Freedom Press Bookshop

Freedom Bookshop is Britain's oldest and largest specialist anarchist bookshop. It offers a vast collection of books, newspapers, pamphlets and Zines on subjects ranging from history and philosophy to workers’ struggles, anti-fascism, anarchist theory, abolitionism and decolonial, anti-racist, feminist and queer perspectives. The Bookshop also hosts regular public events.

The Freedom collective also runs Decenter, a free, bookable, meeting space located above the bookshop. The rest of the building hosts various activist groups, including Dope Magazine, Haven Books for Prisoners, Advisory Service for Squatters and the UK Anarchist Federation.

Freedom collective publishes Freedom Journal twice a year and runs an online news site freedomnews.org.uk.

Freedom Press Bookshop are members of the Alliance of Radical Booksellers.

History:

Freedom Press was founded by the Russian anarchist Peter Koropotkin and others in 1886. Freedom Bookshop, which is connected to the press, was opened in Red Lion Passage in 1940. It was bombed in 1941, and moved to 27 Belsize Road where there was just enough room for a small bookshop. From 1945 - 60 the bookshop was at Red Lion Street. In 1968 the building in Angel Alley, where Freedom is based now, was purchased.

In the 1990s, the bookshop faced multiple attacks by the neo-fascist group Combat 18, culminating in a firebombing in March 1993. In 2013, there was another significant arson attack.

Sources:
Freedom Press: about page [https://freedompress.org.uk/about-freedom/, accessed 13.05.2025]
Freedom Press: history page [https://freedompress.org.uk/history/, accessed 13.05.2025]