Engineers inspect damage to historic Alnwick gateway struck by vehicle

The latest incident at the Bondgate Tower happened on Sunday and engineers have since been on site to inspect the damage.

Cllr Gordon Castle, Alnwick ward member on Northumberland County Council, said: “Many will notice that Bondgate Tower has been closed.

"This because a vehicle struck the keystone on the town side, with possible other damage.

"We won’t know how serious it is until engineers have inspected and reported back.”

The arch was closed for a week in late November to allow repairs to the masonry on the Bondgate Within façade.

Northumberland Estates, which is responsible for the structure, commissioned Historic Property Restoration Ltd to do the work.

The 15th Century gatehouse was also struck by a high-sided vehicle last June which caused some internal scraping and took a chunk from the top of the west-facing arch.

Historic England has previously warned that the building might need to be closed if further substantial damage occurred.

It was listed in its Heritage at Risk Register 2019, its annual snapshot of the state of England’s most valued historic places.

Bondgate Tower is deemed a Priority A, with Historic England stating: ‘The main defects relate to damage from high-sided vehicles passing through the central portal. Further impact of a similar nature could cause a serious collapse.’

The three-storey gatehouse was founded around 1450 by the 2nd Earl of Northumberland.

Also known as Hotspur Gate, it was originally one of four gates, in the medieval town wall.

The dramatic events of the pandemic are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on your support through buying our newspaper. If you can, please pick up a copy of the Northumberland Gazette when you are at the shops. Thank you.