CARLISLE, a city of great antiquity, in the north of England, and the capital of the county of Cumberland, is delightfully situated in a fertile vale, on the south side of the river Eden, which falls into the Solway Frith, five miles below ; having the Pettrell on the cast, and Cal dew on the west, both of which empty themselves into this river, the former about a mile above the city, and the latter about half a mile below it. It was till very lately surrounded by ancient walls, most part of which have been removed, in order to afford materials for the construction of the new court-houses, and to enlarge the town. Various opinions have been entertained by antiquarians respecting the etymology of the word Car lisle. It was called by the Romans and Britons, Logo vallium, and Lugoballiorn, or Loguballia. The most probable notion is, that it is derived from the Celtic, Carr, a city; and Luc!, signifying the town or city of Lucl.
The history of Carlisle, prior to the time of the Ro mans, is involved in much obscurity ; nor have we any well authenticated account of the size or form of the place in distant antiquity. Leland, an author whose ac curacy and veracity can hardly be disputed, observes, The hole site of the towne is sore chaungid. For whereas the stretes were, and great edifices, now be vacant and garden plottes. The cite of Cairlucl eth in the forest of Ynglewood. The cite ys yn com pace scant a myle, and ys walled with a right fayre and stronge wal, ex lapide quadrato subrufo. In diggyng to make new buildyngs yn the towne, often tymes bath bene, and now alate fownd diverse foundations of the old cite, as paivmentes of stretes, so hold and mauldid, that when yt was strongly touched yt went. almost to mowlder." After the departure of the Romans, it de clined till the 7th century, when Egfrid, king of North umberland, rebuilt it, and encompassed it with a strong wall of stone. From the time of this prince to the ar rival of the Danish invaders, it is supposed to have been much augmented in importance and power. When, however, those barbarous ravagers had possessed them selves of the northern part of this island, it appears to have undergone a destruction so complete, that it con tinued a heap of ruins till the time of the Norman con quest, when one of William's subjects is said to have built some parts of the city. But it was not till the reign of King William Rufus, that the ecclesiastical buildings were erected, and the city fortified. Henry I. erected Carlisle into a bishop's sec, and appointed Ade lulph, his confessor, the first bishop; and likewise com pleted the monastery. Stephen, about the beginning of his reign, gave this country to David, king of Scotland, to procure his aid against Henry II. After the death of David, which happened not long after, Stephen took Carlisle from the Scots, and granted to the city the first charter, which was afterwards consumed by an acciden tal fire. In the 29th of Henry VIII. Carlisle was be
sieged by an army of 8000 men, and being repulsed by the garrison, were afterwards intercepted by the Duke of Norfolk, who ordered the leaders with 70 others to be immediately executed on the city walls. In 1644 this city was surrendered to the parliament forces under General Leslie, after a siege of nearly eight months. In 1745, Carlisle was taken possession of by the rebel army, commanded by Charles Edward Stuart, and after wards retaken by the king's forces, under the Duke of Cumberland. During these unhappy times, Carlisle was a place of considerable military importance, and kept up the appearance of a formidable place ; sentinels were stationed at every gate, on the walls, at the castle, &c. and the gates were shut and locked every night with much military parade ; and, as a signal when to shut the garrison gates, a gun was fired in twilight, when a white horse could not be seen at the distance of a mile from the fortifications.
So late as the beginning of the last century, the dwell ings of the inhabitants were mere hovels, constructed incipally of wood, laths, and mud; the gahels fronted the streets, the doors were generally in the centre, and many of the house:. had porches projecting two or three yards into the streets. The (root door was arched or Gothic, to correspond with the gabel, and the diminutive windows were of the same order. The doors were of oak, remarkably strong and clumsy, put together with wooden pins, a part of which projected a considerable way from the door, and sometimes placed in figures ro mantically irregular. The streets were badly paved, and had ditches or kennels on each side, which being the reservoirs of all kinds of filth, rendered the air im pure, and consequently the city very unwholesome. But as the prospect of future warfare vanished, trade and manufactures began to increase, and an equal aug mentation of wealth, spirit, and taste for improvement, took place ; so that Carlisle, at the present day, in the openness of its streets, neatness and elegance of its buildings; and respectability of its inhabitants, is ex celled by few towns of equal size in Great Britain. Carlisle affords several commodious inns, and maintains an intercourse with other parts of the island by several regular mail and stage coaches, waggons, &c. There is a stone bridge over the Caldew on the west side, leading into the city, and two on the north side over the river Eden, one of four and the other of eight arches ; all of which are extremely narrow and ill constructed. Parliament have very recently granted the sum of 10,0001. to the county, for the • purpose of building a new bridge over the Eden; and we understand that the magi.trates have ordered it to be immediately begun.