Monday in July, the first Tuesday in October, the 28th of that month, and the last Saturday before Christmas-day; there are also statute fairs on the first Saturday in March and November. On the eve of each fair the inhabitants of the adjacent townships send deputies to attend the bailiff in the ceremony of proclamation; after which they keep watch and ward in the several quarters of the town for the remainder of the night, by which service they are exempt from toll within the borough for the next twelve months. The corporation, which is a prescriptive body, consists of a bailiff, nominated by the Duke of Northumberland, as constable of the castle, four chamberlains, and twenty-four common council-men: the chamberlains are chosen from among the common council, and the latter from among the freemen of the several incorporated companies. The freedom is inherited by the eldest sons of freemen, or acquired by servitude. Each candidate, on taking up his freedom, is, by the provisions of King John's charter, subjected to the ludicrous ceremony of passing through a miry pool, thence called the " Freeman's Well." The officers of the corporation possess no magisterial authority, the town being within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who meet every alternate week: the quarter sessions for the county are held here in turn with Hexham, Newcastle, and Morpeth; the county court is held monthly, and courts leet and baron at Easter and Michaelmas, by the Duke of Northumberland, as lord of the manor: a manorial court is held also for the township of Canongate. The members of parliament and coroners for the county are elected here. The town hall is a handsome stone building surmounted by a square tower, erected in 1731, and commodiously arranged for the transaction of the public business: it is situated on the northern side of the market-place, a spacious area in the centre of the town, on the western side of which stands the market-house, a fine building in the early style of English architecture, containing seven spacious apartments, under which are the shambles, erected in 1827. The house of correction, near the Green Bat, was built in 1807. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry of Northumberland, and diocese of Durham, and in the patronage of the Duke of Northumberland. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a large building with a neat tower: the chancel was repaired and embellished, in 1781, by the Duke of Northumberland: in a niche in the south aisle are three recumbent figures in stone. There are places of worship for Antiburghers, Burghers, Independents, Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists, Presbyterians, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics. The free school, near the West-gate, for preparing the sons of freemen for the mathematical school, is principally supported by the corporation; the mathematical school, and a school for the daughters of freemen, are supported by subscription. A National school for two hundred boys was founded, in 1810, by the Duke of Northumberland, in commemoration of George III. having completed the fiftieth year of his reign; and a school for clothing and educating fifty poor girls has been instituted by the Duchess of Northumberland: there are also several Sunday schools. A dispensary was established in 1815, and a savings bank in the following year. In the vicinity are two encampments, supposed to be of Danish origin; and, about the year 1726, a considerable number of military weapons, which probably belonged to the ancient Britons, was found in Hulne park. Alnwick gives the inferior title of baron to the Earl of Beverley.