Carlisle is a city and the largest settlement in Cumbria, North West England. It is part of the City of Carlisle local government district, and acts as the administrative centre for both this district and Cumbria County Council. The population of the urban area of Carlisle was 71,773 according to the 2001 census, with about 100,734 living in the wider district. Historically the county town of Cumberland, Carlisle developed importance as a military stronghold due to its position at the Anglo-Scottish border; Carlisle Castle, still relatively intact, was built in 1092 by William Rufus, and having once served as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots. Carlisle became an industrial city in the 19th and early 20th centuries with many textile mills, engineering works and food manufacturers opening up mostly in the Denton Holme, Caldewgate and Wapping areas which lie in the Caldew Valley area of the city. (One such manufacturer located in the Denton Holme area was Ferguson Printers, a large textile printing factory that had stood for many years before its unfortunate closure in the early 1990s). In the early 19th century a canal was dug connecting Caldewgate with the sea at Port Carlisle. The canal was later filled in and became a railway line. More on Carlisle 

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