Lucius Books moves to historic building in Micklegate, York

Lucius Books has moved into its new store at 70 Micklegate.

The specialist traders have been a staple of York since 2004 and began a restoration project to transform the shop – once home to Ken Spelman Booksellers – three years ago.

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The company, which started trading in rare works in 1993, has steadily grown over the years and opened a larger premises at 144 Micklegate in January 2019.

The book company has settled into the historic four-storey building dating back to the 1500s (Image: Newsquest)

The man behind it, James Hallgate, told The Press in January 2026 that the store’s Grade II* listed building, originally built around 1500, had needed extensive work.

He said: “The roof and guttering needed replacing. There was little in the way of modern conveniences such as heating, and the building needed completely rewiring.

“We were able to return several aspects of the building to the original layout, for example uncovering the original cellar stairs.

“Then it was a case of bringing the building up to modern standards of efficiency, in an environmentally conscious manner that respects its history.”

The store features books and art spread across two floors. The historic building, once home to Ken Spelman Booksellers, took three years (Image: Newsquest)

The original stairs down to the building’s cellar are a prominent feature in the bookshop, with visitors able to look at the piece of history below their feet through a viewing glass set in the floor.

The shop’s bespoke shelving is filled with hundreds of one-of-a-kind, antiquarian books, which have been individually selected and catalogued by a member of James’s team.

Speaking about this, James said: “Building a large stock book by book is a labour of love, and some books are in our hands only for a matter of hours before they are off to a new home.”

Hundreds of years old, the stairs to the buildings cellar are a feature in the store, visible by a floor viewing glass (Image: Newsquest)

James first started dealing in rare books aged 16 after attending book fairs with his father.

After more than three decades building his collection, James has grown Lucius Books into one of the most prominent dealers of rare books and manuscripts in the north.

He is an elected member of council for the Antiquarian Booksellers Association and chair of its standards committee.

He also runs two of the largest book fairs in the UK and is a faculty member of the York Antiquarian Book Seminar.

For more on James and Lucius Books, please visit here.