Carlisle Castle: A Medieval Fortress on England’s Scottish Frontier
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- English, Kingdom of Scotland
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page18 sections
History
Carlisle Castle is a medieval stone fortress in Carlisle, United Kingdom, built by the Normans from 1092–93 on the site of the Roman fort of Luguvalium. It guarded England’s northern frontier near Hadrian’s Wall at a time when Cumberland was still regarded as part of Scotland. The castle developed through English and Scottish rule, repeated warfare, artillery adaptation, imprisonment, and later military administration.
Roman predecessor and Norman foundation
The castle occupies the site of Luguvalium, a Roman fort whose timber has been dated by dendrochronology to AD 72. In 1092–93, during the reign of William II of England, a Norman motte-and-bailey castle was begun over the Roman site. A motte-and-bailey combined a raised earthwork mound with a fortified strongpoint and an enclosed courtyard. William ordered the construction partly to protect England’s northern frontier from Scottish attacks.
In 1122, Henry I ordered the wooden fortification to be rebuilt in stone, including a keep and city walls. The existing keep belongs approximately to the period from 1122 to 1135. Carlisle was subsequently rebuilt or enlarged under David I of Scotland, particularly after the Battle of the Standard in 1138, although the precise extent and attribution of this work remain uncertain.
Twelfth-century rule and frontier conflict
The castle was the setting for important events during the twelfth century. Henry of Anjou was knighted there in 1149, and David I died at Carlisle in 1153. During the Anarchy, the civil war over the English succession between Empress Matilda and King Stephen from 1135 to 1154, Carlisle formed part of the wider political and military contest surrounding the northern frontier.
For the next seven centuries, England and Scotland repeatedly contested Cumberland and the castle changed hands several times. Carlisle and its defences were also involved in the Wars of Scottish Independence, a series of conflicts in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries over Scotland’s independence from English rule.
On 26 March 1296, John “The Red” Comyn led a Scottish attack across the Solway. The governor, Robert de Brus, successfully resisted it. Scottish forces later besieged Carlisle Castle from 22 July to 1 August 1315, but withdrew because they lacked the resources to maintain the siege.
The Western March
From the middle of the thirteenth century until the Union of the Crowns in 1603, Carlisle Castle served as the headquarters of the Western March. This was one of the administrative and military frontier zones along the Anglo-Scottish border, responsible for protecting its western sector. Governors and wardens came from powerful families including the Percy, Neville, Dacre, Clifford, Scrope, and Howard families.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who later became Richard III, was Warden of the Western March from 1471 to 1485. The castle’s position gave its wardens responsibility for a region where political authority, military defence, and local border rivalries were closely connected.
Artillery, imprisonment, and Tudor rule
Henry VIII adapted Carlisle Castle for artillery with the assistance of Stephan von Haschenperg. A sixteenth-century artillery battery was built in 1541 to defend the entrance to the Captain’s Tower against Scottish attacks. The battery represented the changing character of warfare, as fortified positions were altered to accommodate cannon rather than relying only on medieval walls and towers.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned at Carlisle for several months in 1568. She was the Stuart monarch who had ruled Scotland from 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The tower used for her confinement later became known as Queen Mary’s Tower.
On the night of 13 April 1596, William Armstrong, known as Kinmont Willie, escaped from imprisonment in the castle precinct. Armstrong was a prominent Border Reiver, a raider active in the contested Anglo-Scottish border region. His escape later became the subject of a ballad.
Seventeenth-century civil and dynastic wars
During the English Civil War, Carlisle Castle was initially held for the Royalists. Parliamentary forces besieged Carlisle during 1644–45, and the city surrendered on 25 June 1645 after a prolonged blockade caused by lack of food. Parliamentary forces then strengthened the castle with cannon.
In 1745, Jacobite forces captured and fortified Carlisle during the rising of that year. The Jacobites supported the exiled Stuart dynasty, which claimed the British throne after the monarchy was transferred to William III and Mary II in 1688. Forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, recaptured the castle after the Jacobites withdrew north. The prisoners were jailed, and many were executed.
The siege and recapture of 1745 marked the end of Carlisle Castle’s active fighting role. Once the political union of England and Scotland had removed the need for a separate border-defence system, the castle no longer served its former frontier purpose.
Barracks and regimental headquarters
After 1746, the castle was somewhat neglected, although repairs continued. Work on the drawbridge was carried out in 1783. From about the 1820s, parts of the complex were used as a barracks. Sections of the castle were demolished during the nineteenth century, and their materials were reused.
Following the Cardwell Reforms, which reorganized the British Army, Carlisle Castle became the depot for the 34th Cumberland Regiment of Foot and the 55th Westmorland Regiment of Foot in 1873. The Childers Reforms later united these regiments as the Border Regiment, whose depot remained at Carlisle until 1959.
In 1959, the Border Regiment amalgamated with the King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) to form the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment. Carlisle Castle served as that regiment’s administrative headquarters until 2006 and then as the county headquarters of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment until 2019. Army Reserve units continue to use parts of the complex, including the Burma Block.
Preservation and interpretation
The post of Governor of Carlisle was abolished in 1838. English Heritage now manages the castle, which was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument on 7 August 1996. A Scheduled Ancient Monument is a legally protected archaeological or historic site in England. The designation includes the standing and buried remains of the medieval tower-keep castle, two sections of Carlisle’s city wall, the sixteenth-century battery, and much of the buried Roman fort of Luguvalium.
Historic England carried out the first official investigation of the castle’s historic graffiti and carvings in 2016. Photogrammetry, laser scanning, photography, and filming created three-dimensional records of the Prisoners’ Carvings, a medieval etched door, a Roman altar stone, and other medieval and post-medieval carvings. The castle also contains Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life, which presents the history of the county infantry regiments, the Border Regiment, the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment, and local militia.
Carlisle’s literary associations extend beyond its military history. A fourteenth-century poem places Sir Gawain, a legendary knight of Arthurian tradition, at the castle during a hunting expedition in Inglewood Forest. Later tradition has sometimes identified Carlisle Castle with Camelot, the legendary court of King Arthur. This is a literary and legendary association rather than an established historical identification.
Remains
Layout and defensive works
Carlisle Castle stands on a hill north of Carlisle city centre and Carlisle Cathedral. Its precinct is enclosed by walls. The historic area is concentrated in the east, while seven military barrack blocks extend along the western wall. A parade ground occupies the central space between the barracks, reflecting the complex’s later role as a military depot and headquarters.
Southern entrance and Captain’s Tower
The southern entrance is formed by a gatehouse. Immediately to its east stands the Captain’s Tower, which historically housed the officer responsible for administering the castle. The tower has two storeys, and an external stair leads to the precinct wall. The gatehouse retains traces of a portcullis, a defensive gate that lowered vertically into the entrance.
The Captain’s Tower contains fabric from several periods. Its oldest sections may date from the twelfth century and are built of grey stone, while later additions use red sandstone, the material associated with the castle’s characteristic colour. A semicircular underground battery surrounds the tower entrance. Built in 1541 by Stephan von Haschenperg, the battery was designed for cannon defence against Scottish attacks. The ground level was formerly lower, and the battery was then surrounded by a moat. Cannon remain positioned on the precinct wall.
Eastern courtyard
The eastern precinct contains a courtyard formed by the Captain’s Tower, the keep, the regimental museum, the former arsenal, and the gunpowder magazine. The former arsenal now houses a display about Carlisle and the castle. A former governor’s residence on the wall, occupied during the reign of Charles II by Sir Philip Musgrave, has been demolished.
Queen Mary’s Tower
Queen Mary’s Tower stood at the western end of the courtyard. Built in 1308, it had two storeys and reportedly included a window looking toward Scotland. It was regarded as one of the more luxurious parts of the castle, but centuries of neglect weakened it. After conversion into barracks for 38 soldiers, the tower became structurally unstable and was demolished for safety reasons in 1835. A drawing made by William Turner in 1797 provides part of the surviving visual record of its appearance.
The keep
Carlisle’s keep is a tower-keep castle, meaning that the principal fortified tower organizes the castle’s defensive and domestic functions. It now stands approximately 21 metres high, although it was originally taller. The tower has three storeys and a roof installed in the sixteenth century for mounting cannon. The uppermost medieval level was removed when the keep was lowered.
Construction and entrance
The keep may have been constructed in the twelfth century under David I while Carlisle was under Scottish control. Its entrance also had a portcullis, and indications suggest that a forebuilding, a protected entrance structure, or a similar feature once provided additional protection. A later partition wall runs through all three storeys. It divided the principal rooms and helped support the weight of heavy guns mounted on the roof.
Interior rooms and carved chamber
The first floor contained a royal audience hall. A latrine occupied one end, while the other had a projecting defensive opening associated with access to a well below. The second floor originally formed the keep’s upper storey. Its ceiling was later lowered and another storey was added. This level contained a second latrine, a kitchen, a chapel, and a prison cell. The chapel may be the room in which David I died in 1153.
Between the chapel and prison is a small enclosed space whose walls carry carved scenes and sketches. The maker is unknown, and the meaning of the imagery remains uncertain. The carvings include Christ, Saint George, Saint Catherine, animals, a fox preaching to chickens, a mermaid, a dolphin, and a boar. The dolphin was the emblem of the Greystoke family, while the boar was associated with Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III. Helmet plumes suggest a date around 1480, and no inscriptions survive.
Gunpowder rooms and prison
Two simple rooms on the keep’s third floor were used to store gunpowder in the sixteenth century. An explosion in 1547 caused a large crack in the tower wall. The keep also held Jacobite prisoners after the rising of 1745. In peacetime, its prison was additionally used to store beer barrels.
Earlier and buried remains
The castle’s surviving fabric forms part of a wider archaeological complex. Alongside the medieval tower-keep castle are sections of Carlisle’s city wall and the sixteenth-century artillery battery. Substantial buried remains of the Roman fort of Luguvalium also survive beneath the site. Historic graffiti and carvings include medieval and post-medieval examples, while the three-dimensional survey undertaken in 2016 also captured a Roman altar stone.
