Learn about real Hogwarts

NOTHING tells the story of Britain more forcefully than our great houses, and the home of the Duke of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle, is no exception.

The present duke, Ralph Northumberland, talks at the festival of his family’s 1,000-year role in Britain’s story, taking us from the Norman Conquest to the two World Wars and beyond. There’s also a starring role in Shakespeare — Harry Hotspur, the Duke’s ancestor, is one of the Bard’s best-known characters in Henry IV, Part 1, a rebel lord killed in battle.

More recently, Alnwick Castle (pictured left) has been the scene of very different battles, as the home of Hogwarts school in the Harry Potter films.