To R.J.B. Webster Esq., 117 Fellowes Road, Swiss Cottage, London, NW3 (1938)...

This is where Queen Mary was caught by crafty Elizabeth after she had been staying with the Curwens (Mrs Goldie's people) at Workington, according to the guidebooks - very thrilling to me, as the Goldie's still have the Queen's little work basket she left behind.

Hope all goes well with you, Love [?]

Carlisle Castle has stood proud in the city for over 900 years and has seen its share of visitors - welcome and not-so-welcome. This is an interesting real photo postcard from the 1930s which has a view from inside the castle walls (most postcards of this subject are taken from the more obvious south facing side). 

The card recalls one of the city's most famous visitors, Mary Queen of Scots, who was imprisoned at the castle on the orders of Elizabeth I. Mary had returned to Scotland (from France) in 1561 and during the next seven years she fought to hold her position as Queen of the Scots. After her marriage to Lord Darnley and his subsequent murder, in 1567, she was hurriedly (and doubtless unwillingly) married to Lord Bothwell, the man accused of her husband's murder. Their Protestant union went unrecognised by Catholic nobility and even the Protestants were dismayed at her quick work so soon after her husband's death. They were eventually hunted down by a coven of peers - Bothwell was sent into exile whilst Mary found herself imprisoned at Loch Leven Castle.

On May 2nd 1568 Mary escaped from Loch Leven and raised an army to defend herself against the opposing forces of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray. She was defeated and she fled south to England, crossing the Solway Firth in a fishing boat. Her final night of freedom was spent at Workington Hall, an honoured guest of the Curwen family. It was from there that she wrote to Elizabeth, hopeful that the English queen would support her in her attempt to regain the Scottish throne. But, after Darnley's murder (which some had attributed to Mary) Elizabeth was cautious. She ordered Mary to be taken to Carlisle Castle and held whilst she launched an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Darnley's death and Mary's subsequent conduct.

Mary spent only a few months imprisoned at Carlisle Castle. The ruins of the building where she stayed (known as Mary's Tower) can still be seen, and the section of the city wall on the east side of the castle is still known as Lady's Walk as this is where she is said to have spent her days, idling. In July 1568 Mary was moved to Bolton Castle to distance her from the Scottish border - she would spend the next 18 years in captivity, moved from castle to castle, before her execution at Fotheringay in 1586.

Mary's connection to the area still lives on today. Her communion cup, known as 'The Luck of Workington' (above), was gifted to the Curwen family in 1568 and was returned to the town in 2012. It is held in the collection of the Helena Thompson Museum adjacent to the hall where Mary spent her last night of freedom. 

The reference to the 'Goldie' family relates to the family who married into the Curwens in the early 19th century and who still live in the area today. But what of the Queen's work basket? According to this correspondent this historical artefact was still in the Goldie family in 1938... but I can't find out where it is now?

Postcard info:

Publisher: unknown

Postmark: 10th February 1938