Bookshops > South East > West Sussex
Secondhand and Antiquarian Bookshops in the UK 2020
News
Tiny Bookstore, Rye - recently added.
Oxfam Bookshop, Littlehampton - closed.
Fireside Bookshop - recently relocated from Cumbria.
Key
Open at advertised times
Phone before travelling
Appointment necessary
Map of West Sussex
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure these details are correct, we recommend that you contact each individual bookshop before travelling any distance. Add a Bookshop
Badgers Books
8-10 Gratwicke Road
WORTHING West Sussex BN11 4BH map
tel: 01903 211816
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.30 - 5.00.
Large general secondhand stock.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsA well organised shop with a very helpful proprietor and a stock of excellent quality that is always worth a visit. - Nicholas Pendower 03.01.09.
A lovely old-fashioned shop run by people who knew their subject. Very helpful with all queries. Stock on railway and local material took ages to examine. Low pricing which made me buy more than I probably should have done. Recommended. - Chris Harte 12.08.09.Excellent shop with pleasant and welcoming proprieters. Always a good selection, and reasonably priced.Excellent shop with pleasant and welcoming proprieters. Always a good selection, and reasonably priced. - Gibbonstrangler 17.08.12.
My idea of the perfect traditional secondhand bookshop. Always a lovely relaxing browsing experience with decent material at reasonable prices that makes it a pleasure to hand over the money to the friendly and helpful yet unobtrusive proprietors. - DavidC 13.09.12.
SUPERB SERVICE!! I placed an internet order on Sunday, it was despatched on Monday, and the expertly packaged book was delivered on Tuesday. In addition Meriel was kind enough to include a note with the parcel. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! - Kate Morton 07.03.14.
Impressive in size and stock. Good topography and military sections. Attractive pricing. - Herne 01.04.14.
I live in Derbyshire; buy online. Love to be able to visit - Meriel is lovely on the 'phone. Excellent prices, solid packaging, a little note from Meriel - good stuff! - Andrew Bradley 03.07.14.
Can only agree with everyone. Lovely owners, relaxed atmosphere, good selection of paperback fiction and hardbacks - lots of lit crit - has a nice ever changing selection of Virginia Woolf and other Bloomsbury group books. Been coming here on and off must be twenty years, and always visit when I'm in the area. Very fair prices means I always come away with a selection to keep me going in this irksome world. - Yossarian 24.04.15.
Still as welcoming as ever. Good stock although more in quality than quantity. I found some interesting titles while my wife purchased more than I did, a most unusual occurrence. - Chris Harte 08.04.16.
I can only echo the previous comments. This is the sort of shop you think has vanished and then are overjoyed to find that it still exists. it is well laid out and although at first glance the hardback fiction seems expensive, it is usually a) first edition, b) in superb condition and c) signed. There is something for everyone here and it is WWAD. NB Oxfam shop round the corner is NWAD. - Jon Morgan 24.09.16.
A very nice, well stocked, traditional secondhand bookshop. Especially strong on nonfiction, on display are also some rarities; ephemera in the form of old magazines and pamphlets etc. Friendly staff as well. Thank god this shop still exists after the demise of Kims Bookshop in Worthing. A quaint and charming place. - taylor 01.02.18.
Always a joy to visit. Lots of lovely literature, (auto)biographies, lit crit, poetry; the owners are lovely too. As simple as that! Go! - TheWavesBroke 12.07.19.
Barnardo's
10 London Road
EAST GRINSTEAD West Sussex RH19 1AG map
tel: 01342 315303
Donated books.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsNow have a dedicated bookshop on the first floor of their 'normal' charity shop. Good general selection. There appears to be a healthy trend developing of the other 'main stream' charity shops playing 'catch up' with Oxfam. About time they had some competition in this sector, might even drive Oxfam's prices down, one can live in hope! - Steve Newman 16.08.11.
Upper floor of books permanently closed. Now has just a couple of shelves of paperbacks on the ground floor. - Nicholas Sack 03.07.14.
Billingshurst Lions Bookshop
Unit 4 Laura House
Jengers Mead (off High Street)
BILLINGSHURST West Sussex RH14 9NZ map
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.00 - 4.00.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsStock mainly hardback and paperback fiction in decent condition and reasonable prices. Also a small selection of excellent home-made fruit cakes (date and walnut, Dundee etc.)! - Martin Stallion.
Don't sell cakes any more, but have a few jigsaws. Reasonably priced doesnt do justice - these books are really quite cheap - around 60p for a good quality paperback novel! - Paul 18.06.12.
I used to live in this village in the mid seventies and superficially (and quite spookily) little has changed. This shop in in a seventies' parade where about a third of the shops are charity shops. At first i was disheartened by the albeit superbly organised pulp fiction / chick lit /romance but spotted some really decent paperback modern fiction. In the back room there are modern hardback fiction in really good condition priced for a pound or less. I came away with a bag load. Worth a visit if in the area. Ample, cheap pay and display parking. - Jon Morgan 24.09.16.
Have visited 3 times, once left empty handed but twice with a bag full, obviously depends on what they've had donated recently. Well laid out, lots of fiction, cookery, gardening, children's but some interesting topography and military. Very reasonable prices, new h/b fiction £1.50, p/b 80p. Beware the car park attendant waiting by the car checking his watch! - H B 28.11.19.
Bookworms of Shoreham
4 High Street
SHOREHAM-BY-SEA West Sussex BN43 5DA map
tel: 01273 453856
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
Large stock and particularly, general, maritime and military history, and local topography.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsA fairly ordinary bookshop with many cheap paperbacks. However, one locked case contained a wonderfully broad selection of regimental histories. If this is your interest it is worth a visit. - Chris Harte 19.08.10.
Fireside Bookshop
1 The Arcade
High Street
LITTLEHAMPTON West Sussex BN17 5AB map
tel: 0)1903 721985 e-mail web
Open: Monday & Tuesday, Thursday - Saturday 11.00 - 5.00.
General stock of antiquarian, academic and secondhand books, but particularly history and the sciences. Recently relocated after 25 years in the Lake District.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsI have always looked forward to my visits to Fireside Bookshop in Windermere over the years, and was delighted to track down its new incarnation in Littlehampton. Bigger and better than ever, the shop occupies bright and spacious high-ceilinged rooms in an historic arcade. Stock is of the high quality that we have come to expect, strongest in the Humanities and presented with charm and wit. Indeed, the extra space has enabled the owners to give fuller expression to their personal pleasure in books and the arts, with the upper walls and bookcase tops used as a gallery for posters, paintings and quirky objects. Sheer delight! I look forward to many more visits and to seeing how the new emporium develops. - TravellingLibrary 10.08.15.
Attractive shop, friendly and obviously knowledgeable proprietors, good stock, fair prices: certainly WAD if you are in those parts. I hope they can make a go of it; I wouldn't have thought that Littlehampton had the same pulling power for visitors as the Lakes! - Laurence Purcell 13.02.16.
Well worth a detour: convenient location; friendly proprietor; extensive, varied and interesting stock well laid out, strong on history & philosophy & women writers; reasonable prices. - Richard Powell 16.01.17.
Always a pleasure; owner invariably friendly and helpful; the place just feels pleasant to be in. Never fail to leave without three or four books on my visits - this time very pleased with a couple of relatively hard to find William Carlos Williams's; a good poetry section. You get the feeling that thought has gone into whats put out on the shelves - even some interesting stuff in the £1 shelves outside in the arcade. WWAD. - Yossarian 10.03.17.
Fisher Nautical
Huntswood House
St Helena Lane Streat
HASSOCKS West Sussex BN6 8SD map
tel: 01273 890273 fax: 01273 891439 e-mail web
Open: Monday - Friday 9.00 - 5.00. Appointment necessary.
Established 1963 and extensive and long lasting wants list kept. Catalogue published about every month. Phone, fax, e-mail or write for printed catalogue AND send us your wants list. Postal business, visitors by appointment only, regret browsing not possible. Most parcels dispatched next day."Books about the Sea" When all else fails try us or save time and & try us first!
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsI've bought maritime and naval books from Fisher's for 10 years online or from their printed catalogues. A wonderful family business to deal with and in my opinion package their books in the best wrapping I've received from a book dealer. - Laurence Batchelor 25.02.14.
Heygates Bookshop
67 High Street
BOGNOR REGIS West Sussex PO21 1RY map
tel: 07879408527
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
Large selection of pre-loved, new, out of print and collectors' books, as well as modern first editions. We also stock vintage annuals, comics and maps.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsPredominantly paperbacks but there are outcrops of hardbacks which increase towards the rear of the shop. Worth visiting if you are in the town but NWAD unless you are a paperback person. - Laurence Purcell 16.02.17.
Island Books
White House
Storrington Road
THAKEHAM West Sussex RH20 3EQ map
tel: 01798 812 223 e-mail web
Open: By Appointment.
Large stock of fine, rare and academic titles. Binding and restoration. Showroom open by appointment.
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Kim's Bookshop
10 High Street
ARUNDEL West Sussex BN18 9AB map
tel: 01903 882680 e-mail web
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.30 - 5.00 & Sunday from 10.30.
Three floors of secondhand books with a large children's section, and a paperback room.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsLooked good from the outside but not too much of substance on the shelves. Full of passing holidaymakers who were browsing without seemingly knowing what they wanted. Counter staff more intent on composing an email "to Alice" than bothering to look for requested generic titles. - Chris Harte 12.08.09.
This is a wonderful oldie worldy shop. They stock thousands from leathers to topography to humour to history. I LOVE the childrens room. - D. White 11.12.09.
Totally disagree with Chris Harte. Delightful shop, excellent stock. Staff helpful and was impressed with efforts to try to find the requested titles. A great range of books, well organised. - tiffjolie 11.12.09.
Lovely secondhand bookshop. Found some real gems. They even do penguin mugs! Wide range of books to choose from including art, local history, military, cookery, poetry, transport and c hildren's. Staff very helpful. Will definately be back. - Marcus True 21.12.09.
I'm afraid that this shop has become opportunistic, with prices consistently just that bit too high. I used to buy a lot of good stuff here, but a recent visit resulted in a fairly swift exit after inspecting the rather optimistic pricing. A great shame. - Pendowern 24.03.11.
I enjoyed browsing but found the prices on the high side of reasonable. Nothing that quite took my breath away but, personally, I did much better at the (many) charity shops in Bognor. - Steven 16.04.13.
Can see this is a popular one and I understand why! Walk inside and it's like stepping back in time. Lovely nostalgic selection, good prices - me and my family always make a special trip here! - Charlie Kane 17.09.13.
Plenty to interest here and particularly good for topography and transport. - Herne 16.11.13.
Fantastic bookstore. Massive amount of stock on so many subjects. Everything clearly labelled, which always helps. They have a huge children's section filled with modern as well as all the classics. Great fiction section at the top of the shop. Best point was that they accept card payments which allowed me to buy more than I originally planned! :D - Cathy 08.07.14.
A real old fashioned s/h bookshop- I loved it. Excellent coverage with a good stock, prices slightly high but not particularly so. Delightful and worthwhile. - Norman Davies 08.04.17.
Kim's Bookshop
28 South Street
CHICHESTER West Sussex PO19 1EL map
tel: 01243 778477 e-mail web
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.30.
Four rooms of general stock, art and topography and a paperback room.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsI often go into bookshops and wonder why they bother. Shelves full of Oxfam material and all my queries were answered by: "You'll find that in our Arundel shop." - Chris Harte 12.08.09.
Great shop. Staff very helpful in assisting me, they did not have what I wanted secondhand but were able to locate it brand new. Great art selection. - Marcus Jones 11.12.09.
I managed to find a lovely range of unusal books here. Also one from their Arundel shop was brought over for me. Staff was very helpful. Fab selection of motoring for Goodwood days including rare. One of my favourite shops. - tiffjolie 11.12.09.
Great shop. Not as big as Arundel but still loads to choose from. - Marcus True 21.12.09.
Seems to be under new management but still keeping up a good standard. Well worth visiting for topography and transport. - Herne 24.02.10.
Topography is a strong suit as is the performing arts. A well laid out shop. - Herne 30.03.11.
Back again after an interval. There is now a third floor for fiction. Topography remains the strong suit but music well represented. - Herne 03.06.16.
Like the Arundel one, I loved this shop - most areas, very good extensive stock, came away with many transport and topo titles. - Norman Davies 08.04.17.
Oxfam Bookshop
96a Montague Street
WORTHING West Sussex BN11 3HF map
tel: 01903 207390 web
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsNormal Oxfam fare, no bargains to be had but reasonably priced books mainly in good condition. - Steve Newman 05.08.09.
Little of interest, overpriced and not worth a detour. Parking nearby. - The Drifter 22.08.13.
Just around the corner from Badger's Books and it could not be more different. Usual Oxfam fare. Quite steep prices amongst the usual pulp paperback fiction snd so called collectables! On street parking for £1.00 per hour. - Jon Morgan 24.09.16.
Oxfam Shop
23 Carfax
HORSHAM West Sussex RH12 1EB map
tel: 01403 252012 web
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsSmall shop with high prices. - John Bacon 29.06.09.
Little of interest, overpriced and not worth a detour. Parking nearby -where other shops offer better and more realistically priced fare. - The Drifter 22.08.13.
Small, low ceilinged and a challenge if over 5'10". Linked to normal Oxfam next door. Pretty market town with some non chain stores and a huge Waterstones. The shop itself has limited stock and silly prices. Two interesting books on the SOE would have been bought if realistically priced (i.e. not what they had seen on Amazon or ABE) and will probably be on the shelves if I were to return in 12 months time. At least one of the volunteers could have benefited from a shower (or two). NWAD. Some other charity shops in town nearby but none of any great interest. - Jon Morgan 24.09.16.
Potters Books
6 London Road
HASSOCKS West Sussex BN6 9NT
tel: 01273 844648 e-mail web
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.00 - 5.00.
Secondhand and ex-display books. Book search and ordering service for new, secondhand and out-of-print books. Large stock of secondhand and ex-display books available to buy.
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The Book Den
Church Walk
BURGESS HILL West Sussex RH15 9AS map
Open: Monday - Friday 10.00 - 4.00, Saturday 9.00 - 4.30.
Donated secondhand books & records. Run by the Burgess Hill District Lions Club.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsSome interesting finds here and realistically priced. Worth a detour. Parking nearby. - The Drifter 22.08.13.
The Book Shop
22 High Street
EAST GRINSTEAD West Sussex RH19 3AS map
tel: 01342 322669
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.00 - 5.30.
A new bookshop with a growing stock of general secondhand books on the first floor.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsAn expanding secondhand stock on the rambling upper floor. Worth a look for transport and topography. - Nicholas Sack 03.07.14.
Four years on from my previous visit, the stock has been consolidated in three rather cramped rooms. Worth a shufty for military history and transport. Prices are a tad high and occasionally absurd: 30 quid for a local history book listed online at eight. The place is tired and dusty: desperately needs a tidy-up. - Nicholas Sack 09.08.18.
The Tiny Bookstore
70 Church Square
RYE West Sussex TN31 7HF map
tel: 07784 942047 web
Open: Wednesday & Thursday, Saturday & Sunday 10.30 - 5.30.
We have an eclectic collection of books in our Tiny space. Ranging from Arts to Zoology. Including Biography, Local Topography, History, Children’s and a good Poetry section. We also have a good selection of penguin books
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Wheeler's Bookshop
Red Lion Street
MIDHURST West Sussex GU29 9PB map
tel: 01730 817666 e-mail web
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
Wheeler's Bookshop has a large and varied stock of secondhand books, plus a wide range of the latest in-print titles over two floors of our historic 17th Century shop. Located in the heart of the historic West Sussex town of Midhurst. Please call in if you are in the area and enjoy the relaxed, friendly atmosphere, and the treasure-trove of books.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsTwo floors of fairly average books. Nothing antiquarian but various selections with the occasional gem. Pricing was all over the place. Chris Harte 13.10.09.
A wonderful place to escape. A fascinating mix of books, well laid out in an attractive and friendly shop. Reviewed in detail here - bookshopblogger 18.12.13.
Have put this on my list of regular calls - good selection, elegantly displayed. Not bargain prices, but proprietor kindly offered me a small discount, which I always appreciate. 2 hours' free parking at leisure centre btw! - George Hale 12.08.14.
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