Carlisle Castle, England

The Carlisle Castle is a medieval castle located in the historic city of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The castle was was first built by son of William the Conqueror, William II of England in 1092 as a Norman style motte and bailey castle on the site of an old Roman fort. In 1122 Henry I of England ordered the construction of a stone castle which was altered many times in next centuries.



The Carlisle Castle also served as a prison where among others Richard, Duke of Gloucester later Richard III and Mary, Queen of Scots after her abdication in 1568 were held.

During the English Civil War (from 1642 to 1651) the Carlisle Castle was additionally fortified against a Scottish invasion and was in 1644 besieged by Parliamentary Forces for 8 months. One century later, in 1745, during the second Jacobite rising against George II of Great Britain the Carlisle Castle was seized by the Jacobites but the castle was soon afterwards recaptured by the forces of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and son of George II. Afterwards the Carlisle Castle lost its strategic importance on the border between England and Scotland because both countries were united in Great Britain. After the recapture of the Carlisle Castle in 1745 part of it was demolished, while the castle was held from 1745 until 1959 by the Army when it passed to the Department of Environment, later English Heritage.

Today the Carlisle Castle is still managed by the English Heritage and is open to the public.