Contact Us
Snape Maltings,
Saxmundham, Suffolk
IP17 1SP
+44 (0)1728 440781
Getting here
The Early Music Shop is located within Snape Maltings in the village of Snape, Suffolk, five miles from Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast and just two hours by train from London.
By Car: Visitors arriving by car or bike from the A12 should take the A1094 signposted towards Snape Maltings. Turn right at Snape Church onto the B1069, then continue through the village of Snape before turning left into Snape Maltings (postcode IP17 1SP). There is plenty of free parking available on site along with four electric car charging points.
By Train: Visitors arriving by train will need to take a Greater Anglia service to Saxmundham station, via Ipswich. The journey is about 2 hours from London Liverpool Street. Saxmundham is approximately 4 miles by road from Snape Maltings. We recommend you booking a taxi in advance if you need one. Taxis can be booked with A2B Cars on 01728 633003 or Gull's on 01728 602344.
By 'Katch' Bus: Katch is a local on-demand taxi-bus service, providing easy access to Snape Maltings, from the local towns and villages of Framlingham, Parham, Hacheston, Wickham Market, Wickham Market Railway Station at Campsea Ashe, and Tunstall. Click here to book the Katch Bus.
Places to stay
Snape Maltings – on site at Snape Maltings, there are 13 holiday properties available for hire. The complex is a bustling environment of music and arts, and with beautiful walks and countryside surrounding the site and other shops to explore, why not stay for an extended visit?
YHA Blaxhall – just two miles from Snape Maltings, this YHA is a comfortable option for those on a budget. Run by friendly staff and with on-site parking available, the YHA is 5 minutes’ drive from our showroom.
The Ship Inn, Blaxhall – this well-respected pub and inn is famous both locally and nationally for its connections to music, and particularly the traditional song of Suffolk. It’s just two miles away from our showroom and there are eight guest rooms on offer.
Hotels Near Ipswich Station – if you are travelling by train, you may wish to stay close to Ipswich station (our closest station, Saxmundham, is on a branch line from Ipswich). There are multiple options including Pentahotel, Travelodge and Premier Inn.
Live Music at The Early Music Shop
Every month at our Snape showroom we present a short informal recital of early music in the shop. Come along to soak up some stunning music in the amazing surroundings of our showroom in the heart of the beautiful Snape Maltings site.
All the events are free and no tickets are required. Please join us after the performance for refreshments!
To find out more about who's playing when, please visit the page here.
About Us
The Early Music Shop - Snape Maltings Showroom
The Early Music Shop is the world's largest early music instrument specialist. Following our departure from London in 2020, we were delighted to open a new showroom at Snape Maltings in Suffolk in 2021, a location well-known for its connections to specialist music. Together with our larger showroom in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, the business, established for over 50 years, has become the largest single source of mediaeval, renaissance and baroque musical instruments world-wide. The packed showroom really is an Aladdin's Cave of affordable early music instruments, many of which are designed in-house by our team of early music workshop technicians, and from makers from all quarters of the globe. The range including recorders, viols, lutes, harps, crumhorns, harpsichords, spinets, shawms, hurdy-gurdies, rebecs, mediaeval fiddles, re-enactment percussion, sheet music, CDs and accessories really offers a one-stop-shop for early music enthusiasts!
We are proud to be the official exclusive UK distributor and agent for Moeck recorders, and also the appointed UK dealer for Küng recorders, Bizzi harpsichords, Mollenhauer recorders, Lu-Mi viols, Salvi harps, Lyon & Healy harps and others. The Early Music Shop catalogue is vast, the majority of instruments are held in stock, and our friendly and knowledgeable staff are available to give you the best advice on choosing the instrument which is best suited for you. All of this is backed up by our expert in-house technical department, and after sales service.
In addition to instruments The Early Music Shop carries a huge range of sheet music for all abilities and styles - a selection of which is available on display in our Snape showroom.
Our Snape Maltings showroom has a smaller floorspace than our Saltaire showroom, so it is not always possible to have every instrument in stock. However, if you would like to try a specific model, please contact us in advance of your visit, and we can arrange for it to be available for you on the date you choose.