⚔ Battlefields of Britain

Siege of Carlisle 1315

Siege of Carlisle: Carlisle Castle
Image: Neil Boothman from Carlisle, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).

Key facts

Date (year)1315Wikidata P585 point in time
Century14th centuryderived
PeriodNorman & medievalderived
CountryEnglandderived
War / conflictFirst War of Scottish IndependenceWikidata

About the battle

The siege of Carlisle took place from 22 July to 1 August 1315, during the First War of Scottish Independence, near the town of Carlisle, in Cumbria, England.

Following victory at Bannockburn in 1314, Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, launched a series of raids into Northern England. Many areas along the Anglo-Scottish border were claimed by both Scotland and England, including Carlisle, which controlled access to North-West England.

Carlisle Castle was a strong position, defended by a garrison commanded by Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, an experienced veteran soldier. Despite their battlefield victories, the Scots lacked the expertise or resources necessary to sustain a lengthy siege; after failing to breach the walls, they withdrew on 1 August.

Visiting the battlefield

Location

  • Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 54.8950, -2.9340

Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.

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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Carlisle (1315) (revision 1370740036), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.

Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).

Nearby battlefields

Other battles of the First War of Scottish Independence

All battles of the First War of Scottish Independence →

Browse more: battles in Cumbria · battles in England · Norman & medieval · 14th century battles

Further reading