 Henry VI permitted the town to charge murage on selected imports to Alnwick in 1434 and, using these taxes, protective walls with four gates were built in stone over a period of around fifty years.The local Percy family controlled the neighbouring Alnwick Castle and the Bondgate Tower was decorated with their lion crest - an unusual feature for town gates of this period which normally celebrated civic, rather than local noble, identities.Today the remaining parts of the walls, including the 15th century Bondgate Tower and the 18th century Pottergate, are a scheduled monument and a grade I listed building.