Leiston
Leiston | ||
---|---|---|
Town | ||
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | LEISTON | |
Postcode district | IP16 | |
Dialling code | 01728 | |
Police | Suffolk | |
Fire | Suffolk | |
Ambulance | East of England | |
UK Parliament | ||
Leiston (
History
The 14th-century remains of Leiston Abbey lie north-west of the town.[2]
Leiston thrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a manufacturing town, dominated by
In 1927,
In the
Notable people
In birth order:
- Chief Justiciar of England, founded Leiston Abbey for White Canonsin 1183.
- Richard Garrett (1755–1839) founded the engineering company Richard Garrett and Sons in Leiston.
- Edward Buckton Lamb (1806–1869), architect, designed St Margaret's Church in Leiston.
- Snape Maltingsconcert hall.
- A. S. Neill (1883–1973), Scottish educationalist, founded the progressive Summerhill School in 1924 and moved it to Leiston in 1927.
- M. E. Aldrich Rope (1891–1988), born and died in Leiston, was a stained-glass artist in the Arts and Crafts tradition.
- Paxton Chadwick (1903–1961), artist and illustrator, taught at Summerhill and was Communist chair of Leiston Town Council.
Governance
There is an electoral ward named Leiston, with a population at the 2011 census of 6,360.[7]
Economy and community
Business
Since the closure of Garrett's, the town's economy has been dominated by
A number of smaller companies operate from industrial areas within the town.
Leiston's High Street serves as the business and market hub of the surrounding agricultural district. The town's facilities include a post office, library, banks, pubs and a range of shops and other services.
Transport
A railway branch spur from the Great Eastern line, known as the Aldeburgh branch line, went from Saxmundham to Aldeburgh, with intermediate stations at Leiston and Thorpeness. On 12 September 1966 British Rail withdrew all passenger services to Leiston and beyond.[10] However, the line to Leiston remained active for the purpose of removing nuclear materials from Sizewell power station.
Leiston has direct bus services to Ipswich, Saxmundham, Aldeburgh, Thorpeness and Halesworth.
Culture
Leiston Film Theatre, a half-timbered building with street front shops, is the oldest purpose-built cinema in Suffolk. The cinema is owned and run by Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council and backed by Leiston Film Theatre Support Club, which has raised money for stage refurbishment and enabled the cinema to install a digital 3D projection system.[11]
The town has a traditional
Sport and leisure
The town's football club is Leiston F.C., who as of the 2023–24 season play in the Southern League Premier Central. In November 2008 the team reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in its history, drawing 0–0 with Fleetwood Town before losing the replay 2–0.
Leiston also has a leisure centre, a
Leiston and Thorpeness Rugby Club was in existence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It closed in 1995, but was revived in March 2010 as Aldeburgh and Thorpeness Rugby Club, with many of the previous club's members.
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. Television signals are received from the Tacolneston TV transmitter[12] and via a local relay transmitter in Aldeburgh.[13]
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Suffolk, Heart East, Greatest Hits Radio Ipswich & Suffolk, and Alde and Blyth Community Radio (ABC), a community based station.[14]
The town's local newspaper is the East Anglian Daily Times.
Education
Other than Summerhill School, Leiston also has conventional primary and secondary schools.
Leiston Primary School caters for pupils aged 5–11 and runs a nursery with 52 places.[15]
Alde Valley Academy is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status, formerly known as Leiston Community High School, then as Alde Valley School from September 2012, after reorganisation involving the closure of Leiston Middle School and conversion from a 13–18 school to one taking pupils from the age of 11.[16] The school received academy status in January 2015 and was renamed Alde Valley Academy.
In 2001 the school had become a Specialist Technology College, and in following years was named as one of the most improved schools in England. It was the lead school in the Schools Energy Network based at the Orbis Centre in Lowestoft[17] and had strong links with the Sizewell nuclear power stations.[18]
References
- ^ "Town population 2011". Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ Leiston Abbey, English Heritage. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ "Long Shop Museum". Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Richard Garrett and Sons". www.longshopmuseum.co.uk. Long Shop Museum. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Summerhill School: Brief History". www.summerhillschool.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Friends of Leiston Airfield". www.friendsofleistonairfield.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "Annual Report and Group Financial Statements" (PDF). Greater Gabbard OFTO. 2021.
- ^ "Appendix B". National Grid (Great Britain). 2 December 2020.
Leiston 400 kV
- ^ "The Railway | Aldeburgh Museum Online". www.aldeburghmuseumonline.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ "Leiston Film Theatre". film.list.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Full Freeview on the Tacolneston (Norfolk, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Freeview Light on the Aldeburgh (Suffolk, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Alde and Blyth Community Radio". Visit Leiston. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ Leiston Primary School profile, Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ T. Potter (2012) Leiston: Pupils take first lessons in new-look high school, East Anglian Daily Times, 6 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ Waveney students become energy ambassadors, Eastern Daily Press, 19 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ Green.D (2007) School benefits from station link-up, East Anglian Daily Times, 20 January 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2011.