HARRY'S HOGWARTS: ALNWICK CASTLE

When J. K. Rowling finished the first book in her series of Harry Potter novels Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997,  having experienced a hand-to-mouth existence on benefits, she could hardly have dreamt of the riches that would come her way, not only from the sales of the books themselves, running at several hundred million copies, but from the resulting series of films, starring such luminaries as Robbie Coltrane, John Cleese and the late Richard Harris, as well as launching the careers of several young actors and actresses, with Daniel Radcliffe playing Harry.  The films feature a number of stunning locations – see my previous post Pottering Around On The Jacobite Steam Train for some of the Scottish locations – but one of the most recognisable locations is Alnwick Castle, aka Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Part of the schooling of Harry and his schoolmates consisted of  learning to fly a broomstick, an activity which was overseen by Madam Hooch (Zoe Wannamaker).  This skill was passed on in the area of the Outer Bailey, which was also where the rules of Quidditch (a broomstick-based sport) were taught.  As for the Inner Bailey, this was where Harry and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) crash-landed the famous flying car.  The imposing entrance to the castle from the gardens, known as Lion Arch, served as the entrance to Hogwarts, leading to Hagrid’s cabin and the Forbidden Forest.

Alnwick Castle state rooms exterior, 2010. Photo by James West, via Wikimedia Commons

Alnwick Castle, which is still inhabited by the Duke of Northumberland, not surprisingly makes the most of its Harry Potter connections by offering, among other things, broomstick lessons, primarily aimed at the kids, although adults have been known to join in the fun.  The lessons are given by characters dressed up as professors, and take place in the area where the broomstick lesson scenes were shot for the film.  However, it’s not all about Harry Potter.  Garden enthusiasts will love the grounds surrounding the castle which include such novelties as a Poison Garden full of toxic plants where visitors are led around by a guide to avoid mishaps, and the magnificent Grand Cascade water feature.  There is also a massive treehouse which serves as a unique treetop restaurant.  

Cascading water in Alnwick gardens - geograph.org.uk - 1398053. Photo by John Firth, via Wikimedia Commons

The castle itself was first started in 1096 by Yves de Vescy, Baron of Alnwick.  Being at the northern end of England, the castle was repeatedly captured and besieged by Scottish kings.  Later, during the Wars of the Roses, the castle was held by Lancastrian forces.  Various alterations were made to the castle over the years, but the rooms on view to the public today are characterised by opulent Italianate interiors, providing a contrast to the solid medieval exteriors.  Beyond the castle, the town of Alnwick is an attractive market town which, apart from the castle, is known as the home of Barter Books.  Housed in a former railway station, it is one of the country’s largest second-hand bookshops.  A short distance away is the glorious Northumberland coast, with yet more alluring castles such as Bamburgh Castle and Dunstanburgh Castle.

Map of the area.

DICKENS UP NORTH: PRESTON, LANCASHIRE

Among all the works by Charles Dickens, Hard Times seems a bit out on a limb.  The main reason for this is geographical, being set “up north” rather than the author’s usual stamping ground, which was mainly in the south-east, sometimes extending out west to Bath, or up the east coast to Great Yarmouth.  The story is set in the fictional Lancashire industrial centre known as Coketown.  Dickens had never ventured this far north prior to writing the novel, so to get himself into the mood he set off for Preston in 1854, where he reportedly became thoroughly bored and depressed, perhaps as much as anything because there was a strike on at the time – oh, and the fact that it was January probably didn’t help.  The industrial unrest witnessed by Dickens provided the main inspiration for the backdrop to the story, and for the characters, including the obnoxious industrialist Josiah Bounderby and one of his employees, the tragic Stephen Blackpool, unable to leave his alcoholic wife for his co-worker sweetheart, wrongly accused of a bank robbery and forced to flee the mill and Coketown before coming to an untimely end after falling into a hole in the ground. 

It has been commented that, unusually for Dickens, the characters in Hard Times lack vibrancy, not surprisingly since he did not linger long enough in Preston to get to know the local people.  However, where he does shine is in his descriptions of the local industrial landscape.  Coketown is described as “that ugly citadel, where Nature was as strongly bricked out as killing airs and gases were bricked in”.  The red brick architecture is dismissed with the comment that it is “of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it”.  Not surprisingly, the chimneys attract particular disgust: “the chimneys, for want of air to make a draught, were built in an immense variety of stunted and crooked shapes”.  However, he did concede that the factories, when lit up, looked like “fairy palaces”.  Even on a sunny summer’s day and seen from a distance “Coketown lay shrouded in a haze of its own, which appeared impervious to the sun’s rays.   You only knew the town was there because you knew there could have been no such blotch upon the prospect without a town.” 

Miller Arcade Preston. Photo by Francis C. Franklin, via Wikimedia Commons

Preston lies on the banks of the River Ribble, and its origins go back to Roman times.  Highlights of the city’s pre-industrial age include the Battle of Preston in 1648, during the English Civil War, and another Battle of Preston during the Jacobite Rebellion, when the Jacobite army was defeated there.  It was in the 19^th century, however, that the former market town became a ‘poster child’ for the transformations brought about by the Industrial Revolution, most notably courtesy of the cotton industry and its mills such as the one owned by Bounderby.  The appalling conditions in the mills were what led to the strike of 1842 which led to the reading of the Riot Act and the involvement of armed troops, who killed several strikers.  Sadly, like so many places in the north, the 20^th century saw a notable decline in the city’s industrial activity.  The free to enter Harris Museum and Art Gallery has a section devoted to the city’s history alongside its art displays.  The town's shopping centres include the Victorian era Miller Arcade, pictured above, which was modelled on the Burlington Arcade in London.

The Harris Museum Preston.  Photo by Francis C. Franklin, via Wikimedia Commons

Map of the area.