Much-loved Osterley Bookshop saved from closure after public support

West London’s much-loved curio, a bookshop in an old tube station, has announced the reports of its death were greatly exaggerated, and it will remain open after all.

Osterley Bookshop (c) ianVisitserley-books

The bookshop is based inside the ticket office of the original Osterley & Spring Grove tube station, which opened in 1883 but closed as a tube station in 1934 when a replacement Osterley station opened on the main road.

The old station building was used as a shop by a succession of owners until 1967, when two artists moved in. They initially aimed to just live there and make art, but the council insisted the shop’s function had to remain. So, they bought a load of second-hand books to sell, and they have never really looked back since.

The very old-fashioned bookshop, and much loved for that, filling every spare gap with piles upon piles of second-hand books, knick-knacks and any oddities that take the owner’s fancy.

However, the bookshop had been expected to close soon, as the owners, who are both artists, had reluctantly accepted that it was the sales of their art that were subsidising the sales of books.

And finally, that had become untenable.

However, following the outpouring of support following the closure announcement, the owners have now confirmed that they will be keeping the bookshop open, albeit on a smaller scale and fewer hours.

Currently, the shop is open daily, but from November, it will only be open on weekends, operating on a smaller scale.

But at least the much-loved bookshop will still be selling books alongside their eclectic eye for curiosities and postcards.

In the meantime, their annual September sale continues, and from 1st October any stock left over will be offered on a “pay what you want” basis.

The Osterley Bookshop is on Thornbury Road, about a 10-minute walk from Osterley tube station on the Piccadilly line.

Osterley Bookshop (c) ianVisits