This northern city has had a noted history. It was a town of considerable importance under the Romans, and on their departure was captured by the furious Picts. It has been a city of sieges. Egfrid of Northumbria rebuilt it in the seventh century, and granted it to St. Cuthbert, but the Danes sacked and plundered it. William Rufus again rebuilt and fortified it, but David, King of Scotland, captured the place, and died within its walls in 1153. Two more sieges it again endured, and was at length taken in 1217. Here came Edward I. frequently on his marches to conquer the Scots, and held Parliaments here, and near here he died. A goodly company of nobles hastened here to do homage to his son. After the disaster of Bannockburn Robert Bruce besieged Carlisle, and had his quarters in the Cathedral, which is outside the city walls, but he failed to gain the city. The Bishops of Carlisle were sometimes warlike men, and took the field against the dread invaders from the north. The old castle has seen much of fighting, and it had a notable prisoner in the person of ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots. A long siege, lasting eight months, took place in the Civil War time, and in that time terrible damage was done to the Cathedral, as we shall see. Again, in the rebellion of 1745, "Bonnie Prince Charlie" captured the place, and there was a great flourish of trumpets, or rather bagpipes, until the king's forces came and put an end to the poor campaign. The Cathedral was again used as military quarters, and the prisons of the castle tell the sad story of the fate of the rebels. The ecclesiastical history of Carlisle reflects its civil history. As we have said, St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne and his successors ruled over this city and district for many years. When William II. restored the city and raised the castle, one Walter, a noble and wealthy priest, who was left as governor by the king, set to work to build a church and priory. But death stayed his hand, and Henry I. completed the task, and established here a monastery of Augustinian canons in 1121. In 1133, on the advice of Thurstan, Archbishop of York, he established a see here, and Udelulf became the first bishop. The Cathedral, begun by Walter and Since then there have been sundry restorations, some very deplorable, one about the middle of the eighteenth century, which were happily effaced, as far as possible, by the work of the middle of the nineteenth. But the hand of the restorers has fallen rather heavily upon the beautiful work of the choir, and destroyed much of its The Exterior A good view is obtained from the castle. The usual approach is from the east end, whence we observed the grand east window with its beautiful Late Decorated tracery. It is flanked by buttresses, with niches and crocketed pinnacles. In the niches are statues of SS. Peter, Paul, James and John. A floriated cross crowns the gable, and on each side are four similar crosses. In the gable is a triangular window, having three trefoils, and below is a niche with figure of the Virgin. The Central Tower, built by Bishop Strickland (1400-1419) on the old Norman piers, is too small for the huge choir, and lacks dignity. Formerly it was crowned with a wooden spire, but this has been removed. There is a turret set at the north-east angle, and in the north side is a niche with the figure of an angel. The lower part of the Choir is Early English, with the exception of a Perpendicular window at the west, and a Decorated one in the east bay. The Clerestory is Late Decorated, and the windows have flowing tracery. The ball-flower ornament is extensively used in the cornice. The sculpture at Carlisle is worthy of notice. Carved heads and curious gargoyles abound. The North Transept is nearly all modern. It was rebuilt by Strickland in the fifteenth century, and again rebuilt when the church was restored. There is, however, an Early English window in the west wall. On the east side there was formerly a chapel, which has not survived the repeated alterations. The greater part of the Nave was taken down by Cromwell's soldiers. What is left is of unmistakable Norman character. There is some modern imitation work, and late architectural detail. Most of the windows are modern, and also the doorway. The west end is the result of modern restoration. The south side is similar to the north. The South Transept preserves the old Norman walls. On the south is a modern doorway with a window over it. On the east is St. Catherine's Chapel, a Late Early English or Early Decorated building. The south side of the choir is similar to the north, and presents Early English details of construction. The monastic buildings once stood on the south side of the church, but they have been pulled down with the exception of the fratry and gatehouse, Carlisle from S E The Interior The Nave was formerly used as the Parish Church of St. Mary, and was filled with high pews and galleries. These have all been cleared away, and it is possible to admire the plain and massive Norman building, which now, alas! consists of only two bays, the rest having been destroyed in the Civil War period. Before that act of vandalism there were eight bays. The work before us, for the most part, belongs to the earliest church, begun by Walter, finished by Henry I. about 1130. Formerly a low ceiling shut out the triforium and clerestory from our view, but this, too, has happily been removed. The piers are low (14 feet high, 17 feet in girth), the arches being semi-circular, some of the capitals having evidently been carved later with some Early English foliage. The triforium consists of plain, open, round-headed arches, and is a little later than the main arcade. The clerestory has in each bay three arches, resting on shafts with carved capitals. The west end is modern. The tattered colours of the Cumberland Regiment tell of the Indian Mutiny, and there is a window in the south aisle to the memory of the men who died in that melancholy time. Sir Walter Scott was married in this nave, when it was a church, in 1797, to Miss Margaret Charlotte Carpenter. The font is modern and also the organ. The North Transept was rebuilt by Bishop Strickland in the fifteenth century, and its north end was again rebuilt in modern times. Here a large modern window of Decorated design has been erected in memory of five children of Archbishop Tait, who died here of scarlet fever when Dr. Tait was dean. In the west wall is an Early English window, which is a good example of plate-tracery. The arch of the choir aisle is Decorated; the roof is modern. Crossing over to the south transept we notice the piers which support the Tower. These are Norman, and have The South Transept is both narrow and shallow, being only one bay in length. The east side is Norman work; there is an arch with zigzag ornament and cushion capitals, opening into the choir aisle. A second Norman arch opens to St. Catherine's Chapel. The window and door on the south are both modern, and have much elaborate decoration, which is scarcely in keeping with the Norman work surrounding it. The triforium and clerestory resemble those of the nave. St. Catherine's Chapel stands on the site of a Norman chapel, and is in the Early Decorated style or Late Early English. It was founded by John de Capella, a wealthy citizen, and is now used as a vestry. The screen is Late Decorated, and is of great beauty. The doorway between the aisle and chapel formerly led to a well, now closed. "A similar well exists in the north transept, but has been long covered. Besides supplying water for the use of the church, such wells may have been of special service in border churches, which, like this of Carlisle, served as places of refuge for the inhabitants in cases of sudden alarm or foray" (Murray's Handbooks). The following monuments are in the transepts:— Robert Anderson, "the Cumberland Bard" (1833); Bishop Fleming (1747): Prior Senhouse (temp. Henry VII.); and there is a curious Runic inscription, written in Norse, which, being translated, is: "Tolfihn wrote these runes on this stone." We now enter the Choir by the door in organ-screen. This is one of the finest in England—spacious, lofty, well-proportioned and rich in all its details. The arches of the main arcade are Early English, as the mouldings and dog-tooth ornament testify. These remained after the fire of 1292, and were retained. The piers are Early Decorated, and were evidently built to support the arches after the fire. The capitals were carved later in the Late Decorated period, when the upper parts of the choir, triforium, clerestory, roof and east end were rebuilt. The builders were probably Bishops Welton and Appleby (1353-1395). When the choir was rebuilt in Early English times, the architect determined to enlarge it, and Passing to the North Choir Aisle we notice the Early English character of the arcade and windows. The latter have two lights, and have deep mouldings and dog-tooth ornament. The wall arcade is particularly graceful. The last bay eastward was built when the east window was erected, and is Late Decorated, and in the last bay west-ward there is a Perpendicular window. The vault was constructed after the fire of 1292. The two sepulchral recesses in the north wall are remarkable. They are of Early English character, and have a chevron moulding which is said to be unique. It is conjectured that the effigy in one of these recesses is that of Silvester of Everdon (1254), and that the other was The screen here is like that opposite by Prior Gondibour, who did so much to decorate his Cathedral, and to whom the paintings are assigned. The back of the stalls on this side has a representation of scenes from the life of St. Augustine, or, as curious descriptive verses call him, the "gret doctor Austyne." Dimensions
Principal Building Dates
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