Carlisle, Cumberland

Description
Carlisle, a city in Cumberland, and a diocese in Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire. The city stands on the river Eden, between the rivers Petteril and Caldew, on the great western line of communication both by rail and road from England to Scotland, within a mile of the Roman Wall, 9 1/2 miles SSE of Gretna, and 301 NNW of London. Eight railways give it communication with all parts of Great Britain. All of them meet in a central station, which is one of the largest in England.Site and Streets.-The city occupies a swell or gentle eminence in the midst of an extensive, fertile, well-wooded plain, and is so encircled by the three rivers on which it stands as to be almost an island. The environs are all rich low country, profusely adorned with water, culture, parks, and mansions. The higher points, both within the city and around it, command a brilliant panorama, away to the Northumberland hills, the Scottish mountains, Criffel beyond the Solway, and the group of Skiddaw. The exterior of the city, as seen from various approaches, presents a striking appearance, and looks as if combining modern elegance with remains of antiquity. The interior, as entered from the railway station, seems entirely, neatly, and briskly modern. The castle, which most prominently links it with the past, does -not come immediately into view, and the cathedral, which also speaks largely of the past, has been so outwardly renovated as to appear almost new. The three principal streets, English Street, Scotch Street, and Castle Street, diverge from the market-place, adjacent to the central railway station, and are wide and handsome. Other streets are straight, airy, and well built; and the city, as a whole, seems little different from a well-planned, lively, thriving, modern town.The Cathedral.-This was originally the church of an Augustinian priory, commenced in 1092, completed in 1101, and converted into a cathedral in 1133; it has undergone sweeping changes, and great recent restorations. The cloisters have disappeared, but the entrance-gateway and the fratry or refectory remains. The gateway has a circular arch, with an inscription recording it to have been built by the prior, Christopher Slee. The fratry was recently restored by Mr Street, R.A., and contains a curious stone chair with impanelled foliated ceiling, most absurdly called the confessional.. It is the pulpitum for the readers at meals. The fratry is now used as the chapter-room. The cathedral is cruciform. and has a square embattled tower 127 feet high rising over the intersection of the cross. The nave and the transepts are Norman, narrow and without aisles. Their columns are very massive, each 17 1/2 feet in circumference, and 14 feet 2 inches high. The nave was deprived of about 90 feet of its length in the time of Cromwell to yield material for the erection of guardhouses and batteries, and the rest of it was afterwards closed with a wall and refitted up as a parish church, which it had always been. The transepts measure 124 feet in length and 28 feet in width, and the north one is now used as the consistory court. The choir was built at great expense, with vast effort, by aid of money obtained through sale of indulgences and remissions, in the reign of Edward III. Most of it is Early English, but the east end is Decorated. Its length is 137 feet, its width 71 feet, and its height 75 feet. The east end shows rich grandeur of design, having a most magnificent central window, with bold buttresses, crocketed pinnacles, and gable crosses. The interior is arranged in side aisles and central aisle, with tri-forium and clerestory. The columns are clustered, and the capitals are adorned with carved figures and flowers indicative of the occupations of the seasons. The clerestory has a rich parapet pierced with foliated circles. The great east window, as seen in the interior, has been pronounced by many competent judges the finest decorated window in the kingdom. It measures 60 feet by 30, contains nine lights, and is filled in the head with surpassingly rich flowing tracery. The windows of the side aisles have a corresponding character. A row of beautiful arcades appears below them, and is continued all round the walls. A very fine organ, erected in 1856, stands above the entrance to the choir. The stalls are embellished with tabernacle-work in carved oak, black with age. The bishop's throne and the pulpit are modern and not so rich in design, yet elegant and stately. The screens in the aisles show some curious legendary paintings from the histories of St Augustine, St Anthony, and St Cuthbert. A fine mural monument to Dr Paley, simply recording his name and age, appears in the north aisle, and monuments to Bishops Bell, Law, Smith, Robinson, Barrow, Waldegrave, and Goodwin, Dean Close, and other distinguished men, are in other parts. A small chapel, dedicated to St Catherine, founded and endowed by John de Capella, a citizen of Carlisle, stands in the angle between the chancel and the south transept. The deanery stands within the precincts of the cathedral. It was built by Prior Senhouse in 1507, and contains a fine apartment used as a drawing-room, with a remarkably ornate ceiling in carved emblazoned oak.

Churches.-St Mary's Church formerly occupied the cathedral nave, but was removed from its ancient and historical position to a new building about thirty years ago. St Cuthbert's Church is a plain structure of 1778, on the site of a previous very old one, and has a monument to Chancellor Carlyle. Trinity Church, in Caldewgate, and Christ Church, in Botchergate, are handsome structures of 1830, each with a tower and spire, and are remarkable for having their altars at the west end. St Stephen's and St John's are beautiful edifices of 1865, the former in Early and Decorated English, the latter in pure Early English. St James' and St Paul's are also new churches. Value of each, £300. Patrons of the first four, the Dean and Chapter; of St Stephen's and St Paul's, the Bishop; of St John's and St James', five trustees. The nonconformists possess several large and handsome churches, while the Roman Catholics erected in 1893 a fine church (to supersede an older structure), which is dedicated to Our Lady and St Joseph. It is a building of the Perpendicular style, and occupies one of the finest sites in the city. A rectory is connected with it.

Schools, &c.-The grammar school was founded in 1546 by Henry VIII., but it was reconstructed about 1882, when large new buildings were built for it, partly from public subscription, partly from funds supplied by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. A girls' high school was recently founded. There is a school of art, which will presently move into new premises in Tullie House. The infirmary was built by subscription in 1828, but was enlarged and the accommodation doubled in 1878. It is an imposing pile, situated in the west of the town, where are also a fever hospital and a home for incurables. The dispensary, a very old-established charity, is within the town. There are two workhouses, both in the city.

Trade, &c.-The cotton trade, once the staple trade, has almost disappeared from Carlisle. The chief manufactures now carried on are hat-making, biscuit-making, lithographic printing, brewing for colonial export, and iron-founding. These and the railways employ very large numbers of hands. The corn, seed, and bacon trades have attained large dimensions. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and fairs on 26 Aug., 19 Sept., and the first and second Saturday after 10 Oct. The city was formerly connected with the Solway by a ship canal, now superseded by the Silloth railway, and it ranked as a seaport, with Allonby and Port-Carlisle as creeks or sub-ports, but the custom-house has been removed, and Carlisle is a creek to Whitehaven. The city has a head post office, several banking offices and first-rate inns, and publishes several newspapers.

The, Borough.-The city is a borough by prescription, was chartered by Henry II., is governed by a mayor, 10 aldermen, and 30 councillors, and sends one member to Parliament. Its borough limits, both for government and for representation, comprise the townships of Botchergate and English Street in St Cuthbert parish; the townships of Scotch Street, Fisher Street, Castle Street, Abbey Street, and part of Caldewgate, in St Mary parish; and the extra-parochial place of Eaglesfield Abbey. Assizes are held generally three times a year. Population of the municipal borough, 39,176; of the parliamentary, 38,112. The city gives the title of Earl to a branch of the Howard family.

The Diocese.-The see was founded in 1133 by Henry I. The first bishop was Æthelwald, the king's confessor, and among his successors have been De Everdon, De Kirkby, Merks, Oglethorpe, Usher, Nicolson, Sterne, Vernon Harcourt, and Goodwin. The bishop's income is £4500, and his residence is Rose Castle. The chapter comprises a dean (salary £1425), 4 canons (£700 per annum each), and 24 honorary canons. The diocese comprehends all Cumberland except Alston Moor parish, with Garrigill and Nenthead, all Westmorland, and the Lancashire deaneries of Cartmel, Dalton, and Ulverstone, and the ecclesiastical parishes of Beathay, Hawkshead, Satterthwaite, Lawray, Seathwaite, and Wray, and is divided into the three archdeaconries of Carlisle, Westmorland, and Furness. Population of the diocese, 424,913.