The Reader Bookshop and Café operate inside the Grade II listed Mansion House in Calderstones Park. Set within a restored 1828 neoclassical residence, the enterprise serves as the headquarters for Liverpool-founded charity The Reader, combining an independent literary bookshop and park café with the world’s first International Centre for Shared Reading.
What The Reader Bookshop & Café does
The organisation pairs food, literature, and social wellbeing in an open community park setting. Rather than operating for private commercial profit, every book, cup of coffee, and slice of cake purchased at the Mansion House funds The Reader’s charitable mission: running free, volunteer-led Shared Reading groups in care homes, libraries, mental health clinics, and prisons across the UK to reduce loneliness and improve mental health.
The ground floor of the mansion is split between the bookshop, an airy garden café, an artisan ice cream hatch, and dedicated reading rooms where visitors can sit quietly by sash windows overlooking the park’s botanical gardens.
The bookshop: Curated shelves and children's room
The bookshop rejects bestseller chart formulas in favour of books chosen for emotional resonance, poetic depth, and storytelling craft:
- Literature and Poetry: Modern fiction, translated world classics, contemporary poetry collections, and memoirs.
- Nature and Ecology: Books on British wildlife, tree lore, regenerative gardening, and local Merseyside landscape history.
- The Children's Bookshop: A dedicated, carpeted reading room filled with illustrated picture books, tactile baby books, and inclusive young adult fiction, complete with miniature armchairs for family reading.
- Merseyside Makers: Hand-thrown ceramics, literary greeting cards, botanical prints, and stationery crafted by local Liverpool independent makers.
The courtyard café and ice cream parlour
The café kitchen prepares fresh, unpretentious food from morning through afternoon:
- Breakfast and Brunch: Sourdough toast with local preserves, warm porridge with seasonal berry compote, and hot breakfast baps filled with thick-cut bacon and free-range eggs.
- Lunch Plates: Made-to-order artisan sourdough toasties (mature cheddar with tomato chutney, roast ham hock with mustard), fresh seasonal soups served with crusty bread, and balanced salad bowls.
- Afternoon Cream Teas: Warm fruit and plain scones served with strawberry jam and clotted cream, alongside chocolate brownies and seasonal fruit crumbles.
- Ice Cream Parlour: An outdoor serving counter scooping Cheshire Farm real dairy ice creams and vegan sorbets for park strollers and families.
The story behind Calderstones Mansion House
The Mansion House was built in 1828 for wealthy shipping merchant Joseph Need Walker on grounds containing the ancient 1,000-year-old Allerton Oak and the prehistoric 4,000-year-old Calder Stones. After serving as municipal council offices, the building fell into disrepair and sat boarded up for years.
Led by charity founder Jane Davis, The Reader spearheaded a multimillion-pound community heritage campaign, restoring the mansion's historic plasterwork, glass domes, and stone courtyards. The building reopened to the public in September 2019, turning a once-exclusive private estate into a permanent public sanctuary for literature.
Prices and visiting tips
Pricing reflects affordable charitable cafe and independent book rates (checked September 2026):
- Paperback books and fiction: Standard publisher RRP (£8.99 to £12.99)
- Hot breakfast rolls and porridge: £3.50 to £5.00
- Artisan grilled sourdough toasties: £6.00 to £7.50
- Homemade soup with crusty bread: £5.00 to £6.00
- Scones with clotted cream and jam: £3.50 to £4.50
- Cheshire Farm ice cream scoops: £2.50 to £4.20
The café and bookshop are open daily with walk-in seating indoors and across the cobbled garden courtyard. Dogs on leads are welcome in the outdoor courtyard and specific ground-floor park rooms. Regular free Shared Reading groups run weekly and welcome all visitors without prior booking.
Around Calderstones Park
The Mansion House is situated at the heart of Calderstones Park, adjacent to the Japanese and English Walled Gardens, the botanical glasshouses, and the ancient Allerton Oak. Free visitor parking is accessible off Calderstones Road.
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