Howick, Alnwick, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

Late 18th-century parkland and early 19th-century wooded pleasure grounds, developed from 1917 onwards into an extensive woodland garden.

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Howick Hall lies 7 kilometres to the north-east of Alnwick and 1.5 kilometres inland, west of Howick village. The open landscape of the North Northumbrian Coastal Plain has been modified by the extensive tree planting on the Howick estate, which lies on both banks of the Howick Burn. The Burn forms a steep-sided valley running from north-west to south-east across the estate before issuing into the sea, 500 metres south of Howick Haven.

Howick Hall is set on a plateau at the top of the valley. From the south front there are views, across the valley and the Howick Burn, to the parkland which rises up beyond to the horizon. The main vista southwards from the Hall is set within a framework of trees, formed by the wooded pleasure grounds.

REFERENCES Used by English Heritage

J Wallis, The Natural History and Antiquities of Northumberland (1769)

E Mackenzie, View of the County of Northumberland (1825), p 426

The Local Historian's Table Book II, (1842), p 269

F O Morris, Views of Seats VI, (1880), p 63

Gardeners' Chronicle, ii (26 January 1884), p 112

W W Tomlinson, Guide to Northumberland (1888), pp 420-2

N Pevsner and I A Richmond, The Buildings of England: Northumberland (1957, reprinted 1974), pp 194-5

Country Life, 171 (8 April 1982), pp 952-4

Maps

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition surveyed 1860, published 1865; 2nd edition surveyed 1896
 

Description written: January 2001

Amended: March 2003