The two schools were moved in the 1950s and the library in 1986. The musuem expanded in to the city Guildhall in 1980 and with new space available from 1986 the museum underwent an extensive redevelopment over 1989-90 and again in 2000-01.
The museum houses the Human History Collection, most notable for antiquities associated with Hadrian's Wall and the two Roman forts established in Carlisle. It also has large and eclectic collections of zoological, botanical and geological material, as well as fine and decorative arts collections.