The land and earldom of Carlisle.
History and character of the city.
Its analogy with Edinburgh and Stirling.
The land now added to England is strictly the land of
Carlisle. We do not hear the names of Cumberland or
Westmoreland till after the times with which we are
dealing. The restored city gave its name to the land, to its
earls, when it had earls, to its bishops when it had bishops.[1]
And truly of all the cities of England none is more
memorable in its own special way than that which now
for the first time became a city of united England. The
local history of Carlisle stands out beyond that of almost
any other English city on the surface of English history.
It has not, as local history so often has; to be dug out of
special records by special research. Called into fresh
being to be the bulwark of England against Scotland,
Carlisle remained the bulwark of England against Scotland
as long as England needed any bulwark on that
side. In every Scottish war, from Stephen to George
the Second, Carlisle plays its part. Nor is it perhaps
unfit that a city whose special work was to act as a
check upon the Scot should itself have in its general
look somewhat of a Scottish character. The site of the
city and castle instinctively reminds us of the sites of
Edinburgh and Stirling. It is a likeness in miniature;
but it is a likeness none the less. The hill which is
crowned by Carlisle castle is lower than the hills which
are crowned by the two famous Scottish fortresses; but
in all three cases the original city climbs the hill whose
highest point is crowned by the castle. At Carlisle the
castle stands at the northern end of the city, and its
look-out over the Eden, towards the Scottish march, is
emphatically the look-out of a sentinel. It looks out
towards the land which so long was hostile; but it
looks out also on one spot which suggests the memories
of times when Scots, Picts, and Britons may have been
there, but when they found no English or Danish adversaries
to meet them. The Roman wall avoids Lugubalia
- ↑ See Appendix R.
