The Hospice of St Francis launched a new community book shop in Chesham after the first lockdown in 2020. It was long awaited with its original launch date set for 28th March 2020 it finally got its grand opening on June 30th 2020. They currently have about 15,000 books in stock well as vinyl, cds and dvds, all of which have been donated by local people. They have so far identified around 500 rare and valuable books, some of which are on show in the shop.
The shop’s friendly brand and facia was designed by Solo Design. This is the third brand/shop owned by the Hospice of St Francis to be designed by Solo Deisgn, the previous two being Number Twenty and Returned to Glory both in Berkhamsted.
The shop will be a place serving the community. They aim to support and encourage creativity in the town. They hold an online bookclub each month and hold a creative writing course online too. There is a children’s story to listen to via facebook each week read aloud by a member of the community. They also run a Book Hospital which welcomes people you to bring in old books that could do with some care and attention from their bookbinding experts who will repair them in return for a donation to the charity.
