The ruins of a hall range are all that remain from a fortified house. The site had been the home of the Percy family since Norman times and in 1308, Henry de Percy obtained a licence to crenellate. However the next year he purchased the barony of Alnwick, and it was at Alnwick that he built a magnificent castle that became the new home of the Percys. The oldest visible part of the property is the 13th century undercroft to the hall, which is built against a rocky outcrop. There is a 14th century two-storey chamber to the north of the hall that has a polygonal stair turret on the north-west corner. The main hall was rebuilt in the 15th century.