7 places

The oldest pubs in Carlisle

There isn't one answer, because the contenders are measuring different things. The Sportsman on Heads Lane claims 1747, the earliest date of any pub in the city, though the first document anyone has found is from 1770. The Joiners Arms in Caldewgate is recorded from 1785 and may be forty years older, but it is shut and up for sale. The Kings Head on Fisher Street stands in an eighteenth-century house that was a pub by 1829. These are the city's oldest still standing, then the villages, where the dates go back further.

• The Sportsman Inn

  City Centre· Claims 1747; first documented 1770 State pub

  Tucked down Heads Lane behind the Marks & Spencer, and easy to walk past.

• Joiners Arms (closed for now)

  Caldewgate· Recorded 1785, possibly from about 1745 State pub

  One of the oldest surviving pubs in Carlisle, on Church Street in Caldewgate.

• The Near Boot

  Kingstown· Trading at the sign of the Boot by 1787 State pub

  Family pub at Whiteclosegate with a sunny beer garden and a well-regarded Sunday lunch.

• The Kings Head

  City Centre· Built as a house in the 1770s or 1780s; a pub by 1829 State pub

  A proper real ale pub on Fisher Street with a rotating range of cask beers at a spread of strengths.

• Crown & Thistle

  Stanwix· Building of the late 18th or early 19th century State pub

  Down-to-earth Stanwix local, open all day every day.

• Turf Tavern

  City Centre· Built 1839-40 as the racecourse grandstand hotel State pub

  Big Hungry Horse pub on Newmarket Road near the racecourse end of town.

• The Caledonian

  City Centre· Opened March 1847 State pub

  Big old-fashioned boozer near the station, part of Amber Taverns.

Further out

Within ten miles of the city, a few village inns carry older dates still, though as in town, a building's age and a pub's age are not always the same thing.

• String of Horses Inn

  Faugh· Dates from around 1659 State pub

  Country inn at Faugh with rooms and a restaurant.

• Plough Inn

  Wreay· The Twelve Men have met here since 1684 State pub

  Village pub at Wreay just off junction 42, with rooms and a big garden.

• The Stag Inn

  Crosby-on-Eden· Late 17th-century building State pub

  Low Crosby's pub, and one of the best kitchens near the city.

• The Blue Bell

  Dalston· Early 18th-century building State pub

  Gastropub on Dalston square.

• Graham Arms Inn

  Longtown· Late 18th-century coaching inn State pub

  Longtown's main inn, with rooms and a busy bar.

• The Queens at Warwick on Eden

  Warwick-on-Eden· A pub since 1792 State pub

  Village inn at Warwick-on-Eden, a few minutes off the M6.

For the ones that didn't make it, see the lost pubs of Carlisle.

Other things to search for

• Country pubs near Carlisle
• Wetherspoons in Carlisle
• Harry Redfern's pubs in Carlisle
• Pubs in Brampton, near Carlisle
• Pubs in Carlisle city centre
• Pubs in Dalston, near Carlisle
• Pubs in Denton Holme, Carlisle
• Pubs in Harraby, Carlisle