Welcome to P&G Wells, Winchester’s independent bookshop. Staffed by experienced booksellers who love books, we aim to provide the highest quality of service in a relaxed and friendly environment. The ground floor is where you’ll find our comprehensive selection of adult fiction and reference. We make room for a huge variety of books, both classic and modern, and if it’s an obscure or out of print title you are after, our friendly and professional staff will be happy to source it for you.

Upstairs in the children's department , we have the largest selection of children’s books anywhere in the region and a dedicated team behind the scenes providing books for schools and colleges both nationally and internationally.

We regularly organise events at the shop: author signings, book launches, courses for children, book clubs for adults and groups for toddlers (please see events section for further details). Outside of the shop, we are co-organisers of the bi-annual Wessex Children’s Literature Festival and the Southampton Schools Book Fair and regularly support author events and conferences in many parts of Hampshire.

So whether it is to browse the latest titles or to search for an old favourite, we welcome you here to our historic, beautiful and well-loved bookshop.

P&G Wells bookshop is proud to be one of the oldest bookshops in the country. The business, together with the adjoining bindery, can be traced back to the mid 18th century: one of the longest unbroken period of trading of any business. Situated in College Street, the shop stands between the Cathedral and the water meadows, in one of the most attractive parts of Winchester. Jane Austen lived a few doors away during the last few months of her life. She surely would have frequented the shop as would John Keats, who stayed in Winchester in 1819. His favourite walk from the Cathedral to the watermeadows via College Street inspired his most famous poem, Ode to Autumn.

At the beginning of the 19th Century, the business included printing and publishing. For a few years the Hampshire Chronicle was produced here as well. In 1827, the bookshop was the principal organiser of Winchester’s first Public Library, and indeed the library was for a short while situated at the shop, before permanent premises were arranged in the High Street.

The bookshop was owned and run by the Wells family until the 1980s, at which point the freehold was sold to Winchester College. The business remains in private ownership and continues to adapt and change. The purchase of another local company, Wessex Book Supplies in 1995 established Wells as a leading supplier of books to schools and colleges across Hampshire.

The current owner, Crispin Drummond, took over in 2009 having known and loved the bookshop since he was small. As he puts it, “I loved the product so much, I bought the shop.” His aim is to maintain the community feel of the bookshop that caters for the very young to the very old and provides a lively mix of events that keep people coming through the doors.