Waterstones Bradford Wool Exchange - The UK's Most Beautiful Bookshop?

⋆˙⟡♡︎ This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for details. Thanks for your support ⋆˙⟡♡︎

If you’re a reading lover and enjoy visiting pretty bookshops, then you must add the Waterstones Bradford to your literary bucket list.

It’s a stunning bookstore located inside an old Wool Exchange which is a delightful 19th-century Gothic Revival building.

The ornate hammer-beam roof, stained glass windows and Corinthian columns give it the appearance of an old cathedral.

But, nowadays, bibliophiles visit to worship the labyrinth of volumes that are stacked on the shelves and sip coffee in their café!

This is honestly one of the most beautiful bookshops I’ve ever visited and I’ve had it on my bucket list for years.

I was so happy to visit and to have a cosy Autumn morning book shopping.

Here is a complete guide to Waterstones Bradford, the most beautiful Waterstones in all of the UK!

Table of Contents

The history of Waterstones Bradford

The Old Bradford Wool Exchange was constructed between 1864 and 1867.

It was commissioned as a Wool Trading Centre and the ornate architecture shows the incredible wealth that the wool trade brought to the city.

The design was thoroughly discussed before construction and the famous writer and art critic John Ruskin was invited to the city to give his advice.

There was also a competition to design the building and it was won by the architects Lockwood and Mawson.

The foundation stone was laid by Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister at the time.

It was finally decided that the Wool Exchange would be built in the Gothic Revival style with Flemish influences for the tower.

This was much to Ruskin’s chagrin as he was firmly against Medieval revival buildings. Luckily for us, the architects of Bradford didn’t listen to him!

The Old Wool Exchange

When the Wool Exchange opened it brought over 2,000 wool traders and their wares to this building.

Trade was made with a verbal contract and both parties would keep separate notes on their price and the deals made.

You had to be a member to use the Wool Exchange and this was seen as an esteemed social status.

Wool brought a huge amount of wealth to the city during the Industrial Revolution and membership meant that you were an important figure in business.

Spinks’ restaurant

Another important part of attending the wool exchange was to be seen in Spink’s Restaurant.

It wasn’t a members-only restaurant and open to the general public but it was a centre for business life in Bradford.

It was a place where important businessmen would go to dine and be seen with their fellows to discuss important matters of the day.

This was located in a basement beneath the building near the foundation stone and there were two rooms to dine in.

One was their plated menu and the other was a luxurious silver service with all the trimmings.

It was a fine dining experience and they even had unique silverware with an Egyptian sphinx embossed on them.

Today, the restaurant is no longer there. But, there is a pizzeria in its place if you want something to eat.

Is this the most beautiful Waterstones in the UK?

The building hasn’t been used for wool trading since the 1970s.

It has since been converted into a Waterstones which is a popular bookshop chain in the UK.

The Gothic Revival building is now Grade I listed and still retains many of its original features.

Watching over the bookshelves is a statue of John Cobden from 1877 with the inscription “Free Trade Peace Goodwill Among Nations”.

Cobden was an English Liberal politician, manufacturer, and campaigner for free trade and peace.

He was also a member of parliament representing West Riding of Yorkshire between 1847 and 1857.

A statue of John Cobden — *Statue of John Cobden*

The ornate architecture, stained glass windows, hammer beam ceiling and ornate carving work are also breathtaking to behold.

I’ve been to many Waterstones around the country now, including Europe’s largest bookstore in Piccadilly. But, I feel this is by far the most beautiful.

It’s a sanctuary of literature in Bradford and I could have spent all day browsing for books there.

What books do they sell at Waterstones Bradford?

Waterstones is a popular book chain in the UK, similar to Barnes and Noble in the US. So, they stock thousands of books to buy in all genres.

Although they are a chain of bookshops, I do love the fact that they make an effort to showcase books on the area and local authors as well.

This area of Yorkshire is famous for the Brontë Sisters who lived in nearby Haworth. So, there was an entire section dedicated to their works.

The Waterstones in Bradford is like a book labyrinth and they have huge sections dedicated to every genre you could think of.

History, Self-help, Art, Geography, Philosophy, Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Sci-Fi are all here to find and there is a generous children’s area too.

The section I always gravitate to would be their Fantasy and Young Adult sections as I love all things Romantasy.

I ended up buying two books which were on my seemingly never-ending TBR.

These were Belladonna by Adalyn Grace (a dark gothic fantasy romance) and Powerful by Lauren Roberts (Part of the Powerless trilogy).

Waterstones Bradford Café W

After you have finished ogling the incredible architecture of the Wool Exchange and bought all of your books, you can relax in Café W.

It’s located on a mezzanine floor that provides sweeping views over the bookshop in between the tops of the ornate Corinthian columns.

They have an incredible range of coffees to order and I loved the fact I could order iced coffee. I drink this all year regardless of the season as I need caffeine in my veins.

You can also order one of their delightful homemade cakes as well. I treated myself to their carrot cake which had a generous layer of icing and edible flower petals. It looked so pretty.

The staff here were so friendly and it really made my visit to the bookshop, you could easily spend hours here reading your new purchases.

They had lots of tables to study or work too. So, I know where I’m going to visit if I need a stunning work space in Bradford!

Why not visit the Bradford Literature Festival?

If you love the written word, why not attend the Bradford Literature Festival (BLF)?

It’s been running for over a decade and this stunning Waterstones is the main location for the event.

They also have an entire calendar of bookish events that run across 35 buildings in the city.

The festival usually takes place at the end of June / early July each year.

Many of their events are free and accessible to all but they also have ticketed events as well.

You could even attend their ‘listen and learn events’ online and enjoy them from the comfort of your sofa!

Click here to find more information and what’s happening this year

How to visit Waterstones Bradford

Waterstones Bradford is located in the old Wool Exchange building on Hustlergate which is in the heart of the city centre.

It’s just a stone’s throw away from the main square with the impressive St George’s Hall.

You can easily approach Hustlergate on foot in Bradford or it’s a five-minute walk from Bradford Forster Square Station.

You can also take one of the local buses to ‘Market Stop’ which is the closest.

Wool Exchange Bradford Waterstones Gothic Revival Building — *Bradford Wool Exchange*

The closest parking would be The Broadway Car Park but this is quite expensive per hour.

I parked in The Leisure Exchange Multi-Storey Car Park which was only £1.50 for 24 hours of parking.

It was a total bargain and almost unheard of in a UK city nowadays!

The address is The Wool Exchange, Hustlergate, Bradford BD1 1BL. Click here for a Google Pin.

Opening times

Waterstones Bradford is open every day of the week.

On Mondays to Saturdays they are open from 9 am – 5.30 pm and on Sundays they are open from 10.30 am – 4 pm.

If you’d like a quieter experience, I would head to this bookshop during the week and early morning!

I got there for opening time and I was pretty much the only person in the shop.

It was a much more relaxed book-shopping experience…after I got all my photos of course, haha.

Literary destinations near Bradford

If you are a reading lover, you’ll be happy to know that there are some magical literary destinations you can visit around Bradford.

These locations make fabulous day trips from the city and allow you to discover more of the stunning Yorkshire countryside.

Haworth & Brontë Country

Haworth Village in West Yorkshire is known as the Brontë Village as it was where the three Brontë sisters and their family lived in Haworth parsonage.

They are Charlotte Brontë who wrote Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë who wrote Wuthering Heights, and Anne Brontë who wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

There are many buildings and places in Haworth that the sisters had connections to and are thought to have inspired their most famous literary works.

Related Post: Brontë Things to Do in Haworth!

Brontë things to do in Haworth Village Brontë village Yorkshire — *Haworth Village aka the Brontë Village!*

You can visit their old parsonage which is now a museum, the church where their father worked, the Brontë Waterfall and even the moorland that inspired Wuthering Heights at Top Withens!

If you loved the TV series starring Tom Hardy as Heathcliff, you can also visit East Riddlesden Hall which was a filming location for Thrushcross Grange.

It makes an incredible bookish day out for any Brontë fan!

East Riddlesden Hall Wuthering Heights filming location! — *East Riddlesden Hall*

Saltaire

Although not a literary destination per se, I still love visiting the World Heritage Site of Saltaire.

This is a historic town that looks like it’s been trapped in the Victorian era and you can visit incredible buildings like The Salts Mill.

Inside, they have lots of bookshops, artisan markets, galleries, museum exhibitions and restaurants.

Click here to read more on Salts Mill

Harry Potter

Of course, who could forget the wealth of Harry Potter locations that you can visit in Yorkshire?

Although the Harry Potter movies weren’t filmed in York, you can still visit the magical Shambles to see the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the books.

On this street, you can shop in The Shop That Must Not Be Named and sip on Butterbeer from The Potion’s Cauldron.

There are also other immersive experiences like Hole in Wand which is a a magical game of Wizard Golf!