Snape Maltings in Suffolk Protected with New Listings
Buildings at Snape Maltings in Suffolk have been listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.
Newly listed at Grade II* is the world-famous Snape Maltings Concert Hall, home to the Aldeburgh Festival – now in its 73rd year, starting a 24-day celebration of music and the arts on Friday 3 June.
Now listed at Grade II are the Britten Pears Building and Former Turning Gallery, and the Former Granaries.
Historic England has also added further information to the existing list entries for Snape Maltings and Snape Bridge House (both listed at Grade II).
An extensive malting operation
The Snape Maltings site was bought in 1841 by businessman Newson Garrett (1812-1893).
By 1844, Garrett had created large warehouses and an extensive malting operation at Snape and was sending 17,000 quarts of barley a year to London and Newcastle brewers.
New buildings erected between around 1846 and 1859 were reputedly designed by Garrett and constructed using red and white brick from his own brickworks at Aldeburgh.
One of the world's leading centres of music
The site went into decline after the Second World War and was put up for sale in 1965. The largest of the former malthouses was acquired by the manager of the Aldeburgh Festival (founded in 1948 by the composer Benjamin Britten, singer Peter Pears and opera librettist/theatrical director Eric Crozier) and was converted into a concert hall and recording studio. Snape Maltings Concert Hall was opened by Her Majesty The Queen in June 1967.
Since then, Britten and Pears and their successors have redeveloped large parts of the site, and today Snape Maltings is one of the world’s leading centres of music. With its independent shops, art galleries and cafés, it's also one of Suffolk’s most popular visitor destinations. Snape Maltings is owned and run by the pioneering music, arts and heritage charity, Britten Pears Arts.
The historic Snape Maltings has become a valuable asset to its community after being transformed into a much-loved concert hall and visitor attraction. I am delighted its unique character will be protected for future generations to enjoy.
Snape Maltings Concert Hall
| Newly listed at Grade II*
Stephen Reiss, manager of the Aldeburgh Festival, identified an opportunity to convert the largest of the former Snape malthouses into a concert hall and recording studio.
He approached Ove Arup and Partners (Arup is considered to be amongst the foremost architectural structural engineers of his time, famed for his work on the Sydney Opera House) to carry out a survey.
The malthouse conversion, designed by Derek Sugden of Arup Associates, was carried out during 1966 and 1967. To keep the atmosphere of an industrial building, finishing was kept to a minimum.
The concert hall was to be wired for the BBC for recording during the Aldeburgh Festival and for the Decca Record Company for recording the rest of the year. Decca contributed to the cost of building the auditorium, and in return demanded an exceptional sound quality.
Sugden, a music lover, taught himself acoustics and volunteered to also undertake the audio work. The auditorium is considered to be one of the finest in the world. Only the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall is similarly influenced.
Snape Concert Hall was opened by Her Majesty The Queen in 1967. Sadly, just two years later in 1969, following the opening night of the festival, a fire reduced the venue to an open shell, but with the help of a fundraising appeal, it was restored and reopened in 1970.
The Britten Pears Building
| Newly listed at Grade II
In 1976 (to commemorate the death of Benjamin Britten that year) a former mid-19th century barley germination building and store, next to the concert hall, was converted by Arup Associates into spaces for young singers or string players.
Completed in 1979, it was named the Britten Pears Building and houses the School for Advanced Musical Studies.
Refurbishment works added a new artists’ café with an external terrace. It also includes the Peter Pears Recital Room.
Former granaries at Snape Maltings
| Newly listed at Grade II
In 1882, the first phase of the granary buildings was planned close to the south bank of the River Alde, replacing a small riverside warehouse. The first building was constructed in 1884, of red and white bricks.
The granary played an important role, receiving and storing barley before it was processed in the maltings.
In October 1918, Newson Garrett’s company was merged with S Swonnell and Son, a London firm of maltsters. Sometime between 1918 and 1927, the granary was extended, more than doubling in size. The large southern extension was three storeys high with rooftop ‘bluffs’ probably containing winches for lifting goods.
As the site’s post-industrial conversion continued, the granaries were repurposed. All the grain bins, most of the internal fixtures and almost all machinery was removed. New internal and external staircases were installed, and commercial spaces and galleries were created by the Gooderham family, who were the site’s freeholder until 2015.
