In the 19th century, the introduction oftextile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution began a process ofsocioeconomic transformation in Carlisle, which developed into a densely populatedmill town. This, combined with its strategic position, allowed for the development of Carlisle as an importantrailway town, with seven railway companies sharingCarlisle railway station. Nicknamed the 'Great Border City',[8][9][10][11] Carlisle today is a main cultural, commercial and industrial centre within the British borders.
The ancient history of Carlisle is derived mainly from archaeological evidence and the works of theRoman historianTacitus. The earliest recorded inhabitants in the area were theCarvetiitribe ofBritons who made up the main population of ancientCumbria andNorth Lancashire.[12] According toBoethius andJohn of Fordun, writing in the 18th and 19th centuries, Carlisle existed before thearrival of the Romans in Britain and was one of the strongestBritish towns at the time. In the time of theemperorNero, it was said to have burned down.[13][14] The Roman settlement was namedLuguvalium, based on a native name that has been reconstructed asBrittonic *Luguwaljon, "[city] of Luguwalos", a masculine Celtic given name meaning "strength ofLugus".[15]
Excavations undertaken along Annetwell Street in the 1970s dated the Roman timber fort constructed at the site of presentCarlisle Castle to the winter of AD 73.[16] It protected a strategic location on the Roman road to the north and overlooking the confluence of the Caldew and Eden rivers.[17]
The fort at Carlisle was reconstructed in 83 usingoak timbers from further afield, rather than localalder as a possible result of the increased Roman control of the area.[18] At this time the Roman fort was garrisoned by a 500-strong cavalry regiment, theAla Gallorum Sebosiana.[17]
By the early 2nd century, Carlisle was established as a prominent stronghold. The 'Stanegate' frontier, which consisted of Luguvalium and several other forts in a line east toCorbridge, was proving a more stable frontier against thePicts than those established deeper intoCaledonia. In 122, the province was visited byHadrian, who approved a plan to build a wall the length of the frontier. A new fort,Petriana, was therefore built in theStanwix area of the city north of the river onHadrian's Wall. It was the largest fort along the wall[citation needed] and was completed in stone by around 130. Like Luguvalium, which lay within sight, Petriana housed a nominal 1,000-strong cavalry regiment, theAla Gallorum Petriana, the sole regiment of this size along the wall. Hadrian's successorAntoninus Pius abandoned the frontier and attempted to move further north; he built theAntonine Wall between thefirths ofForth andClyde. It was not a success and, after 20 years, the garrisons returned to Hadrian's Wall.[18]
At one time, Carlisle broke off from Rome whenMarcus Carausius assumed power over the territory. He was assassinated and suffereddamnatio memoriae, but a surviving reference to him has been uncovered in Carlisle. Coins excavated in the area suggest that Romans remained in Carlisle until the reign ofEmperor Valentinian II, from 375 to 392.
The period oflate antiquityafter Roman rule sawCumbria organised as the nativeBritishkingdom of Rheged. It is likely that the kingdom took its name from a major stronghold within it; this has been suggested to have been broadly coterminous with theCivitas Carvetiorum, Carlisle.[19] KingUrien and his son and successorOwain became the subjects of a great deal ofArthurian legend. Their capital has been identified as theCair Ligualid listed byNennius among the 28 cities of Britain,[20] which later developed intoCaer-luel,[21] whence the city's modern Welsh nameCaerliwelydd.Rheged came under Northumbrian control before 730, probably by inheritance after Rienmelth, daughter of Royth and great-granddaughter of Urien, marriedOswy,King of Northumbria. For the rest of the first millennium, Carlisle was an important stronghold contested by several entities who warred over the area, including theBrythonicKingdom of Strathclyde and theAngliankingdom of Northumbria. In 685, StCuthbert, visiting the Queen of Northumbria in her sister's monastery at Carlisle, was taken to see the city walls and a marvellously constructed Roman fountain.[22]
By the time of theNorman Conquest of England in 1066, Carlisle was in the possession of the Scots. It was not recorded in the 1086Domesday Book. This changed in 1092, whenWilliam the Conqueror's sonWilliam Rufus invaded the region and incorporated Carlisle into England. The construction ofCarlisle Castle began in 1093 on the site of the Roman fort, south of theRiver Eden. The castle was rebuilt in stone in 1112, with akeep and thecity walls. The walls enclosed the city south of the castle and included three gates to the east, south, and north called the Irish or Caldew Gate, the English or Botcher Gate, and the Scotch or Ricker Gate respectively. The names of the gates exist in road names in Carlisle today.Carlisle Cathedral was founded as anAugustinian priory and became a cathedral in 1133.[23] In 1157, Carlisle became the seat of the new county ofCarliol (a name that was originally an abbreviation of LatinCarlioliensis, meaning "[Bishop] of Carlisle"); in 1177 the county was renamedCumberland.
The conquest of Cumberland was the beginning of a war between Scotland and England which saw the region centred around Carlisle change hands a number of times. It was a major stronghold after the construction of the castle. During the wars, the livelihood of the people on the borders was devastated by armies from both sides. Even when the countries were not at war, tension remained high, and royal authority in one or the other kingdom was often weak. The uncertainty of existence meant that communities or peoples kindred to each other sought security through their own strength and cunning, and they improved their livelihoods at their enemies' expense. These peoples were known as theBorder Reivers and Carlisle was the major city within their territories.
TheReivers became so much of a nuisance to the Scottish and English governments that, in 1525, theArchbishop of Glasgow Gavin Dunbar cursed all the reivers of the borderlands. The curse was detailed in 1,069 words, beginning: "I curse their head and all the hairs of their head; I curse their face, their brain (innermost thoughts), their mouth, their nose, their tongue, their teeth, their forehead, their shoulders, their breast, their heart, their stomach, their back, their womb, their arms, their leggs, their hands, their feet and every part of their body, from the top of their head to the soles of their feet, before and behind, within and without."[24]
After thePilgrimage of Grace,Henry VIII, concerned at the weakness of his hold on the North, employed (1539) the engineerStefan von Haschenperg to modernise the defences of Carlisle. von Haschenperg was sacked in 1543 for having "spent great treasures to no purpose"; but (by him and his successors) at the north end the castle towers were converted to artillery platforms, at the south the medieval Bochard gate was converted into theCitadel, an artillery fortification with two massive artillery towers.[25]: 243 The death ofQueen Elizabeth I in 1603 and her succession byJames VI of Scotland as King James I of England allowed more determined and coordinated efforts to suppress reiving. The borderers were not quick to change their ways and many were hanged and whole families were exiled to Ireland. It was not until 1681 that the problem of the reivers was acknowledged as no longer an issue.[26]
Following the personal union of the crowns Carlisle Castle should have become obsolete as a frontier fortress, but the two kingdoms continued as separate states. In 1639, with war between the two kingdoms looming, the castle was refortified using stone from the cathedral cloisters.[25] In 1642 theEnglish Civil War broke out and the castle was garrisoned for the king. It endured along siege from October 1644 until June 1645 when the Royalist forces surrendered after theBattle of Naseby. The city was occupied by a parliamentary garrison, and subsequently by their Scots allies. In 1646, the Scots, now holding Carlisle pending payment of monies owed them by the English Parliament, improved its fortifications, destroying thecathedral's nave to obtain the stone to rebuild the castle.[27][28] Carlisle continued to remain a barracks thereafter. In 1698 travel writerCelia Fiennes wrote of Carlisle as having most of the trappings of a military town and that it was rife with alcohol and prostitutes.[29]
In 1707 anact of union was passed between England and Scotland, creatingGreat Britain, but Carlisle remained a garrison town. The tenth, and most recent siege in the city's history took place afterCharles Edward Stuart took Carlisle in theJacobite Rising of 1745. When the Jacobites retreated across the border to Scotland they left a garrison of 400 men in Carlisle Castle. Ten days laterPrince William, Duke of Cumberland took the castle and executed 31 Jacobites on the streets of Carlisle.[27]
A banknote designed byWilliam Home Lizars for Carlisle City and District Banking Company highlights the town's industrial features.
Although Carlisle continued to garrison soldiers, becoming the headquarters of theBorder Regiment, the city's importance as a military town decreased as theindustrial age took over. The post ofGovernor of Carlisle as garrison commander was abolished in 1838.[30]
In the early 19th century textile mills, engineering works and food manufacturers built factories in the city mostly in theDenton Holme, Caldewgate and Wapping suburbs in the Caldew Valley.[31] These includedCarr's of Carlisle,Kangol, Metal Box and Cowans Sheldon.Shaddon Mill, in Denton Holme, became famous for having the world's 8th tallest chimney and was the largest cotton mill in England.
The expanding industries brought about an increase in population as jobs shifted from rural farms towards the cities. This produced a housing shortage where at one point 25,000 people in the city only had 5,000 houses to live in. People were said to be herded together with animal houses, slaughter houses and communal lavatories with open drains running between them. Living conditions were so bad that riots were common and some people emigrated. The problem wasn't solved until the end of the 19th century when mass housing was built west of the city walls.[32]
In 1823 a canal was built to Fisher's Cross (Port Carlisle) to transport goods produced in the city. This enabled other industrial centres such asLiverpool to link with Carlisle via theSolway. This was short-lived and when the canal operators ran into financial difficulty the waterway was filled in.[33]A railway was built in place of the canal.
Carlisle became a majorrailway centre on theWest Coast Main Line with connections to the east. At one time seven companies usedCarlisle Citadel railway station. Before the building of the Citadel railway station the city had several other railway stations, includingLondon Road railway station. Carlisle had the largest railway marshalling yard in Europe, Kingmoor, which, reduced in size, is operational and used by railfreight companies.
At the start of the 20th century, the population had grown to over 45,000. Transport was improved by theCity of Carlisle Electric Tramways from 1900 until 1931, and the first cinema was built in 1906. In 1912, the boundaries of Carlisle were extended to include Botcherby in the east and Stanwix in the north.[35]
Carlisle was subject to the decline in thetextile industry experienced throughout Britain as new machinery made labour unnecessary. In 1916, during theFirst World War, thegovernment took over thepublic houses andbreweries in Carlisle because of drunkenness among construction and munitions workers from the munitions factory atGretna. This experimentnationalised brewing. As the Carlisle Board of Control, and subsequently the Carlisle & DistrictState Management Scheme, it lasted until 1971.
During the Second World War, Carlisle hosted over 5,000 evacuees, many of whom arrived from Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding towns.[36]
A shopping centre (including a new central library) was built to the east and north-east of the market cross and opened in 1986.[37] The area east of the market cross had formerly been occupied by narrow alleyways of housing and small shops (on a layout which had not changed much since medieval times) and referred to locally asThe Lanes. Carlisle city centre was pedestrianised in 1989.[35]
On the evening of Friday, 7 January 2005, the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril burst their banks due to as much as 180 mm rainfall upstream that day.[38] 2,700 homes were flooded and three people died. The city's police and fire stations were flooded along withBrunton Park football stadium. The police, fire service andCarlisle United F.C. were mobilised, the latter as far asMorecambe. At the time of the flood, emergency services also had to respond to cases of car-relatedarson in the city.[39]
Carlisle is the only city in Cumbria. The city centre is largely pedestrianised and the Lanes shopping centre is home to around 75 shops.
Carlisle has a compact historic centre with acastle,cathedral and semi-intactcity walls, as well as other medieval buildings including theGuildhall andTithe Barn. TheCitadel towers, which until 2016 also served as offices for Cumbria County Council, were designed byThomas Telford, with the eastern tower incorporating part of the 16th-century building.[40][41] The first Citadel building was a Tudor fortification replacing the medieval Englishgate, designed by theMoravian military engineerStefan von Haschenperg in 1541.[42] Next to the Citadel isCarlisle railway station, designed byWilliam Tite in the neo-Tudor style, considered byHistoric England to be among the most important early railway stations in England.[43][44]
The municipal borough contained severalcivil parishes or parts of parishes but these were merged into a single civil parish of Carlisle in 1904. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 1974,[48] although parts of the urban fringe are in the parishes ofStanwix Rural, Kingmoor andSt Cuthbert Without. Carlisle unsuccessfully applied to become aLord Mayoralty in 2002. Carlisle City Council had its headquarters at the 1960s Civic Centre in Rickergate, the tallest building in the city.
At the time of the2001 census, the population of Carlisle was 71,773, with 100,734 living in the district. In the 2011 census, the city's population had risen to 75,306, with 107,524 in the district.[49]
On 1 April 2023 the City of Carlisle local government district was abolished, and the boundaries of the City of Carlisle were redefined to cover the following wards: Belah and Kingmoor, Botcherby and Harraby North, Cathedral and Castle, Currock and Upperby, Denton Holme and Morton South, Harraby South and Parklands, Newtown and Morton North, Sandsfield and Morton West and Stanwix and Houghton.
Charter trustees were formed from the councillors that cover the said areas. They act as appropriate bodies in which historic rights and privileges of Carlisle, including the mayoralty will continue until a governance review will determine the need of acity council.
Until April 2023 Carlisle was governed by adistrict council, Carlisle City Council and a County Council, Cumbria County Council. After the 2019 elections the Conservative Party ran a minority administration on the district council with the support of the Independents. The district council covered a large rural area with many villages and towns includingDalston,Brampton,Longtown,Wetheral,Bewcastle andScotby.
Thefirst election to Cumberland Council was held on 5 May 2022. All 46 seats were up for election.Labour won a majority of 30 seats.[52] Conservatives have 7 seats, Liberal Democrats 4 seats, Independents 3 seats and Green Party 2 seats. Turnout was 36.1%.[53]
Carlisle experiences anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb). In January 2005 Carlisle was hit by strong gales and heavy rain, and on Saturday 8 January 2005 all roads into Carlisle were closed owing to severeflooding, the worst since 1822, which caused three deaths.[54][55] Even worse flooding than in 2005 affected Carlisle between 4 and 6 December 2015. During this time, nearly 36 hours of incessant rainfall breached flood defences and left several areas submerged – including Bitts Park, Hardwicke Circus and Warwick Road. This left the Sands Centre (and the nearby Shell petrol station and Bitts Park), marooned from the rest of the city. As several other areas of Cumbria were also badly affected (particularly Appleby and Wigton), all trains to Scotland were postponed indefinitely, with trains on the West Coast Mainline going no further than Preston, as nearby Lancaster suffered flooding and problems with electricity supply. Prime MinisterDavid Cameron visited the city on 7 December 2015 to assess the damage, having earlier called an emergency Cobra meeting.[citation needed]
Warwick Road serves as one of the main routes into the centre of Carlisle.
In the north of Carlisle are the suburbs of Kingstown, Lowry Hill and Moorville, formerly part of the parish of Kingmoor. To the south of them areStanwix, Edentown, Etterby, St Ann's Hill and Belah which were added to Carlisle in 1912. The parish ofStanwix Rural exists but only includes a small part of Carlisle's urban area,Whiteclosegate.
To the immediate south of Stanwix is the River Eden. On the opposite bank is the city centre bounded on the west by the West Coast Main Railway line and the River Caldew. In the past industry flourished on the banks of the River Caldew, especiallyDenton Holme and Caldewgate on the west bank and Wapping, around the former Metal Box works, on the east. West of Caldewgate and north of Denton Holme the suburbs of Newtown, Morton, Sandsfield Park, Longsowerby,Raffles andBelle Vue developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
The eastern side of the city centre developed in the 19th century into a more affluent area along the mainA69 road. It links with the former village ofBotcherby to which a large council estate was added in the mid-20th century and later still Durranhill Housing Estate.
South of the city centre is the Botchergate/St Nicholas area of late Victorian terraced housing similar to that found in Denton Holme and Caldewgate. The Botchergate East area until recently had older slum dwellings.
To the south west of Botchergate and St Nicholas are the former villages now suburbs ofUpperby andCurrock. The urban area spills over the former county borough boundary intoBlackwell andDurdar in the civil parish ofSt Cuthbert Without.
Between Upperby and Botcherby is Harraby, a former village once part of St Cuthbert Without and the largest suburb of Carlisle. Harraby is subdivided into Harraby East, New Harraby, Harraby Green, Old Harraby, Petteril Bank and the Durranhill Industrial Estate. Adjoining Harraby to the south but outside the former borough boundary is the hamlet ofCarleton.
Carlisle is linked to the rest of England via theM6 motorway to the south, and to Scotland via theM74/A74 towards Glasgow and the north. Manytrunk roads begin or terminate in Carlisle, including theA6 toPenrith andLuton (historically the main road to the south prior to the opening of the M6), theA595 to western Cumbria, theA69 to Newcastle upon Tyne and theA7 to Edinburgh.
Most local bus services in the city are operated byStagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire. Previously, local independent operator, Reays Coaches, operated a number of local routes, many of which were in competition with Stagecoach.[59]
Carlisle Bus Station
The bus station is situated on Drury Lane, off Lonsdale Street. It has seven stands, each of which are covered by a waiting shelter, as well as a travel centre.
Carlisle became an industrial city in the 19th and early 20th centuries with many textile mills, engineering works and food manufacturers opening up mostly in theDenton Holme, Caldewgate and Wapping areas which lie in the Caldew Valley area of Carlisle. (One such manufacturer located in the Denton Holme area was Ferguson Printers, a large textile printing factory that had stood for many years before its closure in the early 1990s). In the early 19th century, acanal was dug connecting Caldewgate with the sea atPort Carlisle. The canal was later filled in and became a railway line.
Carlisle was served by two electricitypower stations. James Street station was built by the corporation and operated from 1899 until 1927. Willow Holme power station, north west of the city, was built and operated by the corporation from 1923 until nationalisation of the industry in 1948. It was closed down in 1980 and demolished in 1988.
Famous firms that were founded or had factories in Carlisle includedCarr's of Carlisle (now part ofUnited Biscuits),Kangol, Metal Box (now part ofCrown Holdings) and Cowans Sheldon. Cowans Sheldon originated in the city in the mid 19th century and became one of the world's most important railway and marine engineering firms, manufacturing finally ceased in Carlisle in 1987. Others include the construction firms ofJohn Laing and Story Contracting. Pirelli Carlisle opened in 1969.[61]
The hauliersEddie Stobart Logistics who were founded in nearbyHesket Newmarket and were once part of theStobart Group, had their HQ in Carlisle. Although they no longer have their HQ in Carlisle they still employ staff in the city. Robsons Border Transport Limited, J & W Watt Limited and F Brown (Carlisle) Limited, all substantial road hauliers, had their HQ in Carlisle.
Until 2004, Carlisle's biggest employer wasCavaghan & Gray, which became part ofNorthern Foods and was subsequently acquired by2 Sisters Food Group which operated from two sites in the Harraby area of Carlisle producing chilled foods for major supermarket chains. The London Road site closed in 2005 with the loss of almost 700 jobs as production was transferred to the nearby Eastern Way site or other factories around the UK.
There are various light industrial estates and business parks located on the fringes of Carlisle and on former industrial sites close to the city centre. The largest being the Kingstown Industrial Estate, which is located just off theA7 road near to theM6 motorway.
Richard Rose Central Academy replaced St Aidan's County High School andSpecialist Sports and Science College, and North Cumbria Technology College (NCTC, formerly Harraby School). It is sponsored by Eddie Stobart ownerAndrew Tinkler, and local businessman Brian Scowcroft. It opened in September 2008. In January 2009, there were protests by parents and pupils regarding poor quality education and school facilities. The school was found to be failing and was placed inSpecial Measures,[63] with the headmaster and chief executive being immediately replaced.[64][needs update]
TheTullie House Museum and Art Gallery was opened in 1893 by the Carlisle Corporation. The museum features resident exhibits detailing the history ofRoman occupancy of the region, Hadrian's Wall and the Border Reivers. Tullie House, named after theJacobean mansion in which it is located, hosts travelling exhibitions. The museum has received many awards and was expanded in 1990 and 2000.[65]
The city's Guildhall Museum is based in a 14th-century house and the Border Regiment Military Museum is in the castle.
Her Majesty's Theatre, in Lowther Street, was constructed in 1874 as the Victoria Hall, and started screening films in 1897. An early music director at the turn of the century wasHoward Ellis Carr. After the interior was damaged by fire in 1904, it was rebuilt to designs by architects Beadle & Hope, and reopened in 1905 as Her Majesty's Theatre. Films andvariety shows were staged, until around 1919, when it staged only live productions and plays.[66]Robert David MacDonald was artistic director at the theatre.[67] After being briefly renamed Municipal Theatre in the 1960s, the theatre closed in early 1963 and reopened as the Regal Bingo Club in late 1963. This closed in the 1970s and the building was demolished in 1980, replaced by a car park.[66]
Sands Centre Sports Hall is Carlisle's main entertainment venue which sometimes hosts touring musicians, theatre and comedians. The West Walls Theatre is situated in the city centre, an amateur theatre. The Old Fire Station opened in 2015 after being converted into a performing arts venue, it hosts touring bands, live stand-up comedy, dramas and art exhibitions.Brunton Park stadium has hosted live music including anElton John concert in 2007.[68]
Carlisle Music Festival takes place inCarlisle Cathedral each year. The defunct Brampton Live, the largest folk festival in the north of England, formerly took place inBrampton. Over the weekend of 14/15 May 2011,Carlisle Lake District Airport hosted Europe's largest free music festival,Radio 1's Big Weekend. The festival's headline acts includedLady Gaga and theFoo Fighters. St Cuthbert's Church hosts an annual series of instrumental and chamber music concerts organised by North Cumbria Recitals.[citation needed]
Every August the Carlisle Food Fair is held in the pedestrianised area of the city centre. It plays host to produce from across the continent and features local produce includingCumberland sausage,Cumberland sauce, Farmhouse Cheese and Cumberland Mustard.[citation needed]
In 2012,Fair Food Carlisle was awarded the runner-up prize in thegovernment'sBuy Better Together Challenge competition. TheBuy Better Together Challenge was launched by theDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skills andCo-operatives UK in December 2011 to encourage groups of consumers to work together to negotiate discounted rates for buying goods and services in bulk. The challenge received 110 entries and to seven finalists were selected. TheFair Food Carlisle scheme usesbuying groups to provide workplaces with a weekly supply of food from local businesses.[69]
From 1961 to 2009, Carlisle was home toBorder Television which served Cumbria, southern Scotland, the Isle of Man and parts of Northumberland.
Initially based at studios in the Harraby area of the city, the station was controversially merged withITV Tyne Tees in 2009 as part of wide-ranging cutbacks to ITV's regional output.
As of 2009, ITV Border's news and sales operations are based at offices in the north of the city, although production of its nightly news programme,Lookaround, is based at Tyne Tees' Gateshead studios.
As of 2014, ITV Border is again producing a full regional news service, along with two hours a week of current affairs and features programming, aimed specifically at southern Scotland.
Carlisle is represented in English football byCarlisle United, who currently play in the fourth tier of English football after being relegated toFootball League Two in 2024.[71] The club has played atBrunton Park on Warwick Road (A69) since 1909. In November 2011 plans were unveiled for the club to move to a 12,000-seat stadium in Kingmoor Park.[72]
The club's firstFootball League tenure began in 1928 when it was elected to the northern section of theFootball League Third Division, replacingDurham City. Its past achievements include reaching theFootball League Cup semi-finals (its best run in either of the two domestic cups) in 1969, and winning promotion to the top flight (then theFootball League First Division) in 1974. The club topped the English league after winning its first three games of the1974-75 season, but failed to keep up its good form and was relegated after just one season. In 1987 the club returned to theFootball League Fourth Division, and in 2004 was relegated to theFootball Conference – the first former top division club to do so – only to regain theirFootball League place after one year. In 1999, Carlisle United escaped relegation from the Football League on the final day of the season when on-loan goalkeeperJimmy Glass scored an injury time winner againstPlymouth Argyle. The 2–1 win meant thatScarborough were relegated to the Football Conference.[citation needed]
Celtic Nation F.C. was a Carlisle-based semi-professional club who played in theNorthern Football League Division One. They folded in April 2015 after a season of financial problems. Nation started out in 2004 as Gillford Park F.C. and played in theNorthern Football Alliance league and won four promotions in 8 years. In 2012 Scottish millionaire Frank Lynch who is based in America, started putting money into the club and changed its name to Celtic Nation. After two years, Lynch withdrew his financial support and the club struggled before folding.
Northbank Carlisle was a club which played its football in theNorthern Football Alliance Premier Division. After forty years, the club decided to fold its senior team. Northbank still operates as a youth academy.[citation needed]
Carlisle has two rugby union clubs: Carlisle RFC and Creighton RUFC. Carlisle RFC play at Warwick Road, alongside Carlisle United Football Club. Creighton RUFC originally played near Cumberland Infirmary but sold its ground to housing development company Story Homes in 2004 in exchange for new facilities off Cumwhinton Road, near Junction 42 of the M6. FormerEngland rugby union captainSteve Borthwick is a native of Carlisle.
Therugby league team,Carlisle merged withBarrow and left Carlisle. Amateur rugby league club,Carlisle Centurions played in the National Division of the Rugby League Conference until they withdrew in 2010.
Carlisle Border Reivers were anAmerican football team that played in Division 2 North until they folded in 2013. They rebranded as the Carlisle Kestrels in 2019,[73] the team's original name. They play at Gillford Park.
In 1904,Carlisle Racecourse was established to the south of the city, it is now a first-class racecourse.Horse racing has been held in Carlisle for centuries before the racecourse was formally established.
Threegreyhound racing venues existed in Carlisle during the late 1920s. All three were independent (not affiliated to the sport's governing body theNational Greyhound Racing Club) and were known as a flapping tracks, which was the nickname given to independent tracks.[74] The first was located at Gillford Park (home of theCarlisle Centurions RL and more recentlyCeltic Nation F.C.). The second was on pasture land in the former village of Harraby and was conducted by the Carlisle and Cumberland Greyhound Racing Sports Ltd. The third was north west of Carlisle on the Sheepmount playing fields and more recently the athletics track.[75]
Men of C Company 1st Battalion,Border Regiment, waiting to repulse an attack by aGerman enemy barely 100 yd (91 m) away during theBattle of Arnhem in the Netherlands
RAF Carlisle also known as14 MU was located at Kingstown near the present-dayAsda. The station closed in 1996 after nearly sixty years in a variety of roles. First established asRAF Kingstown in 1938, it was originally a bomber station, then one of the RAF's Elementary Flying Training Schools and latterly a post-war storage facility.
The largest RAF station by area in the country and one of only twoelectronic warfare ranges in Europe,RAF Spadeadam is located outside the City of Carlisle but maintains strong links with the local community; in 2018, it was awarded the Freedom of the City of Carlisle.[80]
During theSecond World War the air raid warning organisation No 32 Group CarlisleRoyal Observer Corps operated in the city centre controlled from RAF Kingstown. The association with Kingstown developed further in 1962 when the ROC ceased its aircraft spotting role for the RAF and took on a new role plotting nuclear explosions and warning the public of radioactive fallout for theUnited Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO).[81] A new administration building and a protected, hardened Nuclear Reporting bunker was built at RAF Carlisle.[82][failed verification] The nuclear bunker was a standard above-ground structure and both the bunker and headquarters hutting were on a separate site at Crindledyke outside the main gates of RAF Carlisle. The Carlisle group was redesignated no 22 Group ROC.
The ROC constructed a smaller nuclear reporting post, Kingstown post (OS ref:NY 3837 5920), on the main RAF Carlisle site. The post was an underground protected bunker for a crew of three observers.[83] The headquarters bunker accommodated an operational crew of around 100 with dormitory and canteen facilities an operations room and life support plant.
The Royal Observer Corps was stood down and its parent organisation the UKWMO was disbanded in December 1995 after the end of theCold War and as a result of recommendations in the governmentsOptions for Change review of UK defence. The ROC buildings were demolished in 1996 and replaced by a cellphone communications mast. The foundations of the nuclear bunker can still be partially seen outlined in the concreted yard, which also contains the Air Training Corps hut during recent further development of the site.[84]
In a 14th-century poem, legend has it that Sir Gawain, one of the Knights of the Round Table, stayed at theCastle of Carlisle while on a hunting expedition in the hauntedInglewood Forest. He then slept with the Carle's wife and killed him. This poem has strong parallels with another 14th century poem about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The story has since been re-adapted many times, most recently in films from1973,1984 and2021.
By some accounts, Carlisle is also none other thanCamelot, the mythical seat of King Arthur's court.[85]
In local folklore, theCurse of Carlisle is a 16th-centurycurse that is said to have been invoked by Archbishop Dunbar ofGlasgow in 1525 upon cross-border families, known as theBorder Reivers, who lived by stealing cattle and pillaging. For the millennium celebrations, the local council commissioned a 14-tonne granite artwork inscribed with all 1,069 words of the curse. Following the installation of the stone, Carlisle suffered floods, foot-and-mouth disease, job losses and a "goal famine" for the football team.[86] In response to this, the city council considered removing the stone; however, Kevin Carlyon, the self-titled "high priest of the Britishwhite witches", proclaimed that such actions would give the curse more power. He commented that: "A curse can only work if people believe in it. I think at the moment the sculpture is a nice piece of history, but if the council destroys it, they would be showing their belief in the curse."[86]
^McKelvie, Gordon (2017), "Henry VII's Letter to Carlisle in 1498: His Concerns about Retaining in a Border Fortress",Northern History,54 (2):149–166,doi:10.1080/0078172X.2017.1327188,S2CID159780799
^McCarthy, Mike (2017).Carlisle: A Frontier and Border City. Cities of the Ancient World. Routledge.
^ This article incorporates text published under the BritishOpen Government Licence: Department of Business, Innovation and Skills,Buy Better Together Challenge, published 28 November 2012, accessed 7 December 2023
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![Old Town Hall 1668–69 with 1717 extension[45]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCarlisle_Town_Hall_2009.JPG)
![Carlisle Market Cross, 1682[46]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCarlisle_City_Centre%2c_Cumbria.jpg)
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