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Carlisle Castle was first built during the reign of William II of
England, the son of William the Conqueror who invaded England in 1066.
At that time, Cumberland (the original name for north and west Cumbria)
was still considered a part of Scotland. William II ordered the
construction of a Norman style motte and bailey castle in Carlisle on
the site of the old Roman fort of Luguvalium, dated by dendrochronology
to 72AD, with the castle construction beginning in 1093. The need for a
castle in Carlisle was to keep the northern border of England secured
against the threat of invasion from Scotland. In 1122, Henry I of
England ordered a stone castle to be constructed on the site. Thus a
keep and city walls were constructed. The existing Keep dates from
somewhere between 1122 and 1135.
The act of driving out the Scots from Cumberland led to many attempts to
retake the lands. The result of this was that Carlisle and its castle
would change hands many times for the next 700 years. The first attempt
began during the troubled reign of Stephen of England.
On 26 March 1296, John 'The Red' Comyn, since the fourth quarter of 1295
Lord of Annandale, led a Scottish host across the Solway to attack
Carlisle. The then governor of the castle, one Robert de Brus, deposed
Lord of Annandale, successfully withstood the attack, before forcing the
raiders to retreat back through Annandale to Sweetheart Abbey.
• Sir William Douglas,
Lord of Nithsdale, a man of apparently dashing bearing, was with the
Franco-Scots army when it unsuccessfully besieged Carlisle Castle in
1385, the defending Governor being Lord Clifford. He is recorded as
there performing feats of valour and killing many Englishmen.
•
Bishop John Douglas (July
14,
1721 – May 18, 1807) was a Scottish scholar and bishop. As chaplain to
the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards, he was at the Battle
of Fontenoy, 1745,
where he was
employed in carrying orders from general Campbell to a detachment of
English troops..
He then returned to Balliol as a Snell exhibitioner; became Vicar of
High Ercall, Shropshire in 1750; Canon of Windsor in 1762; Bishop of
Carlisle in 1787 (and also Dean of Windsor in 1788); and Bishop of
Salisbury in 1791.
• Sir
William Douglas of Kelhead was Governor of Carlisle. He was
appointed the city's Governor following the seige of Carlisle in 1645.
• Mary, second daughter and co-heir of James Douglas, M.D., of
Carlisle, third son of Sir William Douglas, bart., of Kilhead. (as
above?)
• The Scots suffered defeat at the
Battle of Solway Moss in 1542,
fought close to Carlisle.
Sir James Douglas, 7th of
Drumlanrig was taken prisoner following the battle
His keeper was the Master Customar of Carlisle. (But see below)
• Initially
James Douglas, 2nd earl of
Queensberry was a supporter of the Scottish national covenant.
However, in 1645 he changed his allegiance to the king. He set out to
join Montrose after his victory at Kilsyth, but on the way was captured
and taken prisoner to Carlisle.
• James Douglas of Drumlanrig; the Master Customar of
Carlisle (But see above)
Mary Queen of Scots’ imprisonment at Carlisle Castle
Mary spent just eight
weeks at Carlisle Castle, from 18 May to 13 July 1568, with Sir Francis
Knollys as her custodian. Although Mary was permitted to take walks
outside the castle walls with her ladies, and walk the stretch of castle
walls that later became known as ‘the lady’s walk’, the other
limitations placed upon her movements (such as the fact that she
couldn’t travel elsewhere or receive guests without the permission of
Elizabeth I) were a foreshadowing of the long years of imprisonment to
come.
Mary was kept in what became known as Queen Mary’s Tower, which was
largely demolished in 1834 due to its unsafe condition and is now a
ruin. As the original Norman entrance this was one of the oldest parts
of the castle. Mary arrived after a four-hour crossing of the Solway
Firth with her retinue, and she expected that her stay at the castle
would be a short one – believing she was simply awaiting the help of her
cousin Elizabeth I who would help her to regain the throne. Sadly for
Mary, this ill-advised plan was to lead to her being imprisoned for the
rest of her life.
Although Mary wrote to a supporter soon after her arrival that she had
been ‘right well received and honourably accompanied and treated’
whether or not she realised it at this point, she was a prisoner, and
was being kept under armed guard. Sir Francis Knollys was sent north
from London by Elizabeth I to be Mary’s keeper and although he described
her as ‘pleasant’ he was under pressure not to allow his royal prisoner
to escape.
Mary’s retinue included her faithful friend Mary Seton, who was able to
help the queen to maintain her appearance. The cost of keeping the queen
and her court at Carlisle was £56 a week, money which was payable by
Elizabeth I. Mary’s accommodation was on the south-east corner of the
inner ward in a building known as Warden’s Tower (and later, as Queen
Mary’s Tower). Despite the conditions, Mary lived in much more sumptuous
surroundings than the majority of Elizabeth’s subjects, and a
19th-century text confirmed that the tower was in a better state of
repair than the rest of the castle, with richer architecture.
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