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elcome to the website of the Long Shop Museum, Leiston. Situated near Aldeburgh, in the beautiful coastal region of Suffolk (click here for details of how to find us), we tell the story of more than 200 years of the town's life and work.
In the museum you will find a staggering collection of objects, ranging from full-size steam engines (the Richard Garrett & Sons engineering business made many hundreds of steam engines here) to touching mementoes of the lives of the working people of the town.
The Long Shop itself – at the heart of the museum – is a Grade II* listed engineering workshop, thought to be one of the earliest purpose-built production lines in existence (made long before Henry Ford had the same idea!), and it's chock-full of fascinating exhibits.
We also tell of the history of the area, with displays about the nuclear power station at nearby Sizewell and Leiston's airfield, home to the American 357th Fighter Group, 8th USAAF, during World War II.
It all adds up to a fascinating day out, with something for everyone, and we look forward to welcoming you soon.
Sirapite comes home to Suffolk
Leiston is the home of Sirapite, for many years the work's shunting engine. Part traction engine and part locomotive, she was built in 1906 by Aveling and Porter in Rochester, Kent.
Brought home to Leiston, she has had life breathed back into her by a dedicated team of volunteers, with the help of a £50,000 Heritage Lottery grant (we raised another £60,0000 ourselves), and now graces what we believe to be the shortest standard gauge railway in the world.
We hope to have Sirapite in steam for our Final Fling (23rd October). There may be other days when she is in steam, so please phone (01728 832 189) for further information.
Education, education, education!