Aardvark Books was founded in January 2004 by Sheridan Swinson and the late Edward Tobin, two career publishing professionals who decided to start a book business that reflected their love of books, and their combined half-century of experience in the book trade.

Begun in some disused pig sheds on the outskirts of Leominster in Herefordshire, Aardvark Books quickly moved  to Brampton Bryan where they found a home in one of the buildings on the Harley Estate, The Oxford Barn. In the autumn of 2007 they moved to their existing premises on the edge of the village in the old Manor Farm Buildings. In 2012 Aardvark added the BookBurrow – a specialist children’s bookshop – and the whole building now holds in excess of 50,000 titles, with new books arriving every day.

Following the death of Edward Tobin in 2014, the shop is now owned and run by husband and wife team Sarah and Sheridan Swinson. Sheridan worked in publishing for many years before starting Aardvark, whilst Sarah was a teacher – latterly teaching French and English at Elmhurst School for Dance in Birmingham, and French in local primary schools.