The Great Kitchen at Alnwick Castle

Daniel Watkins

The Great Kitchen at Alnwick Castle, designed by architect Anthony Salvin for the 4^th Duke of Northumberland, was opened in November 1859 for the annual Workmen’s Dinner. 640 guests were fed from the new Kitchen, demonstrating the capabilities of this expanded domestic space. Built on the footprint of significantly smaller 18^th century kitchens, Salvin took inspiration from medieval religious architecture such as the Prior’s Kitchen at Durham Cathedral, creating what was described in 1860 as a ‘Temple of Hospitality’.

The focal point of the Kitchen was its roasting range, powered by a waterwheel which controlled the turning of the spits. The main dish at the 1859 Workmen’s Dinner was a ‘baron of beef’, cooked on the range for eight hours. It was played into the dining space by the duke’s own Northumbrian bagpiper, to the tune of ‘The Roast Beef of Old England’.

Attached to the Great Kitchen was a suite of larders, each with a specific purpose, from game and fish to cold foods; a Victorian refrigerator survives in one of these spaces. A new Servants Hall and living spaces for the Cook, kitchen maids and visiting ‘Strange Cooks’ were also created. In the early 1890s, an underground tunnel and hydraulic lift were installed, linking the Kitchen directly to the State Dining Room in the castle keep.

For much of the late 19th century, the Cook was J.W. Thorpe. In 1892, Thorpe led a team of chefs preparing food for a week of festivities to celebrate the coming of age of Lord Warkworth (the 6^th Duke’s grandson). In the 1930s another chef, Lena Cunningham, created a scrapbook of menus which is a valuable source document today. Robert Shurlock held the role of ‘Kitchen Man’ for around 30. His duties probably involved looking after the roasting range; it is likely he is the man holding a spit in the photograph seen here. A recent public appeal provided the castle with a photograph of Helen Grainger, a kitchen maid in the 1920s. Helen’s memoir, written later in her life, offers fascinating new information on how the Kitchen operated at that time.

By 1940, the ducal family no longer required kitchens on such a grand scale. During the Second World War, the spaces were given to Newcastle Church High School, whose students were evacuated to Alnwick Castle. After the war, Northumberland Teacher Training College, and then St Cloud State University, Minnesota, took over. It was only in 2025 that the Great Kitchen and its larders were opened to visitors for the first time.

The Great Kitchen at Alnwick Castle

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