Bookcase

BOOKCASE A journey into the wonderful

down the rabbit hole

MAP

Bookcase, Carlilse. 17-19 Castle Road 01228 544560

The choice is yours; be safe and follow the guide, or choose curiosity and follow your insticts...

bring a jumper because it’s cold down here

the outside

Introduction

map for State Management in Carlisle

It has the title of being one of the country’s largest bookshops - over a quarter million books to date.

To be asked to try and explore it, capture the relevant information, and finally produce a visually creative representation was always going to be a huge task. Nevertheless, we believe we have accomplished this...

Once the Head Office for The State Management Scheme in Carlisle.

Bookcase is now a listed building. It also boasts impressive architecture typical of a traditional Georgian Townhouse.

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Welcome to the journey down the rabbit hole...

the shed

Outside the main shop is a small shed, largely obstructed from view by plantlife.

Years worth of overgrown greenery overpower the scene, allowing only a small peek of the structure.

You don’t expect anything as you walk towards it; maybe a few old shovels and seats inside. However, our expectations were completely broken.

in the shed

Inside, we find something completely unexpected. Instead of a damp, miserable box, we are taken into a treasure trove of even more books (modern and ancient) and old records. Suddenly, a seemingly insignificant structure reveals itself to be full of old secrets.

The shed stretches back much further than you’d expect; it’s as if the door opens a portal to another world.

Even the spiders are a surprise.

- LS

Welcome to ‘The Shed’ (as Steve calls it). Housing a collection of books, maps, photgraphs, records and antique memorabillia that understandably couldn’t and wouldn’t fit in the main house.

In here we found loads of interesting items and extended rooms, as well as an uncomfotable amount of spiders!

- RG

the inside

With winding staircases and tight fitting corridors, its towering bookshelves and secret reading spots and its ability to some how effectively slow down time; there really isn’t a place like Bookcase in all of Carlilse!

Just one example of the many rooms we visited while inside. Although the content of the books differed, one thig that was consistant was the way in which they were displayed; piled high on countless wooden bookcases and stacked in nearly every corner.

Walking through it all, I was made to feel inditmatdated, humbled and awed all at the same time.

-RG

kids’ corner

The children’s area of Bookcase is likely the most colourful part

Shelves are stacked full of fiction - traditional and unusual.

It’s possible to discover almost anything here.

evening