Carlisle

This article is about the city in England. For other uses, see Carlisle (disambiguation).

Carlisle
City
The city skyline, cathedral, old town hall, citadel and castle
Carlisle is located in Cumbria
Carlisle
Carlisle
Location within Cumbria
OS grid referenceNY395555
• London261 mi (420 km) SSE
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCARLISLE
Postcode districtCA1-CA6
Dialling code01228
PoliceCumbria
FireCumbria
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cumbria
54°53′41″N 02°56′11″W / 54.89472°N 2.93639°W / 54.89472; -2.93639

Carlisle (/kɑːrˈlaɪl/ kar-LYLE, locally /ˈkɑːrlaɪl/ KAR-lyle;[1] from Cumbric: Caer Luel[2][3][4][5]) is a cathedral city in the ceremonial county of Cumbria in England. It is the administrative centre of Cumberland Council which covers an area similar to the historic county of Cumberland.

Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a human settlement to serve castles along Hadrian's Wall in Britain.[6] Due to its proximity to Scotland (being located eight miles or thirteen kilometres south of the current Anglo-Scottish border), Carlisle Castle and the city became an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages. The castle served as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots in 1568 and currently hosts the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and the Border Regiment Museum. In the early 12th century, a priory was built and gained cathedral status with a diocese in 1133 (city status at the time meant the settlement became a city) while the county of Cumberland was created and later renamed Cumbria.

In the 19th century, the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution began a process of socioeconomic transformation in Carlisle, which developed into a densely populated mill town. This, combined with its strategic position, allowed for the development of Carlisle as an important railway town, with seven railway companies sharing Carlisle railway station. Nicknamed the 'Great Border City',[7][8][9][10] Carlisle today is a main cultural, commercial and industrial centre within the British borders.

  1. ^ Roach, Peter; Hartman, James; Setter, Jane; Jones, Daniel, eds. (2006). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (17th ed.). Cambridge: CUP. ISBN 978-0-521-68086-8.
  2. ^ Snyder, Christopher A. (2003). The Britons. John Wiley and Sons. p. 204.
  3. ^ The Spirit of Hadrian's Wall. Cicerone Press Limited. 2008. p. 177.
  4. ^ "List of railway station names in English, Scots and Gaelic". Newsnetscotland.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Cairl". Dictionary of the Scots Language. Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  6. ^ Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878), "Carlisle (1.)" , Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 5 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 108–110
  7. ^ 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, S2CID 159780799
  8. ^ McCarthy, Mike (2017). Carlisle: A Frontier and Border City. Cities of the Ancient World. Routledge.
  9. ^ Landranger 85: Carlisle & Solway Firth. Ordnance Survey. 2007. ISBN 978-0-319-22822-7.
  10. ^ "News & Star | News | Carlisle council leader says it's time to ditch 'Great Border City' tag". www.newsandstar.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.