A Guide to Bookshops in South London
South London has always had a good selection of independent bookshops. In fact Foyles was founded on Queen's Road, Peckham in 1903 as a second-hand shop. The oldest bookshop is probably Village Books which was founded in the Thirties as the Gallery Bookshop and Lending Library. Here is a list of the current shops trading.
South East London
Beckenham
Beckenham Bookshop, 42 High Street, BR3 1AY
(est. 1984). Stock: New books. Owner: IRG
Blackheath
Bookshop on the Heath, 74 Tranquil Vale, SE3 0BW
Owner: Ian Irvine (since 2017). There has been a bookshop at the site since 1949.
The Story Stock: Rare books
Borough
Riverside Bookshop , Hay's Galleria, Tooley Street, SE1 2QN
Est. 1987. Owner:
10,000 titles including fiction, history, travel and children’s.
Crofton Park
Crofton Books (est. 2016), 315 Brockley Road, SE4 2QZ
Owner: Jason Shelley. Stock: Second hand
Crystal Palace
Crow on the Hill (est. 1997), 50 Westow Street, SE19 3AF
Owners: Jonathan Main and Justine Crow. Stock: General
Dulwich Village
Village Books (est. 1925) 1d Calton Avenue, SE21 7DE
Owners: Hazel Broadfoot & Julian Toland (retired). Stock: General
East Dulwich
Chener Books (est. 1978) 14 Lordship Lane, SE22 8HN
Previously in Grove Vale until 1984. Founders: John and Janet Kennedy
Owner: Miranda Peake (since 2018) The Story Stock: General
Rye Books (est. 2011) North Cross Road, SE22 The Story
Forest Hill
Moon Lane Books, 302 Stanstead Road, SE23 1DE map
Est. 2018. Stock: Children’s plus.
Leaf and Groove (est. 2017), 57 Dartmouth Road, SE23 3HN
Owners: Archie Parker Cafe & community. Stock: second hand books and vinyl
Greenwich
Greenwich Book Time , 277 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8NB
Stock: Remaindered books
Halcyon (1990-2018) Greenwich South Street, SE10.
Now closed. Moved to Lee High Road.
Maritime Books, 66 Royal Hill, SE10 8RT
Est: 1974. Owner: Anthony J Simmonds.
Stock: Antiquarian, and used books on naval, marine and voyaging
Herne Hill
Herne Hill Books, 289 Railton Road, SE24 0LY
Est. 2009. Owners: Nikki & Ed. Stock: General
Herne Hill
Tales on Moon Lane, 25 Half Moon Lane, SE24 9JU
Est: 2003. Owner: Tamara Macfarlane. Stock: Children’s
Kennington
Vanilla Black Coffee & Books, 306 -308 Kennington Road, SE11 4LD
Previously The Kennington Bookshop (2007-2013). Stock: Cookery books
Shalimar, 38 Kennington Lane, SE11 4LS
Stock: Books on India
Lee
Halcyon (est. 1990) 266 Lee High Road, SE13 5PL
Previously in Greenwich. Owner: Matt Hubbard. The StoryCoffee & tea served.
Stock: Books bought & sold. 40,000 books available in shop or online for home delivery.
New Cross
The Word (est. 2016), 314 New Cross Road, SE14 6AF
Owner: David Brett The Story
Stock: New and popular fiction for grown-ups, children’s books, plus poetry and graphic novels.
Peckham
Books Peckham, 20 Maxted Road, SE15 4LF map
Entrance on Oglander Road. Open: Thurs - Sun
Owner: Peter Willis The Story. Stock: zines plus second hand books
Review, 131 Bellenden Road, SE15 4QY
Est. 2005 by Roz Simpson & Roy Middleton. Stock: Design & general
N.B. See the komodo mosaic by Jane Higginbottom outside the shop (previously a shop called Komodo)
South Bank
BFI Shop, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XT
Stock: film books, DVDs and merchandise
The Calder Bookshop & Theatre, 51 The Cut, SE1 8LF
Est. 2001 by & John Calder. Stock: Plays, politics etc. Current owner: Luis Gayol
Marcus Campbell Books, 43 Holland Street, SE1 9JR
Est. 1998. Owner: Marcus Campbell. Stock: Out of print, second-hand and rare
books on C20 contemporary art, photography, architecture and design.
The Tate Shop , Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Est. 2001. Stock: Art, design, photography, performance.
Sydenham
Kirkdale Bookshop, 272 Kirkdale, SE26 4RS
Est. 1966. Owner: Geraldine Cox. The Story
Stock: New books (ground floor) & second hand (basement).
West Dulwich
Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road, SE21 8SW
Est. 1985 by Sheila O'Reilly. Current owner: Cathy Slater
West Norwood
Book and Record Bar, 20 Norwood High Street, SE27 9NR map
Est. 2013 by Michael Johnson. The Story
Stock: second hand books and vinyl. Also coffee, soft and alcoholic drinks.
South West London
Brixton
Bookmongers (est. 1992), 439 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8LN
Owner: Patrick Kelly. Stock: Second hand from classics and modern literature to vintage comics and cookbooks.
Round Table Books (est. 2019) 97 Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PS.
Owner: Knights Of Media. Stock: Children’s
Clapham
Clapham Books, 26 The Pavement, SW4 0JA
Previously located at 120 Clapham High Street.
Owners: Nikki and Ed (since 2006). Stock: General.
East Sheen
The Sheen Bookshop, 375 Upper Richmond Road, SW14 7NX
Owner: Adam Hewson. Stock: General
Kew
Kew Bookshop , 1-2 Station Approach, TW9 3QB
Est. 1989 by Caroline and David Blomfield. Current owner: Adam Hewson
Lloyds of Kew 9 Mortlake Terrace, TW9 3DT
Est. 1973 by Daniel Lloyd. Current owner: Helen Edwards (since 2014)
Stock: Rare, vintage and modern second hand books on gardening, horticultural and botanical books.
Richmond
The Open Book, 10 King Street, TW9 1ND
Surbiton
Regency Bookshop, 45 Victoria Road, KT6 4JL
Est. 1962. Owner: Pat Freestone-Bayes. Stock: books and a wide selection of
children's books, toys, gifts and audiobooks. greeting cards, plus gift bags
Best independent bookseller in London
Wimbledon
Wimbledon Book, 40 High Street, SW19 5AU
Est. 1996. Previously on Wimbledon Broadway. Owner: Rathan Sippy
Stock: new titles covering a wide range of adult fiction and non-fiction. Large children's section.