Jacobites executed after Culloden '˜deserve memorial'

A permanent memorial should be created for Jacobite soldiers executed in Carlisle following the Battle of Culloden, it has been claimed.

Carlisle Castle was taken by Jacobites in 1745. Twenty fighters were executed in the city after the Jacobite defeat at Culloden. PIC: Creative Commons/Flickr/John Campbell.

Executions of 20 men took place at Harraby Hill on October 18 1746 after they were taken from prisons across Scotland.

Their bodies were placed in unmarked graves south of the border six months after they were defeated by Government soldiers at Culloden.

Now, campaigner Kenneth Borthwick has told the BBC he believes the fighters must be properly remembered.

Mr Borthwick told the broadcaster: “A traitor’s death was to be hung drawn and quartered.

“But it also meant you did not get a grave stone because you weren’t considered to be worthy of it.

“So they lie there in a churchyard. I know where some of them are now, but they don’t have a permanent memorial there either, which I think is a shame for a city like Carlisle.”

Mr Borthwick said some of the men were buried in the graveyard of the city’s St Cuthbert Church.

Carlisle has played a significant role in the 1745 Jacobite rising. Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army surrounded Carlisle on November 13. Two days later, the militia which manned Carlisle Castle surrendered

On November 18, Charles Edward Stuart victoriously rode into Carlisle, which was held by Jacobites, before leaving in a failed attempt to take London. He turned back at Derby before retreating to Scotland.