The Best Lewes Bookshops: A Complete Guide
If you love browsing beautiful bookshops, then you can’t go wrong with a stop in Lewes, UK.
I recently took a literary day trip to Lewes to visit a place that’s been on my bucket list for a while — the home of one of my favorite writers, Virginia Woolf. After researching the town of Lewes, I decided to make an entire day of it and explore the small town as well.
I’m delighted that I did, as Lewes has much to attract any traveling bookworm. It is perhaps better known for its many antique shops and clothing boutiques, but there are also a surprising number of delightful Lewes bookshops (And if you’re new here, hunting down the best bookshops and literary destinations is kind of my whole deal).
In addition to many dedicated bookshops, there are also several other, more hidden but worthwhile, places to stock up on books or just spend some enjoyable time browsing them.
I thoroughly scoured the Lewes shops and am happy to share the results with you, letting you know about every Lewes bookshop, where to find them, and what books you can find there. Plus, I’ll tell you all the other, less obvious locations to shop for books in Lewes, England.
Don’t forget to pin this post for later, and sign up for my newsletter so you never miss out on a great literary spot again.
As always, this post may contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, shopping from them may generate small commissions to support the operations of this blog.
Whenever possible, I recommend buying books at local bookshops or through Bookshop.org, because shopping there puts the profits right into the hands of indie bookstores all over the country.
Lewes Bookstores
Bow Windows Bookshop
Bow Windows Bookshop is hard to miss on the Lewes High Street, with is telephone booth red exterior and beautifully curated shop windows. This Lewes bookshop specializes in rare and antiquarian books, but even if old books aren’t your thing, it’s worth stepping inside for a look.
In addition to the many antiquarian books, there’s a large selection of modern first editions, and many of these are signed. The older books might be out of your price range, but I actually scored a signed, first edition Nick Hornby novel for all of £10 (actually lower than list price!).
If antiquarian books are out of your price range, investing in modern first editions is the way to go. Just think about if you lived during Virginia Woolf’s time and bought one of her books as it was released!
Bow Windows Bookshop has been a Lewes institution since 1964, and they don’t seem to be going anywhere, thank goodness. They travel to book fairs all over the UK and North America and have a thriving trade of buying and selling rare books. Make sure you stop in during your time in Lewes.
Website: www.bowwindows.com
Location: 175 High St, Lewes BN7 1YE, United Kingdom
Related: Book shopping is only one of the many attractions Lewes has for book lovers. Check out my full list of ideas of what to do in Lewes for more reasons to visit what Virginia Woolf called “the most beautiful town in the world.”
Fifteenth Century Bookshop
Fifteenth Century Bookshop vies with Bow Windows for the top spot in famous Lewes bookshops, and it’s instantly obvious why. This antiquarian and rare bookshop is housed inside an original, fifteenth century building, with all the architectural character that that implies.
The building itself inspires awe, with its half-timber framing and its wonky sides and windows. It really is a marvel. Inside, if you’re lucky enough to visit on a weekend (the only days the shop is open), you’ll find a huge selection of used, rare, and collectible books, specializing in children’s and illustrated books.
Note that while you’ll want to take ALL the photos of the shop, a sign in the window makes it clear that photography and filming are not permitted inside. That keeps it a space for true book lovers only (my interior shot was taken through an exterior window, before you come for me).
Website: http://www.oldenyoungbooks.co.uk/
Location: 99-100 High St, Lewes BN7 1XH, United Kingdom
Boon Books
Of all the charming bookshops in Lewes, Boon Books is my personal favorite. It just does everything right — a gorgeous and arresting window display, a great shop layout, great decorations, and astonishingly affordable prices on new books.
I literally couldn’t believe that the prices could be right when I first started browsing in this bookshop, and I had to ask the cashier to verify that it was true. When she confirmed, I asked her, “how can you sell new books for these prices??” The answer?
Boon Books is an overstock bookstore, meaning they carry excess titles. They can purchase them at a discount, which means the lucky book shopper in their store can find new books for amazing prices.
That does mean you won’t find the newest releases here, but I did not find the selection wanting at all. Quite the contrary, I was hard put to not fill up my entire backpack with the MANY books I wanted to buy from this shop (in the end, I narrowed it down to three, one of which was a signed copy of The Remainders of the Day by Shaun Bythell, a sequel to Confessions of a Bookseller, which is one of my favorite books about bookstores).
If you’re a fellow bibliophile in Lewes, trust me — do not miss out on Boon Books.
Website:
Location: 18 High St, Lewes BN7 2LN
Bags of Books
Bags of Books is another gorgeous Lewes bookshop worth visiting, especially if you’ve got children in tow or have a child you need to shop for. This bookstore is a children’s bookstore, selling all new books, setting it apart from the many antiquarian bookshops in town.
It’s imaginatively decorated, with colorful bunting, great book displays, and fairy lights on the ceiling. There’s plenty of comfy places for kids to sit and explore their book finds, and the staff are ready to recommend all sorts of great, lesser known titles a child might love based on their interests.
Bags of Books isn’t huge — just a couple of rooms, but it’s charming and adorable and everything a children’s bookshop should be. And make sure you don’t miss the bins of discount books located just outside the entrance when the weather is fine.
Website: https://www.instagram.com/bagsofbookslewes/
Location: 1 South St, Lewes BN7 2BT
Waterstones
If you’ve done any book shopping in the UK at all, then you know about Waterstones, a popular bookstore chain with over 300 branches in the UK and across Europe. For my American readers, Waterstones actually bought the US Barnes and Noble chain in 2019, so these shops have a very familiar layout and style.
Waterstones in Lewes, UK is right in the center of town and a welcome escape from the heat on a hot day or the rain on a more English weather day. You’ll find all new books here, with some great sales tables (like the many Buy One Get One Half Off tables).
This bookshop is enormous, with seemingly unending rooms, a bookstore cafe, and even displays selling stationary, cards, wrapping paper, and other items.
Website:
Location: 220-221 High St, Lewes BN7 2AF, United Kingdom
Lewes Book Centre
I can’t talk about Lewes bookshops and neglect to mention the Lewes Book Centre, though it seems to be all but abandoned at this point.
The Lewes Book Centre once sold antiquarian and rare books. Peering in through the windows, it looks like a charmingly dilapidated bookshop, with stacks of used books piled on every available surface, including the worn floor.
These days, a sign in the shop window indicates that “due to ongoing medical conditions, we apologise for our erratic opening hours. Thank you for your understanding.” I got the impression that the open hours don’t happen at all any more, and even the listed website is no longer online.
Still, if you are a book lover in Lewes, it’s worth peering in the windows of this seemingly abandoned bookshop. At the very least, keep it on your radar in case it ever reopens.
Location: 38 Cliffe High Street Lewes
Other places to find books
Now that we’ve covered all the dedicated Lewes bookshops, let’s talk about some other places you can shop for books in this cute English town. As I explored the town, here were some other places I enjoyed browsing for books.
Leadbetter & Good
Leadbetter & Good is a gift shop in downtown Lewes that primarily sells housewares like British made ceramics, prints, and textiles, along with other locally made items. It’s a beautiful store to browse, which is what drew me in, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a really respectable selection of books for sale, too!
The theme of the books stocked here seems to be nature — which happens to be a subject I love reading about (I don’t talk about it much on this blog, but I’m an avid hiker, backpacker, and camper). There’s a great selection of new books here, mostly non-fiction, all of which is sure to grab the interest of fellow nature lovers out there.
Location: 33A Cliffe High St, Lewes BN7 2AN, United Kingdom
Oxfam
Like Waterstones, if you’ve spent any time in the UK, you’re probably familiar with Oxfam, a chain of charity (or thrift) shops around the country. Oxfam is one of the best places to find a great steal on secondhand books.
The stock is unpredictable, as they rely on book donations, but if you’ve got time to dig, you might just find a great hardback or paperback for all of £1-2.
There’s an Oxfam located right on Lewes’s High Street, so if you have time, pop in and see if you can find a hidden gem.
Location: 22 Cliffe High St, Lewes BN7 2AH, United Kingdom
British Red Cross Shop
Similar to Oxfam, the British Red Cross Shop is another thrift store / charity shop that stocks an eclectic selection of books that have been donated by people. There’s a pretty large shelf for books at the Lewes British Red Cross Shop, and with prices at £1-2 pounds a piece, it’s worth a quick look inside.
Location: 217 High St, Lewes BN7 2AF
Monk’s House — Virginia Woolf’s house bookstore
A quick bus ride from Lewes, Monk’s House has its own secondhand bookshop you can check out. More likely than not, if you head this direction, it’s to tour the Virginia Woolf House, but you may as well check out the bookshop while you’re there. It’s a very worthwhile destination for literature lovers on a day trip to Lewes.
Sadly, you can’t buy new copies of any of Virginia Woolf’s works here (make it make sense!), but there are a few, new Woolf-related titles sold here as well as a selection of secondhand books for sale. You don’t have to have a ticket to the house to browse the bookstore or purchase anything, though you definitely should go for it!
Location: Rodmell, Lewes BN7 3HF
That concludes my very thorough guide to everywhere to find books in Lewes, England. I was really charmed by this quaint town, and I think it’s a welcome break from the bustle of London (Virginia Woolf certainly thought so, too).
What other towns are on your literary bucket list?
Don’t forget to pin this post to reference on your next trip to Lewes, and sign up for the newsletter so you stay up-to-date on all the best bookshops, literary destinations, and my personal book recommendations.
