Dye Works

So, I came out of the hairdresser's in Carlisle, to find the car which Gordon had left a few doors down the road whilst he went to get coffee beans. I was taking a few photos of the castle, this is Castle Street, and then looked up and noticed these two houses and the ghost writing on the wall. I was curious. 

Turns out that these two houses were late 18th Century buildings, now Listed. They were built as houses and indeed, when I looked on the Census for several years I found some quite important people living in them. (If you look at the extra which is a copy of a census print out for 1861 you might be amused by the size of the household, but also the 'occupation' of the three year old.)

The houses were turned into shops in the 20th Century and I don't know what they are used for now. Next door and behind is Tullie House, the city museum. 

I am still trying to fathom the sign writing on the wall. It seems to be about a Soap and Dye Works on Devonshire Walk, which indeed there was at one time, when Carlisle was a centre for dyeing and finishing cotton fabric. I don't think this building was anything to do with the Dye Works, but it could be that the lettering was an advert. I am still researching.