The City of Carlisle (/kɑːrˈlaɪl/ kar-LYLE, locally /ˈkɑːrlaɪl/ KAR-lyle^[1]) was a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city. It was named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covered a far larger area which included the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages including Dalston, Scotby and Wetheral. In 2011 the district had a population of 107,524,^[2] and an area of 1,039.97 square kilometres (402 sq mi).^[3]

Quick Facts Sovereign state, Country ...

City of Carlisle
Former non-metropolitan district and city
Carlisle Civic Centre in Rickergate
Coat of arms Council logo
Motto(s):  "Be Just and Fear Not"
Carlisle shown within Cumbria
Coordinates: 54°53′27″N 2°56′38″W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Ceremonial county	Cumbria
Historic county	Cumberland
Admin HQ	Carlisle
Founded	1 April 1974 (1974-04-01)
Abolished	31 March 2023 (2023-03-31)
Government
• Type	City
• Governing body	Carlisle City Council
• MPs:	John Stevenson, Neil Hudson
Area
• Total	1,039.97 km2 (401.53 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	110,255
• Density	110/km2 (270/sq mi)
• Ethnicity	97.6% White 0.9% South Asian 0.6% Mixed 0.2% Black 0.5% Chinese or Other
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
Postcode	CA postcode area
ONS code	16UD (ONS) E07000028 (GSS)
OS grid reference	NY394555
Website	www.carlisle.gov.uk
Click the map for an interactive fullscreen view

Close

The district boundaries were set as part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, and covered an amalgamation of two former local government districts, the City and County Borough of Carlisle and the Border Rural District of Cumberland.^[4] The district shared a border with Scotland (to the north), and was bounded on the southwest by the borough of Allerdale, and on the south by the district of Eden. The county of Northumberland was to the east.

Although the district boundaries dated to the 20th century, the city traces its origins to a 1st-century Roman outpost associated with Hadrian's Wall. The Brythonic settlement that expanded from this outpost was destroyed by the Danes in 875. Thereafter the region formed part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland, until colonised under King William II of England in 1092. William II built Carlisle Castle, which houses a military museum. Carlisle Cathedral, founded in the 12th century, is one of the smallest in England.

A border city, and the third most northerly city in England, Carlisle district predominantly spanned the flood plain of the River Eden. Commercially, it was linked to the rest of England via the M6 motorway, and to the Scottish Lowlands via the A74(M) and M74 motorways.

In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, Cumbria would be reorganised into two unitary authorities.^[5] On 1 April 2023, Carlisle City Council was abolished and its functions transferred to the new unitary authority of Cumberland, which also incorporates the former districts of Allerdale and Copeland.^[6]

From 1 April 2023 the "City of Carlisle" was redefined to cover the following wards: Belah and Kingmoor, Botcherby and Harraby North, Cathedral and Castle, Currock and Upperby, Denton Holme and Morton South, Harraby South and Parklands, Newtown and Morton North, Sandsfield and Morton West and Stanwix and Houghton.

Charter Trustees were formed from the councillors that cover the said areas; they act as appropriate bodies in which historic rights and privileges of Carlisle, including the Mayoralty will continue until a governance review will determine the need of a Town Council.^{[citation needed]}

Following both the Local Government Act 1888 and Local Government Act 1894, local government in England had been administered via a national framework of rural districts, urban districts, municipal boroughs and county boroughs, which (apart from the latter which were independent), shared power with strategic county councils of the administrative counties.^[7] The areas that were incorporated into the City of Carlisle district in 1974 had formed part of the Border Rural District from the administrative county of Cumberland, and the politically independent County Borough of Carlisle.

After the exploration of reform during the mid-20th century such as the proposals made by the Redcliffe-Maud Report in the late 1960s, the Local Government Act 1972 restructured local government in England by creating a system of two-tier metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties and districts throughout the country.^[8] The act formally established the City of Carlisle as a local government district of the new shire county of Cumbria on 1 April 1974. The new dual local authorities of Carlisle City Council and Cumbria County Council had been running since elections in 1973 however.^[9] The leading article in The Times on the day the Local Government Act came into effect claimed that the "new arrangement is a compromise which seeks to reconcile familiar geography which commands a certain amount of affection and loyalty, with the scale of operations on which modern planning methods can work effectively".^[10]

Carlisle

Brampton

Longtown

Burgh by Sands

Castle Carrock

Dalston

Gilsland

Rockcliffe

Scotby

Warwick Bridge

Wetheral

Places in the former City of Carlisle district

The City of Carlisle district was at the extreme north of North West England. It encompassed Cumbria's county town, Carlisle, and its surrounding rural hinterland,^[21] which together totalled 1,039.97 square kilometres (402 sq mi),^[3] making the district the largest in England by area. Although 70% of the district's 100,750 people lived in central Carlisle, 98% of the district's land use was rural.^[21] The district was traversed by several major rivers, including the Caldew, Eden, and Petteril, and was bisected by the M6, A74(M) motorways.^[22]

Along the City of Carlisle's northern extent was the Solway Firth, which forms the western section of the Anglo-Scottish border, and thus separated the district from Dumfries and Galloway, one of the council areas of Scotland. To the east was the English county of Northumberland; to the south was the former district of Eden and to the west and south-west the former borough of Allerdale, both in the county of Cumbria.

Much of the district spanned the flood plain of the River Eden resulting in large parts of the district being vulnerable to flooding.^[23][24] Two further tributaries, the Petteril and Caldew nearly surround the historic walled centre.

Carlisle experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb).

At the 2011 UK census, the City of Carlisle district had a total population of 107,524.^[28] 46.8% of the residents over the age of 16 were married or in a registered same-sex civil partnership, 11.9% were co-habiting couples, and 41.2% were not living in a couple.

In 1841, 15.7% of Carlisle's population was middle class compared to 14% in England and Wales; this increased to 18.9% in 1931 (15% nationally) and 35.7% in 2001 (48% nationally). Carlisle's proportion of working-class people increased slowly from 1841 to 1931, changing from 33.0% to 37.9 while the national average changed from 37% to 36% in the same period. Since 1931 it has fallen and risen again to 34.0% in 2001 (26% nationally). The rest of the population was made up of clerical workers and skilled manual workers.^[29][30]

At the United Kingdom Census 2001, Carlisle had 73,431 residents aged 16 to 74. Of these people, 2.4% were students with jobs, 3.1% students without jobs, 4.9% looking after home or family, 6.1% permanently sick or disabled and 2.3% economically inactive for other reasons.^[35]

In 2001, of 46,858 residents of the City of Carlisle district in employment, the industry of employment was 20.4% retail and wholesale, 15.9% manufacturing, 11.1% health and social work, 8.1% property and business services, 7.7% transport and communications, 7.3% construction, 6.4% education, 5.9% hotels and restaurants, 5.8% public administration and defence, 3.1% agriculture, 2.3% finance, 0.7% energy and water supply, 0.3% mining, and 4.5% other. This was roughly in line with national figures, although the proportion of jobs in agriculture which was more than the national average of 1.5% and the percentage of people working in finance was less than half the national average of 4.8%; the proportion of people working in property was also below the national average of 13.2%.^[37]

Carlisle has formal twinning arrangements with two northern border cities on mainland Europe. They are since 1961^[42] Flensburg in northern Germany and since 1987^[43] Słupsk in northern Poland.^[44][45]

• List of people associated with Carlisle

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City of Carlisle.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (July 2019)