Where to buy used books in Norwich

Updated 01/10/2026

Norwich, in Norfolk, packs its secondhand trade into the old streets between the market and the cathedral. Tombland Bookshop faces the cathedral, the Dormouse Bookshop trades on cobbled Elm Hill, City Bookshop and the Oxfam books branch stand close to the market, and Magdalen Street adds Undercover Books upstairs at Looses, a two-floor Big C charity shop and a container bookshop at St Saviour's Yard. Mind on London Street and the British Red Cross on St Benedicts Street widen the charity-shop round. Where a price appears below, read it in pounds sterling.

Out of town, three stops repay the drive. Volunteers staff a National Trust bookshop at Blickling Estate, 13 miles north, a railway charity sells mostly £1 books on a station platform in Hoveton, and Emmaus runs a charity shop in Ditchingham, south of the city. On the southern edge, Arminghall car boot takes over a field off Old Stoke Road on Sundays and Wednesdays until November.

Mondays catch people out. Tombland, the Dormouse and Emmaus are all closed that day, and Bufferstop Books will miss a single Monday, 5 October, for lack of volunteers before reopening the next morning. City Bookshop, Blickling, the Big C and Red Cross charity shops and, on other Mondays, the Hoveton platform shop all list Monday hours; the rest are worth phoning first.

Spot map

The best spots

Antiquarian and secondhand bookshop

Tombland Bookshop

8 Tombland, Norwich NR3 1HF

Facing the cathedral, a short walk north-east of the market, an antiquarian and secondhand dealer whose website describes a 15th-century building, two floors of changing stock and prices running from £1 to over £10,000, with academic and specialist titles in depth. The same site invites offers of good, interesting or rare books in any quantity, says that someone qualified is on hand to inspect and pay for books carried in, and that a loading bay sits right outside; ring ahead with a large collection. A notice headed August 2026 explains that the shop can no longer ship anything to the EU, and the site adds that it never opens on a bank holiday.

Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–4:30pmWebsite

New, remaindered and second-hand bookshop

City Bookshop

10 Davey Pl, Norwich NR2 1PQ

A family-run shop on Davey Place, the pedestrian link between the Castle and the market, selling new, remaindered, second-hand and antiquarian books; its online catalogue splits Norfolk, Suffolk and East Anglian titles into separate new and second-hand categories. The website lists art, railway, transport and military books, aircraft included, as the subjects it wants to buy, and asks sellers to email first because it no longer accepts books brought in without prior agreement. Upstairs, the shop's events page billed a free exhibition, Norwich Through Time, as due to open in the exhibition room on 11 September 2026.

Hours: Mon–Fri 9:30am–5:15pm, Sat 9am–5:45pm, Sun 10:30am–4pmWebsite

Second-hand bookshops

The Dormouse Bookshop

29 Elm Hill, Norwich NR3 1HG

On cobbled Elm Hill, roughly 0.3 miles north-east, the Dormouse has been trading in second-hand books since September 1999, according to a profile published by Norwich Tales and Trails on 12 December 2025. That piece traced the shop from its start upstairs in a video shop on St Gregory's Alley to a former merchant's house that became a pub called The Crown in the mid-1700s. Inside, the writer found Rupert annuals, old Ladybirds, Beano and Dandy, Penguins, maps, first editions and a poetry corner wedged into the nooks, and the shop's own site gives the number 01603 621021.

Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–4pmWebsite

Secondhand bookshop in an antiques emporium

Undercover Books at Looses

Looses, 23-25 Magdalen St, Norwich NR3 1LP

On the first floor of Looses, a 1930s department store on Magdalen Street turned into a secondhand and antiques emporium, 0.4 miles from the market as the crow flies, Undercover Books has kept the same corner since 2010, its website says, though the space has grown. Design and illustration lead the stock, but the shelves also cover climbing, nature writing, sheet music, atlases and maps, science fiction, annuals, the Beats and 1960s imprints, plus classic literature in French, Spanish and German. The firm belongs to the PBFA and one of its two booksellers co-manages the association's fair at The Forum; a copy of its site in the Internet Archive dated 23 June 2026 carries the same account.

Website

PBFA book fair

PBFA Norwich Book Fair at The Forum

The Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich NR2 1TF

On Friday 30 October 2026 dealers from the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association set out old, rare and collectable books at The Forum, a date the association describes as new to its 2026 calendar and ties to the Norwich Book Festival. The PBFA calls the building, home of the Millennium Library, its usual Norwich venue, and nobody pays at the door. For drivers, the listing points to the Forum car park off Bethel Street at £2.20 an hour.

Hours: Fri 30 October 2026, 10am–4pmWebsite

All spots by type

Second-hand bookshops

Lost Books

Container 37, St Saviour's Yard, St Saviours Ln, Norwich NR3 1SP

A secondhand bookshop in a shipping container at St Saviour's Yard, the creative hub beside Magdalen Street, some 0.5 miles out to the north-north-east. All Planet Kind, the zero-waste refill shop a few containers along, introduced it on Instagram on 8 March 2026 as the city's newest secondhand bookshop, built on curated classics and unexpected finds. The yard itself warns that each tenant sets its own opening times, so check the shop's Instagram before a weekday visit.

Website

Charity shops

Oxfam Books & Music

Oxfam Books & Music Norwich

9-11 Bedford St, Norwich NR2 1AR

Oxfam's specialist branch for books and music occupies 9-11 Bedford Street, just north-east of the market. Its shop page talks up a wider range than a general charity shop, from modern fiction and leisure reading through specialist subjects and classics to rare or collectable books, and the racks also hold records, CDs and DVDs. An archived snapshot dated 17 April 2026 in the Internet Archive matches the page word for word; Oxfam gives no opening times, so ring 01603 628392 before setting out.

Website

Charity shop (Mind)

Mind Norwich

59 London St, Norwich NR2 1HL

Just east-north-east of the market on London Street, the mental health charity Mind opened its first Norwich shop at 11am on 18 December 2025, according to the Norwich Evening News of the following day. Norfolk and Waveney Mind, the local partner, marked the launch on Facebook on 19 December 2025 and asked for donations including books, alongside clothing, shoes, jewellery and toys. Its opening times ran 9am to 5pm on weekdays and Saturdays, with a shorter 10am to 4pm Sunday, launch-week hours that are worth confirming before a Sunday visit.

Website

Charity shop (Big C)

Big C Magdalen Street

26 Magdalen St, Norwich NR3 1HU

Close to Looses, under half a mile north-north-east, the Big C charity's Magdalen Street branch spreads furniture, clothing, books and bric-à-brac over two floors, its own shop page says. That page places it among the street's second-hand and collectables dealers, and the same wording appears in an Internet Archive copy of 17 June 2026. Books are on its list of welcome donations; the number for the shop is 01603 762324.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–4:30pmWebsite

Charity shop (British Red Cross)

British Red Cross Norwich

82 St Benedicts St, Norwich NR2 4AB

Roughly 0.3 miles north-west, in the Norwich Lanes, the British Red Cross trades from 82 St Benedicts Street, the unit that held the Amnesty International bookshop until it closed. Ahead of the move from number 88, the Norwich Evening News reported on 15 June 2025 that the new shop would sell preloved clothes, books and homeware, and on 23 November 2025 the paper confirmed the relocation had taken place. The charity's own page warns that its times occasionally change, so ring ahead if the shop is the reason for the outing.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–5pmWebsite

Volunteer-run railway bookshop

Bufferstop Books

Wroxham Station, Bure Valley Railway, Belaugh Rd, Hoveton NR12 8UU

In Hoveton, in North Norfolk district about eight miles north-east of the city, a bookshop staffed by volunteers raises money for the Friends of the Bure Valley Railway from platform 1 of the line's Wroxham station. The shop's website keeps most books at £1 and adds local interest, a children's section and a small run of rarer collectable titles, plus CDs and DVDs mostly at 50p; an Internet Archive copy from 15 May 2026 shows the same prices. Its opening-times block gives a daily season from 27 March to 1 November, subject to volunteers, though the header of the contact page reads 29 March to 2 November. The news page also warns that the shop will stay shut on Monday 5 October for want of volunteers, with normal hours back from 10am on Tuesday 6 October.

Hours: Daily 10am–4:15pmWebsite

National Trust second-hand bookshop

Blickling Estate Second-hand Bookshop

Blickling Estate, Blickling, Norwich NR11 6NF

At the National Trust's Blickling Estate in Broadland, 13 miles north, volunteers run a bookshop whose stock reaches from rare books to recent fiction. The Trust's estate page, in a copy archived on 10 September 2026, called it the largest second-hand bookshop the National Trust has to offer and said it opened seven days a week. The Trust's opening-times calendar gives the bookshop 11am to 4pm until 25 October, then 11am to 3pm from 26 October to the end of the year. Donations are accepted, but the Trust asks you to phone 01263 738075 before turning up with a big load.

Hours: Daily 11am–4pmWebsite

Charity shop (Emmaus)

Emmaus Norfolk & Waveney Shop

Belsey Bridge Rd, Ditchingham NR35 2DT

In Ditchingham, a South Norfolk village roughly 12 miles south-south-east, the Emmaus community that helps people leave homelessness runs a charity shop on Belsey Bridge Road. In a Facebook video posted on 15 October 2025 the community showed the shop stocked with pre-loved furniture, homeware, fashion and books. That post gave a 4:30pm finish from Tuesday to Sunday, while the website gives a 4pm close on Sundays, so plan around the earlier time.

Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–4:30pm, Sun 10am–4pmWebsite

Car boot sales & markets

Car boot sale

Arminghall Car Boot Sale

Old Stoke Rd, Norwich NR14 8SQ

Just outside the city in South Norfolk district, on Old Stoke Road about two miles south, a car boot that dates from 1987 and calls 2026 its 40th season, with room for up to 600 stalls. Its website runs the season from March until November on Sundays, Wednesdays and bank holiday Mondays, gives Sunday 4 October 2026 for the coming sale with further dates up to Sunday 25 October, and says buyers pay no entrance fee. A Norwich Evening News preview of 27 February 2026 put the Wednesday gate an hour earlier, at 6:30am, but the organiser opens to buyers at 7:30am on every sale day. Nothing on its pages promises books, so a crate of paperbacks would be a lucky find.

Hours: Sun 7:30am–2pm, Wed 7:30am–1pm, bank holiday Mon 7:30am–1pmWebsite

Consignment shops

Antiques centre (books among the stalls)

All Saints Antiques Centre

All Saints St, Norwich NR1 3LG

Just south-east of the market, about 0.2 miles away, a cooperative of more than 20 sellers trades antiques, collectables, curios and books from a former church. Norwich Tales and Trails visited on 21 January 2026, reported that the centre had been going for nine years, and noted that the building stopped holding regular services in 1973. Books are one line among many here, so allow time to work round every stall.

Scan before you buy

At every one of these spots, snap the shelf with BiblioScan: the AI identifies each book and shows its real resale price. Walk out with profitable books, not random boxes.

Try BiblioScan for free

Local sourcing tips

JR & RK Ellis, at the Willow Lane end of St Giles Street, has traded as a family business in secondhand books for close to 50 years, according to the Visit Norwich bookshop guide. Look in while passing rather than planning a day around it.
The Millennium Library in The Forum has held second-hand book sales on its ground floor, with paperback fiction at 50p and hardback non-fiction at £2 in its Facebook event listings, the latest of which was for 4 March 2026. Check the library's events page for a new date before making the trip.
Some general charity shops say books outright on their own pages: Sue Ryder at 75 Grove Road, and Priscilla Bacon Hospice in Aylsham, Drayton and Taverham, all three in Broadland. Treat them as add-ons to a bookshop round rather than destinations.
The Late One car boot in Aylsham, Broadland, lets buyers in late in the morning on Saturdays and bank holiday Mondays, the EDP reported on 2 March 2026. A round-up in the same paper on 4 September 2026 said the sale runs until September, so the 2026 season is over; watch for the organiser's 2027 dates.
Norwich City Council's stall map for the market lists a pitch called Handcrafted Leather and Books at stall 18 in Row A. It is not clear how much of the stock is second-hand, so fit it in as a detour between the bookshops.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find cheap used books in Norwich?

Bufferstop Books in Hoveton prices most of its books at £1, and the Millennium Library's book sales have priced paperback fiction at 50p. Tombland Bookshop starts its range at £1 too, though the same shelves climb into four and five figures. Arminghall car boot charges buyers nothing at the gate on Sundays and Wednesdays, if you are happy to dig.

Where do I sell used books in Norwich?

Tombland Bookshop invites walk-in sellers, with someone qualified to look and pay on the spot; phone first with anything bulky. City Bookshop wants an email before you bring anything and names art, railway, transport and military as the subjects it hopes to buy. Everything else is yours to sell through Vinted, eBay's UK site or Amazon's: snap the shelf you are clearing with BiblioScan first and each spine in the picture comes back with its likely resale value, which shows which handful deserve a listing before the rest go to Oxfam.

Which day is best for book hunting in Norwich?

Make it a Tuesday to Saturday. Those days catch Tombland and the Dormouse open together, and with City Bookshop just behind the market you can cover all three in a morning. Sunday narrows to City Bookshop, Emmaus in Ditchingham, Blickling and, until early November, the Hoveton platform shop, with Arminghall car boot open from 7:30am; Mind's launch post also gave Sunday hours for London Street.

Which charity shops have books in Norwich?

In the city, Oxfam Books & Music on Bedford Street is the specialist branch, and Big C's two-floor shop on Magdalen Street names books on its own page. The Red Cross shop at 82 St Benedicts Street was billed as selling books before its 2025 move, and Mind on London Street asked for book donations when it opened that December. Out of town, Bufferstop Books at the Bure Valley Railway and the National Trust bookshop at Blickling are both run by volunteers, and the Emmaus shop in Ditchingham showed books among its furniture and clothes in October 2025.

Are there any used book fairs in Norwich?

Yes: the PBFA brings rare and second-hand dealers to The Forum on Friday 30 October 2026, during the Norwich Book Festival, between 10am and 4pm, and admission is free. Undercover Books, upstairs at Looses, helps run the association's Norwich fair, so it is worth asking there about future dates.

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