Alnwick was raided on numerous occasions by Scottish armies. Malcolm III was defeated & killed here in 1093, & William the Lion was defeated & captured here in 1174. William Wallace also attacked Alnwick in 1297. Town walls and gates were constructed from 1434 onwards.
Named after the famous Sir Henry Hotspur (who has a football team named after him.. 😲) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Percy_(Hotspur)
Been to Alnwick today to swap a box of kids books for a handful of weightier tomes at Barter Books. We then popped into town to search out a new independent bookshop. What a brilliant find. The Accidental Bookshop is well worth a visit. Article here from its opening in 2022.