Secondhand and Antiquarian Bookshops in the UK 2018
Key
Open at advertised times
Phone before travelling
Appointment necessary
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 your bookshop here
Halcyon Books
1 Greenwich South Street
GREENWICH London SE10 8NW map
tel: 020 8305 2675 e-mail web
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 6.00.
Good secondhand & new books.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsPiles of books all over the place blocking many of the lower shelves. Back of shop a hive of Internet activity. - Clive Cheeseman.
Situated next to an annexe of the University of Plymouth (yes, really) the stock appears to be mainly academic books which are no longer part of general coursework and have been replaced. A 'know-it-all' young man tried to waffle his way out of my questions as to holdings. There was nothing on the shelves of general interest. I won't return. - Chris Harte 12.08.09.
Believe they are mainly an Internet based business now but told still open M-F. However, a pile of unopened post glimpsed through the door might mean they are open less often than that these days. - Steve Newman 01.11.10.
No longer open as a normal shop. The main holdings are all in the back office internet operation while the front is currently £1 a book sale, presumably of the surplus from the back room operation. £1 is a generous valuation of most of it. - John Allen 04.07.11.
Bloody irritating and with significant potential, marred by stacked books in front of the whole fiction wall. Book sale on £1.00 each but unable to access or even see, apart from the top shelves. Owners stated it would be different when they had put away the books but seems like constant issue as related by other visitors. (worth going a few doors down to the junk shop if you can bear the chaos). - Jon Morgan 11.09.12.
Visited one Saturday during the Para Olympics in Sept 2012. Very disappointed as I had previously bought many books from them online. The main problem was books were stacked in the way of the shelves at the front of the store. Everything was priced at £1 and therefore to me was mainly junk. I was not allowed access to the back rooms to view stock there and in the end I walked out and bought nothing as I could find nothing on my subjects (maritime/naval/ WWII which was surprising considering its in Greenwich!) and therefore I went to the junk shop a few doors down where I bought 2 books reasonably priced and then further discounted for me instead! - Laurence Batchelor 03.01.14.
If you forget how good this shop once was and accept it for what it is now you may be surprised. Basically anything considered not worth selling on eBay gets dumped at the front of the shop and all stock is only £1. I have found a few bargains here in the past, and indeed did yesterday too. At least it has stayed open, and yesterday was very busy. But don't forget to look in the 'Junk Shop' next door too! - Steve Newman 08.02.14.
Contrary to the guide, this is NOT open on a sunday! A peek through the window, where books have clearly gone to die shows an apparent tidy-up and apparently accessible shelves albeit that there are two huge piles of apparently unsorted books at the back and front of the shop. Pick one from the bottom and risk an avalanche... May be I will return then again maybe not! - Jon Morgan 31.05.14.
At last, an open Bookshop in Greenwich and one in which most shelves can now be accessed. Stock not brilliant although I bough a good few at the £1.00 price. Some good stock, some mixed. There are still several 4' high piles and another clearout would make a difference. Worth popping in if passing but not a detour. - Jon Morgan 10.09.14.
They're not open on Mondays either now. - John Allen 14.02.15.
Matt and Chris, knowledgeable and helpful owners, have 50,000 books in the back rooms that can be accessed only via the internet. But the front room is crammed - sometimes overly so, with books piled on the floor - with stock priced at £1. Not categorised beyond fiction (alphabetically ordered) and non-fiction. If your interest is in the latter, you just have to browse the mix that includes academic texts and occasional gems. I bagged a slightly damaged Times Atlas of The World (published at 150 sovs) for a single pound. Suspend belief for an hour here. - Nicholas Sack 25.07.15.
Etgow. most of the books £1 each; bargains known. - John Collins 08.08.15.
Good news here is that the back rooms have been opened up as well, so three times the books still at £1 each. Plus the place is somewhat tidier, but you still have to search for the bargains. Apparently they are opening another bookshop in Lee, SE London soon. One assumes the internet sales operation has moved there now. - Steve Newman 08.02.16.
Further to Steve Newman's post, above, the three rooms of books for one pound will be open every day (previously closed on Sundays) at least until October. Matt and Chris will open another shop, selling individually priced secondhand stock that can be browsed over a coffee, later in February: 266 Lee High Road (on the corner of Old Road), London SE13. More details later. - Nicholas Sack 18.02.16.
Now that most books are off the floor and on shelves, this is much more manageable in terms of scanning and appreciating what is there. There is a lot of unsellable stock, but there are also gems and ALL at £1.00. Still open on a Sunday too. - Jon Morgan 10.03.18.
Further to Jon Morgan, above, the vast stock is now categorised on shelves for the first time - making browsing easier still. With every book only £1, there are some astonishing bargains. - Nicholas Sack 10.07.18.
Maritime Books
66 Royal Hill
GREENWICH London SE10 8RT map
tel: 020 8692 1794
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 6.00.
Maritime and navel history only.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsArguably the best maritime book shop in England. I visited at the height of the Para Olympics around Sept 2012. The owner was most helpful and offerred a discount as I was purchasing around 10 books in 1 go. The books are very well arranged with every conceivable catagory and period covered for both naval and maritime topics. There was also a selection of some maritime journals. The owner also let me have free reign in the back room where many of the more expensive and rare tomes where stacked. I did indeed find many books there which made the trip worthwhile. Price wise I found some books to be very well priced and some expensive, I guess that I'm not use to London prices! - Laurence Batchelor 03.01.14.
Oxfam Bookshop
2 College Approach
GREENWICH London SE10 9HY
tel: 020 8 3051656 e-mail web
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsQuite a small shop bang in the middle of the tourist area, between the Cutty Sark & the Market. - Steve Newman 18.06.12.
This may be small but some quality stuff here and at decentish (for Oxfam) prices. My haul justified the trip on its own esp. as Halcyon was closed contrary to the guide entry and the Junk shop was almost devoid of books. No book stalls in the market either ... - Jon Morgan 31.05.14.
Stock still good although prices for hardback fiction have ballooned. - Jon Morgan 10.09.14.
Appears to be stocked for the tourist, not the discerning book collector. Many books here you might well find in a 'remaindered' book shop, but not at 'remaindered' prices. Worth checking out if you are in the area visiting the market, or hoping to find Greenwich Book Place open, but not worth making a special journey. - Steve Newman 19.01.15.
I've had better luck here than previous posters. Grabbed a volume of Chris Killip's black & white photos of the North-East in the turbulent 1980s - copies on the internet start at 80 quid - for just four pounds. Most unlike Oxfam to miss a trick! - Nicholas Sack 27.01.15.
Still small but stock is now no better than an average Oxfam who, let alone a bookshop. NWAD. - Jon Morgan 01.10.15.
Improvement in stock quality evident but still constrained by space. Given the literatti / chatteratti and tourist hordes that descend on Greenwich at all times of year, I think Oxfam are missing a trick. A much bigger store and extended stock would pay dividends. Prices not too bad for Oxfam. - Jon Morgan 10.03.18.
The Junk Shop Emporium
9 Greenwich South Street
GREENWICH London SE10 8NW map
tel: ?
Open: ?
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsHas a considerable number of books. Far more than Oxfam at Blackheath, and far cheaper than the nearby Bookshop on the Heath. Indeed Observer Books that cost £20-£30 in Bookshop on the Heath can be had for £4-£5. Steve Newman 25.06.09.
Very pleasant and helpful people but it is what it says: a junk shop. By no stretch of the imagination is it a bookshop. The books in the shop are from house clearances and not really wanted by the owners. The junk, however, is fascinating. - Chris Harte 12.08.09.
A great place for bargains if you buy books to read and use and don't mind library stamps etc.; it's total chaos but I've never left without some rare gems at good prices, particularly on art and architecture. - Paintworks 08.07.10.
My revisit was most worthwhile as the new stock of books contained some wonderful treasures. Still recommended. - Chris Harte 12.08.10.
Been a while since I've been in, but always worth a rummage - picked up an excellent pictorial biography of Dylan Thomas. Bear in mind that it WILL be a rummage. The place is a picture of beautiful chaos. - IC 17.06.11.
I can't understand how this place survives in an area like this. In spite of being in one of the country's main tourist locations it really is a Junk shop not Antique and the book prices reflect this. The books are all over the place on two floors. I think they started from a mass clear out of ravensbourne art college library and many of these art books are still there and not in great condition. However they appear to have acquired some other, not ex library, stock at even cheaper prices. A fun rummage if you're in the area. - John Allen 04.07.11.
Chaotic - books scattered everywhere esp. in the basement no organisation but some gems if you are patient. Haggling works. - Jon Morgan 11.09.12.
Called in Saturday, this place is gradually going up market but at the expense of some of the book units. Still worthwhile calling in if in the area on a Saturday for the market and the other Greenwich bookshops, but not the bargain basement shop it once was. - Steve Newman 25.11.13.
Almost devoid of books but still a fascinating place. - Jon Morgan 31.05.14.
Can't agree with the last comment, still plenty of books if you search around. Far more than the nearby Oxfam, and at half the price. Bargains to be had too, on this occasion a 1st Edition 1938 Observer Butterflies for £4. If you want your books neat and tidy, go to Bookshop on the Heath, otherwise ... - Steve Newman 19.01.15.
I heartily agree with Steve Newman, above: this place has been tidied up a bit and is still well worth a rummage. Monographs formerly in the library of the Ravensbourne College of Art may be a tad tatty, but are dirt cheap. - Nicholas Sack 27.01.15.
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