Second-Hand Bookshops in Britain: 2024 Report

About ninety second-hand bookshops in the UK were reported as closed in 2024. This figure is based on reports to The Book Guide, usually by customers, occasionally by the bookdealers themselves or from their announcements. It compares to about 40 in 2023 and 60 in 2022.

I say 'reported as closed' in 2024 because some had in fact closed earlier. This year’s total includes quite a bit of 'catching up'. About thirty shops that had been listed on the guide but with few signs of activity have been checked up on during the year by doughty volunteer researchers, and in fact found to have gone some time ago. Thus, the higher total than recent years is partly the effect of better data. Probably, therefore, the truer total for the one year, discounting this backlog, is around 60. 

And they were not all full-scale bookshops as such: some, though they had a significant stock, were parts of antiques centres, or market stalls, etc. (see below for a note on what the Guide includes). Also, in a few cases, the shop or unit remained open, but changed its type of stock, for example by switching to new books.  

The reasons for closure included redevelopment of premises, the end of a lease, relocation, and retirement. As can be seen, most of these reasons are not directly due to a decline in trade.  The total also includes 15 charity bookshops. 

But those we have lost do include some long-established firms such as Arthur Probsthain of Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, the veteran specialists in Orientalia; Broadhurst’s of Southport, Lancashire, which had been a haven of old-world courtesy; and Candle Lane Books of Shrewsbury, an archetypal story-book bookshop in an early 18^th century house, with four floors, two creaking staircases, rooms at odd angles and a dusty attic. It is a shame to see such venerable places vanish.

However, the overall figure is not quite so dismaying as it looks, because there have of course been openings (and discoveries) too. Indeed, these exceed the closures by some distance, at well over 100. It is true that most of these are charity or community bookshops, which are increasingly where second-hand books are to be found. However, there are some determined individual booksellers opening bookshops too.

Notable examples of this in 2024 include Second Page in Bristol, described by a visitor as an ‘Absolutely spiffing second hand bookshop - terrific stock, lovely sofa, and chatty, friendly staff. Highly recommended.’ There’s also Bodies in the Bookshop, Cambridge, for new and old crime fiction, ‘a must-visit destination for mystery lovers in Cambridge and beyond’ said one customer.

Oxford, meanwhile, offers Curio Books and Culture, an interesting example of the new trend for hybrid venues where books are part of a wider offering: ‘What becomes of those closed bank branches? Wine bars? Upscale estate agents?’ asks a reviewer, ‘Well, this one's now a centre for crafting, co-working, repair shops, a cafe, and—down in the vault—a bookshop. "Vault" sounds austere, but this is a welcoming space, lamplit and hushed (at least when I was there), with a carefully curated selection of books.’ There are other examples of such hybrids opening, such as a book café in Folkestone, Kent, and a shop in Frome, Somerset, which also offers collectable records and a badge museum.

It is true that if you are after a classic or nostalgic version of the second-hand bookshop, it is now harder to find, though by my estimate there are still over 300 of these. But if you just want to browse a good stock of second-hand books, and are not devoted to a particular atmosphere or experience, there are more second-hand bookshops now than there were for most of the 20^th century. On the best available evidence, there were 523 in 1955 (and fewer before), 625 in 1966, 942 in 1984: and there are over 1,000 now. The big change is that many more are now charity or community run, and the second noticeable change is towards hybrid shops like those illustrated above.  

A typical, reasonably prosperous town now might have permutations from four or five significant second-hand book sources: a privately-owned, well-established bookshop, a full-scale bookshop run by a national charity, an antiques centre with several book rooms or units, a community bookshop for the local hospice or other good causes, and a café, arts centre or other louche boho hang-out with a curated book section. Variations on this sort of list abound. Some towns, of course, will have none of these.

Indeed, these changes bring their own stimulus and satisfactions. Readers and collectors must now use even more persistence and ingenuity, because second-hand books are to be found lurking in a much wider range of places than ever before, some offbeat, unlikely and obscure. In my own part of the world, for example, there are stocks of several hundreds and more at the back of a rural church, upstairs in a craft gallery, in a supermarket foyer, in a community hub, and at least twice a month in a village hall flea market (with some particularly unusual finds). The thrill of the quest is still there.

(Mark Valentine)

A Note on Definitions.  The Book Guide lists: ‘Any business with a significant stock of secondhand or collectable books, that welcomes visitors at advertised times or by prior appointment. This includes permanent units in antique markets, private bookrooms and weekly market stalls. Stock can be small if good or specialised, but books should be the only or main holdings. Thus, a charity bookshop should be included, but a general charity shop should not, unless it has a room's-worth of books.’

Image: Seven Roads Gallery of Book Trade Labels