About The Book Shop

A fixture on the Lee-on-the-Solent High Street for almost 80 years, The Book Shop is arguably the oldest shop in the village, and probably the oldest surviving independent bookseller on the South Coast. In 1933, Leonard Miles opened a florist's shop at 142 High Street with a small lending library, which later that year evolved into a bookshop. Flowers out, books in! In the 1950s and 1960s, the shop was owned by Thomas Clague "bookseller and stationer". In recent decades Mr. & Mrs. Pollard, Mr. & Mrs. Adams, Tony & Jean Wilson, and Charlie & Maureen Excell have been proprietors. The current owner/proprietor is Rick Barter, who took over from the Excells in November 2004, with Martin Roach as "webmaster", and the invaluable assistance of Jan Watkins, Tim Seward, Adam Shergold, and Jenny Curtis.

142 High Street photographed circa 1958 by
Thomas Clague's teenage son, Malcolm.

With easy parking nearby, the shop is open Monday-Saturday, 8.30am-5.30pm. Our web site offers lots of useful links and information about our Local Loyalty Rewards scheme, as well as a Quote of the Day, so do check back often.

Together with hundreds of other British independent bookshops and Gardners Books, the UK's largest book wholesaler, we are pleased to be a founding member of the hive network, an innovative, new "shop local" choice for internet bookbuyers. In addition to offering an extensive range of books, DVDs, and stationery, though our our online bookshop, The Book Shop is now able to sell eBooks for the first time to meet growing demand for digital content. We've one foot on the High Street and the other in cyberspace!

With an eclectic mixture of books, cards, stationery, maps, toys, and gifts, it is easy to see why the shop is popular not just with Lee locals, but with visitors from the larger local area who drive to Lee to enjoy the High Street shops, seaside setting, and leisure possibilities that Lee-on-the-Solent has to offer.

The Book Shop as seen from the top of Lee Tower, probably in the 1940s when
Leonard Miles was proprietor.         Photo: Gosport Society

Rick Barter

Rick Barter, who became proprietor of The Book Shop in November 2004, is originally from America. After decades here, he loves Britain and can't imagine living anywhere else. Except for the weather. And maybe the Inland Revenue.

Rick hosting a book-signing event with one of his favourite authors Hanif Kureishi.

After a brief spell in retail sales (at Alexanders and Bloomingdales department stores in New York City), Rick began a 20-year career as an international educator and librarian, working at schools in New York, Austria, Spain, Lebanon, and the UK. In addition to articles in the professional journals, he has contributed to two books about multiculturalism and multilingualism.

In addition to reading (!), Rick's interests include travel, architecture and design, and the performing arts. He speaks good French, decent German, laughable Spanish, and a smattering of Arabic. He divides his time between Lee-on-the-Solent and the east London borough of Newham.

Martin Roach

Martin in his salad days.

Martin works in legal publishing and also independently with www.compendium.org.uk. His interests include reading and developing solutions to managing computer data (he says this is because he is not good at crosswords). He is learning Arabic, which he began speaking in Beirut, and is now competent in the language.

Martin also enjoys walking, both in cities and the countryside, visiting museums and old buildings, and travelling in the UK and abroad, seeing new places and people.

This site created and maintained by www.compendium.org.uk.

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