Frontier Fortress or Cuddly Castle?

My turn to go into to work today to check the building and ensure everything is still standing. A glorious spring day always makes the Castle look spectacular, in complete contrast to when the weather is awful and the Castle looks austere and formidable. But that's what makes it attractive. That's why I love the place.

We are starting to put plans together about how we might return to work, ready for somepoint in the future. We need to work closely with our site landlords, English Heritage, to ensure that we keep visitors and staff safe. I met with the new Cumbrian regional manager today. We sat with our respective coffees, at a good safe two metres apart, outside the Museum on the cafe patio chairs. We chatted in the sunshine about opening, outline plans, things to consider, what we did and didn't know about the whole COVID-19 situation and the impact it could have on the site. As the Museum is situated in the outer ward of the Castle we have to have a cohesive approach to re-opening and work together for the benefit of everyone. After all this lockdown, it is good to look to the future...whenever that might be.

The subject turned to the Castle and what a wonderful heritage site it is. How its grim and cold-looking architecture is part of its appeal; how the site has a fascinating history reflecting the diverse and colourful past of the local area, how the Castle could play an important part within the City's heritage offer. We talked about its continuous occupation, its connection to Richard III, its support for the King in the English Civil War, the Jacobite sieges and the home for the local infantry Regiment, The Border Regiment. What a wonderful, illustrious history we have on site.

It reminds me of the sessions that I run for trainee teachers at the University of Cumbria. They come on a visit to the site on a Learning Outside the Classroom day, when local heritage organisations showcase their collections and highlight how teachers can use Museums, Rivers Trust and outdoor sites with their pupils. The session I run within the Museum is more geared at how you can use objects. Most Museums are full of objects, with only part of their vast collections on display. What we want the teachers to have is confidence to use these objects to bring history alive. I relay the well-known tale of Howard Carter finding the tomb of Tutankhamen, descending into the darkness and finding 'wonderful things' to get the students to imagine what it must have been like to see these objects for the first time. What I want them to do is to understand how a child might view objects that they have never seen before or only ever see in a book. How the kids might see them as 'wonderful things.' I also relay the story of how, when I touch one of the stones of Castle wall, I feel part of the history of the Castle, a connection with the past. I encourage the students to think about the stone's journey, from being quarried to being put in place within the wall, to protecting those inside or keeping out invaders, to the initials a bored soldier might have carved his initials or how Mary, Queen of Scots could have brushed past. If only the stone could talk, what stories it could tell. And by placing my hand on that stone, I have become part of its history, its journey.

I appreciate that not everyone will feel the same way, but to excite children at an early age and get them engaged with the Castle is a fantastic thing to do. It is those children that will encourage their parents, grandparents and friends to the site and widen its appeal. Our Museum provides a small part of the overall history of the site but it is an important one. The military connection at Carlisle is very strong, and is still evident today. It won't happen overnight but we look forward to working with EH to help tell that story when we start to reopen. Because Carlisle Castle has a great history and one which the Museum can help to tell.