The Goose Bookshop is a well-known local shop in the village of St Helens on the Isle of Wight, Hampshire.
The building containing the bookshop is one half of a Victorian, two-storey, semi-detached pair of retail units built sometime between 1866 and 1897. Originally a general store and post office, it has operated as an independent bookshop for over 45 years, specialising in collectable and antiquarian books. The shop overlooks The Green and gets its name from the local geese that were infamous for patrolling this important public space, which is reputedly the largest village green in the country and still a key focal point for the community.
By the late 2010’s the building and shop were generally looking tired, having lost many of their original features, most noticeable of which was the loss of the original Victorian shop front. It is not known why this was replaced. One might surmise that it fell foul of fashion or was in a poor state of repair. In either case, poor quality past alterations had chipped away at its character.
Fortunately, following a change of ownership, a thorough package of renovation and update works was proposed. It was the intention of the new works that these harmful additions be removed and replaced in a sensitive way, enhancing the building's architectural and historic integrity while providing for its sustained future use and benefit of the community at large. Key to this was the design of a replacement shopfront following historic precent, which included all new joinery and bespoke handmade buff bricks. Radley House Partnership gained planning permission for the alterations, and, following a six-month programme of works, the shop re-opened in time for the remaining summer season.
