More information : Towards the eastern end of the castle is the keep, originally entered from a forebuilding on the east of which only the foundations remain. Within the forebuilding a flight of steps gave access to a first floor door, the original entrance. Building of the keep began during the 1120s. It is freestanding and has immensely thick walls. A spine wall runs the full height of the building and divides the keep into two halves, each of which was intended to be defensible. On the ground floor all the walls have traces of the original deeply-splayed Norman round-headed windows. These rooms were used for storage purposes and, at various times, prison cells. On the first floor a passage from the original entrance provides access through a Norman round-headed door into the hall. In the east wall there is a 14th century fireplace and a small room thought to have housed the winding gear for the portcullis. Other rooms built into the walls include one giving internal access to the well. Leading off the other large first floor room is a garderobe, and at the opposite end of the same wall is a spiral staircase to the second floor. Next to the staircase is a partly blocked-up room in the thickness of the wall. On the second floor there are two rooms and a small Norman kitchen with a fireplace and chimney. In the same wall as the kitchen is a staircase to the third floor. In one of the large rooms on the second floor there is a small cell containing late 15th century wall carvings made by prisoners. There is also an oratory, that is a small room set aside for private prayer, where the Scottish King David died in 1153. The third floor is relatively featureless but gives access up a steep wooden staircase to the roof where wide embrasures in the parapet were for cannon.
The Governor's House was demolished in 1812.(1)
Building of the keep began during the early 12th century and was altered in the mid 16th and 19th Centuries. The keep is of four storeys and constructed of sandstone with a chamfered plinth under a flat lead roof. The east face has an off-centre doorway recessed for the portcullis. An additional entrance at first floor level has been covered by a two storey forebuilding, which is partly medieval, but very altered. Adjoining the keep is the remaining rear wall of the 1577 Governor's House. (2)
This report contains detailed information on the history and construction of the keep. It also contains measured drawings of its elevations as well as plans, sections and photographs. (3)
Additional reference, please see source for details. (4)
The guidebook for Carlisle Castle provides historical information about the keep and what visitors can see on each floor during a visit to the castle. There are also illustrations, photographs and plans as well as a feature on the graffiti which dates to the late 15th century. (5)
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