A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



county castle of Carlisle. Defiantly it still stood out from its steep 

 sandstone bluff towards the north, but the change of tactics adopted by 

 Scotland from the occasional invasion of a regular army to a perpetual 

 and exasperating system of guerilla warfare needed a more extended line 

 of defence at every strategical point. Except in times of special 

 emergency, the ward of the town and castle was relegated to the citizens 

 aided by a small permanent garrison, and its defences were neglected and 

 fell into decay. The historic service of castleguard as an obligation on 

 the whole county had become obsolete. The change in the political 

 importance of the county castle was well summed up about 1385 by the 

 mayor and citizens of Carlisle, who complained to the Crown that their 

 walls were in part fallen, their fosses were filled up, and their gates could 

 not be shut without much difficulty ; they had neither ' pount leve, 

 portcolys, barmecan, bretage, bareres, ne garetts ' ; their inhabitants were 

 so few that they could not resist the Scottish attacks ; and the seigneurs 

 of the county around, who used to repair to the city in war time, had 

 raised castles of their own on account of its weakness, and many knights, 

 esquires and others no longer came to the city for the same reason. 1 

 Local strongholds were appraised at such a high value in the defence of 

 the Border that their number became the subject of international agree- 

 ment in 1388 when it was stipulated that no fortress should be built 

 anew or repaired in the counties of Cumberland or Northumberland, or 

 of Berwick, Roxburgh or Dumfries, except those in progress at that 

 date. 2 



The wars of Edward I. with Scotland brought into prominence the 

 political divisions of the county as units for the raising of military 

 levies. It has been already pointed out that these divisions must have 

 had their origin at a very early period in connection with the great 

 baronies, each of the divisions being, as most likely, an administrative 

 area or constabulary dependent on a royal or baronial castle. 3 About a 

 century after its fiscal formation, the county appears divided into five 

 parcels, Carlisle or Cumberland, Lyth or Leath, Eskdale, Allerdale or 

 Allerdale below Derwent, and Coupland or Allerdale above Derwent, 

 the names of which are in use at the present day. These were the 

 civil areas under the name of bailiwicks which supplied the juries and 

 made presentments at the Assizes of Carlisle in 1278 and 1292.* Before 

 the death of Edward I. these divisions were used for military purposes. 

 When commissions of array were issued, letters dated at Carlisle on 19 

 March 1307 were directed to John de Castre for the levy of 200 foot- 

 men in ' the parts ' of Eskdale and Gillesland ; to Richard le Brun for 

 a like number in ' the county ' of Cumberland ; to Richard de Cletere 

 for the same in ' the parts ' of Coupland and Cockermouth ; to Richard 

 de Kirkbride for the same in ' the parts ' of Allerdale ; and to Roger de 



i Ancient Petition, No. 5950 : Cal. of Scot. Doc. (Scot. Rec. Pub.), iv. 78. 

 Tower Miscell. Roll, No. 459 ; Cal. Scot. Doc. (Scot. Rec. Pub.), iv. 85. 

 a V.C.H. Cumb. i. 327-9. 



4 Assize Rolls (Cumberland), 6 Edw. I. No. 132, m. 32d ; 20 Edw. I. No. 135, m. 10, I7d ; Three 

 Early Assize Rolls of Northumb. (Surtees Soc.), 266 ; Doc. of Hist, of Scot. (Scot. Rec. Pub.), i. 358. 



