Small, cosy and unpretentious, House of Hodge is one of London’s most beloved charity bookshops. It was set up in 2009 by Highbury resident and cat enthusiast Doreen Rolph, as a place to raise funds for local animal welfare organisations.

During its first decade, House of Hodge would best have been described as an “organised mess”. In fact, taped to the door is a print-out of Thomas Fleming’s Interior of an Old Bookshop on Pennsylvania Avenue with the caption ‘How this shop used to look only a few years ago!’.

Today – whether for health and safety reasons or for the sake of the shop volunteers – it is a lot tidier, with everything stacked neatly and sorted into categories. Even so, it remains a treasure trove, and customers will be rewarded for their perseverance with near-perfect books at bargain prices. Come prepared with a sturdy bag or buy one of the shop’s cat-themed totes.