Rhyme and Reason: Sheffield’s oldest independent bookstore celebrates 25 years

An independent bookstore in Sheffield is celebrating a big milestone - and the team is thanking the community for their support.

Rhyme & Reason, on Ecclesall Road, Hunter’s Bar, is thought to be the oldest independent bookshop in the city, with its owner Richard Welsh proudly stating it was opened in the last millennium.

Richard, who lives in Nether Edge, described opening the store on June 1 1999 as a “risky venture”, with online bookselling already threatening the market. But 25 years on, it’s clear his shop is here to stay.

The 73-year-old said: “I’ve always been positive about books. In the late 90s, I had a young daughter and my interest in children's books had been revived by having a young child to share books with. I had moved to Sheffield from Bristol without knowing what the future held.

“There were no other independent booksellers in Sheffield at the time. I had some previous knowledge of the trade from working in publishing in previous years, but it was really a leap in the dark.”

And so in 1999, Richard took over the former hairdressers, pulled out its fixtures and fittings, and opened it as Rhyme & Reason - a bookstore that specialised in children and teen literature.

Over the years, as the store’s young customers grew up and even began to have their own children, Richard began to expand its offerings with fiction and non-fiction novels for adults, and modern poetry. It now employs five people, and has given young people work experience.

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Of course, it hasn’t been all highs over the past two-and-a-half decades. Richard said: “I didn’t bank on making it this far, but I kept my head down. There’s been difficult times but we kept trying different things and working a lot with the community.

Richard said community partnerships, like those with schools, local authors, and publishers, have been “instrumental” in the store’s survival. The team regularly holds events outside of their cosy store and at their partner’s venues, showcasing the wonders of books to all ages across the city.

He added: “There’s plenty of scope for the next 25 years. We might expand, or I might hand over to a successor before then.”

To celebrate the 25th anniversary, Richard and his team, which includes shop manager Sadie Hatch, will take part in the Friends of the Botanical Gardens’ summer gala. The team will be manning a book stall with goodie bags at the park on August 4.

When asked what he would advise to those who haven’t picked up a book in a while, Richard said “get reading”. 

“Pop into a library or a book shop and have a look around,” he said. “There’s books of all kinds - something will key into your interests and experiences and give you lots to think about.

“Books are such a central part of culture and entertainment, and a resource for learning as well as pleasure. A world without books would be so arid and joyless. I speak as someone with an invested interest in books, but it’s difficult to imagine a world without them.”

To find out more about the store, follow them on Instagram @rhymereasonbooks, or simply give the team a visit at 681 Ecclesall Road.