About us

Oldspeak Bookshop isn’t just a shop - it’s a stand. Britain’s only centre-right bookshop based in Long Melford, Suffolk, helps keep the West’s core, front and centre.

We keep traditional foundations alive - freedom, order, and truth - through books that challenge and endure. In a world losing its grip, Oldspeak holds firm.

Born from a love of Britain and the West, with an emphasis on conservative thought and timeless ways, and a clear need to push back against the drift, Oldspeak is a place for those who value liberty over tyranny, heritage over hype, and reason over noise. We’re not here to follow trends - we’re here to fight for what’s proven and lasts. From the works that built us and the classics that shaped us, to the voices that still stir us, our shelves carry the weight of tradition - unbowed.

At Oldspeak, it’s more than books. You’ll find conservative reads and works that defend the West’s soul alongside Sudbury’s own - local beers, aromatic coffee, fresh bakes and wines from nearby vineyards. It’s a taste of tradition, page and pint alike.

Set in Long Melford’s historic Hall Street, Oldspeak roots itself in a village that breathes British heritage - timber frames, quiet lanes, and a spirit that’s stood for centuries. Just minutes from Sudbury and Bury St Edmunds, it’s a fitting home for a bookshop that won’t bend.

Come along - bring someone who gets it.

Oldspeak Bookshop is a heartfelt tribute to my mum, Lesley, whose love for reading was as constant as her cup of tea and cigarette. Despite having little growing up, she found solace, wisdom, and joy in books - a passion she passed to me. Though she’s gone, her soul fills every corner of the shop, a living memory of her resilience, her spirit and the timeless British values she cherished.

Mum was never without a book, whether it was the imaginative worlds of old-style sci-fi, the mysteries of Agatha Christie, the nostalgic charm of Enid Blyton, the witty antics of Jeeves and Wooster, or the historical richness of Norah Lofts. These stories shaped her; reading was a lifeline. Books were her escape and her strength. She believed reading wasn’t just a pastime but a way to navigate the world.

At Oldspeak Bookshop, we honour that belief by curating timeless British literature, classic works, and voices that uphold tradition and reject leftist ideologies. Reading, as she taught me, sharpens the mind, stirs the imagination, and builds knowledge; qualities that preserve our heritage and stand firm against woke dogma.

Every book you choose from our shelves carries forward her legacy, connecting you to the values she cherished - truth, tradition, and the enduring power of the written word. Step into Oldspeak Bookshop to sip tea, turn pages, and reconnect with what matters.

This shop is her legacy, my tribute, and a haven for those that honour Britain’s past and defend its future.

Western Core

The “Western core” isn’t some academic buzzword - it’s the bedrock of ideas and customs that our shop stands for, rooted in the history and culture of Britain and the broader West (Europe, North America, etc.). From a centre-right/conservative lens like ours, it’s less about vague ideals and more about what’s tangible and worth defending.

Freedom: Individual liberty - free speech, free thought, free markets. Think Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, or Orwell’s prophetic warnings against tyranny. It’s the right to say and think what you believe, unbowed.
Tradition: The stuff that lasts - family, faith, community, law. It’s Britain’s monarchy, churches, and villages, but also the West’s deeper inheritance: Roman order, Christian ethics, Enlightenment reason. Not nostalgia, but what works.
Truth: Facing reality head-on - reason over dogma, facts over feelings. It’s Scruton’s push for clarity, Starkey’s unfiltered history, or the West’s scientific and legal traditions. No fluff, just what’s real.

For Oldspeak, this “core” isn’t just a list - it’s a stance. It’s why our books “challenge and endure”. They’re not trendy or apologetic; they’re the West’s spine against erosion by relativism, wokery, or whatever else we might identify as threats to our way of life.

Our Name - Oldspeak

'When Oldspeak had been once and for all superseded, the last link with the past would have been severed. History had already been rewritten, but fragments of the literature of the past survived here and there, imperfectly censored, and so long as one retained one's knowledge of Oldspeak it was possible to read them.'

George Orwell, 1984

Our Logo

Our logo is a hand with a little finger pointing upwards. and represents freedom of choice.

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre argued that humans are "condemned to be free," Even in the most oppressive or constraining situations - like torture - our freedom to choose our response or attitude remains intact.

For instance, wiggling your little finger could symbolise that defiance or choice. Freedom is an inherent part of being human, and our logo is a reminder of that fact.

What do you think?