ALNWICK AUCTION BROADSIDE – SAVINGS’ BANK PREMISES AT FENKLE STREET AND NARROWGATE – 1850

Rare mid-nineteenth-century Alnwick auction broadside advertising the sale of a substantial commercial and residential property prominently situated at the corner of Fenkle Street and Narrowgate, two of the principal historic thoroughfares of Alnwick.

Issued by Mr T. Robertson, Auctioneer, the sale was scheduled to take place at the Star Inn, Alnwick, on Thursday 12 December 1850. The property is described as being occupied as a “Savings’ Bank” and comprised a ground-floor office and room together with kitchen, cellar and coal cellar beneath, additional upper rooms, attic accommodation, and substantial rainwater cistern facilities. The broadside further notes the commercial advantages of the site, emphasising its frontage onto “the two principal Thoroughfares of the Town” and its suitability for conversion into a shop premises.

The document provides an evocative glimpse into the commercial development of Victorian Alnwick during a period of expanding provincial banking and urban trade. Particularly notable is the reference to the building’s use as a Savings’ Bank, reflecting the growth of local financial institutions and middle-class commercial activity in market towns during the mid-nineteenth century.

The location itself is of considerable historical importance. Fenkle Street and Narrowgate formed part of the medieval street plan of Alnwick and remained among the town’s principal commercial arteries throughout the nineteenth century. The Star Inn, where the auction was held, was one of Alnwick’s historic coaching inns serving local and regional traffic, although the building no longer survives.

Printed by G. Pike, Printer, Alnwick, and executed in striking bold display typography dominated by the oversized word “HOUSE,” the broadside possesses exceptional decorative and visual appeal characteristic of provincial Victorian auction printing. There are contemporary pencil notes on the bidding verso.

No institutional copy has been traced in Library Hub, WorldCat, or the British Library catalogue and the broadside therefore appears to be unrecorded institutionally.

Single printed broadside measuring approximately 28.3 x 22.5 cm.

Condition: Fold lines as issued with light creasing, minor edge wear, and gentle age toning consistent with survival of ephemeral material. Overall condition near fine.

A rare and visually impressive survival of Victorian Northumberland commercial ephemera combining strong typographical appeal with important associations to Alnwick banking, property, and urban history.

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