It’s a whole new chapter for retirees!
Elizabeth taylor was once snapped by the paparazzi pilfering a copy of a Shropshire lad from Foyles bookshop — much to the shock of her husband Richard burton, who was with her.
it was extraordinary considering she was quite able to pay, but more extraordinary that she found a copy at all. in those days, Foyles’s vast emporium in london’s Charing Cross Road was a blizzard of hardbacks and paperbacks scattered on shelves, piled in towers, or stacked in stairwells. but that was part of its charm. Now Foyles’s new owners Waterstones has taken the bookshop into the housebuilding sector, forming a partnership with retirement property operators elysian Residences ( elysian
residences.com). Foyles ( foyles.
co. uk) will create and curate libraries in retirement villages to be built in london, Surrey, hertfordshire, Kent and essex, offering homeowners the option to borrow or buy books.
‘ this is a new and exciting venture for us,’ says Foyles general manager Stephen Clarke. ‘We can draw on our collective bookselling expertise and the depth of our range to curate a library to inspire, inform and delight in a stunning surrounding.’
Foyles is also planning on- site talks by authors such as Nigella lawson, andrew Marr and Kate adie and will provide an order-onrequest service for foreign language books, classical and jazz music and DVDs.
according to a 2017 report by arts Council england, more than one in three people aged 75 and over use public libraries, with one quarter using their library service once a month or more.
Foyles’s first elysian library will open later this year at the landsby, an art Deco development of 101 apartments next to london’s Stanmore tube station. Prices start at £490,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and £720,000 for a two-bedroom flat.
the double-height lobby and adjoining library will feature 8ft-high illuminated bookshelves, finished in american walnut wood. its second library will be at the Oren in hampstead, due for completion next year.
‘ libraries are an important cornerstone of a vibrant community,’ says elysian’s CeO Gavin Stein. ‘ We wanted to provide our residents with a relaxing reading environment curated with the latest high-quality books and other publications.’
libraries are also vibrant social hubs in retirement developments. Retired legal secretary cretary barbara Cole, 87, has been running the library at Retirement Villages’ lime tree Village ( retirement villages.co.uk), near Rugby in Warwickshire, for the past ten years.
She looks after 2,000 books, which have been mainly donated by owners at the development.
‘there is nothing like the feeling of a book in your hand — especially a new one,’ barbara says.
‘ the library is very popular. there are lots of nice comfy armchairs, too, so people can try out a new book or enjoy a longer read.’
audley binswood in Royal leamington Spa ( audleyvillages.
co.uk) has a spectacular library — occupying the heart of a vaulted converted school inspired by hampton Court. here the library, which has both new and secondhand books, is run on a trust basis, so owners are able to borrow and return books at their leisure.
bibliophiles can join the book Club, which meets once a month to decide reading lists and select top titles.