List of people from Carlisle

This is a list of notable people associated with Carlisle, a city in Cumbria, England.

Born in Carlisle

Arts

• Matt Pagan (1993– ), singer, born in Carlisle.
• John Scott (1849–1919), artist, born in Carlisle.

Business

• Monkhouse Davison, 18th century London merchant was born in Carlisle and had homes both in Carlisle and Dalston, Cumbria. His brother John, also a grocer, was Carlisle's mayor in 1765. Tea being shipped by Davison Newman and Co. was thrown into the harbour in the Boston Tea Party which led to the American Revolution and eventually Independence.
• Eddie Stobart, haulage contractor & Edward Stobart his son, were born near Carlisle
• Stuart Stockdale, fashion designer, formerly head of design at Pringle of Scotland and Jaeger

Literature

• Beatrix Campbell, feminist writer and journalist
• Peter Cox, vegetarian cookbook author
• M. W. Craven, author
• Grace Dent, restaurant critic and broadcaster
• Margaret Forster, novelist
• Maria Hack, educational writer
• Sarah Hall, Booker Prize-nominated writer and poet
• George MacDonald Fraser, novelist

Media

• Melvyn Bragg, former ITV editor, BBC presenter and Radio 4 broadcaster of In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)
• Lee Brennan, member of the boy band 911
• Isabella Brownson, actress
• Bryan Dick, TV & theatre actor, best known for his roles in Eric & Ernie, Blackpool and Torchwood
• Freda Dowie, actress
• Doug Ferguson, bass player with the band Camel
• Mike Figgis, film director, writer and composer, born in Carlisle
• Sheila Jones Harms, soprano
• Mike Harrison, lead singer of the band Spooky Tooth
• Ifor James, noted international French Horn player and professor
• Jon Keighren, football commentator
• John Myers, radio executive ^[1]
• Matthew Pagan, singer with the band Collabro
• Roxanne Pallett, actress, starred in Emmerdale
• Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine, journalist and wine critic
• Helen Skelton, Blue Peter presenter
• Mikey Bromley, singer-songwriter, former member of group Only The Young

Medicine

• Sir James Sawyer, physician and cancer researcher

Politics

• Robert Campbell, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• Nicholas Cox, first lieutenant-governor of New Carlisle, Quebec who named the community after his hometown
• Thomas Logie MacDonald, ex-Mayor and astronomer who had a lunar crater named after him
• Pam McConnell, Toronto City Counsellor
• Janet Woodrow, mother of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States was born in Carlisle. The President made a number of visits to Carlisle and the Lake District during his presidency, most famously on his "pilgrimage of the heart" on 29 December 1918. This visit is commemorated by a plaque on the wall at the Carlisle City Church on Lowther Street
• Edward Tiffin, United States Senator and 1st Governor of Ohio

Sport

• Kieran Barton, English–American footballer and coach ^[2]
• Kevin Beattie, former England football international
• Steve Borthwick, former captain of the England rugby union team
• Jarrad Branthwaite, Everton defender
• Paul Hindmarch, cricketer
• Grant Holt, Norwich City striker
• Paul Huntington, Leeds United and Newcastle United footballer
• Matt Jansen, former England U21 and Blackburn Rovers striker, born in Wetheral, near Carlisle
• Alex MacDowall, World Touring Car Championship driver
• Paul Nixon, England cricketer
• Henry Potts, cricketer and footballer
• Paul Simpson, former footballer and manager
• Lauren Smith, badminton player
• Derek Townsley, professional footballer
• Geoff Twentyman, footballer and subsequent head scout for Liverpool F.C. under Bill Shankly was born in Brampton near Carlisle
• Alan Gray (footballer), football defender born 1974
• Peter Thompson (English footballer), former Liverpool F.C player born 1942
• Helen Housby (Netballer) England Netball International

Resident of Carlisle

• Ivor Broadis, ex England international footballer and journalist moved to Carlisle after the Second World War
• Hunter Davies, writer and journalist, brought up in Carlisle
• Rory Delap, professional footballer who played for Stoke City FC.^{[ citation needed ]}
• Richard Hammond, TV presenter, lived in Carlisle^{[ citation needed ]}
• Margery Jackson, miser, litigant, landlady and local character
• Richard Madeley, TV personality, worked for BBC Carlisle and Border Television
• Peter Manley, professional darts player
• William James Blacklock, 19th-century landscape artist, studied in Carlisle and later had a studio in Stanwix
• Charlie Hunnam, actor, attended art college in Carlisle. Best known for roles in the series Queer as Folk, Sons of Anarchy and films Pacific Rim and Green Street.
• Bill Shankly, former manager of Carlisle United
• Rumer, singer, also known as Sarah Joyce. Attended Newman School in Carlisle.

References

1. Story, Chris (22 June 2012). "Cumbria university honour for broadcaster John Myers". The Cumberland News. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
2. "Kieran Barton". FBref . Retrieved 7 January 2025.