Carlisle, diocese of

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Carlisle, diocese of. The see, created in 1133, was conterminous with Cumbria until the 19th cent. The region where Ninian brought Celtic Christianity in the 4th cent. and which Kentigern secured in 573 came under the bishops of Lindisfarne until the Danish invasions obliterated all trace of the see. The diocese was restored with its seat at Carlisle in 1133, following Rufus's annexation of Cumbria (1092). Initially the see had a complex history, for, though ecclesiastically always under the metropolitan jurisdiction of York, it fell politically under the Scottish kings for 21 years (1136–57). In 1856 the see was enlarged to take in northern parts of the Chester diocese. The cathedral, originally founded as an Augustinian priory in 1102, is noted for its fine 14th-cent. curvilinear east window. It suffered severely at the hands of the Scots during the Civil War.

Revd Dr William M. Marshall

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