A HERITAGE group has recreated the iconic Shaddongate United Football shirt for an exhibition.

The Gate, a living history of Shaddongate, is a National Lottery Heritage Fund project which focuses on the history of Shaddongate, Caldewgate and Willowholme – areas born out of the Industrial Revolution.

Alongside the path of the Caldew and Millrace to the west of Carlisle, outside of Irishgate, grew mills, breweries and factories, and with industry came more workers, swelling the local population.

When freedom from work came, locals took their recreation where they could find it, either at the Adult School for self-improvement on Duke Street, which began in 1846, the numerous pubs that flourished around the area or for the sobrietus the Temperance Hall built with Carr’s Biscuit’s money on Caldewgate in 1861. And, of course, recreation came though sport.

Shaddongate United was the local football club, founded in 1896, with a short yet successful history, developing into a powerful force on the Cumberland scene before looking beyond their boundaries and changing their name to Carlisle United in 1904.

Playing at Willowholme, their colours before becoming the blues were gold and blue.

“There seems to be very little in the way of artefacts left today that we can display about the club,” said organiser Mark Costello of Effective Communities, the team behind the project. “So we thought it would be nice to have a representation of the club colours and badge we have put together, to celebrate their history as part of the overall exhibition.”

The exhibition itself, which will take place in Shaddongate in December, will feature a timeline of events, people and places which shaped the area as it began to take off in around 1750, featuring contributions from the past and present.

“This area was previously known as Childelwynegate back in 1260, just a croft or two on land outside the city walls,” said Mark.

“Six hundred years later, Shaddongate was awash with activity, surrounded by rail and water, providing transport to bring in coal and raw materials and take out goods produced here, food, beer, textiles and other things. We are putting together an exhibition that people will enjoy and maybe learn something they didn’t know about this little but important part of Carlisle, whether they are local to it or just visiting.”

People can find out more by visiting www.shaddongate.weebly.com and by taking a heritage walk – Shaddongate Heritage maps are free to collect from Carlisle Tourist Information Centre, the library and the Shaddongate Resource Centre.