Secondhand London

Second-hand and antiquarian bookshops in central London

Looking down Cecil Court past an old iron lamp post, with hanging signs for Watkins Books and Travis & Emery Music above lit shop windows
Photo: Daniel X. O'Neil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

These are second-hand and antiquarian bookshops in central London that are still trading, plus the book market under Waterloo Bridge. Every address, opening time and specialism below comes from the shop's own website, or the market's local listing, checked October 2026. Places whose sites no longer list a shop, or don't give opening hours, were left out.

Charing Cross Road and Cecil Court

Any Amount of Books, Charing Cross Road

Where: 56 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0QA. Leicester Square station.
Open: Monday to Saturday 10.30am to 7pm, Sunday 11am to 6.30pm.
Good for: most subjects, rare first editions, bargains from £1.50.

Any Amount of Books is a general second-hand shop. It describes floor-to-ceiling stacks of used and scholarly books, new stock arriving daily and a basement of older and reduced titles.

Travis & Emery, Cecil Court

Where: 17 Cecil Court, WC2N 4EZ. Leicester Square station.
Open: Monday to Saturday 10.15am to 6.45pm, Sunday 11.15am to 5.45pm.
Good for: out-of-print, second-hand and antiquarian sheet music, books on music.

A specialist for musicians and collectors. Travis & Emery warns it may close on bank holidays, so check before going on one.

Watkins Books, Cecil Court

Where: 19 to 21 Cecil Court, WC2N 4EZ. Leicester Square station.
Open: Monday to Sunday 11am to 6.30pm.
Good for: esoterica, Eastern philosophy, mind, body and spirit.

Most of the two floors are new books, but Watkins keeps second-hand and bargain stock in the basement, plus a rare and antiquarian section. The shop says it has been trading for over 130 years.

Bloomsbury

Skoob Books, Brunswick Centre

Where: 66 The Brunswick, off Marchmont Street, WC1N 1AE. Russell Square station.
Open: Monday to Saturday 10.30am to 7.30pm, Sunday 10.30am to 6pm.
Good for: general second-hand stock across subjects.

Skoob calls itself London's broadest selection of second-hand books. Its website also shows an 11am opening in one place, so don't count on getting in before 11am.

Jarndyce, Great Russell Street

Where: 46 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3PA, opposite the British Museum. Tottenham Court Road station.
Open: Monday to Friday 11am to 5.30pm.
Good for: 17th to 19th century English literature and history, Dickens.

An antiquarian dealer, established in 1969, with a ground floor fitted out as a 19th century bookshop. Jarndyce is shut at weekends, so plan a weekday visit.

The Atlantis Bookshop, Museum Street

Where: 49a Museum Street, WC1A 1LY. Holborn station.
Open: Monday to Saturday 10.30am to 6pm.
Good for: the occult and magic, rare and hard-to-find editions.

A family-run occult bookshop of over 100 years. Much of the stock is new, but Atlantis says it often buys and sells second-hand books, and the stock changes constantly.

South Bank

South Bank Book Market, Waterloo Bridge

Where: Queen's Walk, under Waterloo Bridge, opposite BFI Southbank (SE1 8XT is the BFI's postcode). Waterloo station.
Open: daily, 10am to 5.30pm, but not every stall opens every day.
Good for: classic and contemporary paperbacks, comics, antiquarian maps, historic prints.

Second-hand book tables under the concrete underside of Waterloo Bridge, with browsers and the BFI Southbank entrance in the background

Paul Farmer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Trestle tables of books, run by traders for over 40 years. South Bank London says weekends have the full choice, and that the market may not open in bad weather, during transport disruption or on cinema red carpet nights. Other listings give later closing times, so treat 5.30pm as the safe bet.

Selling your books

Several of these shops buy, but check first. Any Amount of Books and Skoob won't look at books brought in unannounced.

  • Any Amount of Books buys good-quality second-hand books, by appointment only. Fill in the form on its website first. It says it doesn't assess or buy books brought into the shop without contacting it.
  • Skoob buys by appointment only. Email first.
  • Travis & Emery prefers large collections and libraries of music and books on music, and doesn't want heavily marked or damaged copies.
  • Jarndyce buys and will visit by arrangement. It lists what it wants, including novels from 1700 to 1920 in original bindings, Dickens, and bound newspapers.
  • Atlantis says it often buys second-hand occult books. Its phone number and email are on its website, so it's worth getting in touch before carrying a box over.