Welcome to Books on the Hill
We are an independent family-run bookshop in the heart of St Albans, Hertfordshire. Our doors first opened on 11th November 2019.
Situated in the heart of the historic city of St Albans, on Holywell Hill. St Albans, Hertfordshire, just a short 20-minute train ride from the centre of London. We are a team of dedicated book collectors and reading enthusiasts, who strive to match the right book with the right person.
The dream was of creating a warm and inviting, old-fashioned bookshop. A haven for busy lives. A meeting place for readers, writers, poets, talkers, speakers, thinkers and dreamers. To hold literary events for book lovers across the ages.
“independent booksellers – it’s not exaggerating to say that they are lantern bearers of civilisation” Sir Philip Pullman
Our bookshop is on two floors; the ground floor is split into two rooms. The first room, our traditional Green Room, holding our curated New Books and our Curiosity Cabinet. Our second room, painted in Bookroom Red, holds our non-fiction books, Penguin Classics, Children’s New, Young Adult and our Gifts section. On the first floor we hold our Daphne du Maurier collection, our vintage and antiquarian books. We serve tea and coffee there also.
The Curiosity Cabinet holds Rare Books, including First Editions and items of interest, connected to literature. Please see the Rare Books page for a list of authors we currently have in our collection.
New Books include, fiction, history, politics, journalism, nature, travel, art & design, life & lifestyle, food & drink, graphic novels, short stories, essays, biographies, science & technology, poetry and local authors.
Antiquarian Books, our range includes classics, poetry, religion and fiction.
Our Vintage Books are categorised in colour order, red, blue and green to maximise their appeal. Thankfully traditionalist soon forgive our creative approach and allow themselves to become lost within the shelves. Each section is organised in category.
Vintage Penguin publications, this includes plays and essays.
Children’s Vintage Books. This delights our customers through the many different generations, rediscovering books from their own childhood and new readers discovering some fabulous timeless tales for the first time.
Children’s New Books. We enjoy working with specific publishing houses as well as independents to bring some special often unique books, that produce captivating storytelling, who then work with marvellous illustrators, that promote developing imagination.
Young adult – new titles, including a study section and classics.
Gifts. To be given or to be kept for yourself, possibly for your reading corner. We also stock vintage inspired gift wrap, which is suitable to be displayed on one of our oak poster holders. Poetry cards, clothbound books, locally made candles, brass candle sticks, handmade vases, British made paperweights and much more.
History of the building
The space we occupy has had many different lives since its construction in c. 1600. From being a tearoom run by Mr and Mrs Hayes in the 1950’s until the mid 1980’s* (known as the Pilgrims Rest) to most recently having been a furniture shop (known as Wesley Barrell) the shop has had many different uses. But its purpose of being a space for the public to enjoy has remained a constant. We also have a fun resident ghost who is a monk travelling from the cathedral in the secret tunnels running below the city where he does the flower arranging.
*St Albans Review (2002)
Illustration by Christopher Delaney
