Waterstones Gower Street

Less "just another bookshop", more a sprawling labyrinthine gothic castle of books old & new. . .

Located in the heart of Bloomsbury & nestled amongst the campuses of UCL, Birkbeck, SOAS etc) our Grade II listed building, described by Pevsner as "a wild block very elaborately detailed in a restless, flamboyant, Franco-Flemish Gothic style" was designed by Charles Fitzroy Doll in 1908. Originally a row of small shops with houses above, it’s had a colourful mix of tenants over the years, including a harness-maker, wallpaper merchant and a game and poultry dealer.

The first bookshop on the site was the original Dillon's, opened by Una Dillon herself in a small area of the ground floor in 1956. We now occupy the entire five floor building, with over five miles of shelving and around 130, 000 titles.

We have three floors of general interest books and two specialist academic floors. All departments stock a combination of new and second-hand /out-of-print /remaindered titles (look for the little orange dots on the spines). Perusing our shelves allows you to choose from the latest bestsellers, rare 1st editions and vintage 20th century paperbacks and more. . .

In the Basement, you’ll find our Rare and Antiquarian department containing our most recent rare acquisitions and collections of antique books. Concealed in our Travel department is “the room less travelled”. Our ground floor is dedicated to Fiction of every genre (including a large array of vintage orange Penguin paperbacks) with a team of booksellers happy to recommend and guide your purchases. We have an extensive array of Children’s books on our 1st floor, sitting alongside our world class Education department stocking a comprehensive range of books for teachers, parents and pupils alike. Our Medical department sits on the 2nd floor and aims to stock everything for medical professionals and students (including stethoscopes, scrubs and skulls).

Newspapers, magazines, DVDs, Costa coffee, free Wi-Fi, a Ryman’s concession and lots of armchairs and sofas make us the perfect place to spend a lazy Sunday or a gap between lectures.

Unfortunately you can no longer ride a steam locomotive up and down Gower Street as Richard Trevithick did in 1802, or worship at the 'Temple of the Occult' at No. 99 as was the case early in the nineteenth century, but you can still visit one of the world’s most striking bookshops at No. 82