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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Carlisle
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(72,000 in 1991) City and administrative centre of Cumbria. Carlisle's position in the extreme northwest of England made it a frontier post from its time as the Roman garrison of Luguvallum (close to the western end of *Hadrian's Wall), through the building of the Norman castle (begun in 1092) and even into the 18C; the town's last experience of armed hostilities between the English and the Scots was in 1745, when it was taken by Prince Charles Edward *Stuart and then soon recaptured.
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The remains of the castle include the Norman keep. The 12–15C cathedral contains a superb east window in the *Decorated style, the largest of its kind in the country, with medieval stained glass still in the sections of tracery. The 14C Guildhall and the 18C Town Hall survive, and the city's Museum and Art Gallery (in Tullie House, 1689) has a collection as wide-ranging as Carlisle's history, from Roman artefacts to 20C British painting. The development of a cotton industry and a pivotal position in Britain's rail and motorway networks have been the basis of the city's more recent economy.
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