Four generations of Bells. The first door opened in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1897. The shop trades today from 15-17 Bondgate Within, opposite the Alnwick market place, with Stephen Bell on the floor as the fourth generation of the family. Suits, shirting, knit and casual six days a week. Suit hire, kilt hire and wedding-party fittings booked against the date. One hundred and twenty-nine years of menswear, fitted by hand.
Pop into the shop, or phone the floor on 01665 602584 if you are after a specific brand, a hire date or a kilt fitting. Stephen or the floor team will pick up. We do not push, we do not chase, and we will hold a piece at the counter if you want to see it in person.
Two-piece, three-piece and waistcoat-led suits fitted on the floor at Bondgate Within. Magee 1866 brings an Irish-made tweed line that has been weaving the same cloth almost as long as we have been selling it. Brook Taverner and Skopes for the daily working suit. Marc Darcy and House of Cavani for the cut that turns up to a wedding. Stephen on the tape, the alteration card written at the counter.
Single hires and full grooms-party hires arranged in the shop. Tailcoats and morning suits for a formal wedding. Evening wear and black tie. Three-piece tweeds. Authentic Highland kilt outfits for traditional ceremonies. The groom, the best man and the fathers measured together, the hire schedule drawn against the wedding date, the suits held at the counter for collection. Phone ahead so the room is yours.
Brook Taverner, Olymp, Marvelis and Fynch-Hatton on the shirts. Wrangler and MAC on the denim. Magee 1866 knitwear, Failsworth caps, HJ Hall and Pringle socks, Swole Panda for the colour. Bell and Sons is a suit shop on Friday and a casual shop on Saturday morning. We carry both, on the same floor, with the same alteration hands.
Tan, burgundy and oxblood brogues for the wedding and the working suit. Bugatti tan leather trainers for the in-between days. The shoes are fitted on the floor with the suit so the colour holds together. We keep the sizes the multiples have quietly dropped.
If you are coming in for a wedding suit, a kilt hire or a fitted occasion piece, give us a few days' notice so the right hands are on the floor and the room is yours.
Most high street suit hire is now an online checkout and a courier. The hire service at Bell & Sons is the opposite. The groom, the best man, the ushers and the fathers come into the shop on a Saturday afternoon together. Stephen Bell or the floor team measure each in turn. The hire schedule is written against the wedding date. The suits are held at the counter until collection week. The alterations are done in the shop, on the same alteration card as the bought-in suits.
“We have had 13 suits in total from them and they have all been of high quality and a really good price.” Jake S · Google review, April 2025
The first Bell & Sons door opened in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1897. The founder was a Bell. The trade was menswear. The city at the time had more tailors than department stores, and the shop opened in among them. The second generation took the business through the inter-war years. The third generation steered it through the post-war decades and brought the shop to Alnwick, onto Bondgate Within, opposite the market place.
Stephen Bell is the fourth generation. He came onto the floor in the nineties, the royal-blue painted shopfront sign is the one he inherited, and the trade is the one he runs. Brook Taverner, Magee 1866, Skopes, Marc Darcy. Suit hire, kilt hire, the wedding book. Six days a week of fitted-in-person menswear, with a Sunday short day for browsing.
One hundred and twenty-nine years is not a marketing line. It is what it says. Four Bells on the same trade card. The same Bondgate door for several of those decades. The same alteration card written at the counter when the suit is paid for.
“Top retailer, service is second to none, top class products with keen pricing. Exceptional shoes and clothing.” Murray · Google review, July 2025
Tell us what you are after. A wedding hire with the date, a single suit, a kilt outfit, a size we may need to order in. Stephen or the floor team will reply during shop hours. If it is quicker to phone, the number is on the contact card. We do not run an out-of-hours inbox, only the shop on Bondgate Within.
For weddings, please give us the date and the approximate party size. We will block out the fitting afternoon and write the hire schedule against your day.
Bondgate Within is the cobbled high street that runs west from the medieval Bondgate Tower toward Alnwick Castle and Bailiffgate. The shop sits on the south side of the cobbles, royal-blue painted fascia, two display windows of mannequins, opposite the market place. Jobson's of Alnwick, the country-clothing saddler, is a few doors east at the Tower end. Scotts of Alnwick is a short walk along the same stretch.
On-street short stay parking sits on Bondgate Within itself. The longer-stay Greenwell Road and Market Street car parks are a five-minute walk. The Arriva X18 from Newcastle stops at Alnwick bus station, three minutes' walk from the door. If you are coming in for a hire fitting, phone ahead and we will hold the time. If you are coming in to browse, the door is open.
Closed on Bank Holidays. If you are planning a wedding fitting, phone ahead so we can put time aside on the floor.
If yours is not here, phone the shop on 01665 602584 or pop in during opening hours.
Phone the shop or send a note from the form below with the wedding date and the approximate party size. We will book the groom and the groomsmen in together, take measurements on the same afternoon, write the hire schedule against the wedding date and hold each suit at the counter for collection. Tailcoats, morning suits, evening wear and three-piece tweeds. Kilt outfits the same way.
Yes. Authentic Highland kilt outfits for traditional ceremonies and special events. Single hires or whole parties. Fitted in the shop, with the jacket, sporran, hose and brogues sized to match. Phone us on 01665 602584 to talk through the tartan and the order of day.
Brook Taverner, Magee 1866, Marc Darcy, Skopes and House of Cavani on the suit rail. Olymp, Marvelis, Fynch-Hatton and Brook Taverner on shirting. Wrangler and MAC on the denim. Magee 1866 knitwear, Failsworth caps, HJ Hall and Pringle socks. Azor and Bugatti on the footwear. Plus Ashwood Leather, Lloyd Atree & Smith, Tie Studio, Swole Panda, Glenmuir 1891. We add to the list quietly when the trade shows turn up something worth carrying.
Sleeves, hems and trouser length, yes, on a same-week turnaround. Larger alterations we will book in, depending on the date. The alteration card is written at the counter when the suit is paid for. Wedding-party alterations are scheduled against the wedding date so nobody is waiting.
Yes, the full collection is on bellsofalnwick.com. Postage is from the Alnwick shop. The sizes that need fitting, the suits, the hire, the brogues, are better done in person if you can get to Bondgate Within. Phone the shop on 01665 602584 if you want a piece set aside or a size checked before you travel.