Page 654 - Aldeburgh Festival 2022 FINAL COVERAGE BOOK

Malthouses were typically long buildings. The ones at Snape were reputedly designed
by Newson Garrett, the owner of the malting business, and built from bricks made at
his own brickhouse in Aldeburgh.

After the second world war, the business went into decline, leading to the closure of the
railway line. The site was sold, but its potential as a concert hall was identified by
Britten and Stephen Reiss, the manager of the Aldeburgh festival.

Interior of the concert hall. Photograph: James O Davies/Historic England Archive/PA

In the mid-1960s work began to convert the malthouse into a venue seating more than
800 people. Finishing was kept to a minimum as a reminder of the building’s industrial
heritage.

In 1967, Snape Maltings concert hall was opened by the Queen. Two years later, a fire
reduced it to an open shell, but it was restored and reopened in 1970.

Other buildings on the site have also been listed by the Department for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England, the body that looks after England’s
built heritage.

Former granaries and a building used to germinate and store barley – now a music
school – have been given Grade II listing.

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As well as being one of the world’s leading centres of music, Snape Maltings is now also
home to art galleries, independent shops and cafes.