Freewheel Bookshop

Freewheel Bookshop was a radical and anarchist bookshop located initially at 56 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, before moving to 52-54 King Street around 1982.

Set up by an anarchist collective, Freewheel served as a hub for like-minded anarchists, troublemakers, and countercultural individuals until it closed around 1988.

The bookshop provided a welcoming space where local youth felt free to browse or relax with a coffee, and its stock grew in response to the demands of various local groups.

The basement of the King Street location housed a print shop, despite being cold and damp.

It specialised in subjects such as Third World issues, alternative medicine, gay literature, and esoteric topics.

Barbara, along with others such as Abel, Dave, Mike Bull, and Tracey, played crucial roles in keeping the bookshop operational, with Barbara reportedly working practically every day.

Freewheel may have been connected to the Argyle Street Commune, known as an anti-nuclear zone.

Sources:

Radical Bookshops Listing, Radical Bookshop History Project (November 2023) [Available online here, accessed 14.05.2025]

Caracol Books webite [https://thenorwichradical.com/2023/08/30/caracol-books-new-radical-bookshop-norwich/, accessed 14.05.2025]

The Radical Bookseller, No. 2, Nov 1980

The Radical Bookseller, No. 43, December 1985