Keel Row: Beloved Tyneside bookshop moves to new location

Established in in 1981, Keel Row has been owned by Anthony and Alice since 2006. They specialise in first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings, literature, children's books, and the history and topography of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle.

Based in North Shields until recently, Keel Row has just made its move to a beautiful new shop in Whitley Bay. Alice and Anthony were keen to take the opportunity of moving to create a carbon neutral premises, aiming for a target of net zero as a business within the next five years. With a higher local footfall and a more convenient location for many of their customers, the move will also benefit the business.

"It was a very difficult decision to relocate from North Shields", say Anthony and Alice. "Thank you to our customers and we hope they'll come and see us in our new location. Our new Park View premises are in the heart of Whitley Bay, home to lots of great independent shops, cafes and bars".

The new premises are located in a beautifully restored former pharmacy which Alice and Anthony have refitted. "We found some great things whilst renovating the building, including-original Edwardian range-vintage pharmacy displays including Yardley, Johnson's baby powder, old glass chemist bottles and jars containing chemist's potions and powders". The original tongue and groove panelling in the shop has been retained. Glass plate negatives, including one of the pharmacy in the interwar years, with owner Mr Golightly & son outside also came to light. "The glass negatives were literally the last thing we found in the bookshop, in the farthest corner of the under stairs cubby hole."

The opening of the new shop at the start of August 2023 was extremely positive, with loyal customers and newcomers alike flocking to the new shop. "The bookshop has been incredibly well received - there are a whole lot of book lovers in Tyneside! We've been extremely busy since opening our doors on Sat 5th August."

You can visit Keel Row at their new address: 93-97 Park View, Whitley Bay, NE26 3RJ
Opening hours Mon to Sat 10-5, closed Sundays & Bank Holidays

Visit the website.