Oakleaf Books
Oakleaf Books was a radical community bookshop and co-operative based on Church Road, Wolverton in Milton Keynes.
It opened in the 1970s and served the community by selling general fiction, children's books, cultural and political literature, and a variety of magazines and badges. The bookshop also ran bookstalls and sold to schools and unions.
Oakleaf Books was a member of the Federation of Radical Booksellers. It was committed to radical political and social change, especially during the rise of the far right in the late 1970s and 1980s.
A room upstairs was available free of charge for women's groups, and the bookshop held feminist book weeks and maintained close connections with the local anti-fascist movement.
Oakleaf also published books through the People’s Press, focusing on local history and experiences, such as "Old Bletchley Remembered" by Ivy Fisher and "Milton Keynes: A Personal View" by Eugene Fisk. It also received a grant from the Arts Council on the Community Bookshop scheme.
The bookshop faced significant challenges, including financial difficulties and threats from far-right groups like the British Movement and the National Front. These issues culminated in the bookshop closing its doors in 1985.
Sources:
Milton Keynes in 50 Historic Records website [https://mkin50records.wordpress.com/2018/12/06/45-poster-for-oakleaf-books-wolverton-circa-1980s/, accessed 25.06.2025]
Oakleaf Books archive held as part of the National Cooperative Archive [https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/3bb71f2d-6855-34ac-9503-659a0731114e, accessed 25.06.2025]
Radical Bookshops Listing, Radical Bookshop History Project (November 2023) [Available online here, accessed 25.06.2025]
The Radical Bookseller, No.4, Jan/Feb 1981; No. 8/9, Sep/Oct 1981; No. 10, Nov/Dec 1981; No 43, December 1985; No. 44, Jan/Feb 1986; No. 77, spring 1991
