A Short History of Greytown Readers

One of the things I miss from my time spent in the United States is the prevalence of independent bookshops. While the U.S. often conjures images of endless strip malls and big box stores that make up beige suburbia, the truth is that thriving independent bookstores can be found as well — in urban centres, small towns, and, yes, even in the ubiquitous strip malls. 

As Adam and I decided to open Mrs Blackwell’s Village Books, it struck me that small, independent bookshops aren’t as common on our fair isle. It made me curious to find out what the history of bookshops and reading had been in Greytown, as there hasn't been a bookshop here in at least the seven years that we've lived here. 

This image of the Borough Council Chambers (which is now Blackwell & Sons) shows that it once hosted a Ladies Reading Room in the upper right-hand room. A reading room was provided because newspapers weren't distributed widely and books were expensive, so one could go there to just read. They were also thought to be a good way to keep men out of the pub!

But a ladies’ reading room would likely have been seen as an appropriate place for women to go and gather without a male escort — and were created to protect the sensibilities of the female sex.  They were common in the late 1800s and early 1900s in public libraries.  According to one history article:

Public libraries may seem like low-key places today, but back then they were perceived as being fraught with danger. Libraries had traditionally been private male spaces, and when they first opened to women, critics wondered whether it was decent for women to openly traverse stacks and climb stairs, accessing potentially immoral books and running into strangers along the way.

“Of particular concern were ‘library loafers,’ unredeemable working-class men whose loitering thwarted the noble purposes of the public library,” writes van Slyck. These supposed loafers were thought to frequent the library to read betting notices in newspapers, and to leer at women.

Our own beautiful public library was originally built as a Masonic Hall on West Street in 1896, and moved to its current site in 1980 and converted to the town library.

It's now a furniture store, and we purchased some of the furniture for the centre of the bookshop from there.

Now the  Greytown Town Hall houses the Greytown Public Library. Though the building has been much remodelled since this photo was taken, the facade remains the same.  That little building you can see to the right is now Mrs Blackwell's Village Bookshop, though it has also been remodelled quite a bit in the intervening years.

Through my research, this is the only picture I could find of a bookstore in Greytown — Bentley's Bookshop, taken around 1987 on Main Street. Today, that space is occupied by an art store and picture framer.

It pleases me to imagine that Mrs Blackwell’s Village Bookshop will now be added to the history of Greytown’s readers and bookshops.

If you have additional memories or information about the history of Greytown’s bookstores, libraries, and readers, I would be interested to hear it. Email hello@thevillagebookshop.co.nz to let us know.