Bookstores in Maidstone
Bookstores reward the browsers. Maidstone, Kent has 70 mapped right now, and 2 of them deal in used books. That's 70 bookshops mapped around Maidstone, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Maidstone (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include The Works and Blackwell, plus Waterstones. If a bookshop's missing from Maidstone's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Maidstone bookstore lineup
70 mapped within about 40 km — showing 60:
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore.
Blackwell
Bookstore
Blackwell is Bookstore. Blackwell also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 08:30-18:00; Sa 10:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.
Canterbury, CT2 7UG
Hours: Mo-Fr 08:30-18:00; Sa 10:00-16:00
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore.
Wye's Books
Bookstore
Wye's Books is Bookstore.
The Secondhand Bookshop
Bookstore
The Secondhand Bookshop — Bookstore.
Halls Bookshop
Bookstore
Halls Bookshop — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Halls Bookshop: it has a website with more detail.
TN1 1YQ
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore, found on West Village in Greenhithe. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-20:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
West Village, Greenhithe, DA9 9SE
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-20:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +44 1322 624831
TGJones
Bookstore
TGJones is Bookstore on Thames Walk, Greenhithe. TGJones also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Thames Walk, Greenhithe, DA9 9SL
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +44 1322 386843
The Rye Bookshop
Bookstore
The Rye Bookshop is Bookstore on 25 High Street. The Rye Bookshop also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:30-17:30; Su 10:00-16:30.
25 High Street, TN31 7JF
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:30-17:30; Su 10:00-16:30
Rye Old Books
Bookstore
Rye Old Books — Bookstore, found on 7 Lion Street in Rye.
7 Lion Street, Rye, TN31 7LB
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Knole Bookshop
Bookstore
Knole Bookshop — Bookstore.
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore on 207 High Street, Southend-on-Sea. WHSmith also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
207 High Street, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1LN
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Leigh Gallery Books
Bookstore
Leigh Gallery Books — Bookstore, found on 37 Leigh Road in Leigh-on-Sea.
37 Leigh Road, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 1JQ
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: it has a website with more detail.
The Book Nut
Bookstore
The Book Nut — Bookstore, found on Barleylands Road in Billericay.
Barleylands Road, Billericay
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore.
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore.
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore, found on West Thurrock Way in Grays. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:30-20:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
West Thurrock Way, Grays, RM20 2ZG
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:30-20:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +44 1708 869858
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore, found on West Thurrock Way in Grays. Also worth knowing about The Works: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
West Thurrock Way, Grays, RM20 2ZP
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +44 1708 867097
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore on 189-193 High Street, Orpington. WHSmith also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
189-193 High Street, Orpington, BR6 0PF
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore on Unit 13b. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Unit 13b
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore, found on Hempstead Valley Drive in Gillingham. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Hempstead Valley Drive, Gillingham, ME7 3PD
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: it has a website with more detail.
Dominion Bookshop
Bookstore
Dominion Bookshop is Bookstore.
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore on West Thurrock Way, Grays. WHSmith also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th 09:30-21:00; Fr-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
West Thurrock Way, Grays, RM20 2ZG
Hours: Mo-Th 09:30-21:00; Fr-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +44 1708 869175
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Oxfam Bookshop
Bookstore
Oxfam Bookshop — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Oxfam Bookshop: it has a website with more detail.
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore on High Street, Tonbridge. WHSmith also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
High Street, Tonbridge
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore. WHSmith also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: it has a website with more detail.
Bromley, BR1 1DJ
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore, found on Rose Gallery in Greenhithe. Also worth knowing about The Works: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Rose Gallery, Greenhithe, DA9 9ST
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +44 1322 370566
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore.
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore, found on High Street in Tonbridge.
High Street, Tonbridge
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore on High Street, Tonbridge.
High Street, Tonbridge
The Works
BookstoreRun by The Works Stores Ltd
Run by The Works Stores Ltd, The Works is Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
ME10 3DL
Phone: +44 1795 477260
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore on 29-31 Town Square, Basildon. WHSmith also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 08:30-17:45; Sa 09:00-17:45; Su 10:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
29-31 Town Square, Basildon, SS14 1BA
Hours: Mo-Fr 08:30-17:45; Sa 09:00-17:45; Su 10:00-16:00
Phone: +44 1268 520367
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore, found on 96 Town Square in Basildon. Also worth knowing about The Works: the map lists its hours as Mo-Tu, Th-Sa 09:00-17:30; Su 10:00-16:00; We off; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
96 Town Square, Basildon, SS14 1BX
Hours: Mo-Tu, Th-Sa 09:00-17:30; Su 10:00-16:00; We off
Phone: +44 1268 520381
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore, found on Eastgate Shopping Centre in Basildon.
Eastgate Shopping Centre, Basildon
Waterstones
BookstoreRun by Waterstones
Run by Waterstones, Waterstones is Bookstore, found on 49-55 High Street in Southend-on-Sea. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: it has a website with more detail.
49-55 High Street, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1HZ
Books-on-Sea
Bookstore
Books-on-Sea is Bookstore on 23 Alexandra Street, Southend-on-Sea. Books-on-Sea also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
23 Alexandra Street, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1BX
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore, found on High Street in Southend-on-Sea. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
High Street, Southend-on-Sea
Sunburst Books
Bookstore
Sunburst Books — Bookstore.
Tales in Market Street
Bookstore
Tales in Market Street is Bookstore on 1-2 Market Street, Faversham. Tales in Market Street also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
1-2 Market Street, Faversham, ME13 7AH
Waterstones
BookstoreRun by Waterstones Booksellers Limited
Run by Waterstones Booksellers Limited, Waterstones is Bookstore, found on 182 High Street in Chatham. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-17:30; Su 10:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
182 High Street, Chatham, ME4 4AS
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-17:30; Su 10:00-16:00
Phone: +44 1634 828929
Get Ready Comics
Bookstore
Get Ready Comics — Bookstore.
Baggins Book Bazaar
Used bookstoreRun by Baggins Book Bazaar Limited
Run by Baggins Book Bazaar Limited, Baggins Book Bazaar is Used bookstore, found on 19 High Street in Rochester.
19 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1YP
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore, found on 8 Rose Lane in Canterbury. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-18:00; Su 10:30-16:30; it has a website with more detail.
8 Rose Lane, Canterbury, CT1 2SJ
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-18:00; Su 10:30-16:30
Chaucer Bookshop
Bookstore
Chaucer Bookshop — Bookstore, found on 6-7 Beercart Lane in Canterbury. Also worth knowing about Chaucer Bookshop: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-16:00; Su 11:00-16:00; PH 11:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
6-7 Beercart Lane, Canterbury, CT1 2NY
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-16:00; Su 11:00-16:00; PH 11:00-16:00
Phone: +44 1227 453912
Burgate Books
Bookstore
Burgate Books is Bookstore on 10B Burgate, Canterbury. Burgate Books also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-16:00; Su 11:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.
10B Burgate, Canterbury, CT1 2HG
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-16:00; Su 11:00-16:00
Catching Lives Books
Used bookstore
Catching Lives Books — Used bookstore, found on 28 Palace Street in Canterbury. Also worth knowing about Catching Lives Books: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
28 Palace Street, Canterbury, CT1 2DZ
Phone: +44 7899 458961
WHSmith
Bookstore
WHSmith is Bookstore on 9A High Street, Crowborough.
9A High Street, Crowborough, TN6 2QA
British Bookshops & Stationers
Bookstore
British Bookshops & Stationers is Bookstore on High Street.
High Street
What the map tells us about bookstores in Maidstone
16 of the 70 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
43 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
There's a cluster: 6 of them sit on High Street, so you can string those into one walk and drive between the rest.
2 of the shops are tagged as selling used books — the second-hand shelves are where out-of-print gems and first editions turn up for pocket change.
The Maidstone bookstore crawl
Making a day of it in Maidstone? Work this order: The Works, Blackwell, Waterstones, Wye's Books, The Secondhand Bookshop, Halls Bookshop, Waterstones on West Village, and TGJones on Thames Walk. That's the bookstore crawl in one sensible loop, no backtracking. 62 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for Maidstone
Browsing in Maidstone? A little strategy helps:
- Learn your editions at The Works. A first edition, first printing is the collectible one. Booksellers will show you how to check the copyright page.
- Read the first page in the shop at Blackwell. The first-page test never lies. If it doesn't grab you standing there, it won't grab you at home.
- Buy the signed copy. Signed stock costs the same as unsigned and only goes up in charm. Ask at the till; shops often have signed copies behind the counter.
- Ask the booksellers. A good bookseller lives for the question 'what should I read next?' Give them three books you loved and watch them work.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Maidstone — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in Maidstone can take a while to appear. The 70 above are only as current as the community map. A bookstore that's shut, or a new one nobody's added yet, gets fixed with a single OpenStreetMap edit.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 70 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Bookstore listings for Maidstone: 70 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.