Gauntlett's Bookshop, of Dolphin Lane, has reached its final chapter.

By the middle of next month, the family-run shop of 32 years will close its doors for a final time following a slowdown in trade.

David Gauntlett, 68, of Toynton, is the former Royal Air Force armourer who took a backstreet office in Boston and created a much-loved second-hand bookshop.

Now, facing closure, he said: "It's a great shame. Some customers have been coming in almost as long as we have been open. They are like friends.

"I've seen them leave school, go through courting, bring their children in here and then their children."

Mr Gauntlett passed on the running of the business to his son, Paul, 44, three years ago, but still minds the shop when Paul is at his second job.

"I shall be sorry when it closes," he said, before adding light-heartedly: "I shall be even sorrier when all these books come home with me."

Mr Gauntlett says there are between 20,000 and 30,000 books to clear, and prices have begun tumbling. There are hundreds of copies of Mills and Boon alone, currently going for 15p each.

Many will be donated to the All Saints Church in Toynton, but Mr Gauntlett said customers have been taking books away in bags to stock up for when the shop closes.

"We're the only shop like this in Boston," he said.

"The first thing the customers say is 'where will I go now?'"

The shop owes its longevity to the loyalty of its customers.


Mr Gauntlett traces the difficulties back to the construction of Pescod Square, during which the shop had a building site for a neighbour.


"There was no foot traffic, no passersby. Only regular customers kept us going," he said.

And with supermarkets also taking a bite out its trade, times became harder still for Mr Gauntlett and his son.

He remembers the past 32 years fondly, however.

"It was nothing, and then it ended up as quite a good bookshop," he said. "I have enjoyed it enormously. It is a very good way to earn a living."