ARCADES PROJECT

The original façade of Lowther Arcade in Carlisle remains, at least at the English Street end, with its four-storey stone building, bearing the name of the arcade half way up, and a more modern repeat of the name over the covered entrance below. This arcade dates from 1904.

Inside, the glass ceiling is still in place, but not original, and the business mix today is a balance between beauty salons and bars, suggesting the arcade may well be a lot livelier in the evenings than it was on the Friday morning I sauntered through in August 2025. The beauty businesses do nails, tanning, hair, in small units; the bars catering for the evening and night-time crowd take up more than half the premises of the arcade today.

There are attractive murals painted along the upper levels of the arcade, a new addition in 2025, adding a touch of colour to this arcade, which has the potential to be really rather attractive if all the shop units were occupied.

My pick of the arcade’s past

Historic England marks the entrance to the arcade as dating from 1904, when it was part of the Carlisle Old Brewery Company. There were some 16 shops or stalls in the Lowther Arcade initially.

No major incidents reached the newspapers over the years, though a policeman on duty in the arcade one night in 1922 heard a car smash into a building nearby in the early hours (a local business owner driving home drunk), and in 2012 there was a fight among youths outside the arcade on a lively weekend night.

But other than that, the arcade seems to have quietly played host to the usual florists, bootmakers and other stores on the ground floor, while solicitors and other professions operated upstairs.

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any stories to add on the past of this arcade (especially given my usual newspaper archive search unearthed little of interest here…)?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Have you seen this arcade in any films or books?

Is there a website for this arcade?

I haven’t found one, nor any social media presence for the arcade itself. Correct me if I am wrong…