A Lake District bookshop is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
Fred’s Bookshop in Ambleside, is one of the oldest independent bookshops in the North West.
Fred Holdsworth opened the shop at Central Buildings in the town centre in 1956 and sold a mix of books and records.
Later, the upstairs became an education section to cater for college students on the nearby campus.
Steve Baskerville-Muscutt took over from Fred in 2000 and steered the business through the foot and mouth crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Current manager Su Hall joined in 2023.
To mark the anniversary, the shop wants to host a display of books which were published in the mid-1950s and is asking people to have a look through their shelves.
Su is hoping the bookshop will be able to borrow books to include and staff are also looking for historic records, singles and LPs. That’s the era when Doris Day was in the charts, Bill Haley was singing Rock Around the Clock, and Frank Sinatra teamed up with Marlon Brando in the film version of the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls.
Su said: “We have been part of this community for 70 years. It’s not just books. Being active in the local economy is a huge part of what we do.
“We sell tickets on behalf of community groups, support local charities, donate to local causes, fundraise for local ventures and actively choose local business, so we’re feeding back into the local economy.
“Our tagline is ‘Independent, Curious, Small but Mighty’ and our exhibition will, we hope, reflect the wide range of reading tastes among our curious and loyal visitors, who return year after year.
“Can you help us with our display? We will take very great care of any books – or records – loaned to us. So, ask your parents and grandparents, what have they got on their bookshelves that can help us make history.
“We’re also curious to see if we can discover who is Fred’s oldest customer. Sometimes people will pop in with a record from the 60’s stamped with Fred’s original stamp. We’d love see if we can find the oldest record or book purchased from Fred’s.”
There have been famous visitors to the shop, too. Alfred Wainwright Arthur Ransome, Victoria Wood, Ken Russell, and Rik Mayall have all popped in.
Su added: “Antony Hopkins even once used our loo.”
