The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 1133 by Henry I

Henry I of England

Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...

 out of part of the Diocese of Durham, although many people of Celt

Celt

The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

ic descent in the area looked to Glasgow

Archbishop of Glasgow

The Bishop of Glasgow, from 1492 Archbishop of Glasgow, was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Glasgow and then, as Archbishop of Glasgow, the Archdiocese of Glasgow...

 for spiritual leadership. The first bishop was Æthelwold

Æthelwold of Carlisle

Æthelwold was the first Bishop of Carlisle in medieval England.-Life:...

, formerly the king's confessor

Confessor

-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...

 and now prior

Prior

Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...

 of the Augustinian priory

Priory

A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...

 at Nostell in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

. Carlisle

Carlisle Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, otherwise called Carlisle Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Carlisle. It is located in Carlisle, in Cumbria, North West England...

 was thus the only cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 to be run by Augustinians instead of Benedictines. This only lasted until the reign of Henry III

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

 however, when the Augustinians in Carlisle joined the rebels who temporarily handed the city over to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and elected their own bishop. When the revolt was ended, the Augustinians were expelled.

The seat of the diocese is the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity

Carlisle Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, otherwise called Carlisle Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Carlisle. It is located in Carlisle, in Cumbria, North West England...

 in Carlisle.

The Diocese covers the most of the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

; Alston Moor

Alston Moor

Alston Moor is an area of moorland and civil parish in Cumbria, England, based around the small town of Alston. The parish had a population of 2,156 at the 2001 census. As well as the town of Alston, the parish includes the villages of Garrigill and Nenthead, along with the hamlets of Nenthall,...

 is part of the Diocese of Newcastle

Diocese of Newcastle

The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland . The area of Alston Moor in Cumbria also forms part of the diocese.The diocese came into being on May 23, 1882, and was one of four created by the Bishoprics Act...

, and the former Sedbergh Rural District

Sedbergh Rural District

Sedbergh Rural District was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire in England from 1894 to its abolition in 1974. The district consisted of the three parishes of Sedbergh, Garsdale and Dent. In 1974 the district became part of the South Lakeland district in the new non-metropolitan...

 is part of the Diocese of Bradford

Diocese of Bradford

The Diocese of Bradford is a Church of England diocese within the Province of York. The Diocese covers the area of the City of Bradford, Craven district and the former Sedbergh Rural District now in Cumbria....

. The diocese originally only covered the northern parts of Cumberland

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

 and Westmorland

Westmorland

Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

, and expanded to cover the entirety of these, as well as the Furness

Furness

Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....

 and Cartmel

Cartmel

Cartmel is a village in Cumbria, England, situated north-west of Grange-over-Sands and close to the River Eea. Historically it was in Lancashire; boundary changes brought it into the newly created county of Cumbria in 1974, yet keeping it within the boundaries of the traditional County Palatine...

 areas of Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, in 1847, from part of the Diocese of Chester

Diocese of Chester

The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...

, although this did not take effect until 1856.

Diocesan structure

The diocese of Carlisle is overseen by the Bishop of Carlisle

Bishop of Carlisle

The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York.The diocese covers the County of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District...

 and the Suffragan

Suffragan bishop

A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...

 Bishop of Penrith

Bishop of Penrith

The Bishop of Penrith is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name from the town of Penrith in Cumbria and was first created under the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534.-List of the Bishops of...

. It is divided into three archdeacon

Archdeacon

An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...

ries, each divided into a number of rural deaneries

Rural Dean

In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, a Rural Dean presides over a Rural Deanery .-Origins and usage:...

.

Diocese Diocese A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...	Archdeacon Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church... ries	Rural Deaneries Rural Dean In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, a Rural Dean presides over a Rural Deanery .-Origins and usage:...
Diocese of Carlisle	Archdeaconry of Carlisle City of Carlisle The City of Carlisle is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages...	Rural Deanery of Carlisle
		Rural Deanery of Appleby Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, in North West England. It is situated within a loop of the River Eden and has a population of approximately 2,500. It is in the historic county of Westmorland, of which it was the county town. The town's name was simply Appleby, until...
		Rural Deanery of Brampton Brampton, Carlisle, Cumbria Brampton is a small market town and civil parish within the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England about 9 miles east of Carlisle and 2 miles south of Hadrian's Wall. It is situated off the A69 road which bypasses it...
		Rural Deanery of Penrith Penrith, Cumbria Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
	Archdeaconry of West Cumberland Archdeacon of West Cumberland The Archdeacon of West Cumberland is responsible for the archdeaconry of West Cumberland, one of three administrative divisions of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle. Dr Richard Pratt has been the archdeacon since 20 January 2009....	Rural Deanery of Calder
		Rural Deanery of Derwent
		Rural Deanery of Solway Solway Plain The Solway Plain is a low-lying coastal plain in the northwest of Cumbria, England. It is an area generally lying north and west of Carlisle along the Solway Firth and drained by the rivers Esk and Lynne. This geographic unit is associated with the westernmost part of Hadrian's Wall. In medieval...
	Archdeaconry of Westmorland Westmorland Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...  and Furness Furness Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....	Rural Deanery of Barrow Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
		Rural Deanery of Furness Furness Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....
		Rural Deanery of Kendal Kendal Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
		Rural Deanery of Windermere

From 1889 to 1939, the diocese had one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness

Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness

The Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle, in the Province of York, England. The title took its name after the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria...

, and from 1939 until 1944, two suffragans bishops (Penrith and Barrow), before the see of Barrow went into the abeyance in which it remains to date.