British Book Awards 2026 · Independent Bookshop of the Year finalist

The independent bookshop below the town arch.

New books, signed copies and gifts at 13 St Mary Street, between Chepstow Castle and the High Street. Twenty-five years here, around eighty author events a year, a 2026 finalist for Independent Bookshop of the Year.

25+ yearsOn St Mary Street

~80 eventsA year, run by us

Find any bookFree ordering service

Find a book ☎ Phone the shop · 01291 625011

Inside Chepstow Books & Gifts: filled wooden shelves at 13 St Mary Street, Chepstow

Est. on St Mary Street Chepstow · NP16 5EW

FinalistBook Awards 2026

Signed copiesFrom our events

GiftsCards · jigsaws · more

Mail orderFirst class, UK-wide

What you will find inside

A whole shop, front to back.

Find a specific title →

Fiction to the front, twenty-six sections of non-fiction along the walls, children’s at the back. Stock changes weekly, so phone 01291 625011 for something in particular.

Fiction

Fiction, front of the shop

Crime, sci-fi & fantasy, teenage

New literary fiction, the crime and thriller wall, sci-fi and fantasy, and a teenage shelf. Signed first copies surface here from the events programme.

Non-fiction

Non-fiction, twenty-six sections

History, cookery, nature, the Welsh borders

Biography, cookery, history, science, sport, travel. Deep local-interest and walking-guide shelves for the Wye valley, Offa's Dyke and the Welsh borders.

Children & gifts

Children's, at the back

Picture books to young adult, plus gifts

Picture books to young adult at the back of the shop. Plus cards, wrap, calendars, notebooks, Moleskine and Wentworth wooden jigsaws.

Author events · around eighty a year

The events are the shop.

We run around eighty author events a year, in-store and at venues across Chepstow. Rare for a town this size, and the reason the British Book Awards named us a 2026 finalist. In 2025 we brought Michael Palin and Ruth Jones, alongside new and local writers.

“We had an amazing 2025 with author events including Michael Palin and Ruth Jones, as well as many new and local writers. Our local customers are vital to making us a success.”
Matt Taylor, owner · on being named a British Book Awards 2026 finalist

☎ Ask about upcoming events

Scenes from the shop

A bookshop with a sense of place.

The wooden shelves inside Chepstow Books & Gifts — **Inside the shop**The shelves at 13 St Mary Street · fiction at the front, children’s at the back

Below the town archDown the High Street, through the medieval town gate, near the bottom of cobbled St Mary Street

Signed first copiesFrom the events programme · Michael Palin and Ruth Jones visited in 2025

Our story · St Mary Street, Chepstow

A Welsh-border bookshop, twenty-five years and counting.

Chepstow Books & Gifts has traded on St Mary Street for more than twenty-five years. Matt Taylor took it over in spring 2005 and has run it since, with a team known for friendly service and an events programme well above the town's size.

We sit near the bottom of a cobbled street of independent shops and cafes, between Chepstow Castle uphill and the High Street below. St Mary Street is rumoured to have given a young J.K. Rowling, who grew up nearby, the idea for Diagon Alley.

2005: Matt Taylor takes over Chepstow Books & Gifts on St Mary Street.
25+ yrs: Trading on the same cobbled street, voted a top independent bookshop in Wales and twice nominated in the Gardners Independent Bookseller Awards.
2025: A year of author events including Michael Palin and Ruth Jones, alongside new and local writers.
2026: Named a regional finalist for Independent Bookshop of the Year at the British Book Awards, one of seventy-six shops chosen across the UK and Ireland.

Find any book · a free service

Looking for a particular book?

If it is not on the shelf, we will find it. Our free Find any Book service tracks down almost any title in print, and many harder to come by. Tell us what you are after; we will order it in and post it first class or hold it.

Any title, in print or hard to find. We will track it down and let you know the price.
Signed and first copies. From the events programme, while stocks last.
Local interest and walking guides. The Wye valley, Offa’s Dyke and the Welsh borders.
Gifts to go with a book. Cards, wrap, notebooks, Moleskine and Wentworth jigsaws.

Or phone 01291 625011, or email shop@chepstowbooks.co.uk.

Visit · 13 St Mary Street

Find us on the cobbles.

From the town arch, walk down the High Street and on down pedestrianised St Mary Street. We are near the bottom on the right. The nearest car park is at Nelson Street.

Monday: 10:00 to 16:00
Tuesday: 10:00 to 16:00
Wednesday: 10:00 to 16:00
Thursday: 10:00 to 16:00
Friday: 10:00 to 16:00
Saturday: 10:00 to 16:00
Sunday: 11:00 to 16:00

Hours can vary on bank holidays and during events. Phone 01291 625011 if you are travelling.

13 St Mary Street, Chepstow NP16 5EW. Near the bottom of the cobbled street, below the town arch. Open in Google Maps ↗

Good to know

Questions the counter answers most.

For anything not here, phone the shop on 01291 625011 or email shop@chepstowbooks.co.uk.

Can you order a book you do not have on the shelf?

Yes. Our free Find any Book service tracks down almost any title in print, and many harder to find. Phone 01291 625011, email shop@chepstowbooks.co.uk, or ask at the counter. We post first class or hold it for collection.

How do I get tickets for an author event?

We run around eighty events a year, in-store and at venues around Chepstow. In 2025 those included Michael Palin and Ruth Jones. Tickets go through the shop and often sell out, so ask early on 01291 625011.

Do you sell signed copies?

Yes. Signed first copies come from the events programme and sit with the new fiction at the front. Stock changes weekly, so phone ahead on 01291 625011 for a particular title.

Do you sell gifts as well as books?

We do. Alongside the books: greetings cards, gift wrap, calendars, notebooks, jigsaws, toys and games, with brands including Moleskine and Wentworth wooden puzzles.

Where exactly are you, and where can I park?

We are at 13 St Mary Street, near the bottom on the right of the cobbled street between Chepstow Castle and the High Street. From the town arch, walk down the High Street and on down St Mary Street. The nearest car park is at Nelson Street.