Recent Posts
Thomas Smith’s library
Thomas Smith, Bishop of Carlisle, has featured on this blog already. I didn’t then mention Thomas Smith’s library. When he died, in 1702, Bishop Thomas Smith left his library to Carlisle Cathedral... Read More
Jonathan Ritson, the drunken wood carver
Jonathan Ritson, the drunken wood carver What links the magnificent Arundel Castle, in Sussex, with Cumbria? Primarily, it’s the complex family history of one of the great families of England, the H... Read More
History of the Border
History of the Border. A few extracts from the book compiled by Richard Bell, warden clerk of the West Marches, at the start of the 17th century. 1500s: reiver damages Richard Bell’s History of the ... Read More
AI content theft – killing the internet
AI content theft is slowly but surely killing the internet. It may take years, but ‘slow boil’ has already killed plenty of other creative industries, so don’t think it can’t happen. The inter... Read More
Carlisle doctors
Dr Henry Lonsdale is recorded today as much as a writer of biographies as for his ‘day job’. But while I am sure he was rightly proud of his books on such people as the Blamires and Loshes, his ef... Read More
Easter 1890
Easter 1890. Easter 2025 feels really late, even for this movable feast. Which I guess isn’t surprising, given last year it was March 31; and (this year’s) April 20 is almost the limit of when... Read More
Folio 33: no harquebuses allowed
Folio 33: this post is another transcription of one of the Pacification of The Borders documents, from The Pennington Archive. For the background on the documents, you can read my first post on the su... Read More
James Fairbairn
James Fairbairn is buried at St Cuthbert’s Church, Carlisle. Whoever the stone mason was, he had a curious idea of what an angel or cherub should look like! With its wings crossed in front, and a le... Read More