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Alnwick Castle State Rooms

Within the imposing castle keep, are the beautifully decorated State Rooms. Home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, the rooms are filled with treasures and stories from Alnwick Castle’s history.
 
You will find our friendly guides in each of the State Rooms, there to answer questions about the castle.
 
The State Rooms are open to visitors from 10:30am - 4.30pm daily. Last admission 4pm.
 
Conservation work is taking place in Alnwick Castle's Library throughout the 2024 season. This is part of a long-term project for the State Rooms that has seen similar work in the Saloon, Drawing Room and Dining Room. Please see below for more information.
 
Please Note
During particularly busy periods there may be a short wait to enter the State Rooms.
Visitors under the age of 16 years must be accompained by an adult.
Photography, food and drink are not permitted in the State Rooms
 
 

Conservation work is taking place in the Library throughout the 2024 season. This is part of a long-term project for the State Rooms that has seen similar work in the Saloon, Drawing Room and Dining Room.

Scaffolding will be constructed within the Library to clean the carved wooden ceiling, which dates back to the mid-19th century. Work will take place on every level, caring for the balustrade, bookcases, fireplaces and floors.

While many items have been removed from the Library for the duration of the project, the room's 14,000 books have been protected in situ. This is far safer than relocating them all from the shelves. The chandelier, which originally hung in the Northumberland House in London, will also remain in place to be cleaned in situ.

A new lighting scheme will be installed to illuminate the bookcases and ceiling, and new silk wall coverings will be made to match the pattern and colour of those seen in the Ante Library next door. 

 

The recess of the room once included two marble medallion portraits of the 4th Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. Removed over 50 years ago, they have been conserved and restored, and will be returning to the Library.

This process means that the Library, and its decorative features, are preserved for future generations.

On your visit to the State Rooms, the Library will have an open viewing area (may be closed at times for the health and safety of visitors) so you can see the conservation team at work!

Exhibitions at Alnwick Castle

Lions of the North Exhibition

Find out more about the lives of the Lions of the Red Rose in a new exhibition created for Alnwick Castle.
 
Enter the eerie, immersive exhibition space inspired by the battlefields of the Wars of the Roses to learn about key members of the Percy family during this turbulent time in English history: Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, his warrior sons Henry, Thomas and Ralph, and Henry, 4th Earl, who survived the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
 
Objects and documents from the Castle collection and archive are highlights of the exhibition, including items that have never been on public display before, from a surviving Percy fingerprint dating back to 1458 to cannon balls dropped in the Castle well during a siege.
 
Find the Lions of the Red Rose in the Breakfast Room during your visit to the State Rooms.
 
On 25th April, 2024, the Duke of Northumberland will give a talk about the history behind the book. Get your tickets here.
 
Lions of the Red Rose is available in hardback (£29) and paperback (£19). Get your copy from the Castle gift shops during your visit.