West City Walls And Tile Tower Adjoining At South West

The West City Walls and Tile Tower in Carlisle are a significant historical structure dating back to the 12th century, with extensive repairs made up to the 20th century. The tower was rebuilt around 1483 for the Duke of Gloucester, Richard III, and has undergone further repairs in the 19th and 20th centuries. The walls are constructed of a mix of red and calciferous sandstone blocks, some of which are re-used Roman stone, set on a chamfered plinth. External buttresses, repaired in the 15th century with tile bricks, support the structure, while the internal face is made of 19th-century brick. The tower shares the same plinth materials as the walls but is rebuilt in 15th-century tile brick and features a flat flagged roof.

The high wall includes a projecting two-storey square tower with a parapet walk accessible by steps. The wall runs straight and connects to the south-west angle of the outer bailey of Carlisle Castle. The upper parts of the wall exhibit visible signs of various repairs. In 1745, the facing stones on the inside of the wall were removed and replaced with brick in the 1830s. The tower has slit vents on each face, and the right return features a weathered red sandstone panel, which was originally thought to display the emblem of a white boar, Richard's coat-of-arms. The rear of the tower is flush with the wall and has two 15th-century elliptical-arched doorways, with 19th-century stone surround openings.

Inside, the tower includes steps leading to upper chambers, a brick vaulted ground floor, mural chambers, and repaired 15th-century fireplaces. Inscriptions from various 19th-century soldiers who served in the castle's garrison are found along the parapet coping of the wall, and a War Department boundary stone is built into the south end of the wall. Historically, the tower once guarded the Irish Gate, but after the gate's demolition in 1811, this section of the West Walls became isolated. In the early 19th century, houses were constructed against part of the walls, and joist holes for floors can still be seen cut into the Tile Tower and wall; the last of these houses were demolished in 1952.