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Carlisle is located
on the south bank of the River Eden, which flows into the Solway Firth. The
city has been a strategic settlement throughout historical times in Britain,
having been a fortress before the coming of the Romans, who recognised its
value when their territory was bounded on the north by Hadrian's Wall. From
that time the city has always controlled the western routeway into Scotland,
and many times its own defences were sorely tried during the troublesome
periods of the Border feuds and the Jacobite Rebellions. On 8th November,
1745, Charles Edward, the Young Pretender, invaded England and captured
Carlisle. Carlisle's importance has declined over the last 200 years,
partly because industrial development needs coal and there are no workable
deposits in the near vicinity, and partly because transport of heavy
industrial commodities has not been possible by water, since the Solway Firth
suffers from a considerable silting. Nevertheless, Carlisle is a major railway
centre, and certain industries which are able to bear high transport costs -
such as clothprinting, the making of biscuits and machine manufacture -
flourish.
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