A local’s guide to gorgeous historical independent shops in London, from James Smith & Sons to Paul Rothe and more really unique shops for souvenirs and visits!
It feels like wherever I go, I always end up looking for the quieter things.
Even in a city like London, where immersive experiences seem to be enjoyed more often than historical neighborhoods like Smithfield or Spitalfields.
I’m an overthinker, and I like finding blooming flowers, old courtyards and secret gardens.
I like slowing down and noticing corners and hidden gems that most people pass without thinking – how many times have I told you about historical areas or old sculptures?
That’s why I thought a complete guide to London’s historic independent shops could come in handy, as a natural continuation of my passion for London’s past.
Old places, settled into Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, or Neoclassical buildings – which are literally just waiting for us.
Layers of London: 14 Historical Independent Shops to Visit
In this post, I’m going to be sharing a dozen historical independent shops that have all contributed in making London what it is.
Some have been established in the 19th century, some opened only a few years ago in historical buildings – and that’s why I’m still going to be mentioning them.
You’ll find old school stationery shops with old prints and handmade things, fabric and vintage shops, and in all of them, a slice of the past to enjoy without a second thought.
Historical Independent Shops in London: Choosing Keeping, Covent Garden
Perfect for writers, students who love beautiful items, and those who love to use proper, old school items and go back to a more simple life.
We’re close to some of Covent Garden’s pretty streets, close to Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials Market – where you’ll find so many shops and amazing breakfast spots you literally don’t know where to start.
Choosing Keeping opened on Columbia Road in 2012, then moved to Tower Street near Covent Garden in 2018.
It’s a quiet corner stationery shop filled with things you don’t find in most places: artisan notebooks, fountain pens, ribbons, inks…
Read: 15 Themed London Itinerary Ideas Off the Beaten Path
Historical Independent Shops in London: James Smith & Sons, Holborn
I’ve walked past James Smith & Sons so many times without ever going in, and yet, it’s one of those quiet London landmarks that most Londoners know about.
We’re at the end of New Oxford Street, close to one of my favorite Oxfam bookshops, and since 1830, James Smith & Sons is still making umbrellas and walking sticks my hand.
This unique shop has kept all its original fittings from the 1800s, right down to the glass counters, and when you’re there, just know that many historical sites await nearby.
For instance, the Sir John Soane’s House, a completely free museum filled with sculptures and paintings in a stately home close to Holborn and Chancery Lane.
Other medieval spots are located nearby, like St John’s Gate, and Clerkenwell, dubbed London’s Little Italy, is just a short walk away.
All sorts of places where time hasn’t moved much, but that allow us to travel back in time, if only for a bit.
Read: Rotherhithe’s Hidden Gems: A Unique London Itinerary
Historical Independent Shops in London: Lock & Co. Hatters, St. James’s
Lock & Co. Hatters has been making hats since 1676, making it one of the oldest shops in London.
Its location right on St James’s Street means it’s easy to access from Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square.
The shop’s been in the same spot since the 1700s, and you can tell: the wooden counters, the old glass cabinets, the kind of silence you don’t really get in modern shops – all of that brings you back in time.
Lock & Co. Hatters has made hats for people like Oscar Wilde, Churchill, and even Admiral Nelson – and they’re the ones who came up with the Bowler.
All a bit surreal, but also just very London.
Like, of course this place exists. Of course it’s still running. It’s London.
Read: Muslim Friendly London: 20+ Hidden Gems and Halal Eats
Historical Independent Shops in London: Le Coq Épicier, Camden Passage
I’ve mentioned Camden Passage before; its antique shops, quiet charm, and that feeling of stepping into a different time.
Now, here’s a spot to add to your list when you’re in the area, which fits in very nicely with my Paris in London Itinerary, should you want to enjoy a bit of Frenchness while in the city.
Le Coq Épicier is a small French grocery shop tucked into a Georgian storefront, and all around, you’ll find lots of concept stores and places to buy souvenirs in London – unique souvenirs you wouldn’t find on Oxford Street.
Inside, you’ll find shelves lined with cheeses, jams, olive oils, and other French specialties – and one of the must-visit spots if you’re an expat or a digital nomad missing France, like it often happened to me.
Read: Dark Academia in London: A Secret London Itinerary
Historical Independent Shops in London: Ink@84, Highbury
Highbury is all quiet streets and Edwardian terraces, and while I haven’t talked about it much in the past, it’s one of those secret London neighborhoods that make it an utter pleasure to walk around.
We’re close to Islington and Angel, and therefore close to Camden Passage and Belle Epoque Patisserie, one of London’s best French pastry shops.
Ink@84 is quiet, small indie bookshop and cafe opened in 2015, so we’re really not in a historic shop here – but the Edwardian building and the neighborhood is.
Stop in for a book or a specialty latte; maybe both – end up staying longer than you originally meant to, and then lazily stroll down back to Angel, its charity shops and its commercial center.
And if you’d like to discover another really secret instagrammable coffee shop, make sure you pop by Redemption Roasters off Islington High Street.
The theatrical, Greek-inspired statues coat the walls downstairs from the floor to the ceiling: striking.
Read here my review of Redemption Roasters, Islington, to discover its secret basement, its atmosphere, and my thoughts about the coffee and cake.
Historical Independent Shops in London: The Cloth Shop, Notting Hill
The Cloth Shop started out in Soho back in 1982, then moved to Portobello Road about ten years later, and it’s been there ever since.
Right on the quieter end of the road, in a Victorian building that doesn’t try to catch your attention or anything, we have shelves upon shelves of textured linens, cottons, and natural fibers.
Everything feels beautiful at the Cloth Shop; might be remnants of my life as a fashion makeup artist.
In addition to fabrics and quilts, the Cloth Shop also offers a curated selection of pottery and gorgeous homeware bits.
Artisan-made, with a team who knows what they’re talking about, close to Notting Hill’s colorful houses.
Read: London on a Budget: 20+ Travel Guides For Your Bucket List
Historical Independent Shops in London: Judy Green’s Garden Store, Hampstead
The Hampstead neighborhood is one of the quietest and poshest areas in London, but doesn’t feel like the poshness of Knightsbridge or Notting Hill.
It feels older, and that feeling is enhanced when you stroll down Flask Walk – that’s where you’ll find Judy Green’s Garden Store.
Inside, you won’t only find flowers and plants, but a whole unique collection of handcrafted homewares too.
Marble bowls with unique veins, mango wood serving pieces, vintage quilts, and antique linens… Everything feels carefully chosen, not just stocked.
The shop also offers a selection of garden items, from plants to pots, all arranged thoughtfully. It’s not about being trendy at Judy Green’s: it’s about quality and character.
Read: 10+ Hidden Peaceful Places Near London
Historical Independent Shops in London: Labour and Wait, Shoreditch
Labour and Wait opened in 2000, started by two designers who were tired of the constant churn of seasonal retail.
They didn’t want to keep reinventing things that didn’t need reinventing – it makes sense that the first store would open in East London, right?
The shop first opened in East London’s old market district, then moved in 2010 to Redchurch Street, into a Georgian building with its original green tiled façade, once home to a Truman Brewery pub.
Inside, it’s quiet, functional design: handmade, vintage or built to last enamel mugs, sturdy brooms, wooden brushes, cotton aprons, cast iron hardware, classic notebooks…
A must-visit when in Shoreditch!
Read: The Prettiest East London Neighborhoods
Historical Independent Shops in London: Bookartbookshop, Shoreditch
Bookartbookshop has been quietly holding its corner of Shoreditch since 2002, a small, dark red storefront just a short walk from Old Street station.
This beautiful bookshop is compact and lined with limited editions, handmade works and small press publications – the type of store you visit when you’re passionate about books.
I should maybe have included it in my Bookish Itinerary in London, come to think of it, especially since Old Street is not so far from Shoreditch, where you’ll find a Shakespeare statue and mural!
Read: The Best Things to Do in Fleet Street, City of London
Historical Independent Shops in London: Rough Trade, Notting Hill
Rough Trade West has been in Notting Hill since the ‘70s, and I still remember using it as a background for a photoshoot back in the day.
The shop is still here, small, a bit scruffy, and purposefully edgy: all I love.
Stacks of punk, reggae, experimental stuff… You’ll find all this and more at Rough Trade – if you’re passionate about music, that’s an old, indie store to have on your list.
Plus, you’re close to Portobello Road Market and some of the most colorful places in London when you’re there – so you could combine all this to make your own itinerary.
Read: The Best Things to Do in Muswell Hill, North London
Historical Independent Shops in London: Paul Rothe & Sons and other Shops in Marylebone
There are plenty of old shops in the Marylebone area, especially on Marylebone Lane, but one of the most famous has got to be Paul Rothe & Son, which has been operating since 1900.
Still doing what it’s always done; walk in, and it’s shelves of preserves, sandwiches made on the spot, little tins stacked neatly, and a vibe of the old you just don’t find anywhere else.
The menu’s handwritten, the vibe is quiet and unbothered: one of those places so close to Oxford Street, that feel so, so far.
Read: The Best Hidden Gems in London Bridge
Historical Independent Shops in London: Chisenhale Gallery, Bethnal Green
The East End, and particularly Bethnal Green, has always been about work, and while it’s more art and community spaces now, the past still lingers in various sculptures, shopfronts and street art pieces.
And then we have the Chisenhale Gallery, which isn’t a proper shop, but that I thought needed to be mentioned.
The gallery sits in a former veneer factory built during the war, with letters C, H and N still inlaid into the brickwork of the building as a reference to CHN Veneers, founded in the 1940s.
Inside, we have a wonderful exhibition space that cohabits with a dance space and studios – and definitely a great historical building to visit if you’re into old places.
Read: The Best Hidden Gems in Mayfair
Historical Independent Shops in London: Pages of Hackney, Lower Clapton
Pages of Hackney opened in 2008 on Lower Clapton Road, in one of those long, narrow Edwardian buildings with big front windows.
Inside, it’s all literary fiction, politics, essays, feminism, nature writing, philosophy, children’s books…
The kind of selection that feels thought through, not trendy.
In addition to their wonderful selection of books, Pages of Hackney also hosts readings and supports authors who are starting out – an East London hidden gem.
Read: The Best Hidden Gems in Brick Lane
Historical Independent Shops in London: House of Vintage, Shoreditch and Hackney
The first House of Vintage shop opened in Shoreditch in 2010; there is now a second store on Broadway Market.
The Cheshire Street shop brings us close to Brick Lane; its street art, markets and cafes, inside a Victorian building that feels like it was always meant to house such a shop.
There, you’ll find anything from the 1920s to the 1980s; denim that’s properly broken in, jackets with stories in the lining, fitted dressed from the 1940s…
Nothing here chases trends in the sense we understand it today, and the shop breathes in freshness from its vintage pieces.
A visit to House of Vintage would definitely make sense when you’re visiting historic areas like Bethnal Green, Stepney Green or nearby Liverpool Street.
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Layers of London: 14 Historical Independent Shops to Visit
There you have them, all the must-visit historic independent shops that populate London without selling trends that don’t make sense.
From Shoreditch to Hampstead, you’ll hopefully have found here shelves that are thoughtful and quietly beautiful, and people who care about what they’re selling.
All these indie shops are part of the city’s older rhythm; Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian buildings that only wait to be noticed – if only you’re willing to slow down.