Page 325 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

As Britten composed “Peter Grimes” from his home in the Old Mill at Snape in 1944,
he could see the barley-malting buildings of Snape Maltings in the distance. It ceased
operation in 1965, and Britten leased the large central building, which would become
the main concert hall. It opened in 1967.

Gradually, the site’s other buildings have been redeveloped as an arts hub that,
alongside the festival, houses a Young Artists program and year-round community
program. (The singing project “Friday Afternoons,” is one of a number of community
projects that make clear their links to Britten.
Britten Pears Arts recently started an investment program that responds to need over
want. In addition to modernizing some original parts of the complex — the hall’s
wicker chairs mean audiences enter the concert space armed with cushions — the
program will address something unusual for a concert hall: flood defenses.
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