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Perkin Warbeck

2025-10-11T01:23:43Z

2A00:23C7:C8BC:C501:FD3A:EB97:505D:9D0A: /* Claim to the English throne */

{{Short description|15th-century pretender to the English throne}}
{{About|the historical figure|the 17th-century play by John Ford|Perkin Warbeck (play)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox pretender
|image= Perkin Warbeck.jpg
|caption=16th-century copy by [[:fr:Jacques Le Boucq|Jacques Le Boucq]] of the only known contemporary portrait of Warbeck, Library of Arras<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lutkin |first1=Jessica |title=A/AS Level History for AQA The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499 Student Book |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=157 |isbn=9781316504376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGGcCwAAQBAJ |access-date=23 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Carson |first1=Annette|title=Richard III The Maligned King |date=2017 |publisher=History Press |isbn=9780752473147 |page=vii}}</ref>
|name =Perkin Warbeck
|birth_date = {{circa|1474}}
|birth_name = Pierrechon de Werbecque
|birth_place =[[Tournai]], [[Tournaisis]]
|death_date = 23 November {{death year and age|1499|1474}}
|death_place = [[Tyburn]], [[Middlesex]], [[Kingdom of England|England]]
|regnal =
|title = Pretended Duke of York
|throne = [[Throne of England|England]]
|pretend from = 1490
|relationship = Claimed to be [[Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York]], son of [[Edward IV of England]]
|house = In the name of the [[House of York]]
|father = Jehan de Werbecque; claimed to be Edward IV of England
|mother = Katherine de Faro; claimed to be [[Elizabeth Woodville]]
|spouse = [[Lady Catherine Gordon]]
|children =
|predecessor =
|successor =
|footnotes =
}}

'''Perkin Warbeck''' ({{circa|1474}} – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be [[Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York]], who was the second son of [[Edward IV]] and one of the so-called "[[Princes in the Tower]]". Richard, were he alive, would have been the rightful claimant to the throne, assuming that his elder brother [[Edward V]] was dead and that he was [[Legitimacy (family law)|legitimate]]—a point that had been previously contested by his uncle, King [[Richard III]].

Due to the uncertainty as to whether Richard had died (either of some natural cause or having been murdered in the [[Tower of London]]) or whether he had somehow survived, Warbeck's claim gained some support. Followers may have truly believed Warbeck was Richard or may have supported him simply because of their desire to overthrow the reigning king, [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], and reclaim the throne. Given the lack of knowledge regarding Richard's fate, and having received support outside England, Warbeck emerged as a significant threat to the newly established [[Tudor dynasty]]; Henry declared Warbeck an impostor.

Warbeck made several landings in England backed by small armies but met strong resistance from the King's men and surrendered in [[Hampshire]] in 1497. After his capture, he retracted his claim, writing a confession in which he said he was actually [[Flemish people|Flemish]] and born in [[Tournai]] around 1474. He was executed on 23 November 1499. Dealing with Warbeck cost Henry VII over £13,000 ({{Inflation|UK|13000|1499|r=-3|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}), putting a strain on Henry's weak state finances.

==Early life==
Perkin Warbeck's personal history is fraught with many unreliable and varying statements.<ref>Gairdner, James, p. 263</ref> Warbeck said that he was [[Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York|Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York]], the younger son of King Edward IV, who had [[Princes in the Tower|disappeared mysteriously]] along with his brother [[Edward V]] after [[Richard III of England|Richard, Duke of Gloucester]], succeeded to the throne as King Richard III following the death of King Edward IV, his eldest brother, in 1483. After Warbeck was captured and interrogated in 1497 under the eye of King Henry VII, another version of his life was published, based on his confession. This confession is considered by many historians to be possibly only partially true as it was procured under duress.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

According to the confession, Warbeck was born to a woman called Katherine de Faro, wife of John Osbeck (also known as Jehan de Werbecque).<ref>Gairdner, James, p. 266</ref> Osbeck was Flemish and held the occupation of [[comptroller]] to the city of [[Tournai]], in present-day [[Belgium]].<ref name="Ure, Peter, ed., p. lxxxviii">Ure, Peter, ed., p. lxxxviii</ref> These family ties are backed up by several municipal archives of Tournai which mention most of the people whom Warbeck declared he was related to.<ref name="Gairdner, James, p. 267">Gairdner, James, p. 267</ref> Around the age of ten, he was taken to [[Antwerp]] by his mother to learn [[Dutch language|Dutch]].{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} From there, he was undertaken by several masters around Antwerp and [[Middelburg, Zeeland|Middelburg]] before being employed by a local English merchant named John Strewe for a few months <ref name="Gairdner, James, p. 267"/> where he traded cloth.<ref>Tillbrook, Michael. ''The Tudors: England 1485–1603''. Oxford University Press, 2015, p. 6 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

After his time in the Netherlands, Warbeck yearned to visit other countries and was hired by a [[Bretons|Breton]] merchant.<ref name="Ure, Peter, ed., p. lxxxviii"/> This merchant eventually brought Warbeck to [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Kingdom of Desmond|Ireland]], in 1491 when he was about 17, and there he learned to speak English.<ref name="Ure, Peter, ed., p. lxxxviii"/> Warbeck then claims that upon seeing him dressed in silk clothes, some of the citizens of Cork who were [[Yorkists]] demanded to do "him the honour as a member of the Royal House of York."<ref name="Gairdner, James, p. 267"/> He said they did this because they were resolved on gaining revenge on the King of England; they decided that he would claim to be the younger son of the late King Edward IV.<ref name="Gairdner, James, p. 267"/>

==Claim to the English throne==

Warbeck first claimed the English throne at the court of [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]] in 1490, where [[jeton]] coins were minted for him. Warbeck explained his (i.e. Richard of Shrewsbury's) mysterious disappearance by claiming that his brother Edward V had been murdered, but he had been spared by his brother's (unidentified) murderers because of his age and "innocence". However, he had been made to swear an oath not to reveal his true identity for "a certain number of years".<ref name="ali">Weir, Alison, pp. 238–240</ref> He claimed that from 1483 to 1490, he had lived on the continent of Europe under the protection of Yorkist loyalists, but when his main guardian, Sir [[Edward Brampton]], returned to England, he was left free. He then declared his true identity.<ref name="ali"/>

In 1491, Warbeck landed in [[Ireland]] in the hope of gaining support for his claim as [[Lambert Simnel]] had four years previously. His cause was promoted by [[John Atwater]], a former [[Mayor of Cork]] and ardent Yorkist, who may have been instrumental in helping him assume the identity of Richard. However, little support materialized for an active rebellion, and Warbeck was forced to return to mainland Europe. There his fortunes improved. He was first received by [[Charles VIII of France]], but in 1492 he was expelled under the terms of the [[Treaty of Étaples]], by which Charles had agreed not to shelter rebels against Henry VII. After an English expedition [[Siege of Boulogne (1492)|laid siege to Boulogne]], Charles VIII agreed to withdraw all backing from Warbeck. In the Duchy of Burgundy, however, Warbeck was publicly recognised as Richard of Shrewsbury by [[Margaret of York]], widow of [[Charles the Bold]], sister of Edward IV, and thus the aunt of the Princes in the Tower. Whether Margaret—who left England to marry before either of her nephews were born—truly believed that the pretender was her nephew Richard, or whether she considered him a fraud but supported him anyway, is unknown, but she tutored him in the ways of the Yorkist court.

Henry complained to [[Philip I of Castile|Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy]], about the harbouring of the pretender. When Henry was ignored, he imposed a trade embargo on Burgundy, cutting off important Burgundian trade connections with England. The pretender was also welcomed by various other monarchs and was known in international diplomacy as the [[Duke of York]]. At the invitation of Duke Philip's father, Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]], in 1493, Perkin attended the funeral of Maximilian's father [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]] and was recognised as King Richard IV of England.<ref>Wroe, Ann, pp. 148–151.</ref>

==Support in England (Perkin Warbeck conspiracy)==

Pro-Yorkist sympathy in England involved important figures making it known that they were prepared to back Warbeck's claims. These included Lord Fitzwater, Sir [[Simon Mountford (died 1495)|Simon Montfort]], Sir [[Thomas Thwaites (civil servant)|Thomas Thwaites]] (ex-[[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]), Sir [[William Stanley (Battle of Bosworth)|William Stanley]] (the [[Lord Chamberlain]]) and Sir Robert Clifford. Clifford went over to mainland Europe and wrote back to his friends to confirm Warbeck's real identity as Prince Richard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lordsandladies.org/perkin-warbeck.htm|title= Perkin Warbeck|access-date=5 June 2017}}</ref>

King Henry ordered the group of supporters to be rounded up and put on trial. All were duly arrested, together with William D'Aubeney, Thomas Cressener, Thomas Astwode, Robert Ratcliff and others. Lord Fitzwater was sent as a prisoner to Calais and later beheaded for trying to bribe his gaolers.

In show trials in January 1495, all the conspirators were initially condemned to death, although six, including Thwaites, were then pardoned and their sentences commuted to imprisonment and fines. Within days Sir Simon Montfort, Robert Ratcliff and William D'Aubeney were beheaded at [[Tower Hill]] and Cressener and Astwode pardoned at the block. Later the same month Sir William Stanley was also beheaded. Other members of the group were imprisoned and fined.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy| first=Ian|last=Arthurson}} {{ISBN?}}</ref> Sir Robert Clifford was pardoned and rewarded for revealing the names of the conspirators.

==First landing in England==

On 3 July 1495, funded by Margaret of Burgundy, Warbeck landed at [[Deal, Kent|Deal]] in [[Kent]], hoping for a show of popular support. They were confronted by locals loyal to Henry VII in the ensuing [[Battle of Deal]]. Warbeck's small army was routed and 150 of the pretender's troops were killed without Warbeck even disembarking. He was forced to retreat almost immediately, this time to Ireland. There he found support from [[Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Desmond]], and laid [[Siege of Waterford (1495)|siege to Waterford]], but, meeting resistance, he fled to [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]].

==Support in Scotland (1495–1496)==
[[File:Linlithgow Palace Suedfluegel Hoffassade.jpg|thumb|right|Perkin Warbeck spent Christmas 1495 at [[Linlithgow Palace]] in Scotland.<ref name="William Hepburn 2023 p. 67">William Hepburn, ''The Household and Court of James IV of Scotland'' (Boydell, 2023), p. 67.</ref>]]
Warbeck was well received by [[James IV of Scotland]]. Warbeck followed the court. He came to [[Stirling Castle]] on 20 or 27 November 1495, was a Christmas guest at [[Linlithgow Palace]], and spent time at [[Falkland Palace]].<ref name="William Hepburn 2023 p. 67"/><ref>[[James Gairdner]], ''Letters and papers illustrative of the reigns of Richard III and Henry VII'', 2 (London, 1861), pp. 327, 329, 334.</ref> James realised that Warbeck's presence gave him international leverage. As [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand]] and [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella]] of Spain were negotiating an alliance with Henry VII, James IV knew that Spain would help him in his struggles with England in order to prevent the situation escalating into war with France.<ref name=macdougall>Macdougall, Norman p. 123–124, 136, 140–141.</ref>

Spanish ambassadors arrived in Edinburgh, and later [[Pedro de Ayala]] was established as a resident ambassador during the crisis. Warbeck married [[Lady Catherine Gordon]], a daughter of [[George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly]]. The marriage was celebrated in Edinburgh with a tournament, possibly on 13 January, [[Saint Mungo|Saint Mungo's day]].<ref>Katie Stevenson, ''Chivalry and Knighthood in Scotland, 1424–1513'' (Boydell, 2006), p. 84: ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), p. cxxx.</ref> James gave Warbeck clothes for the wedding and armour covered with purple silk.<ref>''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 257, 262–264.</ref>

Historian [[Katie Stevenson]] suggests the clothing bought for the tournament shows Warbeck fought in a team with the king and four knights.<ref>Stevenson, Katie, p. 84</ref> A copy of a love letter in Latin obtained by Pedro de Ayala is thought to be Warbeck's proposal to Lady Catherine.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=93373| title = ''Calendar State Papers Spain'', vol. 1 (London, 1862), no. 119 & fn.}}</ref> However, James's biographer [[Norman Macdougall]] comments that it is clear that nobody, with the possible exception of Margaret of Burgundy, took seriously his claim to be the prince; his marriage to a junior Scots noblewoman was scarcely what might be expected for a potential king of England.<ref name=macdougall/>

In September 1496, James IV prepared to invade England with Warbeck. A red, gold and silver banner was made for Warbeck as the Duke of York; James's armour was gilded and painted, and the royal artillery was prepared.<ref>''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 292–296.</ref> [[John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell|John Ramsay of Balmain]] (who called himself Lord Bothwell) described the events for Henry VII. He saw Roderic de Lalaing, a Flemish knight, arrive with two little ships and 60 German soldiers and meet James IV and talk to Warbeck.<ref>Henry Ellis, ''Original Letters'', Series 1 vol. 1 (London, 1824) p. 30.</ref> Guns provided for the raid from Edinburgh Castle included two great French "curtalds", 10 [[falconet (cannon)|falconets]] or little serpentines, and 30 iron breech-loading "cart guns" with 16 close-carts or wagons for the munitions.<ref>Henry Ellis, ''Original Letters'', Series 1 vol. 1 (London, 1824) p. 31.</ref> Bothwell estimated the invasion force would last only four to five days in England before it ran out of provisions. He suggested, from the safety of [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]], that the Scots could be vanquished by a modest English force attacking from north and south in a [[pincer movement]].<ref>Pinkerton, John, pp. 438–441</ref>
[[File:St. Triduana's Well, Restalrig.jpg|thumb|right|Perkin Warbeck and James IV prayed for victory at [[Restalrig]]]]

The Scottish host assembled near Edinburgh; James IV and Warbeck offered prayers at [[Holyrood Abbey]] on 14 September and on the next day at St Triduana's Chapel and Our Lady Kirk of [[Restalrig]].<ref>''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 296, 299–300.</ref> On 19 September 1496 the Scottish army was at Ellem and on 21 September they crossed the [[River Tweed|Tweed]] at [[Coldstream]]. Miners set to work to demolish [[Heaton Castle]] on 24 September, but the army quickly retreated when resources were expended<ref>''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 299–300.</ref> and hoped-for support for Perkin Warbeck in [[Northumberland]] failed to materialise. According to an English record, the Scots penetrated four miles into England with a royal banner displayed and destroyed three or four little towers (or [[Bastle house]]s). They left on 25 September 1496 when an English army commanded by [[Ralph Neville, 3rd Earl of Westmorland|Lord Neville]] approached from Newcastle.<ref>Bain, Joseph, ed., ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland'', 1357–1509, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1888), pp. 418–419 no. 35 (there dated as if '1497'): David Dunlop (1991), 108–109 & fn., quotes another version, and cites four more, noting a mistaken date in Bain (1888).</ref> When news of this invasion reached [[Ludovico Sforza]], [[Duke of Milan]], on 21 October 1496, he wrote to his ambassador in Spain to request the Spanish monarchs make peace between England and Scotland. The peace mission was entrusted to the Spanish ambassador in Scotland, [[Pedro de Ayala]], who had been Perkin's companion in Northumberland.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Milan" (London, 1912), no. 514.</ref>

Later, wishing to be rid of Warbeck, James IV provided a ship called the ''Cuckoo'' and a hired crew under a Breton captain, [[Guy Foulcart]].<ref>[[Robert Kerr Hannay]], ''Letters of James IV'' (SHS: Edinburgh, 1953), p. 9.</ref> Horses were hired for 30 of Warbeck's companions to ride to the ship at [[Ayr]] on 5 July 1497. Pedro de Ayala accompanied Perkin to Ayr. Perkin pawned a horse for cash in Ayr and sailed to Waterford in shame.<ref>Thomas Dickson, ''Accounts of the Treasurer'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 342–345.</ref> James IV made peace with England by signing the [[Treaty of Ayton]] at [[Ayton Parish Church|St Dionysius's Church]] in [[Ayton, Scottish Borders|Ayton]] in [[Berwickshire]]. Once again Perkin attempted to lay siege to Waterford, but this time his effort lasted only eleven days before he was forced to flee Ireland, chased by four English ships. According to some sources, by this time he was left with only 120 men on two ships.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} Bacon's ''History of the Reign of King Henry VII'' said he had "in his company four small barks, with some sixscore or sevenscore fighting men".<ref>{{cite book|last=Bacon|first=Francis|title=History of the Reign of King Henry VII|url=https://archive.org/details/baconshistoryre00lumbgoog/page/n8/mode/2up|year=1885|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=163}}</ref>

==Landing in Cornwall==
{{Main|Second Cornish uprising of 1497}}
[[File:Rebels under Perkin Warbeck attempt to burn the West gate.jpg|thumb|left|Painting of rebels under Perkin Warbeck as they attempt to burn Exeter's West gate by Mary Drew c1900 and 1920 in the [[Royal Albert Memorial Museum]]'s fine art collection]]
[[File:P102-Beaulieu Abby, where Perkin Warbeck took Sanctuary.jpg|thumb|[[Beaulieu Abbey]] in Hampshire, where Warbeck took sanctuary]]

On 7 September 1497, Warbeck landed at [[Whitesand Bay (Cornwall)|Whitesand Bay]], two miles north of [[Land's End]], in [[Cornwall]], hoping to capitalise on the [[Cornish people]]'s resentment in the aftermath of [[Cornish rebellion of 1497|their uprising]] only three months earlier.<ref>{{cite web |title=Timeline of Cornish History 1066–1700 AD |url=http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5749 |website=[[Cornwall County Council]] |access-date=21 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619090607/http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5749 |archive-date=19 June 2006}}</ref> Warbeck proclaimed that he could put a stop to extortionate taxes levied to help fight a war against Scotland and was warmly welcomed. He was declared "Richard IV" on [[Bodmin Moor]] and his Cornish army some 6,000 strong entered [[Exeter]] before advancing on [[Taunton]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Timeline of Cornish History 1066–1700 AD|url=http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5749|website=www.cornwall.gov.uk|access-date=10 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619090607/http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5749|archive-date=19 June 2006}}</ref><ref name="Payton2004">{{cite book|last=Payton|first=Philip|title=Cornwall: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UfCvxdhNLHIC&pg=PA111|year=2004|publisher=Cornwall Editions Limited|isbn=978-1-904880-05-9|pages=111–}}</ref> Henry VII sent his chief general, [[Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney]], to attack the Cornish and when Warbeck heard that the King's scouts were at [[Glastonbury]] he panicked and deserted his army.

Warbeck was captured at [[Beaulieu Abbey]] in Hampshire where he surrendered. Henry VII reached Taunton on 4 October 1497, where he received the surrender of the remaining Cornish army. The ringleaders were executed and others fined. Warbeck was imprisoned, first at Taunton, then at the [[Tower of London]], where he was "paraded through the streets on horseback amid much hooting and derision of the citizens".<ref>{{cite web|title=Perkin Warbeck|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/perkin.html|website=www.channel4com|access-date=10 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050514021704/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/perkin.html|archive-date=14 May 2005}}</ref>

==Imprisonment and death==

Warbeck was initially treated well by Henry. As soon as he confessed to being an impostor, he was released from the Tower of London and was given accommodation at Henry's court. He was even allowed to be present at royal banquets. He was, however, kept under guard and was not allowed to sleep with his wife, who was living under the protection of the queen.

After eight months at court, Warbeck tried to escape; he was quickly recaptured. He was then held in the Tower, initially in solitary confinement, and later alongside [[Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick|the 17th Earl of Warwick]]; the two tried to escape in 1499. Captured once again, Warbeck was led from the Tower to [[Tyburn]] on 23 November 1499, where he read out a confession and was [[Hanging|hanged]].<ref name="ali"/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Goble|first1=Rachel|title=The Execution of Perkin Warbeck|journal=History Today|date=11 November 1999|issue=11|url=http://www.historytoday.com/rachel-goble/execution-perkin-warbeck|access-date=10 October 2016}}</ref> Warbeck had signed a paper confessing that his name was Piers Osbeck, a boatman's son from Tournai in France. It is unclear from where Henry VII got the name "Perkin Warbeck" or why it was maintained by Henry.<ref>{{cite web |title=Two Claimants |url=https://revealingrichardiii.com/two-claimants.html |website=Revealing Richard III |access-date=10 September 2025}}</ref> Warbeck's Irish ally John Atwater was also executed at Tyburn on the same day. The Earl of Warwick was beheaded on [[Tower Hill]] on 28 November 1499.

Warbeck was buried in [[Austin Friars, London]].<ref>''Great Chronicle of London'', [[Guildhall Library]].</ref> The presumed site of his unmarked grave is at the [[Dutch Church, Austin Friars]].

His story was featured in [[Francis Bacon]]'s 1622 work ''[[History of the Reign of King Henry VII]]''.

==Appearance==

Perkin reportedly resembled Edward IV in appearance, which has led to speculation that he might have been Edward's illegitimate son or at least had some genuine connection with the York family. [[Francis Bacon]] believed he was one of Edward's many illegitimate children.<ref name="ali"/> It has also been suggested that he was a son of one of Edward's siblings, either Richard III or [[Margaret of York]], Warbeck's first major sponsor.<ref name="ali"/>

Some authors, for example [[Horace Walpole]], have even gone as far as to claim that Warbeck actually was Richard, Duke of York.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gibbon|authorlink=Edward Gibbon|first1=Edward|editor1-last=Sabor|editor1-first=Peter|title=Horace Walpole: The Critical Heritage|date=1768|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0415134361|page=124|chapter=Memoires Litteraires}}</ref>

===Portrait===
It is often claimed that Perkin's only surviving likeness is a drawing in the ''[[Recueil d'Arras]]'' by Jacques le Boucq dating from c. 1570.
The text labelling the drawing as Perkin Warbeck is in a different hand to inscriptions on other drawings in the collection. It might have been added later. It is then questionable if it indeed depicts Warbeck.
Since le Boucq didn't know who the man was, by his time the identity of the man was likely forgotten.
However, Le Boucq's original handwriting describes the materials of the man's outfit as "drap dor"(drap d'or=cloth of gold) and "drap darger"(probably drap d'argent=cloth of silver). An outfit fit for royalty, but not pointing to Warbeck specifically.

Within the Recueil d'Arras, the "Perkin Warbeck" drawing is placed among portraits of the Scottish and English royal family (James IV, [[Margaret Tudor]], Henry VII and Elizabeth of York).<ref>[[Lorne Campbell (art historian)|Lorne Campbell]], 'The Authorship of the Recueil d'Arras', ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'', 40 (1977), 302.</ref>

This group of drawings in the ''Recueil d'Arras'' may be based on the work of [[Meynnart Wewyck]], an [[Artists of the Tudor court|artist at the Tudor court]] who travelled to Scotland in the years after Perkin Warbeck had left.<ref>Charlotte Bolland & Andrew Chen, 'Meynnart Wewyck and the portrait of Lady Margaret Beaufort', ''Burlington Magazine'', 161 (April 2019), 316–318: [[James Balfour Paul]], ''Accounts of the Treasurer, 1500–1504'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 405.</ref> There he was known as "Mynours the English painter".<ref>Susan Hannabus & Michael Apted, ''Painters in Scotland'' (Edinburgh: Scottish Record Society, 1978), 68–69.</ref>

Importantly, Wewyck is said to have delivered 4 portraits of English royals to Scotland in 1502 but in Receuil only 3 are labelled as them. (Henry VII, Elizabeth of York and Margaret Tudor). The remaining painting depicted a young prince, the future Henry VIII. He might be the male mistakenly labelled as Warbeck.

Another painter, Piers, from Antwerp, was his successor at the [[Royal Court of Scotland|Scottish court]],<ref>Michael R. Apted and Susan Hannabuss, ''Painters in Scotland, 1301–1700: A Biographical Dictionary'' (Edinburgh: SRS, 1978), pp. 70–72.</ref><ref>David Ditchburn, ''Scotland and Europe, the medieval kingdom and its contacts with Christendom, c. 1214–1545'', vol. 1 (Tuckwell, 2001), 119.</ref> and he has also been suggested as the source of the Scottish portraits in the ''Recueil''.<ref>Andrea Thomas, ''Princelie Majestie: The Court of James V'' (Edinburgh: John Donald), 80: Jill Harrison, 'Fresh Perspectives on Hugo van Goes' Portrait of Margaret of Denmark and the Trinity Altarpiece', ''Court Historian'', 24:2 (2019), 128–129. {{doi|10.1080/14629712.2019.1626108}}</ref>

==Warbeck in popular culture==
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2016}}

Warbeck's story subsequently attracted writers, most notably the dramatist [[John Ford (dramatist)|John Ford]], who dramatized the story in his play ''[[Perkin Warbeck (play)|Perkin Warbeck]]'', first performed in the 1630s.
* [[Charles Macklin]] wrote a play featuring Warbeck, ''King Henry the VII, or The Popish Impostor'', which was published in 1746.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Macklin |first=Charles |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=WIkrH_w7g9YC&pg=GBS.PP2&hl=en |title=King Henry the VII. Or The Popish Impostor. A Tragedy. As it is Acted by His Majesty's Servants, at the Theatre Royal, in Drury-Lane |date=1746 |publisher=R. Francklin; R. Dodsley; and J. Brotherton |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Friedrich Schiller]] wrote a plan and a few scenes for a play about Warbeck; he never finished the play because he gave priority to other works, such as ''Maria Stuart'' and {{lang|de|Wilhelm Tell}}.<ref>Benno von Wiese: ''Friedrich Schiller'' (in German) Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1959, pp. 781–786.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kuehnle-online.de/literatur/schiller/werke/nachlass/warbeck/2-0.htm |title=Friedrich Schiller – Nachlass – II. Warbeck – Personen |website=Kuehnle-online.de |access-date=10 October 2016}}</ref>
* [[Mary Shelley]], best known as the author of ''[[Frankenstein]]'', wrote a romance on the subject of Warbeck, ''[[The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck]]'', published in London in 1830.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shelley |first=Mary Wollstonecraft |url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Mary_Wollstonecraft_Shelley_The_Fortunes_of_Perkin?id=NABEAQAAMAAJ |title=The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck: A Romance |date=1830 |publisher=H. Colburn and R. Bentley |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Lord Alfred Douglas]] wrote a poem about Perkin Warbeck in 1893 or 1894. It is included in the ''Collected Poems of Lord Alfred Douglas'', published in 1928.
* In [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]'s mystery novel ''[[Have His Carcase]]'' (1932), [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] discovers that the murderers lured the victim to his death by playing on his secret belief that he was the hereditary Tsar of Russia, based on his great-great-grandmother's purported [[morganatic marriage]] to [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]]. When [[Harriet Vane]] points out that even if this were true, the man would not be the next in line to the throne, Peter remarks that [[genealogy]] has a way of making people believe what they want to believe, saying he knows a "draper's assistant" in [[Leeds]] who earnestly believes he will be crowned King of England as soon as he can find the record of his ancestor's marriage to Perkin Warbeck; the fact that Warbeck's claim to the throne was ultimately invalidated, and that the Tudor dynasty he laid claim to has since been replaced by others, doesn't faze him in the least.
* The American comic book ''Archie'' #221 (1972) contains a 5-page skit entitled "Five Page Fooler" by author [[Frank Doyle (writer)|Frank Doyle]] and artist [[Harry Lucey]], wherein iconic everyteen [[Archie Andrews]] encounters a rude, unpleasant boy who [[Doppelgänger|looks just like himself]]. The boy is referred to by other inhabitants of [[Riverdale (Archie Comics)|Riverdale]] as "Clarence," but calls himself Perkin Warbeck. No explanation for the mystery is given in the story, which instead focuses on slapstick comedy and [[fourth wall|metaphysical humour]]. The most recent reprint is in ''Archie Jumbo Comics Digest'' #350 (2024).
* The novel ''Crown of Roses'' (1989) by [[Valerie Anand]] suggests that Warbeck was the son of an illegitimate son of [[Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York|Richard Duke of York]] who had been sent to Burgundy as a boy to imply to interested parties that Richard of Shrewsbury had left the Tower alive.
* The historical novel ''The Tudor Rose'' (1953) by [[Margaret Campbell Barnes]] deals at length with the Warbeck plot and implies that Warbeck actually was [[Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York]].
* Warbeck is the central character in [[Philip Lindsay]]'s historical novel ''They Have Their Dreams''.
* In 2005 [[Channel 4]] and RDF Media produced a drama entitled ''Princes in the Tower'' about the interrogation of Warbeck, starring [[Mark Umbers]]. Warbeck almost convinces Henry VII that he really is Richard, Duke of York. Warbeck "remembers" that Henry's mother [[Lady Margaret Beaufort|Margaret Beaufort]] poisoned his brother Edward V, after which Richard III spirited him away to safety. Warbeck succeeds in alienating King Henry from both his mother and his wife, [[Elizabeth of York]], who now believe Warbeck to be her lost brother. Margaret then shows Warbeck two young men in chains, who she presents as the real princes, locked up for years in isolation and now completely insane. She says Henry knows nothing about them. She forces Warbeck to confess he is an imposter to save the life of his son by [[Lady Catherine Gordon]]. Warbeck confesses and is hanged. In the final scene, Margaret is seen overseeing the burial of a piece of regal clothing with two skeletons, while, in voice-over, [[Thomas More]], whose secret account of the events is supposed to be the drama's source, describes how lucky he has been under Henry VIII.
* In the 1972 [[BBC]] television series ''[[The Shadow of the Tower]]'', Warbeck was portrayed by British actor [[Richard Warwick]].
* The [[American Shakespeare Center]] (ASC) in [[Staunton, Virginia]], produced a comedy entitled ''The Brats of Clarence'', written specifically for the ASC 'Blackfriars' stage by Paul Menzer. The play tracks the progress of Perkin Warbeck from the Scottish court to London to claim his birthright as heir to the throne.
* Warbeck and his wife are characters in the novel ''The Crimson Crown'' by Edith Layton (1990). The main character is Lucas Lovat, a spy in the Court of Henry VII, and a subplot of the novel is his indecision as to whether Warbeck is, or is not, Prince Richard.
* English comedians [[Stewart Lee]] and [[Richard Herring]] both make references to Warbeck and fellow pretender [[Lambert Simnel]] in much of their work, both as [[Lee and Herring]] and individually. Simnel and Warbeck's names have appeared sporadically throughout their material over the years.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=m6-KykAJ6yGqYeqa&t=281&v=lzO6hhmkrpI&feature=youtu.be |title=Shape Train from AIOTM episode 3 |date=2017-09-14 |last=Richard Herring |access-date=2025-02-27 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
* Warbeck's story is retold through the eyes of Grace Plantagenet in ''The King's Grace'' by Anne Easter Smith (2009). Grace, an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV, attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding the man who claims to be her half-brother Richard. Rosemary Hawley Jarman, in her novel "We Speak No Treason", also fictionalised unconfirmed speculation that Warbeck could have been another of Edward's illegitimate sons.<ref>Rosemary Hawley Jarman, We Speak No Treason, Book 1, Part Two</ref><ref>Smith, Anne Easter, The King's Grace</ref>
* In [[Philippa Gregory]]'s 2009 novel ''[[The White Queen (novel)|The White Queen]]'', the [[Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York|young Duke of York]] is sent into hiding by his mother, [[Elizabeth Woodville]], while a changeling is sent to the Tower in his place. In the fifth novel of Gregory's ''The Cousins' War'' series, ''[[The White Princess]]'', a mysterious pretender appears, claiming to be Richard. King Henry Tudor invents an elaborate false history to justify denial of the pretender's claims, giving him the name Perkin Warbeck (among others). Although the novel never answers the question, Gregory states in the epilogue that she believes Warbeck's claim was genuine.
* A miniseries ''[[The White Princess (miniseries)|The White Princess]]'', adapted from Gregory's novel, was first aired on [[Starz]] in 2017 where Perkin Warbeck was played by Irish actor [[Patrick Gibson (actor)|Patrick Gibson]]. Unlike Gregory's original work, the series portrays Warbeck as the genuine Duke of York, who has escaped England and been raised by a Flemish boatmaker.
* A latter section of Terence Morgan's novel ''The Master of Bruges'' expands on the theory that Prince Richard escaped to [[Flanders]], grew up in [[Tournai]] and returned to England as Perkin Warbeck.
* Four-part audio drama "The Pretender" on [[History Hit]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://access.historyhit.com/videos/the-pretender?fbclid=IwAR3AMr91vaTtc13YYajfwUxiqKd2s8vBubqfjI7VER9EoQ_ZGq8W2oCAsHo | title=🎧 the Pretender }}</ref>
* The Wetherspoons pub on East Street in Taunton is called The Perkin Warbeck.

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=Michael |title=Lambert Simnel and the Battle of Stoke |date=21 March 2024 |publisher=History Press |isbn=978-1-80399-723-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aTHpEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |title=The Princes in the Tower: Solving History's Greatest Cold Case | first=Philippa |last=Langley |author-link=Philippa Langley | isbn=978-1-80399-541-0 | year= 2023| publisher=[[The History Press]]}}<ref>{{cite web | newspaper=[[The Times]] | url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/historians-said-i-was-unhinged-philippa-langley-cracks-mystery-of-princes-in-the-tower-x0n578txf | title='Historians said I was unhinged': Philippa Langley cracks mystery of princes in the tower | first=Julia | last= Llewellyn Smith| date=17 November 2023 | access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref>
*{{cite book |last1=Amin |first1=Nathen |title=Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick |year=2021 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-7509-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3MqEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Matthew |title=The Survival of the Princes in the Tower: Murder, Mystery and Myth |year= 2017 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7509-8528-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y1wrDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Ashdown-Hill |author-link=John Ashdown-Hill |first1=John |title=The Dublin King: The True Story of Edward Earl of Warwick, Lambert Simnel and the 'Princes in the Tower' |date= 2015 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7509-6316-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8sVBgAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Arthurson |first1=Ian |title=The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy |date= 2009 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-9563-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_rk7AwAAQBAJ |language=en}}

==See also==
*[[John Deydras]], a man who claimed to be the true [[Edward II of England|Edward II]].
*[[Mary Baynton]], a woman who claimed to be [[Mary I of England|Princess Mary Tudor]].

==References==

{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===

* {{Cite book|author=Ashley, Mike|title=British Kings & Queens|publisher=Carroll & Graf|year=2002|isbn=0-7867-1104-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofbr0000ashl_f1a2}} pp. 231–232.
* [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091754410 Bain, Joseph, ed., ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland'', 1357–1509, vol. 4, HM Register House, Edinburgh (1888)]
* Busch, Wilhelm, "England Under the Tudors," 1892. pp. 440–441.
* {{cite book|title=Compota Thesaurariorum Regum Scotorum. Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland 1473–1574|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HeElAQAAIAAJ|year=1877| last1=Treasury | first1=Scotland }}
* Dunlop, David, 'The 'Masked Comedian': Perkin Warbeck's Adventures in Scotland and England from 1495 to 1497,' ''Scottish Historical Review'', vol. 70, no. 90, (Oct. 1991), 97–128.
* Ford, John, ed. Ure, Peter. "The chronicle history of Perkin Warbeck: a strange truth". London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1968.
* [[Gairdner, James]]. "History of the life and reign of Richard the Third : to which is added the story of Perkin Warbeck. From original documents, by James Gairdner". Cambridge, 1898. New York: Kraus Reprint Co., 1968.
* Guy, John. "Tudor England" pp. 52 ''et seq''.
* [[Norman Macdougall|Macdougall, Norman]], ''James the Fourth'', Tuckwell (1997)
* {{cite book|last=Pinkerton|first=John|title=The History of Scotland From The Accession of the House of Stuart To That of Mary: With Appendixes of Original Papers. In Two Volumes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0dI_AAAAcAAJ|year=1797|publisher=Dilly}}
* Stevenson, Katie, ''Chivalry in Scotland'', CUP/Boydell (2006), p. 84.
* {{cite book |last=Weir |first=Alison |title=The Princes in the Tower |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5-4FZ8PmKvgC |date= 2011 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-80684-0 |authorlink=Alison Weir}}
* [[Ann Wroe|Wroe, Ann]]. ''Perkin: A Story of Deception.'' Vintage: 2004 ({{ISBN|0-09-944996-X}}).

==External links==
* [http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/perkin-warbeck.htm middle-ages.org.uk page on Perkin Warbeck]

{{s-start}}
{{s-pre}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lambert Simnel]]}}
{{s-tul|title=[[King of England]]<br>[[Lord of Ireland]]<br> <small>Yorkist claimant</small> |years=1490–1499}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk|Edmund de la Pole]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Wars of the Roses}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warbeck, Perkin}}
[[Category:Perkin Warbeck| ]]
[[Category:People from the Burgundian Netherlands| ]]
[[Category:1470s births]]
[[Category:1499 deaths]]
[[Category:1490s in England]]
[[Category:1490s in Scotland]]
[[Category:15th-century executions by England]]
[[Category:Executed Belgian people]]
[[Category:Court of James IV of Scotland]]
[[Category:House of York|Perkin]]
[[Category:Impostor pretenders]]
[[Category:Military history of Cornwall]]
[[Category:People executed at Tyburn]]
[[Category:People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging]]
[[Category:People executed under Henry VII of England]]
[[Category:People from Tournai]]
[[Category:People of the Tudor period]]
[[Category:Pretenders to the English throne]]
[[Category:Prisoners in the Tower of London]]
[[Category:15th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Burials at Austin Friars, London]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriates in England]]
[[Category:Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York]]

Fairford

2025-10-11T01:19:30Z

2A00:23C7:C8BC:C501:FD3A:EB97:505D:9D0A: /* Middle Ages */Added date

{{Short description|Market town in Gloucestershire, England}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{infobox UK place
|country = England
|official_name = Fairford
|static_image_name=Fishing_River_Coln_Fairford.jpg
|static_image_caption=[[River Coln]], Fairford
|coordinates = {{coord|51.708|-1.785|display=inline,title}}
|label_position = top
|population = 3,236
|population_ref = ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11123324&c=Fairford&d=16&e=62&g=6427023&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1427126087172&enc=1 |title=Parish population 2011|access-date= 23 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402120706/https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11123324&c=Fairford&d=16&e=62&g=6427023&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1427126087172&enc=1 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref>
|civil_parish = Fairford
|shire_district = [[Cotswold (district)|Cotswold]]
|shire_county = [[Gloucestershire]]
|region = South West England
|constituency_westminster= [[South Cotswolds (UK Parliament constituency)|South Cotswolds]]
|post_town = Fairford
|postcode_district = GL7
|postcode_area = GL
|dial_code = 01285
|os_grid_reference = SP149010
|website = [http://www.fairfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/ Welcome to Fairford Town Council]
}}

'''Fairford''' is a [[market town]] in [[Gloucestershire]], England. The town lies in the [[Cotswolds|Cotswold]] hills on the [[River Coln]], {{convert|6|mi|km|0}} east of [[Cirencester]], {{convert|4|mi|km|0}} west of [[Lechlade]] and {{convert|9|mi|km}} north of [[Swindon]]. Nearby are [[RAF Fairford]] and the [[Cotswold Water Park]].

==History==

=== Iron Age ===
There was a major roundhouse settlement in Horcott (on the south side of the town),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biddulph |first=Edward |title=Oxford Archaeology - Latest news |url=https://oxfordarchaeology.com/ |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=oxfordarchaeology.com |language=en}}</ref> and the [[Welsh Way]], which passed through Fairford, was used during this period as a trade route.

=== Middle Ages ===
Evidence of settlement in Fairford dates back to the 9th century, and it received a royal market grant in the 12th century.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Herbet |first=N. M. |date=1981 |title='Fairford', in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 7 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol7/pp69-86#h3-0002 |access-date=2021-07-22 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> An estate in Fairford, which seemingly belonged to [[Gloucester Cathedral|Gloucester Abbey]], was bequeathed to [[Burgred of Mercia]] in the mid 9th century.<ref name=":0" /> At the time of the [[Norman Conquest]] in 1066, [[Brictric]], a large landowner in the [[West Country]], held a manor in Fairford.<ref name=":0" /> [[Matilda of Flanders]] came to own the land, which became the property of the Crown.<ref name=":0" /> In 1100, [[Robert Fitzhamon]], the first Norman [[Feudal barony of Gloucester|feudal baron of Gloucester]], is recorded as owning the land, which would be passed down to subsequent barons of Gloucester for the next 200 years,<ref name=":0" /> along with the [[Tewkesbury Abbey#History|manor of Tewkesbury]].

In the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, Fairford was listed as ''Fareforde''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Domesday Book Online - Gloucestershire A-F |url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/gloucestershire1.html#fairford |website=www.domesdaybook.co.uk}}</ref> In 1066 there were three mills in the town, one of which was still used in the [[Cotswold sheep|wool trade]] in the 13th century. The mill that survives today was built in the 17th century.<ref name=":0" />

[[Edward I of England|Edward I]] and [[Henry VIII]] visited the town in 1276 and 1520 respectively.<ref name=":0" />

Fairford is recorded as having a prison in 1248. [[Hundred courts]] were held by the lord of the manor and borough.<ref name=":0" />

By the 15th century the land of Fairford was managed by wool merchants [[John Twynyho]] and [[John Tame]], after [[George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence]] was forced to give up his lands after being tried for treason.<ref name=":0" />

=== 17th and 18th centuries ===
In 1608, the inhabitants of Fairford were mostly agricultural labourers or artisans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Warmington |first=Andrew |date=1989 |title=FROGS, TOADS AND THE RESTORATION IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE VILLAGE |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/mdh.1989.14.1.30 |journal=Midland History |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=30–42 |doi=10.1179/mdh.1989.14.1.30 |issn=0047-729X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Fairford Park]], to the north of the town, was built by Andrew Barker in the 1660s and became part of the manor house grounds.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Andrew Barker ca.1630-1700 - Book Owners Online |url=https://bookowners.online/Andrew_Barker_ca.1630-1700 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=bookowners.online}}</ref> It was later turned into a deer park by James Lambe, with an obelisk built to mark the edge of the grounds.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137378385 |title=The Gentleman's House in the British Atlantic World 1680-1780 |language=en |doi=10.1057/9781137378385}}</ref> The park remained in the Barker family until it was sold to [[Ernest Cook]] in 1945.

In 1755, seven innkeepers were licensed in Fairford. The first record of an inn had been in 1419, and more inns appeared over the centuries owing to Fairford's location on routes between larger towns. [[Stagecoach]]es often called at Fairford on their way to [[Gloucester]], Cirencester, [[Bristol]], [[Oxford]] or [[London]].<ref name=":0" />

=== 19th and 20th centuries ===
{{see also|Poles in the United Kingdom#Polish Resettlement Act 1947}}[[File:Fairford Polish Camp Memorial.jpg|alt=Black granite plaque with carved white upper-case lettering with a Polish Eagle Emblem at the top mounted within a Cotswold dry stone wall. It reads: The site of Fairford Polish Camp 1947-1959. Polish ex-servicemen, who contributed greatly to the allied victory in World War II, joined by their families, vacated by the 186th American Hospital. It provided a temporary home to almost 1500 Polish people. Most had previously been forcibly deported from Poland to Siberian or German labour camps. Fairford Camp became the largest Polish family hostel in Gloucestershire. The Polish ex-combatants Association in GB (SPK) Trust Fund 2015|thumb|Plaque commemorating the Polish camp on Leafield Road]]The first outbreak of the 1830–31 [[Swing Riots]] in Gloucestershire was in Fairford on 26 November 1830.<ref name="hobsbawmc10">{{Cite book |last=Hobsbawm |first=Eric J. |title=Captain Swing |last2=Rudé |first2=George |publisher=Lawrence and Wishart |year=1969}}</ref> Farming machinery which was being manufactured in the town was destroyed by protestors, who then joined forces with those from the surrounding villages of [[Quenington]], [[Hatherop]], [[Coln St. Aldwyns|Coln]] and [[Southrop]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="hobsbawmc10" />

By this time there were [[animal shelter|pounds]], in the town as well as a [[village lock-up]] that had been around since at least 1809.<ref name=":0" />

[[RAF Fairford]] was constructed in 1944 as a joint British and American base.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morgan |first=William |date=2022-12-13 |title=US Air Force moving HQ to RAF Fairford |url=https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/usaf-moves-hq-raf-fairford-7925637 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=GloucestershireLive |language=en}}</ref>

From 1947 to 1959, Fairford housed 1,200 [[Polish people|Poles]] in The Displaced Persons Camp who had been displaced due to the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memorial marks 50th anniversary of Polish camp |url=https://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/4420885.memorial-marks-50th-anniversary-of-polish-camp-in-fairford/ |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard |language=en}}</ref> The site had originally been an American Air Force hospital that had been built during the war. The buildings were then repurposed for the camp, before being demolished in 1977.<ref name=":0" />

=== 21st century ===

==== Iraq War ====
{{see also|Fairford Five}}
In March 2003 'Flowers to Fairford' was held as a protest against the use of [[RAF Fairford]] as the base for the 14 [[B-52 bombers]] aircraft which were used to bomb [[Iraq]] as part of [[Gulf War|Operation Desert Storm]]. Several thousand people attended and there was a large police presence, but the event passed off peacefully.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flowers to Fairford - 22 March 2003 |url=http://www.fairford.org/PeaceDemo/flowersfairford.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729135655/http://www.fairford.org/PeaceDemo/flowersfairford.html |archive-date=2012-07-29 |website=www.fairford.org}}</ref> A coach load of people intending to protest was stopped in Lechlade under Section 44 of the [[Terrorism Act 2000]] and searched by police and sent back to London.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-12-31 |title=Telegraph {{!}} Opinion {{!}} The police must end their abuse of anti-terror legislation |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/10/03/do0304.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051231215407/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/10/03/do0304.xml |url-status=dead |archive-date=2005-12-31 |access-date=2023-04-20 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dent |first=Jackie |date=2004-10-14 |title='Coach-napped' activists protest outside court |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/oct/14/politics.antiwar |access-date=2023-04-16 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Ninety of the detained demonstrators formed Fairford Coach Action and sought legal recourse against [[Gloucestershire Constabulary|Gloucestershire constabulary]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Staff |date=2006-10-23 |title=Anti-war protesters' rights breached, court told |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/23/politics.iraq |access-date=2023-04-16 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The group stated that:<blockquote>"On 22 March 2003, the police used surprisingly extreme tactics to prevent more than 120 activists from reaching [the] legally sanctioned anti-war demonstration in Fairford, (Gloucestershire, UK). The demonstration outside a US Airforce Base in Fairford was well attended with estimates of up to 5,000 activists attending. Among the scheduled speakers on the day were writer [[George Monbiot]] and [[Caroline Lucas]] (MEP). The people who police prevented from attending were a diverse group with a broad range of affiliations. The main thing that they had in common was the desire to travel from London by coach and the intention of joining the legal protest in Fairford. Two of the four main scheduled speakers for the Fairford demonstration were travelling on these coaches from London. After the coaches had travelled two and a half hours from London, the coaches were stopped by police just miles from the demonstration. Using section 60 powers (of the Public Order and Criminal Justice Act 1994) police searched the coaches for weapons for one and a half hours. The passengers cooperated with this search, and they were invited to reboard the coaches when the search concluded. No arrests were made and no items found. After all the passengers boarded, the coaches were escorted immediately back to London under a continuous 9–12 vehicle police escort."</blockquote>In 2013, after appeal, Gloucestershire police's actions were found to be unlawful, and included breaching "protesters' rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly."<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 February 2013 |title=RAF Fairford protesters win legal battle against police |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-21382889}}</ref> Some of the demonstrators involved were awarded upwards of £4,000 in compensation by a judge after taking their claim to court.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bowcott |first=Owen |last2=correspondent |first2=legal affairs |date=2013-02-08 |title=Iraq war activists to get £4,000 compensation over 2003 protest |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/08/iraq-war-compensation-police-detention |access-date=2023-04-16 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==== Flooding ====
In July 2007 Fairford suffered [[2007 United Kingdom floods#Gloucestershire|unseasonably high rainfall]] which led to major flooding of 64 homes on Milton Street and London Street as well as in some other surrounding areas. This meant that many of the annual events had to be cancelled.{{CN|date=December 2022}}

==== Archaeological find ====
In 2013, a female skeleton was found in the River Coln and was later discovered to be of [[Sub-Saharan Africa|Sub-Saharan]] origin. The remains were estimated to be around 1000 years old (between 896 and 1025 CE) and it is thought that the woman was around 18-24 when she died.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Gover |first=Dominic |date=2013-09-18 |title=The First Black Briton? 1,000 Year Old Skeleton of African Woman Discovered by Schoolboys in Gloucestershire River |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/fairford-sub-sahara-africa-skeleton-gloucestershire-507102 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=International Business Times UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Schoolboys amazed that skeleton is 1,000 year old African woman |url=https://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/10688142.fairford-schoolboys-who-found-skull-are-fascinated-to-hear-it-dates-back-1000-years/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard |language=en}}</ref> Until this discovery, the earliest known Africans in Britain were from the 12th century.<ref name=":1" />

==Churches==

===St Mary's Church===
{{main|St Mary's Church, Fairford}}

The [[Church of England parish church]] of [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Saint Mary]] is renowned for its complete set of [[medieval]] [[stained glass]], stone carvings and [[misericord]]s. Rebuilt in the early 1490s by the wool merchant John Tame (d.1500), the church is an example of late [[English Gothic architecture#Perpendicular Gothic|Perpendicular Gothic architecture]] that is characterised by slim stone window mullions and light but strong [[buttress]]es. The style enabled larger windows than previously, allowing much more light into the building. Grade 1 listed by English Heritage, its structure and details remains unaltered since built.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Church of St Mary, Fairford|num=1089998|access-date=12 July 2011}}</ref>

The churchyard includes a stone memorial to Tiddles, the church cat who fell off the church roof. There is also a stone grotesque to commemorate a young boy who climbed up the walls of the church and jumped, falling to his death. The churchyard contains eight [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|Commonwealth war graves]]; three British Army soldiers, a [[Royal Navy]] seaman and a [[Royal Air Force]] airman of [[World War I]] and two British soldiers and a [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guardsman]] of [[World War II]].<ref>http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/38552/FAIRFORD%20(ST.%20MARY)%20CHURCHYARD CWGC Cemetery Report, details from casualty record.</ref>

====Stained glass, St Mary's Church====
{{main|Fairford stained glass}}

St. Mary's is of national historical and architectural importance because it houses the most complete set of mediaeval [[stained glass]] windows in the country,<ref>{{Cite web |title=St Mary, Fairford |url=https://ghct.org.uk/church/st-mary-fairford |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust |language=en-GB}}</ref> attributed to [[Barnard Flower]]. The glass survived the [[Reformation]] when many images in English churches were destroyed. In 1642, during the [[English Civil War|Civil War]], they narrowly avoided destruction<ref>{{cite web |author=Don Cobbett |date=8 August 2011 |title=Fairford Town History |url=http://www.fairfordu3a.org.uk/History/fairford.html |access-date=6 December 2018 |publisher=Fairford & District U3A |archive-date=12 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912180609/http://fairfordu3a.org.uk/History/fairford.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> when the [[Roundhead]] army was marching on the nearby town of [[Cirencester]].

Some of the panes were damaged during a storm in November 1703 and those were repaired and modified or replaced. A conservation and restoration programme began in 1988 and finished in 2010. Clear glass now protects the old glass.<ref>{{cite web |author=Andrew Russel |date=8 June 2012 |title=The History of St Mary's Church |url=http://www.stmaryschurchfairford.org.uk/stmaryshistory.html |access-date=6 December 2018 |publisher=St. Mary's Church Fairford}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:October plenty.jpg|Parish church of St. Mary (consecrated 1497)
File:Founder'sTombFairford.jpg|alt=The tomb, in St. Mary's Church, of wool merchant John Tame (d.1500) who rebuilt the church and his wife Alice Twynyho (d. 1471)|The tomb, in St. Mary's Church, of John Tame and his wife Alice Twynyho.<ref>Keble, Rev. Edward, St. Mary's Church, Fairford. 6th. ed., Much Wenlock, 2010, p.27</ref>
File:EdmundOneTameBrassFairford.jpg|alt=Monumental brass for Edward I Tame (d. 1534), son and heir of John Tame, in the north wall of the Lady chapel. Kneeling opposite are his first wife Agnes Greville and second wife Elizabeth Tyringham, kneeling behind is his son Edmund II Tame|[[Monumental brass]] for Edward I Tame in the north wall of the [[Lady chapel]].
File:LygonDenysTombFairford.jpg|alt=Tomb with effigies of Katherine Denys (d. 1584) and her third husband Roger Lygon of Madresfield, Hereford. Katherine was daughter of Sir William Denys (d. 1535) of Dyrham, Gloucestershire and widow and heiress of Sir Edmund II Tame.|Tomb with effigies of [[Walter Buckler#Marriage|Katherine Denys]] and her third husband Roger Lygon of [[Madresfield]].<ref>MacLean, Sir John (ed.), Visitation of Gloucestershire 1623, London, 1885, p.260 Tame, p.51 Dennis</ref>
</gallery>

===St Thomas' of Canterbury===
Fairford has a 19th-century [[Roman Catholic church|Catholic]] church of [[St Thomas of Canterbury]]. Following the closure of the [[Recusancy|recusant]] chapel at [[Hatherop Castle School|Hatherop Castle]] in 1844, a church was built at Horcott the following year at a cost of £700. The first Mass was celebrated in 1845, five years before the Restoration of the Hierarchy in England and before the creation of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton]]. The stained glass window behind the altar depicts [[St. Thomas of Canterbury]] in the centre panel, showing the date 1845. The adjoining [[Rectory|Presbytery]] was built 20 years later to designs by [[Benjamin Bucknall]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=St Thomas Catholic Church Fairford |url=http://www.stthomasparish.plus.com/st-thomas/st-thomas-church.html |website=www.stthomasparish.plus.com |access-date=8 June 2012 |archive-date=9 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009055022/http://www.stthomasparish.plus.com/st-thomas/st-thomas-church.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> the architect of [[Woodchester Mansion]]. The church contains an organ by Hill and stained glass by [[William Wailes]], [[Hardman & Co.|Hardman]] and Geoffrey Robinson. The two windows in the porch were added to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first Mass. The left window depicts the crest of the [[Baron de Mauley|de Mauley]] family; that on the right depicts the [[Eucharist]].

===Fairford United Church===
In 1981 a group of local Methodists approached the local Congregational Church to use the chapel for their services as there was no Methodist Church in Fairford. They were officially united into one congregation in 1986 and the present church follows the traditions of both the Methodist Church and the Congregational Federation.

The churches in and around Fairford are represented by the organisation Churches Together Around Fairford (CTAF) which has meetings and organises services of unity.

== Governance ==
Fairford was part of the Cirencester Rural District until the [[Local Government Act 1972]], when it became part of the [[Cotswold District]].<ref name=":0" />

Fairford is in a [[civil parish]] and has a Town Council with 13 members. The mayor is James Nicholls.

After a boundary review implemented for the 2015 local elections, Fairford was split into two District Council [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral wards]] called Fairford North Ward (single member) and Lechlade, [[Kempsford]] and Fairford South Ward (two member). On Cotswold District Council Fairford North Ward is represented by Liberal Democrat Andrew Doherty and Lechlade, Kempsford and Fairford South Ward is as of May 2023 represented by Liberal Democrats Councillors Clare Muir and Helene Mansilla.

As of 2021, the town is represented on [[Gloucestershire County Council]] by Conservative Councillor Dom Morris who represents the Fairford and Lechlade on Thames Division.

The ward population at the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] was 4,031.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ward population 2011 |url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/fairford-e05004322#sthash.z8gfDF6t.dpbs |access-date=23 March 2015 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305163524/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/fairford-e05004322#sthash.z8gfDF6t.dpbs |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== 2023 Cotswold District Council election results ===
{{see also|Cotswold District Council elections#Council elections}}{{Election box begin|title=Fairford North Ward}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link||party=Liberal Democrats (UK)|candidate=Michael Vann|votes=406|percentage=51.5|change=-17.7}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Tom Dutton|votes=316|percentage=40.1|change=+9.8|}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Heritage Party (UK)|candidate=James Nicholls|votes=67|percentage=8.5|change=N/A|}}
{{Election box majority|votes=90|percentage=11.4|change=|}}
{{Election box turnout|votes=789|percentage=|change=|}}
{{Election box hold with party link||winner=Liberal Democrats (UK)|loser=|swing=}}
{{Election box end}}{{Election box begin|title=Lechlade, Kempsford and Fairford South Ward (2 seats)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link||party=Liberal Democrats (UK)|candidate=Clare Muir|votes=1,150|percentage=56.5|change=+26.2}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link||party=Liberal Democrats (UK)|candidate=Helene Mansilla|votes=976|percentage=48.0|change=N/A}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Stephen Andrews*|votes=785|percentage=38.6|change=-13.4|}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Steve Trotter*|votes=776|percentage=38.2|change=-13.6|}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Labour Party (UK)|candidate=Esme Barlow Hall|votes=131|percentage=6.4|change=N/A|}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Labour Party (UK)|candidate=Trevor Smith|votes=114|percentage=5.6|change=-9.1|}}
{{Election box majority|votes=191|percentage=|change=|}}
{{Election box turnout|votes=2034|percentage=9.4|change=|}}
{{Election box gain with party link no swing||winner=Liberal Democrats (UK)|loser=Conservative Party (UK)}}
{{Election box gain with party link no swing||winner=Liberal Democrats (UK)|loser=Conservative Party (UK)}}
{{Election box end}}

=== 2017 Cotswold District Council by-election result ===
<big>'''Fairford North Ward'''</big>{{Election box begin | title=Fairford North Ward by-election }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
|candidate = Andrew Doherty
|votes = 610
|percentage = 68.1
|change = +40.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Conservative Party (UK)
|candidate = Dominic Morris
|votes = 270
|percentage = 30.1
|change = -20.9
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Green Party of England and Wales
|candidate = Xanthe Messenger
|votes = 15
|percentage = 1.8
|change = +1.8
}}
{{Election box majority|
|votes = 270
|percentage = 38.0
|change =
}}
{{Election box turnout|
|votes = 897
|percentage = 46.57
|change =
}}
{{Election box gain with party link|
|winner = Liberal Democrats (UK)
|loser = Conservative Party (UK)
|swing = 30.6%
}}
{{Election box end}}

=== 2021 Gloucestershire County Council election results ===
{{see also|Gloucestershire County Council elections#Council elections}}

{{Election box begin|title=Fairford and Lechlade on Thames}}</noinclude>
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Dom Morris|votes=2,326|percentage=59|change=+4}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Liberal Democrats (UK)|candidate=Tony Dale|votes=1,344|percentage=34|change=+2}}{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Labour Party (UK)|candidate=Sharon Aldrick|votes=261|percentage=7|change=+1}}{{Election box majority|votes=982|percentage=25|change=+2|}}
{{Election box turnout|votes=3,931|percentage=45.20|change=+5.40|}}
{{Election box hold with party link||winner=Conservative Party (UK)|swing=}}
{{Election box end}}

==Culture==

=== Air Tattoo ===
For three days every year [[RAF Fairford]] hosts one of the world's largest military air shows – the [[Royal International Air Tattoo]]. The event usually takes place in July and brings a boost to the economy of the town and surrounding areas.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

=== Ploughing Championship ===
The Fairford, Faringdon, Filkins and Burford Championship and Country Show held every year since 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |last=FFF&B |title=F.F.F.& B Ploughing Match |url=http://www.ploughingmatch.co.uk/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=F.F.F.& B Ploughing Match |language=en}}</ref>

=== Steam Rally ===
The [[Ernest Cook Trust]] used to host the annual Fairford Steam Rally and Show. The Show closed in 2015 after running for 46 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Breaking: Fairford Steam Show closed after running for 46 years, but restarted again in 2023. It's free to attend and is taking place on the 17th and 18th August 2024. |url=http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/13890018.Breaking__Fairford_Steam_Show_to_close_after_running_for_46_years/}}</ref>

==Education==
The town's secondary school is [[Farmor's School]], an 11-18 co-educational academy. The school was judged to be of outstanding standard, having achieved Grade 1 in its [[Ofsted]] inspection in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.farmors.gloucs.sch.uk/pdfs/reports/Ofsted_Report_2010.pdf
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714034406/http://www.farmors.gloucs.sch.uk/pdfs/reports/Ofsted_Report_2010.pdf|title=OFSTED report|archive-date=14 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> After becoming an academy it achieved lower grades from the board over the years: "Good", "Requires Improvement" and "Good" again in 2013, 2017 and 2021 respectively.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ofsted Communications Team |date=2021-09-25 |title=Find an inspection report and registered childcare |url=http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=reports.ofsted.gov.uk}}</ref>

There is also a primary school (Fairford Primary),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fairford.gloucs.sch.uk/ |title = Fairford C of E Primary School}}</ref> and a playgroup. Coln House School was a 9-16, residential/day, state special school. After being put into special measures following a 2016 Ofsted report, the school closed in March 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Establishment Coln House School|website=Gov.uk|access-date=29 June 2021|url=https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/115812#school-dashboard}}</ref> The building was originally built in 1822 by Alexander Iles as a private asylum called 'The Retreat', which closed in 1944 before becoming a school in 1949.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coln House School|website=Historic England|access-date=29 June 2021|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1172655#contributions-banner}}</ref>

==Local media==
Local news and television programmes is provided by [[BBC South]] and [[ITV Meridian]]. Television signals are received from the [[Oxford transmitting station|Oxford]] TV transmitter. <ref>{{cite web |date=1 May 2004 |title=Full Freeview on the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Oxford |accessdate=25 September 2023 |website=UK Free TV}}</ref>

The town is served by both [[BBC Radio Wiltshire]] and [[BBC Radio Gloucestershire]]. Other radio stations including [[Heart West]], [[Greatest Hits Radio South West]], Cotswolds Radio, community based radio station <ref>{{Cite web |title=Cotswolds Radio |url=https://www.cotswoldsradio.com/ |access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref> and Air Tattoo Live, a [[Restricted Service Licence|RSL]] station which broadcast coverage during the Royal International Air Tattoo.

Fairford is served by the weekly local newspaper, Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. <ref>{{cite web |date=25 October 2013 |title=Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard |url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-sw/wilts-glos-standard/ |accessdate=26 September 2023 |website=British Papers}}</ref>

==Sport and leisure==

Fairford has a [[non-league football]] team [[Fairford Town F.C.]] who play and train at Cinder Lane. Fairford have their own rugby team FRFC, playing in green and black strip. Fairford also has a women's netball team, competing in the nearby Swindon league. The town also has the Walnut Tree Field: a large playing field and park, a cricket club (dating back to the early 1900s),<ref name=":0" /> a bowling, sailing and water skiing club.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fairfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/amenities/walnet-tree-playing-field-and-park/|title = Walnut Tree Field - playing field & park|date = 18 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://fairford.play-cricket.com/ |title = Fairford CC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fairfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/amenities/facilities/leisure-centre/|title = Leisure Centre|date = 16 December 2000}}</ref> Fairford had a leisure centre until 2019 which had been managed by Farmor's School since 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Row over report looking into closure of Tetbury and Fairford leisure centres |url=https://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/19362862.row-closure-tetbury-fairford-leisure-centres/ |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard |language=en}}</ref>

Fairford also has a youth football club, based at Horcott Road which caters for children between the ages of 5 and 15 years old. The club, established in 1976, is a FA Chartered Club, run by volunteers for the benefit of local children from Fairford and surrounding villages. Teams from U8 and above play in the North Wiltshire Youth Football Leagues.

==Transport==
Fairford was formerly linked to Oxford by the [[Witney Railway]] and its extension the [[East Gloucestershire Railway]]. The route was active between 1873 and 1962.<ref name=":0" /> There have been reports that part of the old track could be cleared of accumulated mountains of detritus and overgrown trees to be re-opened as a cycle path.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

There is a bus service to Cirencester and Lechlade, from where travellers can transfer to another bus and travel onwards to Swindon.

==In popular culture==
''The Secret Diary of Sarah Thomas, 1860 – 1865'', is a published journal by [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[diarist]], Sarah Thomas who lived in Fairford. It features local landmarks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The secret diary of Sarah Thomas : 1860-1865 | WorldCat.org |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/59817837 |website=www.worldcat.org}}</ref>

Fairford has been used as a filming location in ''[[Greenfingers|Greenfingers (2000)]]'', ''[[The Power (TV series)|The Power]]'' and an episode in series two of ''[[This Country]]''.

In the first series of the reality TV series ''[[The Restaurant (British TV series)|The Restaurant]]'', one pair of contestants opened their restaurant in Fairford.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-08-31 |title=Couple cook up a storm in TV contest |url=https://www.braintreeandwithamtimes.co.uk/news/1657112.couple-cook-up-a-storm-in-tv-contest/ |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Braintree and Witham Times |language=en}}</ref>

== Notable residents ==
* [[Walter Buckler]] - (?–1554) Courtier and diplomat
* [[Alexander Cohoon]] - (2002–) Competitive swimmer
* [[Kenton Cool]] - (1973–) Mountaineer
* [[Paul Cornell]] - (1967–) Writer
* [[Alfred Cowley]] - (1848–1926) Politician in Australia
* [[Frank Cadogan Cowper]] - (1877–1958) Artist
* [[Sharron Davies]] - (1962– ) Competitive swimmer and sports presenter
* [[Mary Bathurst Deane]] - (1843–1940) Novelist
* [[Barbara Dockar Drysdale]] - (1912–1999) Psychotherapist
* [[Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire]] - (1718–1793) Politician
* [[Arthur Hirtzel|Sir Arthur Hirtzel]] - (1870–1937) Civil servant
* [[Ellen Joyce]] - (1832–1924) Imperialist and founder of Winchester Women’s Emigration Society
* [[John Keble]] - (1792–1866) Anglican priest and poet
* [[Joseph Kinghorn]] - (1766–1832) Baptist minister
* [[Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes]] - (1878–1956) Socialite, who survived the [[Sinking of the Titanic|Titanic disaster]]
* [[Gerald Loxley]] - (1885–1950) Aviator and diplomat
* [[Mike Winters (comedian)|Mike Winters]] (1926–2013) Comedian

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |author=Verey, David |title=The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds |title-link= Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|year=1970 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=Harmondsworth |isbn=0-14-071040-X |pages=243–250}}
* Farmer, Oscar G. ''Fairford Church and its Stained Glass Windows'' 7th ed. 1962 (presumably self-published, printed by Harding and Curtis Ltd, Somerset Hall, Bath)
*[[Ralph Bigland|Bigland, Ralph]] (1791) ''An Account of the Parish of Fairford''; ed. by Richard Bigland

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.fairford.org Fairford community website]
*[http://fairfordtowncouncil.gov.uk Fairford Town CCouncil website]
*[http://www.fairfordunitedchurch.org.uk Fairford United Church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123193022/http://www.fairfordunitedchurch.org.uk/ |date=23 November 2020 }}
*[http://fairfordlechladeyfc.co.uk/ Fairford Youth FC]
*[http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/fairford-church.htm St. Mary's Church in Fairford] – Sacred Destinations
*[http://www.stthomasparish.plus.com St Thomas' Catholic Church website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223242/http://www.stthomasparish.plus.com/ |date=3 March 2016 }} Includes history, pictures and details of services.
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/content/articles/2008/10/23/dayout_se_cotswolds_video_feature.shtml BBC archive film of Fairford from 1986]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031159/http://www.focusonuk.co.uk/index.php?pc=lechladeandfairford Local Online website for the Lechlade and Fairford community]

{{Gloucestershire}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fairford| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Cotswold District]]

History of the railway track

2025-10-11T01:13:44Z

2A00:23C7:C8BC:C501:FD3A:EB97:505D:9D0A: /* Plank ways */Enlarged image

{{Short description|none}}
{{for multi|the current status of permanent way technology|Railway track|other uses|Permanent way (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Round timber rails.jpg|thumb|Section of timber track from a 16th-century gold mine in [[Transylvania]]. The wagons were guided by the pronounced flange on the wooden wheels, and the narrow gauge of {{RailGauge|480mm|lk=on}} allowed the points to be altered by swinging the single switch rail.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Charles|title=The Evolution of Railways|publisher=The Railway Gazette|location=London|year=1943|edition=2|pages=18–19|oclc=1591369}}</ref>]]
[[File:Leitnagel Hund (Mining cart).png|thumb|Contemporary illustration of guided truck used in 16th-century mines in Germany]][[File:Silberbergwerk Suggental Josephistollen.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of flat wooden track for transporting silver ore; guidance was by a vertical pin running between the timbers]]
The '''railway track''' or '''permanent way''' is the elements of [[Rail transport|railway]] lines: generally the pairs of [[Rail profile|rails]] typically laid on the [[Railway sleeper|sleepers]] or ties embedded in ballast, intended to carry the ordinary trains of a railway. It is described as a permanent way because, in the earlier days of railway construction, contractors often laid a temporary track to transport spoil and materials about the site; when this work was substantially completed, the temporary track was taken up and the permanent way installed.

The earliest tracks consisted of wooden rails on transverse wooden sleepers, which helped maintain the spacing of the rails. Various developments followed, with [[cast iron]] plates laid on top of the wooden rails and later [[wrought iron]] plates or wrought iron angle plates ([[angle iron]] as L-shaped plate rails). Rails were also individually fixed to rows of stone blocks, without any cross ties to maintain correct separation. This system also led to problems, as the blocks could individually move. The first version of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]'s {{RailGauge|7ft}} [[broad gauge]] system used rails laid on longitudinal sleepers whose rail gauge and elevation were pinned down by being tied to piles (conceptually akin to a [[pile bridge]]), but this arrangement was expensive and Brunel soon replaced it with what became the classic broad gauge track, in which the piles were forgone and transoms, similar to sleepers, maintained the rail gauge. Today, most rail track uses the standard system of rail and sleepers; [[ladder track]] is used in a few applications.

Developments in manufacturing technologies has led to changes to the design, manufacture and installation of rails, sleepers and the means of attachments. Cast iron rails, {{convert|4|ft}} long, began to be used in the 1790s and by 1820, {{convert|15|ft||adj=mid|-long}} wrought iron rails were in use. The first steel rails were made in 1857 and standard rail lengths increased over time from {{convert|30|to(-)|60|ft}}. Rails were typically specified by units of weight per linear length and these also increased. Railway sleepers were traditionally made of [[Creosote]]-treated [[hardwood]]s and this continued through to modern times. Continuous welded rail was introduced into Britain in the mid 1960s and this was followed by the introduction of concrete sleepers.

==Wooden tracked systems==

===Plank ways===
{{CSS image crop
|Image = Lucas Gassel The Coppermine.png
|bSize = 1572
|cWidth = 400
|cHeight = 140
|oTop = 410
|oLeft = 325
|Location = right
|Description = Fragment of [[Lucas Gassel]]'s 1544 painting The Coppermine depicting railway
}}
The earliest use of a railway track seems to have been in connection with mining in Germany in the 12th century.<ref>
Lee (1943: 11)
</ref> Mine passageways were usually wet and muddy, and moving barrows of ore along them was extremely difficult. Improvements were made by laying timber planks so that wheeled containers could be dragged along by manpower. By the 16th century, the difficulty of keeping the wagon running straight had been solved by having a pin going into a gap between the planks.<ref>
{{Citation
| surname= Lewis
| given= M J T
| title= Early Wooden Railways
| publisher= Routledge Keegan Paul|location=London
| year= 1970 | chapter=Chapter 2}}
</ref> [[Georg Agricola]] describes box-shaped carts, called "dogs", about half as large again as a wheelbarrow, fitted with a blunt vertical pin and wooden rollers running on iron axles.<ref>
{{Cite book
| title= De Re Metallica
| last= Agricola
| first= Georgius
| author-link= Georg Agricola
| others= [[Herbert Hoover|Herbert Clark Hoover]] (trans.)
| year= 1912
| magazine= Mining magazine
| location= London
| oclc= 181688102
| page= 156
}}</ref> An [[Elizabethan era]] example of this has been discovered at Silvergill in [[Cumbria]], England,<ref>
Paper given at ''Early Railways 4'' Conference (publication awaited).
</ref> and they were probably also in use in the nearby [[Society of Mines Royal|Mines Royal]] of Grasmere, Newlands and Caldbeck.<ref>
{{Cite journal
| last= Cranstone
| first= David
| year= 1994
| title= Early Surface Features of Metal Mining
| journal= Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society
| publisher= Peak District Mines Historical Society
| location= Matlock, England
| volume= 12
| issue= 3
| page= 3
| url= http://www.pdmhs.com/BackIssues.asp
| access-date= 2009-08-25
}}</ref> Where space permitted round-section wooden tracks to take trucks with flanged wheels were installed: a painting from 1544 by the Flemish artist [[Lucas Gassel]] shows a coppermine with rails of this type emerging from an [[adit]].<ref>
{{Cite journal
| last= McKiernan
| first= Mick
| year= 2008
| title= Lucas Gassel, Coppermine
| journal= Occupational Medicine
| publisher= Society of Occupational Medicine
| location= London
| volume= 58
| pages= 159–160
| doi= 10.1093/occmed/kqn038
| issue= 3
| pmid= 18441363
| doi-access=
}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2023}}

===Edged rails===
{{Main|wagonway}}
A different system was developed in England, probably in the late 16th century, near [[Broseley]] for conveying coal from mines, sometimes [[drift mine]]s down the side of the [[Ironbridge Gorge|Severn Gorge]] to the [[River Severn]]. This, probably a rope-hauled incline plane, had existed 'long before' 1605.<ref>Peter King, 'First Shropshire Railways', Paper given at ''Early Railways 4'' Conference (publication awaited).</ref> This probably preceded the [[Wollaton Wagonway]] of 1604, which has hitherto been regarded as the first.<ref>{{Citation | surname=Smith | given=R. S. | title=England's First Rails: A reconsideration | journal=Renaissance and Modern Studies| year=1960 | volume=IV | pages=119–134 | doi=10.1080/14735786009391434 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | surname=New | given=J. R. | title=400 years of English railways – Huntingdon Beaumont and the early years | journal=Backtrack | volume=18 | issue=11 | date=November 2004 | pages=660–665 }}</ref>

In Shropshire, the gauge was usually narrow, to enable the wagons to be taken underground in drift mines. However, by far the greatest number of wagonways were near [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], where a single wagon was hauled by a horse on a wagonway of about the modern standard gauge. These took coal from the pithead down to a [[staithe]], where the coal was loaded into river boats called keels.<ref>Lewis, ''passim''.</ref>

Wear of the timber rails was a problem. They could be renewed by turning them over, but had to be regularly replaced. Sometimes, the rail was made in two parts, so that the top portion could easily be replaced when worn out. The rails were held together by wooden sleepers, covered with ballast to provide a surface for the horse to walk on.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Early iron rails==
Cast iron strips could be laid on top of timber rails, and the use of such materials probably occurred in 1738, but there are claims that this technology went back to 1716. {{sfn|Baxter|1966|p=39}} In 1767, [[Ketley|Ketley ironworks]] began producing [[cast iron]] plates, which were fixed to the top of wooden rails with nails, to provide a more durable running surface. This construct was known as [[strap-iron rail]] (or strap rail) and was widely used on pre-steam railways in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=What was a Railroad?|url=http://www.buffalohistoryworks.com/ptracks/chapter4/chapter4.htm|work=(Includes illustration of a length of strap rail.)|publisher=Past Tracks|access-date=1 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523074609/http://www.buffalohistoryworks.com/ptracks/chapter4/chapter4.htm|archive-date=23 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TaTARNC3TS-1">{{cite book|last=Bianculli|first=Anthony J.|title=Trains and Technology: The American Railroad in the Nineteenth Century - Volume 3: Track and Structures|publisher=University of Delaware Press|isbn=0-87413-802-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7T3qECx0CLUC&pg=PA85|edition=illustrated|pages=85–88|year=2003}} – This section describes strap rails, their uses and problems in considerable detail.</ref> Although relatively cheap and quick to build, they were unsuited to heavy loads and required 'excessive maintenance'. Train wheels rolling over the spikes loosened them, allowing the rail to break free and curve upwards sufficiently that a car wheel could get beneath it and force the end of the rail up through the floor of the car, writhing and twisting, endangering passengers. These broken rails became known as "snake heads".<ref name="TaTARNC3TS-1" />

When wrought iron became available, wrought iron plates provided an even more durable surface. The rails had projecting lugs (or ears) with a hole to enable them to be fixed to the underlying wooden rail.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3676&context=utk_gradthes |title=The Hist The History of Wrought and Cast Ir ought and Cast Iron
|access-date=19 January 2024 }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===Iron plateways===
[[File:L-shaped plate rails.jpg|thumb|Section of L-shaped plate rails]][[File:Long fish bellied rail.jpg|thumb|right|A long fish bellied rail supported over several chairs]]
An alternative was developed by [[John Curr]] of Sheffield, the manager of the [[Duke of Norfolk]]'s colliery there. This had a L-shaped rail, so that the flange was on the rail rather than on the wheel. This was also used by [[Benjamin Outram]] of [[Butterley Company|Butterley Ironworks]] and [[William Jessop]] (who became a partner in them in 1790). These were used to transport goods for relatively short distances down to canals, though Curr's ran between the manor colliery and [[Sheffield]] town. These rails are referred to as plates, and the railway is sometimes called a plateway. The term "platelayer" also derives from this origin. In theory, the unflanged wheels could have been used on ordinary highways, but in practice this was probably rarely done, because the wagon wheels were so narrow that they would have dug into the road surface.

The system found wide adoption in Britain. Often, the plates were mounted on stone blocks, and sometimes without sleepers, but that was liable to cause the rails to spread apart, increasing the gauge. Railways of this kind were widely used in south Wales, particularly to transport limestone down to the ironworks, and then to take the iron to a canal, sometimes several miles away, which took the products to market. The rails were at first made of cast iron, typically in lengths of {{convert|3|ft}}, spanning between stone blocks.<ref name ="van Laun">J. van Laun, ''Early limestone railways'' (Newcomen Society, London, 2001.</ref>

The stone blocks had been assumed to be permanent, but experience quickly showed that they settled and gradually moved under traffic, creating chaotic [[track geometry]] and causing derailments. Another problem was that the running surface was liable to become obstructed by stones, displaced from the ballast. An alternative was to use an iron tie bar to keep the rails to the proper gauge, incorporating a shoe in which the rail was fixed.<ref name ="van Laun"/>

An example of this was the [[Penydarren Ironworks|Penydarren or Merthyr]] [[Tramway (industrial)|tramway]]. This was used by [[Richard Trevithick]] to demonstrate a pioneer [[locomotive]] in 1804, using one of his high pressure [[history of the steam engine|steam engine]]s, but the engine was so heavy that it broke many of the rails.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===Early edge rails===
Cast iron edge rails were used by [[Thomas Dadford Jr.]] when building the [[Beaufort, Ebbw Vale|Beaufort]] and [[Blaenavon]] lines to the [[Monmouthshire canal]] in 1793. These were rectangular, {{convert|2.5|in|lk=on}} in width with a depth of {{convert|3|in}} and {{convert|4|ft}} in length, and required flanges on the wagon wheels. The same year, [[Benjamin Outram]] used edge rails on the [[Cromford Canal]]. T-shaped beams were used by William Jessop on the [[Loughborough]]-[[Nanpantan]] line in 1794, and his sons used I-shaped beams in 1813–15 on a railway from [[Grantham]] to [[Belvoir Castle]]. Samples of these rails are held in the [[Science Museum, London]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=William Jessop, Engineer|author1=Charles Hadfield|author2=Alec Skempton|year=1979|publisher=Devon:David & Charles|pages=171–172}}</ref>

A short-lived alternative was the ''fish-bellied'' profile, first used by Thomas Barnes (1765–1801) at Walker Colliery, near [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] in 1798, which enabled rails to have a longer span between blocks. These were T-section edge rails, three feet long and laid on transverse stone sleepers. These were still made of [[cast iron]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Skepton|first=Alec|title=A biographical dictionary of civil engineers in Great Britain and Ireland|volume=1|year=2002|publisher=Institution of Civil Engineers|location=London|isbn=0-7277-2939-X|page=44|chapter=Barnes, Thomas (1765–1801)}}</ref>

=== Butt and lap joints ===
The earliest rails had square butt joints, which were weak and difficult to keep in alignment. [[George Stephenson]] introduced lapped joints, which maintained their alignment quite well.<ref>Lives of the Engineers, by Samuel Smiles, [[The Folio Society]]</ref>{{Page needed|date=April 2022}}

==Modern edge rails==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2021}}
The breakthrough came when [[John Birkinshaw]] of [[Bedlington Ironworks]] in [[Northumberland]] developed rolled [[wrought iron]] rails in 1820 in {{convert|15|ft}} lengths, as used for the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]]. This was strong enough to bear the weight of a locomotive and of a train of wagons (or carriages) pulled by it. This marks the beginning of the modern rail era. This system was instantly successful, although some false starts took place. Some early rails were made in a T cross section, but the lack of metal at the foot limited the bending strength of the rail, which has to act as a beam between supports.

As metal technologies improved, these wrought iron rails were made progressively somewhat longer, and with a heavier, and therefore stronger, cross-section. By providing more metal in the foot of the rail, a stronger beam was created, achieving much better strength and stiffness, and a section was created similar to the bullhead rail section still visible today. This was expensive, however, and the promoters of early railways struggled with decisions about the appropriate weight (and therefore strength, and cost) of their rails.

At first, the rail section was almost symmetrical top-to-bottom, and was described as a double-headed rail. The intention was to invert the rail after the top surface had become worn, but rails tend to develop chair gall, an attrition of the rail where it is supported in the chairs, and this would have made running on the former bottom surface impossibly noisy and irregular. It was better to provide the extra metal on the top surface and gain extra wear there without the need to invert the rail at its half life.

Many railways preferred a flat bottom rail section, where the rails could be laid directly on the sleepers, representing a marked cost saving. Indenting of the sleeper was the problem; where the traffic was heavy, it became necessary to provide a sole plate under the rails to spread the load on the tie, partly vitiating the cost saving. However, in main line situations, this form found almost universal adoption in North America and Australia, and in much of continental Europe. The United Kingdom persisted with bullhead rail in main line use, with widespread introduction of flat-bottom rail only starting in about 1947.

===Steel rails===
The first rails made from [[steel]] were made in [[1857 in rail transport|1857]], when [[Robert Forester Mushet]] remelted scrap steel from an abortive [[Bessemer process|Bessemer]] trial, in crucibles at [[Ebbw Vale]] ironworks, and were laid experimentally at [[Derby Midland railway station|Derby railway station]] on the [[Midland Railway]] in [[England]]. The rails proved far more durable than the iron rails they replaced and remained in use until 1873.<ref>K. Barraclough, ''Steelmaking 1850–1900'' (London: Institute of materials 1990), 66.</ref><ref>[http://www.fweb.org.uk/Dean/deanhist/marefold.htm fweb.org]</ref> [[Henry Bessemer]] supplied 500 tons of steel blooms to the [[London and North Western Railway]]'s rail mill at [[Crewe]] in 1860. Several other companies began producing steel rails in the following years.<ref name="Barraclough 1990, 67">Barraclough 1990, 67.</ref> The transition to steel rails was hastened by the introduction of [[Open hearth furnace|open hearth steelmaking]]. [[William Siemens]] set up his Landore steelworks partly to supply rail to the [[Great Western Railway]].<ref name="Barraclough 1990, 67"/> A boom in rail production followed, but a banking crisis in America slowed the rate at which railways were built there and orders to British rail producers.<ref>J.C. Carr and W. Taplin, ''History of the British steel Industry'' (Oxford 1962: Blackwell), 81</ref> The British iron and steel industry went into a recession, which particularly affected the wrought iron sector. When demand for rails began to grow again, it was largely for steel rails, which were more durable than those of iron.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}

==Associated features==
[[File:Half Kilometer Peg and Fishplate.jpg|thumb|NZR Half Kilometer peg, 70 lb/yd track and track fishplate. Weka Pass Railway]]
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2021}}

=== Sleepers ===
{{Main|Railway sleeper}}
Timber sleepers, that is transverse beams supporting the two rails that form the track, replaced the individual stone blocks formerly used. This system has the major advantage that maintenance adjustments to the [[track geometry]] did not disrupt the all-important track gauge. The alignment of the track could be adjusted by shifting the sleepers bodily, without loss of gauge. Softwood was widely used, but its life was limited if it was not treated with preservative, and some railways set up creosoting plants for the purpose. [[Creosote]]-treated hardwood is now widely used in North America and elsewhere.

By that time, relatively long (perhaps {{cvt|20|ft|disp=or}}) wrought iron rails supported in chairs on timber cross-sleepers, were in use—a track form recognisable today in older track.

Steel sleepers were tried as an alternative to timber; Acworth<ref>Acworth, W M, ''The Railways of England'', Second Edition 1889, John Murray, London</ref> writing in 1889 describes the production of steel sleepers on the London & North Western Railway, and there is an illustration showing rolled channel section (shallow upturned "U" shapes) with no shaped ends, and with three-part forged chairs riveted direct. However steel sleepers seem not to have enjoyed widespread adoption until about 1995. Their dominant usage now is for life extension of existing track on secondary routes. They have a significant advantage on weak formations and poor ballast conditions, as the bearing area is at a high level, immediately under the rail seat.

===Rail fastenings===
{{main|Rail fastening systems}}
The early cast iron rails of the 18th century and before used integral fixings for nailing or bolting to the railroad ties. Strap rails introduced in the late 18th century, of cast and later rolled iron were nailed to wooden supports via countersunk holes in the metal. The introduction of rolled rail profiles in the 1820s such as the ''single flanged T parallel rail'' and later ''double flanged T parallel rail'' required the use of chairs, keys to hold the rail, and bolts or spikes to fix the chair. The ''flat bottomed rail'' invented by [[Robert L. Stevens]] in 1830 was initially spiked directly to wooden sleepers, later tie plates were used to spread the load and also keep the rail in gauge with inbuilt shoulders in the plate. Outside North America a wide variety of spring based fastening systems were later introduced in combination with baseplates and flat bottomed rail, these are now ubiquitous on main line high speed railways.

===Ballast===
{{Main|Track ballast}}
Track was originally laid directly on the ground, but this quickly proved unsatisfactory and some form of ballast was essential to ensure good drainage, spread the load and retain the track in position. The natural ground is rarely strong enough to accept the loading from locomotives without excessive settlement, more so in wet conditions; a layer of ballast under sleepers reduces the bearing pressure on the ground, tends to keep them in place and resist displacement, and keeps the permanent way well-drained.

Ballast in early days was usually locally available mineral product, such as gravel or reject material from coal and iron mining. The [[Great North of Scotland Railway]] used rounded river [[gravel]], which does not constrain movement as much as sharp-edged stone. In later years [[slag]], a by-product of steel making, and ash from steam locomotives was used. Modern practice is to employ sharp-edged stone crushed within a narrow size range.

==Gauges==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2021}}

=== Early track gauges ===
{{Main|Rail gauge}}
The early railways were almost exclusively local concerns involved with conveying minerals to some waterway; for them the gauge of the track was adopted to suit the wagons intended to be used, and it was typically in the range {{cvt|4|ft|mm}} to {{cvt|4|ft|8+1/2|in|mm}}, and at first there was no idea of the need for any conformity with the gauge of other lines. When the first public railways developed, [[George Stephenson]]'s skilful innovation meant that his railways were dominant and the {{RailGauge|ussg}} gauge he used was therefore the most widespread. As early notions of linking up different railway systems evolved, this gauge secured general adoption. It is more or less an accident of history that this gauge—which suited the wagons already in use at the colliery where George Stephenson had been an engine man—became the British standard gauge: it was exported to most of Europe and North America.

Reference is sometimes made to the "gauge" of ruts in stone roadways at ancient sites such as [[Pompeii]], and these are often asserted to be about the same as Stephenson's gauge. Of course the ruts were made by the wheels of carts, and the carts were of a sensible size for horse-drawn carts prior to the industrial era, pretty much the same as the size of the pre-railway carts at the colliery where Stephenson worked: that is the only connection.

===Broad gauge track===
{{Main|Baulk road}}
When [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] conceived the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR), he sought an improved design for his railway track and accepted none of the previous received wisdom without challenge. The {{cvt|4|ft|8+1/2|in}} gauge had been fine for small mineral trucks on a horse-drawn tramway, but he wanted something more stable for his high speed railway. The large diameter wheels used in stage coaches gave better ride quality over rough ground, and Brunel originally intended to have his passenger carriages carried in the same way—on large diameter wheels placed outside the bodies of the carriages. To achieve this he needed a wider track gauge and he settled on the famous {{convert|7|ft}} [[broad gauge]]. (It was later eased to {{cvt|7|ft|0+1/4|in|disp=or}}). When the time came to build the passenger carriages, they were designed conventionally with smaller wheels under the bodies after all, but with a seven-foot track gauge the bodies could be much wider than on the standard gauge. His original intention to have the wheels outside the width of the bodies was abandoned.

Brunel also looked at novel track forms, and decided to use a continuously supported rail. Using longitudinal timbers under each rail, he achieved a smoother profile while not requiring such a strong rail section, and he used a shallow [[Rail profile#Barlow rail|bridge rail]] for the purpose. The wider, flat foot also meant that the chair needed by the bullhead section could be dispensed with. The longitudinal timbers needed to be kept at the proper spacing to retain the gauge correctly, and Brunel achieved this by using timber transoms—transverse spacers—and iron tie-bars. The whole assembly was referred to as the [[baulk road]]—railwaymen usually call their track a road. Initially, Brunel had the track tied down to timber piles to prevent lateral movement and bounce, but he had overlooked the fact that the made ground, on which his track was supported between piles, would settle. The piles remained stable and the ground between them settled so that his track soon had an unpleasant undulation, and he had to have the piles severed, so that the track could settle more or less uniformly. A variant of the baulk road can still be seen today on many older under-bridges where no ballast was provided. The design varies considerably, but in many cases longitudinal timbers are supported directly on the cross-girders, with transoms and tiebars to retain the gauge, but of course with modern rails and base-plates or chairs. The longitudinal sleepers are somewhat similar to modern-day [[Ladder track]].

The group of railways that had Brunel as their engineer were successful and the broad gauge track spread throughout the west of England, South Wales, and the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]. But, as the British railway network spread, the incompatibility of the two systems became a serious blockage, as a wagon could not be sent from one system to the other without transshipping the goods by hand. A [[Standard Gauge#The Royal Commission|Gauge Commission]] was appointed to determine national policy. The Broad Gauge was technically superior but conversion of the standard gauge routes to broad would have meant reconstructing every tunnel, bridge and station platform, whereas universal adoption of the standard gauge only required the progressive conversion of the track itself. The broad gauge was doomed, and no further independent broad gauge lines could be built.

The existing broad gauge routes could continue, but as they had no development potential it was only a matter of time before they were eventually converted to standard. In the meantime, an extensive mileage of [[dual gauge|mixed gauge]] track was installed, where each line had three rails to accommodate trains of either gauge. There were some instances of ''mixed gauge trains'' being run, where wagons of each gauge were run in a single train. The legacy of the broad gauge can still be seen where there seems to be an unnecessarily wide space between station platforms.

==Twentieth century and beyond==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2021}}

=== 1900 to 1945 ===
[[File:The Harmsworth atlas and Gazetter 1908 (135853043).jpg|thumb|World's railways in 1908 as presented by ''The Harmsworth atlas and Gazetter'']]
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the form of British track had converged on the use of [[wrought iron]] bullhead rails supported in cast iron chairs on timber sleepers, laid in some form of ballast. In North America, the standard was T-rails and tie plates fastened to timber crossties with cut spikes. Many railways were using very light rails and, as locomotive weights and speeds increased, these became inadequate. Consequently, on main lines, the rails in use were made progressively heavier (and stronger). Metallurgical processes improved and better rails, including some of steel, came into use. From a maintenance point of view, the rail joints were the source of most of the work, and as steel-making techniques improved it became possible to roll steel rails of increased length—reducing the number of joints per mile. The standard length became {{cvt|30|ft|mm|sigfig=4}}, then {{cvt|45|ft|mm|sigfig=4}} and finally {{cvt|60|ft|mm|sigfig=4}} rails became the norm. For main line use, the standard rail section became the 95BH section, weighing {{cvt|95|lb/yd}}. For secondary routes, a lighter 85BH, {{cvt|85|lb/yd}}, section was used.

Flat bottom rails were still seen as undesirable for British main line railway use, despite their successful use in North America, although some lightly operated British railways used them, generally spiked direct to the sleepers. Under heavy usage, they indent the sleepers severely and the incremental cost of a base-plate appeared at this early date, to rule the flat bottom section out.

Timber sleepers were expensive and not durable, and the railways’ engineers had strong—and conflicting—views about the best wood species and the best preservative treatments. The railways moved towards standardisation on a softwood sleeper preserved by pressure injection of [[creosote]], measuring {{cvt|8|ft|6|in}} long by {{cvt|10|in}} by {{cvt|5|in}}. Chairs were secured to the sleepers by trenails (steel spikes driven through a timber sleeve) or three chair-screws on first class routes. The GWR alone among the main line railways kept to its own standard, the 00 rail at {{cvt|97.5|lb/yd}}, and with two fangbolts securing each chair to the sleeper, with the head of the bolt under the sleeper and a nut above the chair—more secure but much more difficult to adjust.

Some experiments were made before 1945 with reinforced concrete sleepers, in most cases with bullhead chairs mounted on them. This was in response to the very high price of the best (most durable) timber, but reinforced concrete sleepers were never successful in main line use. Concrete pots were also used in sidings; they are sometimes called twin-block sleepers, and consisted of two concrete blocks each mounted with a chair, and an angle iron connecting them and retaining the gauge.

===Post-war developments===
At the end of the Second World War in 1945, the British railways were worn out, having been patched up following war damage without the availability of much new material. The country was economically in a weak situation also, and for nearly a decade after the war, materials—especially [[steel]] and [[timber]]—were in very short supply. Labour too was seriously restricted in availability.

The railway companies became persuaded that the traditional bullhead forms of track needed revision, and after some experimentation a new flat bottom rail format was adopted. The [[British Standard]] sections were unsuitable and a new profile, a {{cvt|109|lb/yd}} rail, was made the new standard. In {{cvt|60|ft}} lengths, laid on steel baseplates on [[softwood]] sleepers, it was to be the universal standard. The fastenings were to be of a resilient steel type, and for secondary routes a 98 lb/yd rail was adopted. Regional variations still persisted, and [[hardwood]] sleepers and Mills clip fastenings were favoured on the [[Eastern Region of British Railways|Eastern Region]], for example.

The new designs were successful, but they introduced many challenges, especially as the availability of experienced track maintenance staff became acutely difficult, and poorly maintained flat bottom track seemed more difficult to keep in good order than poorly maintained bullhead track. The greater stiffness of flat-bottom was an advantage, but it tended to straighten out between the joints on curves; and flat bottom’s rigidity led to high vertical impact forces at badly maintained joints and this resulted in high volumes of fatigue fractures at the joints. Moreover, the elastic rail fastenings had little resistance to rail creep—the propensity of the rails to move gradually in the direction of traffic, and the workload of pulling back the rails to regulate the joints was surprisingly high.

===Long welded rails===
Much of the work of maintaining the track was at the joints, especially as the stiff rails became dipped, and the joint sleepers took a hammering. Pre-war experiments with long welded rail lengths were built upon, and in the years from 1960 long rail lengths were installed, at first on hardwood sleepers but soon on concrete sleepers. For example, the first long welded rail (almost {{convert|1|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}}) on the UK's [[East Coast Main Line]] was laid in 1957, just south of [[Carlton-on-Trent]], resting on rubber pads to resist rail creep.<ref>Railway Magazine December 1957 p. 882</ref> In this pioneering stage, some catastrophic mistakes in detailed design were made, but from about 1968 continuous welded rail became a reliable standard for universal installation on main and secondary routes. The form adopted used pre-stressed concrete sleepers and a 110A rail section—a slight improvement on the 109 rails previously used—the A was to distinguish it from the British Standard {{cvt|110|lb/yd}} rail section, which was unsuitable. Rail fastenings eventually converged onto a proprietary spring clip made by the [[Pandrol]] company which was the exclusive form of fastening in Britain for about 30 years.

The welded track was to be laid on {{convert|6|to|12|in|cm}} of crushed stone ballast, although this was not always achieved, and the [[bearing capacity]] of the formation was not always taken into account, leading to some spectacular formation failures.

A further enhancement to the rail profile produced the 113A section, which was the universal standard until about 1998; detail improvements to the sleepers and ballast profile completed the picture and the general form of the track had stabilised. This format is now in place over 99% of the first-class main lines in Britain, although the CEN60 (60 kg/m) rail section was introduced in the UK during the 1990s. This has a wider rail foot and is taller than the 113A section so is incompatible with standard sleepers.

[[Track renewal train]]s have now replaced labour-intensive permanent way gangs. Long welded rail was hard to install manually. An early demonstration of mechanised track-laying with two {{convert|600|ft|abbr=on}} lengths of long welded rail took place on the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway|Fighting Cocks branch]] in 1958. The two lengths were loaded on ten wagons, attached to the existing track by a steel rope and drawn back at {{convert|30|ft/min|abbr=on}}. As the train moved back, the old rails were levered out and the new ones dropped into the chairs. A hoist on the rear wagon dropped the last part of the rail into place.<ref>Railway Magazine March 1958 pp. 176–177 Laying Long Welded Rails in the N.E.R.</ref>

==Track gauge==
{{Main|Rail gauge}}
As stated, the general track gauge in Britain was {{RailGauge|ussg}}. In the later 1950s, general track maintenance standards deteriorated rapidly due to labour shortages and, on some routes, faster freight train speeds. Freight trains consisted almost entirely of short wheelbase ({{cvt|10|ft|disp=or}}) four-wheeled wagons carried on a very stiff elliptical leaf spring suspension, and these wagons showed a rapid rate of increase in derailments.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

In response to the dynamic behaviour ("hunting") of the wagons, the permitted speed of the wagons was reduced to {{cvt|45|mph}} and, on new installations of continuously welded track on concrete sleepers, to reduce the track gauge by one-eighth of an inch to {{cvt|4|ft|8+3/8|in|mm}}.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} In practice this change caused more problems than it cured and it was returned on renewals to 1435 mm with effect from 1996. The gauge is set by the positioning of the cast-in fixings, so it is not a simple task to re-gauge existing track; it also creates problems with spot replacement of sleepers. Many sleepers were made with the reduced track gauge but {{Track gauge|1435mm}} standard gauge versions have also been manufactured in more recent times.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mmrs.co.uk/technical-articles/modern-permanent-way-3/ |title=Modern Permanent Way 3 |first=Colin | last=Craig |date=n.d. |website=Manchester Model Railway Society|access-date=20 July 2022 }}</ref>

==Switches and crossings==
{{Main|Railroad switch}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2021}}
[[File:Railroad-Gyula-b.jpg|thumb|right|Railway turnouts]]
Terminology is difficult for "switches and crossings" (S&C) previously "points and crossings", or "fittings".

Early S&C allowed only a very slow speed on the subsidiary route (the "turnout"), so geometrical design was not too important. Many older S&C units had a loose joint at the heel so that the switch rail could turn to close to the stock rail or open from it. When the switch rail was closed, a reasonable alignment was secured; when it was open, no wheel could run on it so it did not matter.

As speeds rose, this was no longer feasible and the switch rails were fixed at the heel end, and their flexibility enabled the toe end to open and close. Manufacture of the switch rails was a complex process, and that of the crossings even more so. Speeds on the subsidiary route were rarely higher than {{cvt|20|mph}} except in very special designs, and great ingenuity was employed to give a good ride to vehicles passing through at speed on the main line. A difficulty was the common crossing where continuous support to wheels passing was difficult, and the point rail was planed to protect it from direct impact in the facing direction, so that a designed irregularity in support was introduced.

As faster speeds were required, more configurations of S&C were designed, and a very large number of components, each specific to only one type of S&C, was required. At faster speeds on the turnout road, the divergence from the main route is much more gradual, and therefore a very considerable length of planning of the switch rail is required.

About 1971, this trend was reversed with the so-called vertical S&C, in which the rails were held vertical, rather than at the customary 1 in 20 inclination. With other simplifications, this considerably reduced the stockholding required for a wide range of S&C speeds, although the vertical rail imposes a loss of the steering effect and the ride through new vertical S&C is often irregular.

==Continuous welded rail==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2021}}
[[File:Cwr at whitstable.jpg|thumb|right|Continuous welded track with conductor rail installed in the 1970s]]Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) was developed in response to the observation that the bulk of track maintenance work takes place at the joints. As steel production and manufacturing processes improved, the rail lengths installed were progressively increased, and the logical extension of this would be to eliminate the joints altogether.

A major obstacle to doing so is [[thermal expansion]]: the rails expand in higher temperatures. Without joints, there is no room for the rails to expand; as the rails get warmer, they will develop an enormous force in ''trying'' to expand. If prevented from expanding, they develop a force of 1.7 tonnes (17 kN) for every 1 degree Celsius of temperature change in a practical rail section.<ref name="cwr">''General Instructions for the Installation and Maintenance of Continuous Welded Rail''; Civil Engineering Handbook No 11; British Railways; March 1988.</ref>

If a small cube of metal is compressed between the jaws of a press, it will contract—that is it will be squashed somewhat—and a very large force can be resisted by it without ultimate failure. However, if a long piece of metal of the same cross section is compressed, it will deform sideways into a bow shape; the process is called buckling, and the compressive force it can withstand is very much less.

If the long thin piece of metal could be constrained to prevent it from buckling (e.g. by being contained inside a tube) then it can resist a much higher compressive force. If the rails can be constrained in a similar way, they can be prevented from buckling. The weight of the track resists buckling upwards, so buckling is most likely to take place laterally. This is prevented by:

* providing heavy sleepers, that generate friction on the ballast bed
* ensuring that the sleepers are well supported on consolidated ballast to enable the generation of the friction
* providing consolidated ballast around the sides of the sleepers to provide additional friction
* heating the rails when they are installed and fastened in cool or cold weather, so that the expansion on the hottest days is less than otherwise
* making sure that any rail added if rail breaks during cold weather is removed before warm weather returns.
* making sure that curves do not line themselves inward during cold weather sufficiently to make buckling more likely when warm weather returns
* taking precautions when track maintenance work is performed in hot weather, and making sure ballast is sufficiently consolidated before full-speed operation is resumed.

If the rail is held so that it cannot expand at all, then there is no limit on the length of rail that can be handled. (The expansive force in a one-foot length of rail at a certain temperature is the same as in a mile or 100 mile length of rail.) Early continuous welded rail was installed in limited lengths only because of technological limitations. However at the end of the CWR section where it abutted older, ordinary jointed track, that track would be unable to resist the expansive force and the jointed track might be forced to buckle. To prevent that, special expansion switches, sometimes called breathers, were installed. The expansion switches could accommodate a considerable expansive movement—typically {{cvt|4|in|mm}} or so—in the end section of the CWR without passing the movement on to the jointed track.

The CWR is installed and fastened down at an optimum temperature, to ensure that the highest possible expansive force is limited. This temperature is called the stress-free temperature, and in the UK it is {{convert|27|C|F}}.<ref name="cwr"/> It is in the upper range of ordinary outdoor temperatures, and the actual installation work tends to be done at cooler temperatures. Originally the rails were physically heated to the stress-free temperature with propane gas heaters; they were then rattled with hand bars to eliminate any binding, preventing even expansion, and then clipped down. Since about 1963 however hydraulic jacks are used to physically stretch the rails while they are supported on temporary rollers. By stretching the rails to the length they would be if they were at the stress-free temperature, then there is no need to heat them; they can just be clipped down before the jacks are released.

The CWR rails are made by welding ordinary rails together. For many years, rails could only be made in lengths of up to {{cvt|60|ft}} (18.288 m) in Britain, and the factory welding process made them into {{cvt|600|ft}}, {{cvt|900|ft}}, or {{cvt|1200|ft}} lengths, depending on the factory. The process used was a [[Flash welding|flash-butt process]] in which high electrical currents are used to soften the rail end, and the ends are then forced together by rams. The flash-butt process is very reliable, providing that the factory ensured good geometry of the rail ends.

The long rails could be conveyed to site by a special train, and unloaded on to the ground (by chaining the end in position and pulling the train out from underneath the rails). The long rails had to be welded together (or to adjacent track) using a site welding process; and, after initial experimentation, the proprietary [[Thermit]] welding process was used. This was an alumino-thermic process in which a powder 'portion' was ignited; the [[aluminium]] was the fuel and a metallurgically appropriate composition of molten steel descended into the gap between the rail ends, contained in refractory moulds.

The original SmW process was very sensitive to operator skill, and as the welding was usually the final process before returning the track to traffic, time pressure was sometimes applied resulting in unwanted improper welds. The improved SkV process was less sensitive and over the years weld quality improved.<ref>Key, A. J., Frederick C. O. and Round D. J. (1983). "Thermit Rail Welding Development on British Rail". In: ''Rail Technology''. British Rail. {{ISBN|0-9508596-0-5}}.</ref>

The issue of buckling is not restricted to CWR, and jointed track has suffered buckles in the past. The fish-plates at joints need to be removed and greased annually (the requirement was relaxed to bi-annually in 1993) and where this was omitted or where ballast conditions were especially weak, buckling took place in hot weather. In addition, if rails were allowed to creep, it was always possible that several successive joints might close up, so that the expansion gap was lost, with inevitable results at the onset of hot weather.

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Clearance car]]
* [[List of track gauges]]
* [[Loading gauge]]
* [[Overhead line]]s
* [[Rail gauge]]
* [[Rail lengths]]
* [[Rail profile]]
* [[Rail sabotage]]
* [[Railroad switch]] (points)
* [[Rail tracks]]
* [[Rail terminology]]
* [[Railway platform]]
* [[Strap iron rail]]
* [[Structure gauge]]
* [[Third rail]]
* [[Tramway track]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |first=Bertram |last=Baxter |title=Stone Blocks and Iron Rails (Tramways) |series=The Industrial Archaeology of the British Isles |publisher=David and Charles |location=Newtown Abbot |year=1966 }}

{{Rail tracks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Permanent Way}}
[[Category:Permanent way| h]]
[[Category:History of rail transport]]

Carlisle Castle

2025-10-11T00:56:08Z

2A00:23C7:C8BC:C501:FD3A:EB97:505D:9D0A: /* History */Added nickname

{{short description|Castle in Cumbria, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Carlisle Castle
| location = [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]], England
| coordinates = {{coord|54.897260|N|2.941936|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| gridref = {{gbmapping|NY396562}}
| image = Carlisle_Castle.png
| image_size =
| caption = Carlisle Castle
| map_type = United Kingdom Carlisle Central
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Shown within Carlisle city centre
| type = Castle
| materials = Stone
| height =
| condition = Intact
| ownership = [[English Heritage]]
| open_to_public = Yes
| battles = * Invasion of England by [[David I of Scotland|King David I]] (1135)
* [[Siege of Carlisle (1315)]]
* [[Siege of Carlisle (1644)]]
* [[Siege of Carlisle (November 1745)|Siege of Carlisle (Nov 1745)]]
* [[Siege of Carlisle (December 1745)|Siege of Carlisle (Dec 1745)]]
| events = * [[The Anarchy]]
* [[First War of Scottish Independence]]
* [[First English Civil War]]
* [[Jacobite rising of 1745]]
}}

'''Carlisle Castle''' is a stone [[keep]] medieval fortress located in the city of [[Carlisle]] near the ruins of [[Hadrian's Wall]]. First built during the reign of [[William II of England|William II]] in 1092<ref>{{Cite book |last=Summerson |first=H. R. T |title=Carlisle Castle: A survey and documentary history |publisher=English Heritage |year=1990 |isbn=9781850742715 |edition=1st}}</ref> and rebuilt in stone under [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] in 1122, the castle is over 930 years old and has been the scene of many episodes in [[British history]].

This Castle played an extremely important part in the wars between England and Scotland ([[Wars of Scottish Independence|the Wars of Scottish Independence]]). It has been the centre of many wars and invasions. During the [[Jacobite rising of 1745|Jacobite Rising]] of 1745–1746, Carlisle became the last English fortress to undergo a siege.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Keep, Carlisle Castle, Carlisle, Cumbria {{!}} Educational Images {{!}} Historic England|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/the-keep-carlisle-castle-carlisle-6803|website=historicengland.org.uk|language=en|access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> The castle was listed as a [[Scheduled monument|Scheduled Ancient Monument]] on 7 August 1996.<ref name=":0">{{NHLE|num=1014579|desc=Carlisle Castle; medieval tower keep castle, two lengths of city wall, a 16th century battery, and part of an earlier Roman fort known as Luguvalium|accessdate=23 May 2020}}</ref>

Today the property is managed by [[English Heritage]] and is open to the public. Until 2006, the castle was the administrative headquarters of the former [[King's Own Royal Border Regiment]] and until 2019 it was the county headquarters to the [[Duke of Lancaster's Regiment]]. A [[regimental museum|museum to the regiment]] is within the castle walls.

==History==
Carlisle Castle was first built during the reign of [[William II of England]] (‘William Rufus’), the son of [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]]. At that time, [[Cumberland, England|Cumberland]] (the original name for north and west [[Cumbria]]) was still considered a part of Scotland. [[William II of England|William II]] ordered the construction of a [[Norman architecture|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 1092.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxJXAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA196|title= The Book of Dates; Or, Treasury of Universal Reference|year=1866|publisher=C. Griffin & Company|page=196}}</ref>
[[File:Richmond Castle keep (7997).jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|In its original form, Carlisle's keep could have been taller<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritageandhistory.com/contents1a/2012/03/carlisle-castle-has-changed-colour/|title=Carlisle Castle has changed colour|first=Steven|last=Brindle|editor-first=M|editor-last=Flett|date=29 March 2012|website=Heritage and History}}</ref> and may have resembled that at [[Richmond Castle]] in [[North Yorkshire]] (shown above)]]
In 1122, [[Henry I of England]] ordered a stone castle with towers to be constructed on the site. Thus a [[keep]] and [[Carlisle city walls|city walls]] were constructed. The existing keep dates from somewhere between 1122 and 1135.<ref name="eh">{{cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/carlisle-castle/history/|title=Carlisle Castle|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref> The tower keep castle is one of only 104 recorded examples, most being found on the Welsh border.<ref name=":0" /> The castle was largely rebuilt by order of [[David I of Scotland]] following the [[Battle of the Standard]] in 1138. [[Henry II of England|Henry of Anjou]] was knighted within the castle in 1149. David died of illness there in 1153.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Richard Oram |title=David I : the king who made Scotland |url=https://archive.org/details/davidikingwhomad0000oram/page/n137/mode/2up?q=1153 |website=Internet Archive |publisher=Stroud : Tempus |access-date=February 13, 2025 |page=138 |date=2004}}</ref>

[[File:Carlisle Castle - geograph.org.uk - 262246.jpg|thumb|left|Entrance to Carlisle Castle. (De Ireby's tower)]]
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 Anarchy|the troubled reign]] of [[Stephen of England]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehistoryjar.com/2013/02/25/carlisle-castle-and-medieval-scots/|title=Carlisle Castle and medieval Scots|publisher=The History Jar|date=25 February 2013|access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref>

On 26 March 1296, [[John III Comyn|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, [[Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale|Robert de Brus, deposed Lord of Annandale]], successfully withstood the attack, before forcing the raiders to retreat back through Annandale to [[Sweetheart Abbey]].<ref>[http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/warsofindependence/johncomyn/index.asp "John 'Red' Comyn, Lord of Badenoch", Foghlam Alba] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517125330/http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/warsofindependence/johncomyn/index.asp |date=17 May 2013 }}</ref> From 22 July to 1 August 1315, Scottish forces laid [[Siege of Carlisle (1315)|siege]] to the Castle. However, the Scottish lacked the resources needed to maintain a siege and withdrew.<ref name=eh/>

From the mid-13th century until the [[Union of the Crowns]] of England and Scotland in 1603, Carlisle Castle was the vital headquarters of the [[Scottish Marches|Western March]], a buffer zone to protect the western portion of the Anglo-Scottish border.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyscotland.com/articles/scottish-maps-and-resources/map-the-border-lordships-1500-1600|title=Map: The Border Lordships 1500–1600|publisher=History Scotland|access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref>

[[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] converted the castle for artillery, employing the engineer [[Stefan von Haschenperg]]. For a few months in 1568, [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] was imprisoned within the castle, in the Warden's Tower.<ref name=eh/> [[Francis Knollys (the elder)|Francis Knollys]] described her watching two [[Medieval football|football matches]] on a playing green outside the castle's [[postern]] gate.<ref>{{cite book|first=John Daniel|last=Leader|title=Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity|location=Sheffield|publisher=Leader & Sons|date=1880|page=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9pcxAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA7}}</ref> Later, the castle was besieged by the [[Roundheads|Parliamentary]] forces for eight months in 1644, during the [[English Civil War]].<ref name=eh/>

[[File:Engraving of Carlisle Castle by E. Francis after R. Westall.jpg|thumb|An engraving of Carlisle Castle in 1829]]
The last battles for the city of Carlisle and its castle were during the [[Jacobite rising of 1745]] against [[George II of Great Britain|George II]]. The forces of Prince [[Charles Edward Stuart]] travelled south from Scotland into England reaching as far south as [[Derby]]. Carlisle and the castle were seized and fortified by the Jacobites. However they were driven north by the forces of [[William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland]], the son of George II. Carlisle was recaptured, and the Jacobites were jailed and executed. That battle marked the end of the castle's fighting life, as defending the border between England and Scotland was not necessary with both countries again one in Great Britain.<ref name=eh/>

After 1746, the castle became somewhat neglected, although some minor repairs were undertaken such as that of the drawbridge in 1783.<ref name=eh/>

Some parts of the castle were then demolished for use as raw materials in the 19th century to create more or less what is visible to the visitor today. In 1851 the barracks were occupied by the [[33rd Regiment of Foot]] with 10 officers, 150 soldiers, 2 servants and 25 soldiers' wives and children.<ref>1851 census</ref> The [[British Army|Army]] moved in to take hold of the castle and in 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the [[Cardwell Reforms]] and the castle became the [[Regimental depot|depot]] for the [[34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot]] and the [[55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot]].<ref name=training>{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/1873.htm |title=Training Depots |publisher=Regiments.org |access-date=16 October 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210172841/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/1873.htm |archive-date=10 February 2006 }}</ref> Under the [[Childers Reforms]], the 34th and 55th regiments amalgamated to form the [[Border Regiment]] with its depot in the castle in 1881.<ref name=training/> The castle remained the depot of the Border Regiment until 1959, when the regiment amalgamated with the [[King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)]] to form the [[King's Own Royal Border Regiment]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Merged regiments and new brigading—many famous units to lose separate identity|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=25 July 1957}}</ref> The Army Reserve still use parts of the castle: 8 Platoon C Company 4th Battalion the [[Duke of Lancaster's Regiment]] are based within the Burma Block alongside a Multi Cap-Badge detachment of the Army Reserve, including Medics, Engineers, Logisticicians, Intelligence and Infanteers from other Cap Badges.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chooseyourvenue.com/venues/carlisle-castle-barracks|title=Carlisle Castle Barracks|publisher=Choose your venue|access-date=2 June 2018}}</ref>

Carlisle Castle was listed as (List Entry Number: 1014579) in August 1996, by what is now [[Historic England]].<ref name=":0" /> The listing for the Scheduled Ancient Monument status includes "the upstanding and buried remains of Carlisle medieval tower keep castle, two lengths of Carlisle city wall, a 16th century battery, and the buried remains of much of the Roman fort known as Luguvalium, a large part of which underlies the later castle."<ref name=":0" />

In 2016, Historic England undertook the first official investigation into the historic graffiti and carvings scattered over the castle site, using [[Photogrammetry|photogrammetric]] techniques to record findings. The ‘Prisoners’ Carvings’ in the Keep, and a medieval door covered in etchings, were laser scanned, photographed and filmed, alongside a Roman altar stone, medieval and postmediaeval graffiti and carvings across the complex, to produce 3D models as a record of their current condition.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=A survey of the historic carvings at Carlisle Castle, Cumbria, using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scans. Historic England Research Report 53/2016|url=https://research.historicengland.org.uk/Report.aspx?i=15545&ru=/Results.aspx?p=1&n=10&rn=53&ry=2016&ns=1|date=2016|website=research.historicengland.org.uk|access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref>{{wide image|Carlisle_Castle_Panorama.jpg|700px|The exterior of Carlisle Castle, taken from Irishgate Bridge with the entrance in the centre and the keep behind. The wall on the left is a fragment of the city wall, with Tile Tower part way along.}}

==Museum==
The Castle houses Cumbria's Museum of Military Life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cumbriasmuseumofmilitarylife.org/|title=Welcome|publisher=Cumbria's Museum of Military Life|access-date=2 June 2018}}</ref> The museum "relates the history of Cumbria’s County Infantry Regiment, the Border Regiment and the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment and local Militia", according to ''Visit Cumbria'' guide.<ref>[https://www.visitcumbria.com/car/carlisle-castle/ Carlisle Castle]</ref>

==List of governors==
Governors appointed by:<ref>"The history and antiquities of Carlisle: with an account of the castles, gentlemen's seats, and antiquities, in the vicinity", Samuel Jefferson; Whittaker and Co.; First Edition (1838), p119-121</ref>
* [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] (1154–1189):
** 1175– [[Robert de Vaux, Sheriff of Cumberland|Robert de Vaux]], Baron of Gilsland (died c.1195) (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1174–1183)
** [[Hugh Bardulf]] (died 1203) (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1199)
* [[John, King of England|John]] (1199–1216):
** William de Stuteville, Baron of Lyddal (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1198, 1200)
** ?-1215 [[Robert de Ros (died 1227)|Robert de Ros, Baron of Wark]] (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1212–1215)
** 1215–1216 [[Robert II de Vaux of Gilisland|Robert de Vaux, Baron of Gilisland]]
* [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] (1216–1272):
** 1216– [[Robert de Vieuxpont]] (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1216)
** 1217– [[Walter de Gray]] (Archbishop of York)
** Robert de Vaux
** 1248– William de Dacre (died 1258) (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1236–1247)
** Thomas de Multon (de Lucy)
** [[John Baliol]] (later King of Scotland) (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1248)
** -1255 & 1267- [[Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale]] (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1255, 1283)
** [[William III de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle]] (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1255, 1259)
** –1258 William de Dacre (died 1258)
** 1260– Eustace de Baliol (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1261)
** 1265– [[Roger de Leybourne]] (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1265)
* [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] (1272–1307):
** Robert de Hampton (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1274)
** Richard de Holebrok
** John de Swinburn (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1277)
** 1278– Gilbert de Curwen of Workington (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1278, 1308)
** William de Boyville (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1282)
** 1295– [[Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale]]
** c.1296 Michael de Harcla (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1285)
** 1302– [[John de Halton]], Bishop of Carlisle
** Alexander de Bassenthwaite (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1307, 1309)
* [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] (1307–1327):
** [[Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall]] (executed 1312)
** 1315– [[Ralph Fitzwilliam]], Baron of Greystoke (died 1316)
** c.1315 John de Castre (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1310, 1311, 1316)
** c.1315–1323 [[Andrew de Harcla]], 1st Earl of Carlisle (executed 1323) (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1311, 1312, 1318, 1319) (Warden of the Western March, 1319–)
** 1323– [[Anthony de Lucy|Anthony Lord Lucy]] of Cockermouth (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1318, 1323, 1338)
** [[John de Halton]], Bishop of Carlisle (2nd time) (died 1324)
* [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] (1327–1377):
** February 1327– [[Anthony de Lucy|Anthony Lord Lucy]] of Cockermouth
** c.1332 [[Ralph Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre]] (died 1339) (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1332)
** c.1337 John de Glanton
** [[John Kirkby (bishop of Carlisle)]]
** Sir Hugh de Moresby (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1331)
** [[Thomas de Lucy|Thomas, Lord Lucy]] (died 1365) (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1345) (Warden of the Western March, 1346–)
** Roland de Vaux (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1338)
** Sir Richard de Denton (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1336)
** Sir Hugh de Lowther (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1325, 1351, 1354)
** 1376– [[Roger de Clifford, 5th Baron de Clifford]] (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1377)
* [[Richard II of England|Richard II]] (1377–1399):
** [[Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland]] (Warden of the Western March, 1384–)
** 1384–1392 [[Thomas de Clifford, 6th Baron de Clifford]] (jointly) (joint Warden of the Western March, 1386–)
** 1385– [[Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland|Ralph, Lord Neville de Raby]] (jointly) (joint Warden of the Western March, 1386–)
** John Lord Ross of [[Helmsley Castle|Hamlake]]
** 1395– [[John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter|John Holland, Earl of Huntington]] (Warden of the Western March, 1398–) (executed 1400)
** Sir Lewis Clifford
* [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] (1399–1415);
** [[Henry 'Hotspur' Percy|Henry Lord Percy]], surnamed Hotspur, Governor and General of the Marches
* [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] (1421–1471)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cavendish |first=Richard |title=Kings & queens : the concise guide |date=2007 |publisher=David & Charles |others=Pip Leahy |isbn=978-0-7153-2376-2 |location=Cincinnati, O.H. |oclc=154683615}}</ref>
**John Skipton (appointed February 1427, died February 1434)<ref name=":1" />
* [[Edward IV]] (1442–1483);
** Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later [[Richard III of England]]) (Warden of the Western March, 1471–1485)
* [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] (1483–1485):
** 1483–?1485 William Musgrave
* [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] (1485–1509);
** 1485–?1502 Sir Richard Salkeld of Corby (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1483, 1495)
** 1502–?1525 [[Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre]] (Warden of the Western March, 1490–1525)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1283/1/1283.pdf?EThOS%20(BL)|page=12|title=Tudor revolution?: royal control of the Anglo-Scottish border, 1483–1530|publisher=Durham University|last=Etty|first= Claire|access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref>
* [[Henry VIII]] (1509–1547);
** 1525– [[Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset]] (7 years old) (Warden of the Marches, 1525–)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1283/1/1283.pdf?EThOS%20(BL)|page=269|title=Tudor revolution?: royal control of the Anglo-Scottish border, 1483–1530|publisher=Durham University|last=Etty|first= Claire|access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref>
*** 1525–1527 [[Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland]] (Deputy)<ref name=TC>{{cite web|url=https://thetudorchronicles.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/on-this-day-in-1500-william-dacre-was-born/|title=On this day in 1500 – William Dacre was born|publisher=Tudor Chronicles|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref>
** 1527–1534 [[William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre]] of Gillesland<ref name=TC/> (Warden of the Western March, 1527–1534)
** 1534–1542 [[Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland]]<ref name=TC/> (Warden of the Western March, 1534–1542)
** 1542–?1549 [[Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton]] (died 1568) (Sheriff of Cumberland, 1529, 1535, 1539) (Warden of the Western March, 1542–1549)
* [[Edward VI]] (1547–1553):
** 1549–1550 William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre of Gillesland
** 1551–?1553 [[John Conyers, 3rd Baron Conyers]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Illustrations Of British History, Biography, And Manners: In The ..., Volume 1|first=Edmund|last=Lodge|page=195}}</ref> (Warden of the Western March, 1551–1553)
* [[Mary I of England|Mary I]] (1553–1558):
** William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre of Gillesland
* [[Elizabeth I]] (1558–1603):
** William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre of Gillesland (died 1563)
** c.1560–1591 [[Henry Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Bolton]] (Warden of the Western March, 1560–1591)
** 1593–?1603 [[Thomas Scrope, 10th Baron Scrope of Bolton]] (last Warden of the Western March, 1593–1603)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/scrope-thomas-1567-1609|title=SCROPE, Thomas (c.1567–1609), of Carlisle, Cumb.|publisher=History of Parliament Trust|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref>
* [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] (1625–1649):
** 1640– Sir Nicholas Byron (afterwards [[Governor of Chester]], 1644)
** c.1644 Sir Henry Stradling (Royalist)
** 1644 Sir Thomas Glemham<ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle=Stradling,_Henry|first=Daniel Lleufer|last= Thomas}}</ref>
** 1645 Sir John Brown (Parliamentarian)
** 1645 Sir [[Sir William Douglas of Kelhead|William Douglas]] (Covenanter/Parliamentarian)
** c.1648 [[Sir Philip Musgrave, 2nd Baronet]] (resigned July 1648) (Royalist)
** October 1648– Sir William Livingston
** 1649–1651 Colonel Thomas Fitch (MP for Carlisle, 1654–1655) (Parliamentarian)
** June 1651– Sir Philip Musgrave, 2nd Baronet
** 1658–1659 [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle]]
** February 1660 – November 1660 Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle

===Post-Restoration of the monarchy===
* [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] (1660–1685):
** December 1660: [[Sir Philip Musgrave, 2nd Baronet]] (died 1678)
** 1678–c.1685: [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle]] (died 1685)
** 1684/5: [[Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Baronet]]
* [[James II of England|James II]] (1685–1688):
** 1687: Sir Francis Howard of Corby
** December 1688: [[Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Baronet]] (MP for Carlisle, 1681–90)
* [[William III of England|William III]] (1689–1702):
**1689: [[John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale|Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet]]
** December 1689: Jeremiah Bubb (died 1692) (MP for Carlisle 1689–92)
** March 1693 – 1738: [[Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle]]
* [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] (1727–1760):
** 1738: [[Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The British Chronologist: Comprehending Every Material Occurrence ..., Volume 2|page=222}}</ref>
** 27 October 1739: Lt Gen. [[John Folliot (British Army officer, died 1748)|John Folliot]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The British Chronologist: Comprehending Every Material Occurrence ..., Volume 2|page=235}}</ref>
** 12 August 1749: Gen. Sir [[Charles Howard (British Army officer)|Charles Howard]]<ref name=gov1749>{{London Gazette |issue=8874 |page=1 |date=8 August 1749}}</ref>
** 1752: Gen. [[John Stanwix]]
* [[George III]] (1760–1820):
** July 1763: [[Henry Vane, 2nd Earl of Darlington]]
** 22 September 1792: Lt Gen. Montgomery Agnew<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=13460 |page=726 |date=18 September 1792}}</ref>
** 8 September 1818: Lt Gen. [[Robert Burne (British Army officer)|Robert Burne]]
* [[George IV]] (1820–1830):
** 18 June 1825: Maj. Gen. Sir [[George Adam Wood]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=18149 |page=1107 |date=25 June 1825}}</ref>
* [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (1830–1837):
** 28 April 1831 – 1837: Lt Gen. James Ramsay,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=18802 |page=899 |date=10 May 1831}}</ref> son of the Earl of Dalhousie (last governor)
* [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]] (1837–1901):

''The post of Governor of Carlisle was abolished in 1838''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Accounts and Papers: Seventeen Volumes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mnBbAAAAQAAJ|publisher=UK Government|year=1838|page=58}}</ref>

==Lieutenant-Governors of Carlisle==
*1724–1749: [[Charles Howard (British Army officer)|Sir Charles Howard]]
*12 August 1749: Cromwell Ward<ref name=gov1749 />
*19 March 1812: John Farquharson

== Arthurian legend ==
{{Main|Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle}}
{{Main|Sir Gawain and the Green Knight}}

In a 14th-century poem, legend has it that Sir Gawain, one of the Knights of the [[Round Table]], stayed at the Castle of Carlisle while on a hunting expedition in the haunted [[Inglewood Forest]]. He then slept with the Carle's wife and killed him. This poem has strong parallels with another 14th-century poem about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The story has since been re-adapted many times, most recently in films from [[Gawain and the Green Knight (film)|1973]], [[Sword of the Valiant|1984]] and [[The Green Knight (film)|2021]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=N'Duka |first=Amanda |date=November 6, 2018 |title='The Old Man & The Gun' Director David Lowery, A24 Team On Fantasy Epic 'Green Knight' |url=https://deadline.com/2018/11/the-old-man-the-gun-director-david-lowery-a24-green-knight-1202496454/ |access-date=14 February 2020 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref>

By some accounts, Carlisle Castle is none other than [[Camelot]], the mythical seat of King Arthur's court.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.toeuropeandbeyond.com/king-arthur-locations/#carlisle-castle |title=The legend of King Arthur: the most significant locations in Wales and England |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Cumbria}}
*[[Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria]]
*[[Listed buildings in Carlisle, Cumbria]]
*[[Castles in Great Britain and Ireland]]
*[[List of castles in England]]
*[[Siege of Carlisle (disambiguation)|Siege of Carlisle]]
*{{annotated link|High Sheriff of Cumberland}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |last1=McCarthy |first1=M R |last2=Summerson |first2=H R T |last3=Annis |first3=R G |title=Carlisle Castle, A survey and documentary history |publisher=English Heritage |year=1990 |isbn=1-85074-271-5 |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/eh_monographs_2014/contents.cfm?mono=1089021|ref=none}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Carlisle Castle}}
*[https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/carlisle-castle/ Castle page at English Heritage]
*[http://www.cumbriasmuseumofmilitarylife.org/ Cumbria's Museum of Military Life]
*[http://theprison.org.uk/CarlisleCGB/ History of Carlisle Castle Prison from theprison.org.uk]

{{English heritage cumbria}}
{{Governors and Constables in England and Wales}}


[[Category:Castles in Cumbria]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Carlisle, Cumbria]]
[[Category:Locations associated with Arthurian legend]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Grade I listed castles]]
[[Category:Museums in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Regimental museums in England]]
[[Category:History of Carlisle, Cumbria]]