CARLISLE , the county town of Cumbria and its only city, is also the
repository of much of the region's history. Its strategic location
has been fought over for more than 2000 years. The original Celtic
settlement was superseded by a Roman town, whose first fort was
raised here in 72 AD. Carlisle thrived during the construction
of Hadrian's Wall and then, long after the Romans had gone, the
Saxon settlement was repeatedly fought over by the Danes and
the Scots - the latter losing it eventually to the Normans. The
struggle with the Scots defined the very nature of Carlisle as
a border city: William Wallace was repelled in 1297 and Robert
the Bruce eighteen years later, but Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops
took Carlisle in 1745 after a six-day siege, holding it for only
six weeks before surrendering to the Duke of Cumberland, who
bombarded the city with cannon dragged from Whitehaven.
The main thoroughfare of
English Street is pedestrianized as far as the expansive Green
Market square, formerly heart of the medieval city, though a
huge fire in 1392 destroyed its buildings and layout. The only
historic survivors are the market cross (1682), the Elizabethan
former town hall behind it, which now houses the tourist office
and the timber-framed Guildhall beyond that (at the southern
end of Fisher Street). The much-restored Guildhall now contains
a small museum (Easter-Sept Tues-Sun noon-4.30pm; free) of guild
and civic artefacts.
It's only a few steps along
to Carlisle Cathedral (Mon-Sat 7.45am-6.15pm, Sun 7.45am-5pm),
founded in 1122 but embracing a considerably older heritage.
Christianity was established in sixth-century Carlisle by St
Kentigern (often known as St Mungo), who became the first bishop
and patron saint of Glasgow. The cathedral's sandstone bulk
has endured the ravages of time and siege: Parliamentarian troops
during the Civil War destroyed all but two powerful arches of
the original eight bays of the Norman nave, but there's still
much to admire in the ornate fifteenth-century choir stalls and
the glorious East Window , which features some of the finest
pieces of fourteenth-century stained glass in the country. Opposite
the main entrance the reconstructed Fratry , or monastic building,
houses the cathedral library, while its undercroft doubles as
the Prior's Kitchen , a daytime café (Mon-Sat 10am-4pm)
aptly using space that was once the monks' dining hall.
For more on Carlisle's
history, head for the Tullie
House Museum and Art Gallery (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm), reached up Castle
Street or through the cathedral grounds, via Abbey Street. This
takes a highly imaginative approach to Carlisle's turbulent past,
with special emphasis put on life on the edge of the Roman Empire
- climbing a reconstruction of part of Hadrian's Wall you learn
about catapults and stone-throwers. There's also plenty on the
Jacobite siege of 1745, as well as a dramatic attempt to convey
the intensity of the feuds between the "Reivers", border
families who lived beyond the jurisdiction of the Scottish and
English authorities from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century
in the so-called "Debatable Lands".
A subway from outside Tullie
House, or the eye-catching Irishgate Bridge - incorporating design
elements from the city's former medieval Irish Gate - both cross
the fast Castle Way road to Carlisle Castle (daily: Easter-Oct
9.30am-6pm; Nov-Easter 10am-4pm). This was originally built by
William Rufus on the site of a Celtic hillfort, though having
now clocked up over nine hundred years of continuous military
use, the castle has undergone considerable changes. These are
most evident in its outer bailey, which is filled with fairly
modern buildings named after battles from the Napoleonic Wars
and World War I. Apart from the gatehouse, with its reconstructed
warden's quarters, it's the inner bailey surrounding the keep
that's the real draw. It was here, in 1568, that Elizabeth I
kept Mary Queen of Scots as her "guest". There's a
Military Museum located in the former armoury, but much more
interesting are the excellent displays in the Keep and the elegant
heraldic carvings made by prisoners in a second-floor alcove.
Guided tours of the castle (Easter-Oct daily) help bring the
history to life. Don't leave without climbing to the battlements
for a view of the Carlisle rooftops.
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