THE CASTLE
The #Castle# is built on the highest ground in the city, a kind of cliff
at the north-west angle rising abruptly about sixty feet above the river
Eden. An area of nearly three acres has been enclosed with walls, the
longest side from north-west to south-east being about 256 yards long,
the west side 143 yards, and the south side 200 yards. Two sides are
very steep, and the south side, which slopes gradually to the town, is
defended outside the wall by a wide moat 10 feet deep.
There are two divisions: the outer ward, and the inner ward. William
Rufus erected the keep, which was at first the only building on the
site, and this was enclosed by a wall on the north and east. A
triangular ward was thus formed, having its entrance at the south-east.
Carlisle was fortified in 1170, and the city walls were carried up to
the castle. At this time the first entrance was blocked up and the
present one made; the outer ward was also enclosed. The south wall, with
its flat buttresses, is partly Norman, and partly thirteenth-century
work; and this description generally applies to the north and west
walls.
About 50 yards from the south-west angle and on the city walls is King
Richard's Tower, a building of two storeys, where Richard III. is said
to have lived when at Carlisle. It is also called the Tile Tower because
of the thin bricks with which it was built. A subterranean passage
leading to the keep was discovered here early this century. Entrance to
the castle is gained by a bridge crossing the moat; this has replaced
the old drawbridge and leads to a gatehouse with battlements, a kind of
barbican, of two storeys. The passage is vaulted, and has massive doors
of oak studded with iron; formerly there was also a portcullis.
This leads to the outer ward which is about four times as large as the
inner ward. It is nearly square, and contains modern buildings for the
use of the garrison.
The two wards are divided by a strong stone wall 90 yards in length. A
wide ditch (now filled up) once ran in front. In the centre of this wall
is a building--the Captain's Tower--which gives access to the inner ward
through its gateway secured at each end with a strong door.
Some of the masonry of the Captain's Tower is Norman, but it is mostly
Decorated. A half-moon battery of three guns once defended the Tower and
commanded the outer ward, but it has now been removed.
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE CASTLE (TIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH).]
The inner ward contains the great square keep, 66 feet by 61, where the
governor had his apartments, and which was the final resort of the
garrison when the place was entered by an enemy. The walls are 15 feet
in thickness, except on the east side, which is only 8 feet thick. The
building consists of a basement and three upper floors; the highest
floor is vaulted to sustain a platform for artillery. The present height
is 68 feet. On a clear day a fine view can be had from the top,
embracing the mountains in the Lake district, the heights of
Northumberland, the Solway Firth, and the Scottish coast. Several cells
have been contrived in the eastern wall, in one of which Major McDonald
(Fergus McIvor) is said to have been lodged. Some of the cell walls
have been carved at various times with figures of men, birds, and
animals. These were, perhaps, executed with a nail. In the north wall is
the shaft of a well, 78 feet deep. This is supposed to be the well which
was shown to St. Cuthbert when he visited Carlisle. The dungeons are in
the ground floor, and of course are distinguished by a plentiful lack of
daylight and fresh air.
[Illustration: THE CASTLE. _A. Pumphrey, Photo._]
Queen Mary's Tower, so called from having been the prison of Mary Queen
of Scots, was in the south-east angle of the inner ward. It was pulled
down in 1835, and a wall built round the angle. It was in part Norman
work of the time of William Rufus, and partly Early English; and had a
large rounded archway springing from capitals with zigzag decoration.
There was also a portcullis for its defence. A passage used by Queen
Mary to pass out to the Lady's Walk, which ran eastward from the
gatehouse, has been walled up.
The Long Hall, a fine structure about 100 feet by 40, in which the
Parliament of 1306-7 met, was also situated in this ward, but was
demolished with several other buildings, 1824-1835. At various times
the castle has undergone extensive repairs, notably in the reigns of
Richard III., Edward III., Henry VIII., and Elizabeth.
During the siege in 1644-5 it suffered much damage, and was patched up
by the Parliamentary troops. A hundred years later the Duke of
Cumberland thought very little of its powers of defence, for he
contemptuously called it "an old hen-coop."
Among the governors, several well-known men figure; for instance, Andrew
Harcla, the Duke of Gloucester (afterwards Richard III.), and Hotspur.
Upon the death of Lieutenant-General Ramsay in 1837 the office of
governor was abolished. The castle now furnishes barrack accommodation
for troops, and serves as a depôt.
DIMENSIONS OF CARLISLE CATHEDRAL
Choir, Length 134 feet
Choir, Breadth 72 feet
Choir, Height 72 feet
Nave, Length 39 feet
Nave, Breadth 60 feet
Nave, Height 65 feet
Transepts, Length 124 feet
Transepts, Breadth 28 feet
Tower, Height 112 feet
AREA 15,270 sq. ft.
[Illustration: PLAN OF CARLISLE CATHEDRAL.]