diff --git a/Framework/Geometry/inc/MantidGeometry/Crystal/SpaceGroup.h b/Framework/Geometry/inc/MantidGeometry/Crystal/SpaceGroup.h
index 3e63373149cfbd88e18a399bc1eebb8d1f3c42db..1870d55c1d82811b8b708225bf6ab5974701c4bd 100644
--- a/Framework/Geometry/inc/MantidGeometry/Crystal/SpaceGroup.h
+++ b/Framework/Geometry/inc/MantidGeometry/Crystal/SpaceGroup.h
@@ -98,6 +98,8 @@ protected:
   std::string m_hmSymbol;
 };
 
+MANTID_GEOMETRY_DLL std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& stream, const SpaceGroup& self);
+
 typedef boost::shared_ptr<SpaceGroup> SpaceGroup_sptr;
 typedef boost::shared_ptr<const SpaceGroup> SpaceGroup_const_sptr;
 
diff --git a/Framework/Geometry/src/Crystal/SpaceGroup.cpp b/Framework/Geometry/src/Crystal/SpaceGroup.cpp
index b81fdc988d635a95a856715b06afdb809669e2d4..3ccd801e53b5f0324c7fd5ba8e107d37ce86f639 100644
--- a/Framework/Geometry/src/Crystal/SpaceGroup.cpp
+++ b/Framework/Geometry/src/Crystal/SpaceGroup.cpp
@@ -108,5 +108,11 @@ Group_const_sptr SpaceGroup::getSiteSymmetryGroup(const V3D &position) const {
   return GroupFactory::create<Group>(siteSymmetryOps);
 }
 
+
+std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& stream, const SpaceGroup& self) {
+    stream << "Space group with Hermann–Mauguin symbol: " << self.hmSymbol();
+    return stream;
+}
+
 } // namespace Geometry
 } // namespace Mantid
diff --git a/Framework/PythonInterface/mantid/geometry/src/Exports/SpaceGroup.cpp b/Framework/PythonInterface/mantid/geometry/src/Exports/SpaceGroup.cpp
index d527a8dc17e28d313652c981daa735c43247eaf8..16cb71e3b62f16a304f0b022d604d5fd3ba3adae 100644
--- a/Framework/PythonInterface/mantid/geometry/src/Exports/SpaceGroup.cpp
+++ b/Framework/PythonInterface/mantid/geometry/src/Exports/SpaceGroup.cpp
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 #include <boost/python/enum.hpp>
 #include <boost/python/scope.hpp>
 #include <boost/python/list.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/self.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/operators.hpp>
 #include <boost/python/register_ptr_to_python.hpp>
 
 using Mantid::Geometry::Group;
@@ -48,6 +50,15 @@ Mantid::Geometry::Group_sptr getSiteSymmetryGroup(SpaceGroup &self,
 
   return group;
 }
+
+std::string __repr__implementation(const SpaceGroup& self) {
+    std::stringstream ss;
+    ss << "SpaceGroupFactory.createSpaceGroup(\"";
+    ss << self.hmSymbol();
+    ss << "\")";
+    return ss.str();
+}
+
 }
 
 void export_SpaceGroup() {
@@ -71,5 +82,7 @@ void export_SpaceGroup() {
            "Returns the point group of the space group.")
       .def("getSiteSymmetryGroup", &getSiteSymmetryGroup,
            (arg("self"), arg("position")),
-           "Returns the site symmetry group for supplied point coordinates.");
+           "Returns the site symmetry group for supplied point coordinates.")
+      .def(str(self))
+      .def("__repr__", &__repr__implementation);
 }
diff --git a/Framework/PythonInterface/test/python/mantid/geometry/SpaceGroupTest.py b/Framework/PythonInterface/test/python/mantid/geometry/SpaceGroupTest.py
index f8401462c0e8462b19d523be8f08611e72b1ea80..c828bb463f156229af30e90710678ea681807f12 100644
--- a/Framework/PythonInterface/test/python/mantid/geometry/SpaceGroupTest.py
+++ b/Framework/PythonInterface/test/python/mantid/geometry/SpaceGroupTest.py
@@ -141,6 +141,20 @@ class SpaceGroupTest(unittest.TestCase):
         spaceGroup = SpaceGroupFactory.createSpaceGroup("F -4 3 c")
         self.checkWyckoffPositions(spaceGroup, wyckoffs)
 
+    def test_to_string(self):
+        spaceGroup = SpaceGroupFactory.createSpaceGroup("F -4 3 c")
+
+        expected_str = "Space group with Hermann\xe2\x80\x93Mauguin symbol: "\
+                       "F -4 3 c"
+        expected_repr = "SpaceGroupFactory.createSpaceGroup(\"F -4 3 c\")"
+
+        self.assertEqual(expected_str, str(spaceGroup))
+        self.assertEqual(expected_repr, spaceGroup.__repr__())
+
+        newSpaceGroup = eval(spaceGroup.__repr__())
+        self.assertEqual(spaceGroup.getHMSymbol(), newSpaceGroup.getHMSymbol())
+
+
     def checkWyckoffPositions(self, spaceGroup, wyckoffs):
         for wp in wyckoffs:
             equivalentPositions = spaceGroup.getEquivalentPositions(wp[0])