A former bank on Ropewalk Lane that had stood empty for four years reopened this weekend as an independent bookshop. Ledger & Leaf, run by two former librarians, has kept much of the 1920s interior, including the marble floor, the brass clock above the door and the steel-lined vault, which now holds the children's section.
Owners Beatrice Okafor-Hume and Simon Larkwood spent 18 months negotiating the lease and fitting out the building. They received a €15,000 grant from the city's heritage shopfront scheme towards restoring the frontage, and raised a further sum from more than 300 people who pre-paid for book subscriptions before the doors opened.
People kept telling us high streets were finished. Then 300 of them paid for books in advance to prove otherwise.
The shop stocks around 9,000 titles, with an emphasis on fiction in translation, local history and books about the sea. The old counter, where customers once queued to pay in cheques, has been cut down and turned into a long reading table. The vault door is kept permanently open and fitted with a safety catch, and children are encouraged to sit inside on cushions.
A street on the turn
Ropewalk Lane has seen several closures in recent years, but traders say footfall has improved since the Old Quay Saturday market expanded. Harriet Penhallow, who runs a framing shop two doors down, said the bookshop had already brought new faces into the street. "On opening morning there was a queue outside before nine," she said. "I have not seen that here in a long time."
The owners plan to hold author evenings once a month and a weekly storytime for under-fives on Wednesday mornings. Mr Larkwood said they were also talking to nearby schools about book clubs. "We are not trying to be a museum," he said. "We want the building to be busy again."