Centenary year: Carlisle in a special year in its long history back in 1958

Back in 1958, Carlisle was celebrating its Octo-Centenary and a year of events and jubilation ensued for the population of the historic city.

While on the surface there hasn’t been a lot of transformation apart from the changing of familiar shops and the introduction of pedestrianisation, in reality very few of the buildings on older photographs in the city centre remain.

The Old Lanes on Scotch Street were knocked down in the late 1970s and early 1980s to make way for the new Lanes development. But careful planning meant that the new shops look very similar to the ones that were replaced.

And so in some ways, on the surface at least, much of what we would recognise as familiar now remains.

In the landmark year of 1958, we see many excellent pictures such as the occasion of the visit of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to the city. In that case, the it was a rescheduled visit, with the Queen having had to cancel the first one due to ill-health.

In fact, we also have an image here of the trip that the Duke of Edinburgh made to our city while the Queen was unwell in which he travelled through Bitts Park alongside dignitaries of the day such as the city's mayor Irving Burrows.

We also see a section of the 1958 historical procession goes past the Old Town Hall in English Street.

To set the scene, we also see images from a lazy sunny June afternoon in 1958 in a typical Carlisle city centre picture. The Midland Bank (now HSBC) stands on the corner pictured.

The year also marked the landmark visit of the record breaking Festival Special engine, which is pictured in today's gallery in all its glory at Carlisle station in August 1958.

For those who recognise these scenes from Carlisle's past, we're sure that today's set of images will bring back fond memories, with the pictures also serving as an eye-opener for readers too young to remember the scenes captured here.

We'd love you to share your memories with us...