Topping & Company, one of the UK’s most cherished independent booksellers has opened the largest independent bookshop in the UK, in York.
Occupying nearly 6,000 square feet across three floors, the new store offers sweeping views of York Minster.
It occupies the historic Grade II-listed building on the corner of Museum Street. The bookshop is be the fifth branch for Topping & Company, joining its existing shops in Bath, Edinburgh, Ely and St Andrews.
Renowned for its distinctive atmosphere, the York shop features the company’s signature handcrafted bookcases and rolling library ladders, alongside an extensive collection of more than 75,000 titles.
Plans to transform the Grade II-listed building were approved despite earlier concerns that the addition of a mezzanine floor could affect the building’s historic fabric and obscure evidence of its original layout. The proposal received support from both York Civic Trust and York Conservation Trust.
Built in 1860, the property originally served as the headquarters of York’s Poor Law Union. More recently, it housed the city’s tourist information centre before Visit York vacated the site four years ago.
The new store stocks approximately 75,000 books and will host a year-round programme of author talks, literary events and book festivals.
