THE BOOKSHOP: Since 1949

The building at the top of Tranquil Vale was built 1880, replacing an earlier building known as 1, Tranquil Vale. The corner shop at no. 74 was occupied by William Carson's Toy Emporium until 1913, when that business moved to a more central location in the village at 42 Tranquil Vale. The shop then stood empty until 1920, when it reopened as a second-hand furniture shop; it subsequently went through various incarnations as an arts & crafts showroom, a wireless engineer's workshop, an antique shop, and a ladies' lingerie shop.
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In 1949, Jameson Benbrook opened an antiquarian bookshop, which he sold to the Misses Aitken and Korn, who retired in 1962. Mrs May Roberts took over until 1970, when she sold the business to her manager, Louis Leff. The Bookshop was then taken over by Richard Platt, who ran it with his wife Jasmine, until transferring it to the current owner, Dr David Wilson, who took over in June 2014.

bookshopontheheath@gmail.com