The museum expanded into the city Guildhall in 1980 and with new space available from 1986 it underwent an extensive redevelopment over 1989–90 and again in 2000–01.

[8][needs update] It is one of the three members of the Cumbria Museum Consortium, along with Lakeland Arts and the Wordsworth Trust.

The fine and decorative arts collections include works by Burne-Jones and other Pre-Raphaelite artists, as well as Stanley Spencer, Winifred Nicholson, Sheila Fell and Phil Morsman.

[11] There were two Roman forts in Carlisle, one of which, Uxelodunum (or Stanwix to use the modern toponym), was the largest along the length of Hadrian's Wall.

[12] The human history collection also features permanent exhibitions dedicated to the Vikings and the Border Reivers.