Bookshop may be in new hands, but it’s still a draw for film fans
SHOP FEATURED IN NOTTING HILL, WHICH IS NOW OWNED BY THE BOOK WAREHOUSE, STILL ATTRACTS FANS
MOVIE enthusiasts across the world have travelled the streets of West London in search of the beloved travel bookshop that featured in the film Notting Hill.
The quaint bookshop known in the film as The Travel Book Company was owned by Will, Hugh Grant’s character, and it was actually based on a real Notting Hill book store.
The real book store, called The Travel Bookshop was the inspiration for the 1999 classic but to the upset of Notting Hill fans, it sadly closed in 2011 after a hard fought campaign.
The family run shop on Blenheim Crescent, just off Portobello Road, opened in 1979 and was frequented by Notting Hill film director Richard Curtis which led to the inspiration for the film.
Although the movie wasn’t actually filmed in the West London store, its interior design provided the arrangement for the on-set replica. But after 32 long years in business, the store fell on hard times and found itself on the brink of closure in 2011.
Several writers and actors launched a campaign to reverse the closure and the save the specialist book store.
Poet Olivia Cole led the way in 2011 even offering to volunteer at the store saying in the Guardian: “It’s an amazing specialist bookshop and it has the Notting Hill novelty but it is the same sad story that we’re seeing in high streets all over the country.
“Loads of independent bookshop are having a bad time.”
Actor Alec Baldwin who played Julia Roberts’ boyfriend in the film was also in support of the campaign calling for it to be saved.
However, the iconic store, which helped Notting Hill gross more than £220 million, closed for good in 2011.
However, like a phoenix rising rising from the ashes, the store was bought back to life after being purchased by The Book Warehouse. It’s in the same location on Blenheim Crescent as the original store but now goes by the name, The Notting Hill Bookshop, no longer operating as a specialist travel bookshop.
The last owner of The Travel Bookshop said in The Bookseller: “’Book warehouses are just that; a place where remaindered books, cards, calendars, magazines etc are found.
“Worthy though such enterprises are, ‘The Book Warehouse Notting Hill’ has no association whatsoever – despite its occupying a part of the old location of The Travel Bookshop – with that 30+ year-old enterprise.”
Many Notting Hill fans still visit the Notting Hill Bookshop, with some lovebirds even proposing in the romantic spot. So although The Travel Bookshop is no more, its legacy of romance and mystery still lives on in West London.