Nigel Cozens
Art, architecture, travel and topographyThe folios that fill the basement room, the half of the shop most first-time visitors never see.
In on Mon, Wed, Fri
✿ PBFA co-operative · Bath · since c. 1990
Four antiquarian dealers,
Four antiquarian dealers,
one Georgian shop
between the Crescent and the Circus.
We are a co-operative of four PBFA booksellers at 9c Margaret's Buildings, on the pedestrianised John Wood the Younger ridge above Brock Street. Each partner runs a specialism inside the same shop: Bath and Jane Austen, children's and illustrated, art and topography, literature and modern firsts. Fifteen thousand volumes across the ground floor and the basement, six days a week, no lunchtime close.
4 partnersOne co-op since c.1990
15,000+ vols.Two floors, one basement
PBFAProvincial Booksellers Fairs Assn.
Mon to Sat10 to 5, no lunch close
9c Margaret's Buildings · Bath · the door The shop, in four people Founding partner Partner · PBFA Partner · joined 2020 Partner
Each partner runs a specialism. The person who answers the question owns the stock.
Bath Old Books is a co-operative, not a chain. The four PBFA dealers each keep their own stock under one roof and rotate at the counter, so the person who answers a question about a 1923 Ashendene Press, or a fifth-impression Lyrical Ballads, is the dealer who actually owns it. Probate and insurance valuations are routed to the partner with the matching specialism.
Richard Selby
Literature, children's and illustrated, cricket, archaeology and classicsMid-century Puffins, the Rackham and Dulac plates, the long literature shelf at the top of the stairs.
In on Tue, Thu, Sat
Matthew Garbett
Miniature books, modern firsts, sourcingFrom a book-selling family. Most likely to know which other dealer has the title we don't.
In on Fri
(further partner)
Bath, Jane Austen, West Country historiesThe Bath shelf and the Austen editions, the busiest single section in the shop.
By the counter most days
What you'll find on the shelves
Four specialisms. One staircase. The basement is twice the size it looks.
15,000 volumes between the ground floor and the basement room. The shelves below are the ones the partners curate themselves; sourcing for absent titles is part of the in-shop service.
Bath & Austen
Bath, Jane Austen and the West Country
Austen editions in many printings, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey first impressions when they pass through, Bath topography from the Georgian guide-writers to the Bath Preservation Trust monographs, Somerset histories, the regional watercolours and lithographs hanging up the staircase.
Stock rotates · phone first for a specific title Children's & Illustrated
Children's and illustrated
A working children's section: mid-century Puffin paperbacks, Ladybird runs, the colour-plate Rackham and Dulac editions, illustrated school readers, complete Beatrix Potter sets, the better picture-book modern firsts. Richard Selby's specialism.
Bring a list · sourcing welcome Art · Architecture · Topography
Art, architecture and topography, in the basement
Royal-Academy-grade plates, architectural folios, the long topography shelves, travel writing from Victorian explorers to interwar British topographical guides. Nigel Cozens's specialism. The stairs are narrow, the room is twice the size it looks.
Ask at the counter · the door is at the back Literature & Modern firsts
Literature and modern firsts
15,000+ volumes across two floors. The shelves a returning Bath collector heads to first: literary modern firsts, Penguin and Virago, the Welsh-and-West-Country interest titles, the long-out-of-print poetry pamphlets, and the standing trade with other PBFA dealers if the title isn't on the shelf.
Sourcing through the partner network Scenes from the shop
The bottle-green door, the staircase, the counter.
Photographs in chronological order. The 2020 photograph of Matthew at the counter is from Richard Selby's announcement of his joining, in Bath Newseum.
Heritage · the shop in the lane
Around thirty-five years at this address on the John Wood the Younger ridge.
Margaret's Buildings was laid out in 1769 by John Wood the Younger, the architect who finished the Royal Crescent for his father. The lane sits on the exact walking line that Anne Elliot takes in Persuasion, between the Crescent and the Circus. Bath Old Books has occupied the corner shop at number 9c for around thirty-five years, run as a co-operative of dealer-partners rather than a single owner. Each partner brings their own specialism into a shared stock of more than fifteen thousand volumes.
The shop has been named by The Guardian among the ten best secondhand bookshops in the country, featured on BBC Antiques Road Trip, and listed by Pan Macmillan alongside George Bayntun and Mr B's as one of the four Bath bookshops worth a special visit. The partners also run the Premier Bath Book Fair with the ABA and PBFA, a regular gathering of around seventy booksellers.
A sweet, atmospheric bookshop bursting with classics and old editions, with a friendly owner. Bigger than it looks, with a basement bursting with travel, nature, and books on household management. For Reading Addicts · on Bath Old Books
Timeline
- c. 1990 Bath Old Books opens at 9c Margaret's Buildings, on the pedestrianised John Wood the Younger ridge between the Royal Crescent and the Circus.
- Onward The shop settles into a co-operative model: a small group of PBFA dealers each running their own specialism inside one address. Nigel Cozens on art, architecture and topography; the Bath / Austen / West Country shelf the busiest single section.
- 2015 The Guardian names Bath Old Books among the ten best secondhand bookshops in the country (cited in Bath Newseum, 2020). For Reading Addicts publishes its first long review of the shop.
- Feb 2020 The partners renew the lease and welcome Matthew Garbett to the bench, from a book-selling family. Richard Selby writes the announcement for Bath Newseum.
- 2025 Steven Ferdinando, long a partner here and at The Old Vicarage in Queen Camel, passes away. The shop continues with the remaining partners.
- Today Four dealers, 15,000+ volumes across the ground floor and the basement room, six-day-week trade, no lunchtime close.
Specialism · the basement room
The half of the shop most first-time visitors never see.
The street door opens onto the ground-floor room, which is busy by design: the Bath and Austen shelves, the children's section, the literature and modern firsts wall. The narrower stair at the back runs down to a basement that is, by floor area, roughly the same size again. It is where the topography, the architectural folios, the travel writing, and the larger art volumes live, and it is the half of the shop that rewards a careful visit.
- Nigel Cozens, on the basement
- Art, architecture, travel and topography. Royal-Academy-grade plates, interwar topographical guides, the architectural folios that take both hands to lift.
- Probate and insurance valuations
- Available through the partner whose specialism matches the collection. Send a short list or a handful of spine photographs to enquiries@batholdbooks.co.uk to start.
- Sourcing through the partner network
- The four PBFA partners between them have a wide reach. If the volume isn't on the shelf there is usually a route to it through another dealer.
Enquire & valuations
Tell us what you are looking for, or what you are selling.
A short note here goes to enquiries@batholdbooks.co.uk and routes to the partner whose specialism matches. A reply is usually back within a working day. Larger collections, probate sales and insurance valuations are handled by the relevant partner on a home-visit basis when needed.
For something urgent, the shop phone on 01225 422244 is answered Mon to Sat, 10:00 to 17:00.
Visit the shop
9c Margaret's Buildings, off Brock Street, between the Crescent and the Circus.
The shortest walk in is up Brock Street from the Royal Crescent. Margaret's Buildings is the pedestrian lane on the right, two doors past Berdoulat. The bottle-green door with the gilt lettering is at the top corner.
- Address
- 9c Margaret's Buildings, off Brock Street, Bath BA1 2LP
- Telephone
- 01225 422244
- enquiries@batholdbooks.co.uk
- Nearest landmarks
- Two minutes' walk from the Royal Crescent. Three minutes from the Circus. The Jane Austen Centre on Gay Street is a six-minute walk down the hill.
Mon 10:00 to 17:00
Tue 10:00 to 17:00
Wed 10:00 to 17:00
Thu 10:00 to 17:00
Fri 10:00 to 17:00
Sat 10:00 to 17:00
Sun Closed since opening · the six-day week
A few questions we are asked at the counter
What people walk in and ask first.
The questions below come from the conversations at the counter and from the reviews on our For Reading Addicts, Pan Macmillan and Books and Bao pages. If yours is not here, the shop phone is answered Mon to Sat.
Do you buy books?
Yes, by appointment with the relevant specialist partner. A short list of titles with the editions, or a few photographs of spines, sent to enquiries@batholdbooks.co.uk is the quickest start. Large collections and probate sales handled on a home visit basis.
Do you have Jane Austen editions in?
Almost always. The Bath shelf is the busiest single section of the shop. Multiple printings of all six novels at any given moment, plus the steady flow of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey reprints that the Bath setting brings in. Phone the shop on 01225 422244 if you're after a specific edition.
Is there really a basement?
Yes. The stairs are narrow but the basement room is roughly the same size as the ground floor and holds the travel, topography, art and architecture volumes. Ask at the counter when you come in.
Can you source a book you don't have?
Often, yes. The four partners between them cover a wide PBFA specialism range, and the partner network reaches further still. If the volume isn't on the shelves there's usually a route to it through another dealer.
Are you open on Sundays?
Closed Sundays since opening. Mon to Sat, 10:00 to 17:00, no lunchtime close.