Hatchards claims to be the oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom, founded on Piccadilly in 1797 by John Hatchard. After one move, it has been at the same location on Piccadilly next to

Fortnum & Mason Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In Hong ...

since 1801, and the two stores are also neighbours in St. Pancras railway station as of 2014. It has a reputation for attracting high-profile authors and holds three Royal Warrants granted by the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and the Duke of Edinburgh respectively.

History

The oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom, Hatchards was founded at 173 Piccadilly, London, by John Hatchard in 1797. It moved within Piccadilly in 1801, to No.189–190; the site of the first shop was cleared in 1810 for the

Egyptian Hall The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson. The Hall was a considerable success, with exhibitions of artwork and of Napoleonic era re ...

to be built. The second shop had a numbering change to 187, in 1820. It still trades today from the same address, and Hatchard's portrait can be seen on the staircase of the shop. It was founded with a collection of merchandise bought from Simon Vandenbergh, a bookseller of the 18th century. In 1939 Hatchards was acquired for £6,000 by convicted fraudster

Clarence Hatry Clarence Charles Hatry (16 December 1888 – 10 June 1965) was an English company promoter, financier, bankrupt, bookseller and publisher. The fall of the Hatry group in September 1929, which had been worth about £24 million (), is cited as a co ...

, on his release from prison. He turned the ailing business around, and in 1946 he also acquired the T. Werner Laurie Ltd. publishing firm.John Stepak
"Did one man trigger the Great Depression?"
''Money Week'', 17 November 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2019. Hatchards was acquired by

William Collins, Sons William Collins, Sons (often referred to as Collins) was a Scottish printing and publishing company founded by a Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in partnership with Charles Chalmers, the younger brother of Thomas ...

in 1956. In the 1980s it expanded the number of its retail outlets, opening branches across the UK. It was bought by

Pentos Pentos plc was a holding company that operated between 1972 and 1995 and was best known for its ownership of the Dillons, Ryman and Athena retail brands. Pentos was established from a shell company by Terry Maher in January 1972 as a vehicle fo ...

in 1990, and Pentos was later acquired by

Waterstone's Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

who rebranded all but the flagship store.

Operations

It has a reputation for attracting high-profile authors and holds three Royal Warrants. Oscar Wilde’s favourite bookshop, the writer signed his books sitting at the ground floor main table – today known as Oscar's table. Hatchards opened a new store in St Pancras railway station in 2014. The 2,000 sq ft store, opened at the beginning of August, and was located next door to a new (2013) branch of

Fortnum and Mason Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In H ...

, continuing a relationship that goes back over two centuries. In August 2019 this location re-opened in a larger space within the station.

Gallery

File:Hatchards 20130408 093.jpg, Hatchards Royal Warrant File:Hatchards St Pancras.jpg, Hatchards at St Pancras railway station

References

External links

* {{Coord, 51.5084, -0.1380, display=title Bookshops in London Retail companies established in 1797 Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster British Royal Warrant holders Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster Piccadilly Companies based in the City of Westminster British companies established in 1797 Bookstores established in the 18th century

History

Operations

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links