In 1969, a team of researchers from American Heritage helped document some of the most important maps of the Revolution — still stored in the medieval English castle where scenes from Harry Potter were later filmed. Alnwick, the second-largest inhabited castle in England after Windsor Castle, overlooks the River Aln in Northumberland about 30 miles south of the border with Scotland. From the time of the Norman Conquest, there has been a castle on the site to hinder Scottish invasions.
Since the 13th Century, Alnwick has been the home of the Percy family and, later, the dukes of Northumberland.
In addition to the Harry Potter films, the castle has appeared in such films and shows as Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, Elizabeth (starring Cate Blanchett), the British sitcom Blackadder, and the Downtown Abbey TV series, among many others.