Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.30, Sunday 12.00 - 6.00.
Large, strangely organised, crammed and accessible by Thinipuffs only. However very helpful and knowledgeable manager compensates. A.N.Other
A packed little shop worth an hour of any bibliophile's time,with a cynical american owner who does a nice line in dry wit. Paintworks 08.07.10
Barely worth a visit. Barely a bookshop. Most of the place used as storage for the owner's house clearance business. (The 'cynical American' is not the owner and no longer works there.) Muggins 28.05.13
Some improvement Muggins 29.07.13
An unusable muddle. Dirty, disordered and staff without knowledge or interest. Don't go. Bookish Wanderer 21.08.14
Once upon a time this shop was about twice the size and one could move easily. Now the aisles are half blocked by boxes and furniture. There is some indication that the former space is being worked on and may be available for more books. At base the stock is not bad, simply inaccessible. It could be so much more ... NWAD. Jon Morgan 19.05.15
Yes, untidy messy stock all over the place but gems to be had and cheap too. Steve Newman 05.12.15
Committed to making 75% of its stock inaccessible; should be celebrated as a monument to aged English eccentricity in a profit-focused London (a fair deal of newish lit fic, how did they get through the frames to put them there?) T McGee 09.09.16
Once you have negotiated the piles of pseudo antiques on the footway to fight your way down the first aisle across piles of mouldy and dusty books on the floor, past unwashed glasses and empty bottles and cans (What goes on here after closing?) towards the till you turn and find that the other aisles are completely blocked by boxes, more empty bottles and general detritus to at least waist height. Short of hammering pitons into the ceiling there is no way to access these books and there may be some gems in there.If the owners are not going to run it as a bookshop, perhaps they could sell up and leave it to someone who will. Jonathan Morgan 17.06.17
Definitely not for the faint hearted. What a pity that boxes on the floor make the aisles all but inaccessible. Almost certainly there are gems lurking here - tantalisingly out of reach. Nicholas Sack 10.03.18
Shop still used as a store for the junk and bric-a-brac sold on the pavement. I did manage to squeeze past and find a book I wanted on those shelves still accessible, but there was no-one to pay. The junk-seller outside told me that though the door was open the shop was closed, presumably just at that time! Peter M 25.09.21
Visited yesterday, first for a long time. Nothing has changed really, only about 50% of the stock is viewable, presumably the bric-a-brac raises more revenue than the books.
Staff are friendly enough, but I found nothing on this visit and given the difficulty viewing stock will not be rushing back. Steve Newman 30.07.22
Visited for first time in 3 years and, as always, found a couple of books. Cluttered but worth a browse. H. Wessells 15.10.22
The shelves of my collecting area inaccessible due to furniture storage. Seems to be a theme here. Had an amiable chat but seller didn't seem concerned customer could not get to stock. A place for a rummage in passing only. SaltaireTom 18.10.22
This shop is NOT open at the advertised times. I don't know when it opens now, if it ever does.
Visited Saturday during the advertised times and yet again it was closed. The man who stores 'antiques' in the bookshop was there so I asked him. He gave me a rant about 'clever' people asking about the bookshop and then told me to "f**k off".
On that basis I'd advise everyone to avoid this shop. PeterM 18.03.23
Another frustrated visit. The shelf areas I need once again blocked with clutter. The owner likes to stand & chat on the doorstep and watch the street. Affable but can probably turn on a sixpence. Difficult to fathom this one out. Not inclined to return. SaltaireTom 07.05.23
Keith Fawkes runs a house clearance business. The sale of bric a brac and furniture from what was a bookshop now clearly takes preference. PeterM 05.06.23
I echo the comments of most previous reviewers, with the caveat that I have always found the owner and staff quite ETGOW, to use an old Drif term. A visit here is apt to be a frustrating experience as the long-standing encroachment of the owner’s house clearance activities tends to block the shop’s inner aisles and renders at least half of the books inaccessible, blocked from view by furniture, boxes and assorted junk. This is a shame as the stock is fairly solid and the pricing generally not excessively high. It is perhaps worth listing here the subject categories that are (in normal circumstances) accessible for viewing. The aisle one comes into upon entering the shop is rarely, if ever, blocked and here can be found 18th- & 19th-century fiction, crime fiction, Penguin paperbacks, books on London, nature, music (including many scores at present), sport, religion, architecture, psychology and philosophy, as well as children’s books and French-language fiction (a very good selection indeed in this last category), together with new acquisitions on art. Further into the shop, but fully accessible at the time of writing, is the main section of art books - which is pretty good in terms of quality - as well as drama. Most of the poetry (quite a decent choice) can also be reached at present. However, most of the general fiction and almost all of the history stock is no longer accessible, which is the usual state of affairs these days in this rather maddening shop. Booker T 17.02.24
Open at advertised times
Phone before travelling
Appointment necessary
Status unknown, update requested
