A beautiful Bridport shop has been voted a favourite by readers of The Guardian - and more is wanted to be known about the premise's history.

Ink & Page featured as one of the readers' favourite indie shops, as well as being picked as the 'winning tip'.

The shop at 29a West Allington was described as a "magical emporium" and a "treasure trove of handstitched notebooks and sketchbooks, letterpress cards and prints… a celebration of the handwritten, handprinted and handcrafted - a go to place for a thoughtful gift and the perfect slow shopping experience".

Ink & Page is run by artist Kim Squirrell and her husband David, who is a bookbinder.

Kim said: "It's really lovely and we were the winning tip and they put us first. We instantly got people going to the website and buying things - that was great. One person came by and purely because they read it in the article they dropped in, so it was really nice.

"It really is a one-off this shop, everyone remembers it. I can remember it when I moved here in the 80s, it was an antique shop with a rocking horse, but I was too intimidated to come in, I don't think I ever came in."

It was after someone came into the shop and commented that it looked like the Burlington Arcade shops in London with its spiral staircase, that Kim's interest was sparked and she started doing some research.

She found out that the shop was built for a local tailor, possibly Josiah Bucknol who was born in North Allington.

Kim added: "I contacted someone who was related to him through marriage and I thought they might have something, they said they researched him as well and found some newspaper articles and sent them - that was fascinating. He lent a lot of money to a lot of people so he was in the courts trying to get his money back.

"I will definitely be writing a little book about the history of the shop.

"I can just imagine this was built for someone to make and show off something beautiful."

She also discovered it used to be called Hobby Horse when it was owned by the Rodber family.

If anyone has any memories of the shop, information on the history or images are invited to email Kim at [email protected]

Kim and David first met when they were studio neighbours in Exeter in the 90s and moved to the area, which is when Kim started Treewise, an environmental organisation which led to her helping set up the community orchard.

They both moved into a studio in St Michael's Trading Estate in 2015 and called themselves Squirrell Press. Following the fire at St Michael's in 2018, they moved into the West Alington shop, renaming themselves Ink & Page.

As well as selling their beautifully made notebooks, they also stock items made by local people, such as pens, mugs, lamp shades and much more.

Kim has also been instrumental in organising the Bridport Fiver Fest and also offers workshops, such as course on keeping a notebook.

During December, Ink & Page is open 11am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday, apart from Wednesday when it is open until 7pm. Its usual opening hours are 11am to 5pm Wednesday to Saturday.

Find more information by following Ink & Page on Facebook or visiting inkandpage.co.uk

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