A simple blue plaque screwed to the outside of 83 Warwick Road , Carlisle, Cumbria  is all that indicates the connection of this building and an American President.

No 83 Warwick Road, Carlisle.

Cavendish House was the former residence of Rev. Thomas Woodrow the Grandfather of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States.

His mother, Janet, was born in Carlisle, in 1826, the fifth child of the Reverend Thomas Woodrow and his first wife, Marion Williamson from Glasgow.

This house was built in 1831.

Woodrow visited Carlisle as part of his ‘Pilgrimage of the Heart’ in 1918.

Blue plaque - Thomas Woodrow

The blue plaque was installed by the Carlisle and District Civic Trust in 2000.

Rev. Thomas Woodrow was born in Paisley, Scotland. He moved, via Carlisle, to New York in 1836.

Attached to the side of the former Carlisle City Church in Lowther Street, Carlisle is this tablet to commemorate the visit of a President to the City.

Plaque on building in Lowther Street. Carlisle

As part of his ‘Pilgrimage of the Heart’ in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson visited the area where his mother, Janet (Jessie or Jeanie) Woodrow Wilson, was born.

President Woodrow Wilson, was the 28th President of the USA.

Upon arriving in Carlisle, by train,  the President made his way to  The Crown and Mitre Hotel where he signed the freemen’s roll.  This roll is collected in what is known as the Dormont Book.

The party then visited Annetwell Street where he saw the site of his late grandfathers chapel.

Later in the day The President was asked to address those gathered at the Lowther Street Congretational Church by the Pastor Rev. Edward Booth.

A full description of the visit is available via The New York Times.

This was the second visit to the city.  His first was as an unknown tourist in the 1890′s.

The Presidential link to the City

Crown and Mitre - Carlisle

Janet Woodrow,(his mother) was the daughter of the Rev. Thomas Woodrow and his first wife, Marion Williamson.

The Reverend Thomas Woodrow M.A., was a Scottish Presbyterian minister.  It is said he was the first of his family to leave Scotland in over 500 years.

He preached at a church in  Annetwell Street, Carlisle, between February 1820 and June 1835.

In 1836 the family emigrated to New York.

More about the Presidential visit to the UK

According to the US State Department of State President Woodrow Wilson also met with Met with Prime Minister Lloyd George and King George V during his visit to the UK between December 26-31, 1918.

Further information

Full Text of Woodrow Wilson and his life.