P & G Wells

The bookshop that has traded since 1891 as P&G Wells is Winchesters longest-running retail business and Britains oldest bookshop (probably), having been at 11 College Street since 1789. Before this, gentleman bookseller John Burdon had conducted business from his home at No.12 next door since 1757.

The roots of the business can be traced back even further, to an invoice for items supplied in 1729 to Winchester College. Famous literary customers include Jane Austen, who wrote in 1798 about books bought here.