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Hudson's book shops

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
This 1921 image of Hudson's on New Street is pretty much how I remember it, even into the 1960s/70s. The tables piled up with books in the centre of the shop was still the layout 40 years after this image. It gave the impression of a long, thin shop. You can see a banner drawing your attention to the annex to the rear of the shop across the arcade. Note the ghostly figure up the ladder to the right.


Sophia Loren did a book signing there in 1979. Here's the Birmingham Mail cartoonist's (Whittock) record of the occasion. The caption to the cartoon was " Crafty Wotsit. I wondered why you suddenly became so interested in shopping in town ......" although the main message to me seems to be the man collecting for the miner's strike whilst Sophia Loren is to host a cocktail party at the Grand! Viv
 

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Vivienne

These two images of the New Street frontage of Hudson's take 20 years apart show how little the book shop changed over the years. I suppose they believed "If it ain't broke don't fix it""
 

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Hi

In 1960 I started work in a city bank, and the chief clerk asked me (as the most junior person at the branch)
to nip across to Hudson's and get get copies of Lady Chatterley's Lover for the staff.
I duly went to Hudson's and there was a huge queue back into New Street waiting to be served for them,
They were sold in that lower area in the picture from those tables where they were stacked up high,
with one assistant asking how many copies you wanted, another who bagged them, and a third taking the money,
The crush was so great that you were directed to the exit in Burlington Arcade
Happy days!

Kind regards

Dave
 
nice photos phil...i take it the hudson building is still there...if so does anyone know what it is now

lyn
 
It's near Starbucks Lyn. In fact the shop was once on part of the site of Starbucks. At some point Hudson's moved a little further along New St. Day's shoe shop in Phil's photos was on the corner of New St/ Lower Temple Street, but it looks like it expanded into the Hudsons shop. Then Hudsons must have moved one or two shops further along. There are now mock balconies above the shops but the windows are the same. Viv.
 

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Lyn

Perhaps you would remember it better like this?
 

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Vivienne

These two images of the New Street frontage of Hudson's take 20 years apart show how little the book shop changed over the years. I suppose they believed "If it ain't broke don't fix it""

Gosh the first photograph is a blast from the past - as well as Hudsons which was a great bookshop, I can see Bus Stop boutique on the one side from where I used to buy clothes sometimes and Days from where I had my shoes as a child :)
 
Have fond memories of Hudsons. Had a good friend who worked there in the 50s. I still have many books bought from there
 
Hudsons was a name to trust. Think they had a connection with the University at Selly Oak. It was time-honoured tradition in the bookselling world even in the modern 70's. But alas...
 
I still have some books that were awarded to me as prizes at school. The school had an arrangement with Hudson's whereby those pupils given awards were able to go to Hudson's and choose a book as their prize. The book couldn't exceed a certain amount (although I think you could 'top up' if you wanted to and you were presented with the book of your choice at Speech Day. Viv.
 
The shop seems to have moved and changed size a few times. The one I remember had a large frontage on Navigation Street (where Waterstones basement entry is now?) possibly in addition to an entrance on New Street although I can't entirely be sure of that. I seem to remember the lower floor had racks of Penguin books that were kept separate from the other publishers.
 
I think the bookshop that backed onto Stephenson Street may have been Dillons - they went bust and Waterstones took many of their bookshops.
 
The shop seems to have moved and changed size a few times. The one I remember had a large frontage on Navigation Street (where Waterstones basement entry is now?) possibly in addition to an entrance on New Street although I can't entirely be sure of that. I seem to remember the lower floor had racks of Penguin books that were kept separate from the other publishers.

If one remembers-as recalled by our correspondent at Post No.4-Lady Chatterley's Lover was published by Penguin Books in 1960 and subject to the famous court case. Maybe the lower floor of Penguin Books was meant so just the servants COULD read it!

Hudson's in New Street you can see in this 1968 photo, located above the roof of the Transit van, in turn behind the group in the foreground
https://www.mirrorpix.com/?77747130448317740800
 
Hi Richie. Thanks for the link but I don't seem to be able to open it. I remember the 'annexe' across the arcade in the late 1970s having stationery for sale, birthday cards, post cards, wrapping paper that sort of thing. Maybe it was an area where other lines were tried out, including the more racier books like Lady Chatterley's Lover. Viv.
 
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Viv
Perhaps it was where the items they expected to make more profit on were placed, in the same way as now in most W H Smiths all the printer cartridges, cards, artists materials and over-priced rubbish is on the ground floor, and you have to go upstairs for the normal books
 
Hi Richie. Thanks for the link but I don't seem to be able to open it. I remember the 'annexe' across the arcade in the late 1970s having stationery for sale, birthday cards, post cards, wrapping paper that sort of thing. Maybe it was an area where other lines were tried out, including the more racier books like Lady Chatterley's Lover. Viv.

Yes, it looks like a mis-numbered link Viv.

To get at the photo one can go on the Mirropix website and type in the words 'Bimingham Tidy' as the theme of the photo was a Keep Britain Tidy sweep-up in New Street. Remember when pride in the city meant making an effort.....?
 
Much of what I remember about Hudsons doesn't make sense. I remember they kept Penguins apart from the other books but not that far apart. In some cases a different version of some classic would be with the rest in a different publisher's edition and also in the Penguins. I remember John Beynon was in with the rest while John Wyndham was in Penguin (they're both the same guy and much the same sort of thing). I seem to remember that in later years the Navigation Street entrance was the main one rather than anything on New Street.
 
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