Andrew: A few "observations" as requested. At the head (west end) of Pottergate street there is a tower above the road, which I take to be the "Pottergate", but the street itself is usually called Pottergate Street. "Gate" in local usage does not only mean an entrance, such as might be found where a main road enters a town, but can also mean a road. In the case or Pottergate I'm not certain about the age of Pottergate Tower and whether or not it really was one of the mediaeval gateways into the town. At the other end of Alnwick town centre there is the better-known Percy Tower, which continues to be a major obstruction to modern traffic, but which looks much more like the mediaeval structure it is. Up to the 19th century there was a small stream between the eastern (bottom) end of Pottergate Street and the Castle precincts. Hence the castle was indeed on an elevation, as castles usually are. However it does not dominate the town of Alnwick in the way the castles of, say, Warkworth or Bamburgh. Much of the western part of Alnwick is actually higher, in the geographical sense, than the ground level around the castle. The description you have found of just how filthy 10th century Alnwick was is, I am sure, quite correct as far as it goes. However, I am also sure that Alnwick was in no way special in that respect. All our towns were in a similarly unhealthy state. Geoff Nicholson -----Original Message----- From: Andrew Wood via <northumbria@rootsweb.com> To: NORTHUMBRIA <NORTHUMBRIA@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wed, 8 Oct 2014 16:57 Subject: [NMB] Mid-19th century Alnwick A few weeks ago I indicated that I was trying to trace the footprints of my County Roscommon ancestors, who finished up on Teesside during the late 1850s; however, before arriving on Teesside they were in Northumberland for a few years, one at Embleton and his two brothers at Alnwick. I¹ve discovered that one of them, Patrick Cox, was living at ³Pottergate Street², Alnwick in 1856, when his eight day old daughter died. I¹ve been able to locate Pottergate, does anyone know if Pottergate was ever referred to as Pottergate Street? Also, a Northumberland Extensive Urban Survey: Mid 19th century to 20th century, makes the following observation in relation to Alnwick: ³overcrowded houses with large middens attached to privies; an absence of adequate waste removal; and houses divided into single room tenements and lodgings - highlighted as particularly unhealthy. Cholera cases, he noted, were more frequent in the high parts of the town¹, where the houses were most crowded and in the most filthy condition². I¹m not familiar with Alnwick, but presume that by higher parts of town, the report is referring to higher¹ in the geographically elevated sense and that Alnwick Castle would occupy the elevated higher part of town. From a map of Alnwick, Pottergate does not seem far from the Castle. Perhaps I¹m wrong and higher has a more historical meaning, i.e. more important, or historical business area as in High Street. I would welcome any observations. Regards Andrew Wood .. Please quote the minimum necessary to put your reply on context. Please introduce yourself at the top of every post. The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORTHUMBRIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message