William de Percy (d. 1096), founder of this family, came over to England with William the Conqueror. He came from the Caen region of the Norman duchy where villages still bear the name Perci.
In 1309, Henry Lord Percy purchased Alnwick Castle moving the family north from Yorkshire and so started an extraordinary relationship between family and town which has lasted through the centuries.
Generations of family members have contributed to both Castle and Estate, adding land and property, fine art and collections, making Alnwick Castle a truly unique place to visit.
A new exhibition created to mark the 700 year anniversary, part of which opens at the Castle this summer. In a trail which takes visitors around Castle and grounds, each of the one hundred years will be brought to life by a different Percy family member of the time. First in line is Harry Hotspur. Eldest son of the 1st Earl Percy, he was a teenager when he first went into battle against the Scotts, quickly earning his nick name Hotspur for his great courage and quick temper. Such was his fame he was imortalised by Shakespear in Henry IV part 1. The Percys story continues through the ages with tales of battles won and lost, imprisonment in the Tower of London, travels and exploration and the creation of one of the finest Estates in the country, an ongoing saga summed up by the current Duke in a personal transcript.