Topping & Co opens 'largest British indie' in Bath

Bookseller Topping & Company in Bath has relocated to a building in the heart of the city which claims to have more bookshelf space than any other British indie.

The shop has moved from the Paragon to York Street, next door to Bath Abbey. It now occupies a Georgian building, formerly known as the Friends Meeting House. The building was initially designed as a masonic hall in 1817 by William Wilkins, architect of the National Gallery, and was used as an assembly room and non-conformist chapel during the 1830s. It has since been in the hands of the Religious Society of Friends.

The shop features handcrafted bookcases with the store's signature rolling library ladders, lining two floors and a gallery. The expansion means the number of titles stocked has now grown to more than 75,000. 

"It marks the opening of the largest independent bookshop in living memory and we have more space dedicated to bookcases than any other independent bookshop. We feel that moving into such a large, listed building is a bold testament of faith in both the independent bookshop trade and a vital injection of energy into Bath's cultural scene," said a member of the team.

The new bookshop still offers complimentary pots of fresh tea and coffee as visitors browse and features a larger team of booksellers. The larger space provides greater capacity for events, and authors including Nigel Slater, Elizabeth Day, Michael McIntyre, Florence Given and Yotam Ottolenghi have already been hosted.

Robert and Louise Topping opened their first bookshop in Ely, Cambridge, in 2002, followed by the Bath branch in 2007, the St Andrew’s in 2014, and a large bookshop in Edinburgh in 2019.

Robert Topping said: “There was an age where the Independents were the great bookshops - Hatchards and Dillons, even Foyles where I worked,  in London, Austicks in Leeds, Willshaws in Manchester, John Smiths in Glasgow and Thins in Edinburgh. We aim, where we are, to re-create this and in our cities become the major physical bookseller. It seems important, at this point in time, to be able to look to the future with some very positive news for Bath city centre.”