Pirie & Cavender closes down

Independent bookshop Pirie & Cavender, in Whitstable in Kent, is to shut its doors next month, citing increased competition from supermarkets and internet retailers for its closure.

The shop has traded on the town's high street since 1949, the last 21 years of which have been under the management of owner and former publisher Tom Edwards. Pirie & Cavender will wind up business at the end of July.