Leiston
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Leiston | |
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| Population | 5,357 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Suffolk Coastal |
| Shire county | Suffolk |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEISTON |
| Postcode district | IP16 |
| Dial code | 01728 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Suffolk Coastal |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Suffolk | |
Leiston is a town in East Suffolk county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom, near Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, about 2½ miles from the seacoast. It is 90 miles distant from London.
Leiston Abbey was northwest of the current town; its picturesque ruins are a popular tourist stop.
Leiston thrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a manufacturing town dominated by Richard Garrett & Sons, owners of the "Leiston Works". This firm made steam tractors and a huge variety of cast and machined metal products, including munitions during the World Wars. The works are closed now, and there is a large museum, the Long Shop Museum (http://gazeteer.interdart.co.uk/east/visit/LSMUSE.htm ), showing the history, vehicles and products of the Works.
During World War II, the RAF Leiston airbase, a mile northwest of the town, sent fighter squadrons of the U.S. 357th Fighter Group to fight the Luftwaffe. Famous test pilot and fighter ace Chuck Yeager (who, later, first broke the sound barrier) flew out of Leiston. The Friends of Leiston Airfield hold a memorial service and flying display at the end of May each year, with veterans and their families attending.
Since the 1960s, Leiston became famous outside the UK as the home of the Summerhill School, founded by A.S. Neill in the 1920s, which was the first major "free school", referring to freedom in education. Children are not required to attend classes, and discipline is given by student self-government meetings. Summerhill has inspired a large "free school" movement, and more recently "Democratic Schools", in several countries. The school occupies the former mansion of Richard Garrett, owner of the Leiston Works.
Leiston also has its own Primary, Middle and High School. Leiston Primary school is for ages 5 to 9 and is a community school. The headteacher at the primary school is currently Mr A Twomey. This primary also provides a nursery which currently has 52 places.
Leiston Middle goes from ages 9 to 13 and is a mixed comprehensive school. The headteacher at the school is currently Mr W Carson. Pupils go to the school from schools at Leiston, Coldfair Green, Aldeburgh, Middleton and Yoxford. This Middle school has recently had some major building work done which has created a new sports hall and four new classrooms.
Leiston High School is an inclusive, community High School. This school accommodates for ages 14 to 19. It takes on students from small towns such as Leiston, Saxmundham and from the many surrounding villages. In 2001 the High became a specialist technology college and in the following year it was name as one of the most improved schools in England.
The Leiston High Street serves as the business and market hub of the surrounding agricultural district, and as an entry for tourists visiting the nearby towns of Aldeburgh, Snape and Thorpeness. The town square has a Post Office, banks, shops and pubs. The town government includes nearby Sizewell on the seacoast, site of two nuclear power plants: Sizewell A and Sizewell B. The adjoining village of Aldringham is officially associated with more distant Thorpe (Thorpeness) rather than with Leiston. Leiston lost its railway connection in the 1960s and is now served by rural buses. Today, the nearest operating railway station serving Leiston is the Saxmundham railway station at the nearby town of Saxmundham.
The Leiston Picture House (recently renamed the Leiston Film Theatre), a half-timbered building with street front shops, is the oldest cinema (movie theater) built as such in all of Suffolk.
The town has a traditional church (Church of England), St. Margaret's with an ancient tower and an unusual 19th Century nave. In addition there are Roman Catholic and Baptist churches at the edge of the town.
The people of Leiston used to speak with a heavy rural East-Anglian accent, but this lessened in the last half of the 20th century.
