Skip to content

Sutton Hoo boat replica finds 'magnificent' home

PA Media The skeleton of a ship made of wooden panels is pictured inside a large warehouse. People can be seen working on the ship while wooden panels rest all around it.PA Media
The Sutton Hoo replica boat build aimed to be completed by 2026

The team building a famous Anglo-Saxon burial ship has found a new space to work.

The £1.5m reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo ship was being built at The Longshed in Woodbridge, Suffolk, but there was uncertainty over whether the space was big enough.

The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company (SHSC) has now found a new home at Robertsons Boatyard nearby.

Sean McMillan, trustee and chair of the board of SHSC, said the "magnificent building" on site would be a great home for the ship.

"We've been building the ship without as much space as we should have had, given that the building was built specifically to build the ship," he explained.

"We've been working with one hand behind our back."

Jamie Niblock/BBC Sean McMillan, trustee and chair of SHSC, is pictured facing the camera. He is slightly smiling while standing in front of the ship replica. He has glasses resting on his head with a blue jumper and white shirt on.Jamie Niblock/BBC
Sean McMillan, trustee and chair of SHSC, said he was "delighted" it had secured a new home for the ship

The volunteers behind the reconstruction previously cut back their use of their old base to 40%.

Shortly after Woodbridge Riverside Trust, who leased the team the old building, said the project could now use "at least 75% of the ground floor".

Mr McMillan said a further agreement could not be made and the project decided to find a new permanent home.

"I'm absolutely delighted that we've come to a mutually very agreeable agreement with the owners and directors of Robertsons Boatyard in Woodbridge which is less than a five minute walk away from the long shed," he added.

PA Media A gentleman is pictured close up chopping a wooden panel with a small axe. He has a short grey beard and is wearing a navy beanie hat with a navy jumper. Behind him on the opposite side of the panel another volunteer works the wood.PA Media
Mr McMillan said the project was sorry to move from the longshed

SHSC has been granted a 20-year lease for a building on this site that will be refurbished for the ship as well as for a new visitor centre.

While the refurbishment is ongoing, work will continue on the ship before it is moved in about 18 month's time.

"That'll give us a magnificent building to house the ship and house future projects, and have a visitor centre in the most beautiful setting.

"We've got time to do it and it should work out fine."

Two thirds of the ship's wooden planks have now been fitted and while the project had some trouble finding oak trees needed for this, Mr McMillan said they were expected a delivery next week.

SHSC Two parts of a large oak tree rest on their sides outside a warehouse. They have been roped off.SHSC
Oak trees have been delivered throughout the project to create the ship's panels

Robertsons Boatyard in a statement said it was "delighted and proud" to be working with SHSC.

"As a second-generation family business, we are proud to be providing a unique base for this venture on the banks of the River Deben, within the gaze of the Sutton Hoo burial ground," it said.

"It is an opportunity to invest in the future while conserving the past."

SHSC was established in 2016 to reconstruct the 88-foot Anglo-Saxon burial ship using 7th Century materials and techniques.

It planned to launch the vessel on the River Deben in 2026.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story
Related internet links