Fair warning: I intend to write about all the second hand bookshops in London, and they’ll probably all the introduced “is this the best second-hand bookshop in London?” or word to that effect. Because… they pretty much all are. And sure, I could do a list: “The best second hand bookshops in London”, or even “The best second hand bookshops in London, by a local” or maybe “The absolute very best second hand bookshops in London by a local (with map!!!!!)”. In fact, I probably will, once I’ve written about them all.
So… Crofton Books in Brockley. It’s a bit out of the way, but not that out of the way: only 20 minutes by train from Central London. And oh my, is it worth the trip!
At a glance...
Visiting Crofton Books: practical information
Address: 315 Brockley Rd, SE4 2QZ
Nearest public transport: Brockley (Overground), Crofton Park (British Rail).
How to get there:
- Brockley is on the Overground line that goes to either Crystal Palace or Croydon from Highbury and Islington.
- Crofton Park is served by trains from London Blackfriars.
Opening Hours: open daily, standard shop hours
Website: http://www.tlon.org.uk/
Crofton Books: what is it like?
The first thing you see are the piles of second-hand books outside, in boxes and crates and baskets, on chairs and tables, or simply on the pavement. And not just books, either: they’ve got maps and records, too.
Then there’s the blackboard sign, and the humour that shines through it: “Does a Marxist bookshop degentrify your neighbourhood?” (Well, does it, hahaha?)
There’s more humour inside: “Reminder: we have a downstairs which is downstairs”. And inside shelves are overflowing with books, and there are more books in piles in front of the shelves, and piles of books on tables, and ledges, and crates, and on the (steep) stairs that lead to downstairs.
Mind you, I bet the people who work there know exactly where everything is.
As far as choice goes, they seem to stock everything: fiction, non-fiction, gardening, kids books, vintage books, classics, Black interest, poetry, food, genre fiction, and… everything, I tell ya. They even sell cassette tapes, now how retro is that?
There are even a couple of armchairs for customer use, all the better to help you leaf through the books before choosing the ones you’ll buy this time.
So basically, Crofton Books is as perfect a second-hand bookshop as a second-hand bookshop can be.
And after you’ve bought some books, why not hop on the Overground, alight at Shoreditch and visit the best record shop in London?
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