The grove bookshop

The start of a new decade, the celebration of 40 years, to one of North England’s best-known independent bookshops

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A Story Of History

Image above taken by Farah Jamal

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Independent bookshops are no strangers to history, with the majority having rich and colourful pasts. The Grove Bookshop is no exception.

First, an introduction to the bookshop itself.

The shop opened in 1978 officially as a bookshop which was bought by an elderly couple, who ran it till it was bought by the current owner Kevin Ramage in 2002.

Located in Ilkley town, the bookshop matches the traditional English style village, with its old-fashioned architecture. The shop is in a prime location for walk-ins, with many tourists and locals constantly going past.

The bookshop has a certain atmosphere, one that is friendly and inviting, “eBooks can take away the identity of a book, but The Grove doesn’t”, says Mike the current manager of The Grove.

The bookshop has been shortlisted for reginal prize in top 7 bookshops in England, they have yet to place first, but they are always hopeful.

“Working in books is great” - Mike

Customer and staff relation are always important, but one customer was outraged by manager Mike’s response to an inquiry.

The customer inquired about a particular Jane Austin novel, to which Mike replied that he had never read any novels by Jane Austin.

In reply, the customer walked over to the shelf, bought “Pride and Prejudice”, and wrote inside, “To Mike” and handed him the book.

“I always remember that, one of those customer moments you don’t forget”, says Mike.

Interactions like this one are unique to bookshops and create memorable moments such as this one.

Images above taken by Farah Jamal

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