Snape Maltings Concert Hall

Newson was ambitious and determined and in 1841 purchased the business of Osborne and Fennell, corn and coal merchants of Snape Bridge.

From this port the Maltings began to evolve, using the River Alde to transport barley across Britain and into Europe on Thames barges.

Demand from the London breweries was growing fast, and it was becoming impractical to make malt and brew beer on the same premises.

The Maltings process at Snape came to an end in the 1960s as Swonnell and Son went into liquidation and seven acres of industrial buildings were left vacant.

Negotiations began with George Gooderham and after little more than a year Snape Maltings Concert Hall was ready to be opened by the Queen at the start of the 1967 Aldeburgh Festival.

The composer Benjamin Britten was inspired by the vast skies and moody seas of the Suffolk coast, and in 1948, along with singer Peter Pears and writer Eric Crozier, he founded the Aldeburgh Festival.

At first the Festival used local halls and churches but in 1967, Britten and Pears created a permanent home at Snape, 5 miles from Aldeburgh, by converting the Victorian maltings into an 832-seat venue.

In 2006 Aldeburgh Music purchased a 999-year lease of the Snape Maltings Concert Hall, investing around £14 million in new studios and rehearsal spaces which came into use in 2009.

The centrepiece of the building is the new Britten Studio, designed to have an excellent and flexible acoustic with a high level of sound insulation for recording.

The Jerwood Kiln Studio, which seats up to 80 people in a flexible configuration, is an ideal space for smaller groups to rehearse, and is equipped for video and electro-acoustic installations.

The collection comprises books, scores and audio materials (LP, tape and CD) covering many genres.