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West Street - “Rochford Bookshop”
Rochford Bookshop
45 West Street,
Rochford, Essex, SS4 1BE
01702 543600
0750 416 9759
45 West Street,
Rochford, Essex, SS4 1BE
01702 543600
0750 416 9759
Interview with Debbie Paterson of Rochford Book Shop (7th December 2010)
Rochford Life: Debbie, how long has this shop been here?
Debbie: I’ve been working here five years but the shop has been here about thirteen or fourteen years as a bookshop. It’s owned by Mr. Stephen Kibble. Originally it was a Post Office back in the eighteen hundreds and it’s seen a few changes since then. It’s an old building.
RL: Times of opening?
Debbie: Well we are closed on Sunday and Monday and the rest of the week we are open from 9.00am until 4.00pm, apart from Wednesday which is a half day.
RL: Do you specialise in any particular sort of book?
Debbie: Mainly local history but that can include even London, but it’s mainly Southend, Hockley, Leigh and Rochford. There is a big book here, printed recently on Eastwood. The man spent four years doing it and had to publish it himself because it was such an extensive book, and it has sold really well because it’s been the first for a while on local history. When I was at school I remember being taught all about the Battle of Ashingdon up the road (see http://www.essexinfo.net/ashingdonparish/history/) but we’ve never seen a book on the Battle of Ashingdon. King Canute is said to have landed his boats at Stambridge and marched his army to Canewdon and the battle was held in Ashingdon. So local history, yes.
RL: So what other things do you keep?
Debbie: We do have paperbacks but they don’t go that well these days because we compete against a number of charity shops who keep them. Steam Train books are popular and we also get a lot of customers coming in and ordering specialised car books. Brunel on engineering is also popular and children’s books go well.
RL: So if anyone pops in and asks for a book that you don’t have in stock, you can order it for them?
Debbie: Yes, I can usually get it in next day. If they are out of print – for instance we’ve got some books on order at the moment that are late 19th and early 20th century – we can probably get them. These ones are Rochford books, hunting books by a lady who used to live in Bullwood Hall in Hockley; they’re over a hundred years old and you can still get them. Fiction doesn’t go because you are competing with others, but anything to do with local history is good. We do have a Reference section, a Gardening section and a Country Life section among others. Country walks go well because there are plenty of Essex walks. You have Pub walks and rides for bikes, anything like that. Then we get someone walk in and want a book on Celtic mythology, one off things and so, yes, we can order in anything. We’re like a book finding service. You ask for something unusual and I can tell you by the next day whether we can get it; we don’t go placing an order without telling the person the price of it, how long it will take to get and so on, and if they OK it we’ll order it and then it will usually be here within twenty four to forty eight hours.
RL: You have an area out the back as well?
Debbie: Yes we have another room out the back here with Children’s books, a second hand section with some old collectors’ items, and some quality paperbacks.
RL: Well, thank you Debbie, for giving us your time. Words don’t do justice for what you have here so we’ll include a number of photos. Thank you again.
Rochford Life: Debbie, how long has this shop been here?
Debbie: I’ve been working here five years but the shop has been here about thirteen or fourteen years as a bookshop. It’s owned by Mr. Stephen Kibble. Originally it was a Post Office back in the eighteen hundreds and it’s seen a few changes since then. It’s an old building.
RL: Times of opening?
Debbie: Well we are closed on Sunday and Monday and the rest of the week we are open from 9.00am until 4.00pm, apart from Wednesday which is a half day.
RL: Do you specialise in any particular sort of book?
Debbie: Mainly local history but that can include even London, but it’s mainly Southend, Hockley, Leigh and Rochford. There is a big book here, printed recently on Eastwood. The man spent four years doing it and had to publish it himself because it was such an extensive book, and it has sold really well because it’s been the first for a while on local history. When I was at school I remember being taught all about the Battle of Ashingdon up the road (see http://www.essexinfo.net/ashingdonparish/history/) but we’ve never seen a book on the Battle of Ashingdon. King Canute is said to have landed his boats at Stambridge and marched his army to Canewdon and the battle was held in Ashingdon. So local history, yes.
RL: So what other things do you keep?
Debbie: We do have paperbacks but they don’t go that well these days because we compete against a number of charity shops who keep them. Steam Train books are popular and we also get a lot of customers coming in and ordering specialised car books. Brunel on engineering is also popular and children’s books go well.
RL: So if anyone pops in and asks for a book that you don’t have in stock, you can order it for them?
Debbie: Yes, I can usually get it in next day. If they are out of print – for instance we’ve got some books on order at the moment that are late 19th and early 20th century – we can probably get them. These ones are Rochford books, hunting books by a lady who used to live in Bullwood Hall in Hockley; they’re over a hundred years old and you can still get them. Fiction doesn’t go because you are competing with others, but anything to do with local history is good. We do have a Reference section, a Gardening section and a Country Life section among others. Country walks go well because there are plenty of Essex walks. You have Pub walks and rides for bikes, anything like that. Then we get someone walk in and want a book on Celtic mythology, one off things and so, yes, we can order in anything. We’re like a book finding service. You ask for something unusual and I can tell you by the next day whether we can get it; we don’t go placing an order without telling the person the price of it, how long it will take to get and so on, and if they OK it we’ll order it and then it will usually be here within twenty four to forty eight hours.
RL: You have an area out the back as well?
Debbie: Yes we have another room out the back here with Children’s books, a second hand section with some old collectors’ items, and some quality paperbacks.
RL: Well, thank you Debbie, for giving us your time. Words don’t do justice for what you have here so we’ll include a number of photos. Thank you again.
