Alnwick Civic Society donates historic map to Bailiffgate Museum

In 2021, Alnwick Civic Society undertook a project with the Historic Towns Trust and a number of local community groups, to develop and publish a historic map of Alnwick and Alnmouth.

The map’s purpose was to showcase the historical and geographical influences on the layout of each town, as well as buildings of local interest that have since been lost to development.

This particular ordnance survey edition from 1851 was chosen because of the considerable detail it outlines at a time of great change.

The 4th Duke of Northumberland had recently inherited the title and the work of architect Anthony Salvin on Alnwick Castle had not yet begun.

There had also been a cholera outbreak two years prior, so at a scale of two feet to the mile there is enough detail to appreciate the overcrowded conditions that lay at the heart of Alnwick’s problems with sanitation.

The published map includes an introduction to the history, and a gazetteer of all key buildings and sites of interest.

It is available from Bailiffgate Museum and local book shops.

Until recently, most of the Historic Towns Trust’s historic map projects have been in southern England and involved larger towns and cities. They were keen to work with smaller towns and, in particular, ones in the north of England.

Alnwick was identified as an ideal candidate for such a ‘small town’ pilot project because it has a long, well documented history, and has a number of interesting ‘layers’ of lost and surviving historical elements.

Other initiatives of the civic society have included work with local schools, and development of an Alnwick heritage website as a research resource and a means of individuals engaging in the region’s heritage.

Bailiffgate, which could be in line for a move to the Northumberland Hall, won the 2021 Kids in Museums Best Small Museum and overall best Family Friendly Museum Awards.

Admission: £5 Adults, £4 for Concessions, £1 for ages 5 - 16s and under 5s free. For a full list of opening hours and events, please visit www.bailiffgatemuseum.co.uk