I went to The White Swan this morning thanks to Angela and Edward’s comment yesterday and on the way saw the Bondgate Tower.
“A licence was granted in the 1430s by Henry V to Henry Percy 2nd Earl of Northumberland to wall the town and add battlements. These took fifty years to complete, with Bondgate Tower being finished around 1450.” (Wikipedia)
Now fast forward to 1882 when the first Ancient Monuments Protection Act listed fifty prehistoric monuments. Over the years the list grew and included more recent buildings but the next important date is 1944 when the listing of buildings of special architectural or historical interest was established in the Town and Country Planning Act. The first list was the heroic war-time lists, known as ‘Salvage Lists’, drawn up to determine which buildings should be protected from demolition if they had bomb damage. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day and it took about twenty-five years to compile a list of about 120,000 buildings: medieval churches, country houses and pre-1750 buildings. Today it is call the National Heritage List for England and has about 500,000 entries.
But I digress. The Bondgate Tower is Grade I listed and, you ask, how did it get its name? Bondsmen were what are nowadays called serfs or villeins and Bondgate is the street in Alnwick where they lived. It is divided in two by the tower that is also called Hotspur Tower in tribute to the 2nd earl’s father, Harry Hotspur and lest there be any doubt who built the tower it is adorned with the Percy crest. The White Swan lies on Bondgate Within.
The panelling and ceilings taken from the RMS Olympic are probably safe as The White Swan, a coaching inn, 300 years old, is Grade II listed.
Henry V 1413-1421; how was he granting licences to Harry Hotspur in the 1430s? (Wikipedia’s error)
I’m recently back from Northumberland, a week at Chillingham indeed, what could be finer?
I’m asked to mention to you that you received a mention, or at least your letter last month to the FT concerning Kyrgyzstan did, in Only Connect only-connect.co.uk Not the illustrious TV programme, but a blog which has become an on-line magazine.
The relevant article is by Richard Pooley, the editor, titled “As Others See Us” and it is one of the last paragraphs. When I told Mr Pooley I had the pleasure of your more-or-less daily blog he asked that I beg your pardon for his filching of your letter.
I also immodestly mention that I scribble for Only Connect as “Stoker” and ranted a bit on Kings Lynn this month. Simon Wedgwood will confirm Stoker and Wislon are one and the same!