Step Back In Time: Norwich’s Best Vintage Shops

Nobody knows where vintage and retro shops first came from. Some say they have always been there, others that they are part of a cunning new marketing ploy by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Wherever they sprang up from, there’s no denying that Norwich is in love with all things old-fashioned. Here are just some of our favourites!

Colman’s Mustard Shop – Royal Arcade

Do you ever feel that if you have a problem in life, it’s that your mustard is just too damn modern-looking? Then if this isn’t the shop for you, you are truly beyond help. There’s more mustard here than you could shake a mustard-covered stick at, plus memorabilia of Colman’s lengthy history. Sadly it seems there’s no connection between it and suspected murderer Colonel Mustard.

Ye Olde English Sweet Shop – London Street

No, they haven’t developed a novel new technique for selling sweets that have gone off. Instead they sell them from jars beind the counter, like old-timey people did when the world was in black and white. The shelves of candy cigarettes, sherbet Double Dip and those lollipops that fold into a plastic case (seriously, how great are they?) make you feel very olde indeed.

Goldfinches – St. Gregorys Alley

In case you missed the memo, grandad, old clothes are cool. But not just any old clothes. You can’t raid the back of your wardrobe for ripped, ill-fitting jumpers and t-shirts from your youth. Instead they must be approved by a highly qualified panel of retro experts before making their way into vintage shops. Do not question the panel’s decisions. You’re just not cool enough to decide these things.

J.R. & R.R. Ellis Bookseller – St. Giles Street

Just look at this place. If ever a shop screamed ‘Cool Old Book Shop’, this is it. It’s the kind of book shop you would go to to stock up before embarking on your journey to Hogwarts. It’s the kind of book shop you would go to study the Black Arts or find the necessary incantation to cast Dracula back into the darkness from whence he came. Or, you know, just old books.

Press To Play – St. Benedict’s Street

Such is Norwich’s obsession with all things retro that the city has at least six record shops. So for everyone out there who insists the hiss and crackle of vinyl sounds better, you have plenty of choice. Legend tells of an as yet undiscovered one, where the staff can judge and disapprove of your music taste before you even enter.

Stiffkey Bathrooms – Upper St. Giles Street

Proving that there really is a vintage shop for everyone, including bathroom appliance fetishists, is Stiffkey Bathrooms. As students we struggle to make our bathrooms not look like ancient rubbish tips. We do not yet know those glorious later years of life when an old bathroom is a good thing.