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Reading Room

Our story

Reading Room has been many things, but it was never meant for everyone.

Built in 1835 beneath the private gardens of Kemp Town, it gave the estate’s residents somewhere to sit, read and look out to sea, with a tunnel so they never had to cross the public road. Later it was a committee room and a potting shed, and then it stood empty for decades.

The Jones family, Karl and his sons Sebastian and Ashley, have restored it to honour its past while living very much in the present. It is a refectory in the old sense of the word: a room that brings people together over good coffee, cake and conversation.

“Our vision is to create a community hub that respects the history of Reading Room while providing a cosy, inviting space for locals to connect,” say the family.

It is a place to experience things, too: the talents of our own chefs and the guest chefs who take over the kitchen for one night only, supper clubs, murder mysteries and evenings with a little theatre to them. There is always something on the horizon, and with the sea in front of you and the fresh air off the water, it is hard not to feel inspired.

Catch up with friends over a glass of wine, settle in with a Skylark coffee and a book, or bring everyone together for a celebration.

Nine miles along the coast there is a second Reading Room, inside Saltdean Lido: a white Art Deco building from 1938 with a heated pool, a tunnel to the sea and a ballroom. Same family, a different kind of day.

History and hospitality under one roof, and a feeling of belonging above all. We are family, and so are you.

A place once made for a few is now a place to bring everyone. Welcome to Reading Room.

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