| Aldeburgh | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Aldeburgh Location withinSuffolk | |
 Interactive map of Aldeburgh | |
| Population | 2,400 (2022 Mid Year Population Estimates)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TM463566 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ALDEBURGH |
| Postcode district | IP15 |
| Dialling code | 01728 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°09′N1°36′E / 52.15°N 1.6°E /52.15; 1.6 | |
Aldeburgh (/ˈɔːlbərə/AWL-bər-ə) is a coastal town andcivil parish in theEast Suffolk district, in thecounty ofSuffolk, England, north of theRiver Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019.[2] It was home to the composerBenjamin Britten and remains the centre of the internationalAldeburgh Festival of arts at nearbySnape Maltings, which was founded by Britten in 1948.[3][4] It also hosts an annual poetry festival[5] and several food festivals and other events.[3]
Aldeburgh, as a port, gained borough status in 1529 underHenry VIII. Its historic buildings include a 16th-centurymoot hall and a Napoleonic-eraMartello Tower. A third of its housing consists of second homes.[6] Visitors are drawn to itsBlue Flag beach and fisherman huts, where fresh fish is sold, to Aldeburgh Yacht Club and to its cultural offerings. Two family-runfish and chip shops have been rated among the country's best.[7] The independent Aldeburgh bookshop has been in business for more than seventy years, is locally thought to have been the site of the birthplace ofGeorge Crabbe (1754–1832)[8] and has organised the annual Aldeburgh Literary Festival since 2002.[9][10][11]
The name "Aldeburgh" derives from theOld Englishald (old) andburh (fortification),[12] although this structure, along with much of theTudor town, has now been lost to the sea. In the 16th century, Aldeburgh was a leadingport and had a flourishingshipbuilding industry. The flagship of theVirginia Company, theSea Venture is believed to have been built here in 1608. Aldeburgh's importance as a port declined as the River Alde silted up and larger ships could no longer berth. It survived mainly on fishing until the 19th century, when it also became a seaside resort. Much of its distinctive, whimsical architecture dates from that period. The river is now home to a yacht club and a sailing club.
Between 1959 and 1968, the village was the location of aRoyal Observer Corps monitoring bunker, to be used in the event of a nuclear attack. The bunker was later demolished and no trace survives.[13]
Aldeburgh is on theNorth Sea coast, about 87 miles (140 kilometres) north-east ofLondon, 20 mi (32 km) north-east ofIpswich and 23 mi (37 km) south ofLowestoft. Locally it is 4 mi (6 km) south of the town ofLeiston and 2 mi (3 km) south of the village ofThorpeness. It lies just north of theRiver Alde, with the narrow shingle spit ofOrford Ness all that stops the river meeting the sea at Aldeburgh – instead it flows another 9 mi (14 km) to the south-west.
The beach is mainly shingle and wide in places, allowing fishing boats to draw up onto the beach above the high tide, but it narrows at the neck of Orford Ness. The shingle bank allows access to the Ness from the north, passing aMartello tower and two yacht clubs at the site of the former village of Slaughden. Aldeburgh was flooded in theNorth Sea flood of 1953, after which its flood defences were strengthened.[14] The beach received aBlue Flag rural beach award in 2005.
The town is within theSuffolk Coast and HeathsArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), with a number ofSites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and nature reserves in its locality. TheAlde-Ore Estuary SSSI covers the area surrounding the river fromSnape to its mouth, including the whole of Orford Ness. This contains severalsalt marsh andmudflat habitats.[15] The Leiston-Aldeburgh SSSI extends from the northern edge of the town over a range of habitats, includinggrazing marsh andheathland.[16][17] It includes Thorpeness Mere and theNorth Warren RSPB reserve, an area of wildlife andhabitat conservation, and nature trails run by theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds.[17][18]
Two smaller geological SSSI units lie on the southern edges. Aldeburgh Brick Pit, of 0.84-hectare (2.1-acre), shows a clear stratigraphy ofRed Crag deposits aboveCorralline Crag.[19] Aldeburgh Hall Pit is a shallow pit 0.8 ha (2.0 acres) in area, featuring a section of Corralline Crag. It is seen as one of the best sites in Britain forNeogene fauna.[20]
The town's churches include the pre-Reformation Anglican parish church ofSt Peter and St Paul and the CatholicChurch of Our Lady and St Peter.
Aldeburgh has a town council and lies within theEast Suffolknon-metropolitan district. Aldeburgh ward, includingThorpeness and other communities, had a population of 3225 in the2011 census, when themean age of the inhabitants was 55 and themedian age 61.[21]
The town is located within theSuffolk Coastal parliamentary constituency represented since 2024 by theLabour MPJenny Riddell-Carpenter. The constituency was previous seen as asafe seat for theConservatives, having been represented byJohn Gummer from 1979 to 2010 andThérèse Coffey from 2010 to 2024.
Aldeburgh was a parliamentary borough from 1571 and returned twoMembers of Parliament (MPs), the right to vote being vested in the town's freemen. By the mid-18th century it was classed as arotten borough, as the votes were controlled by a City of London merchant,Thomas Fonnereau:[22] and memorably described as "a venal little borough in Suffolk".[23] It lost its representation under theReform Act 1832.
In 1908 Aldeburgh became the first British town to elect a female mayor:Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, whose father,Newson Garrett, had been mayor in 1889. In 2006, Sam Wright became Aldeburgh's town crier and mace bearer at 15, and so the youngest in the world.[24]
In 1885 Aldeburgh became a municipal borough which became part of the administrative county ofEast Suffolk in 1889, the district contained the parish of Aldeburgh.[25] On 1 April 1934 part ofHazlewood parish was added Aldeburgh parish and district fromPlomesgate Rural District when Hazlewood was abolished.[26] On 1 April 1974 the district was abolished and became part ofSuffolk Coastal in thenon-metropolitan county of Suffolk.[27] Asuccessor parish was formed covering the same area as the former district and its parish.[28] In 2019 Aldeburgh became part of East Suffolk district.
Aldeburgh is linked to theA12 by theA1094 road, at Friday Street inBenhall. The B1122 leads toLeiston.
There are direct bus services from the town toSaxmundham,Beccles,Halesworth,Woodbridge andIpswich.[29] Buses in the area are operated byFirst Eastern Counties and Borderbus.
Aldeburgh railway station opened in 1860 as the terminus of theAldeburgh Branch Line from Saxmundham, but was closed in 1966 under theBeeching Axe. Nowadays, the nearest railway station isSaxmundham on theEast Suffolk Line,[30] approximately seven miles (eleven kilometres) away. Saxmundham station is served by hourly weekday services toIpswich, for connections towardsLondon Liverpool Street, and toLowestoft for connections toNorwich.[29]
TheRNLI station in the town was operating two lifeboats in 2016.
The Moot Hall is a Grade I listed timber-framed building, used for council meetings for more than 400 years. The Town Clerk's office remains there and it houses the local museum. It was built in about 1520 and altered in 1654. The brick and stone infilling of the ground floor is later. The hall was restored and the external staircase and gable ends were rebuilt in 1854–1855 under the direction ofR. M. Phipson, chief architect of theDiocese of Norwich, in which Aldeburgh then stood. There are 64 other listed historic buildings and monuments in the town.[31]
AuniquequatrefoilMartello Tower stands at the isthmus leading to theOrford Ness shingle spit. It is the largest and northernmost of 103 English defensive towers built in 1808–1812 to resist a threatened Napoleonic invasion.[32] TheLandmark Trust now runs it as a holiday home.[33] From May 2015 to May 2016, anAntony Gormley statue was on display on the roof as part of his LAND art installation.
The Martello Tower is the only surviving building of the fishing village of Slaughden, which had been washed away by theNorth Sea by 1936. Near the Martello Tower at Slaughden Quay are barely visible remains of thefishing smackIonia. It had become stuck in the treacherous mud of theRiver Alde and was then used as ahouseboat. It was burnt in 1974 after becoming unsafe.
The four-storeywindmill at the southern end of the town was built in 1824 and converted into a dwelling in 1902.
A WW2tank trap can be seen next to Slaughden Road.[34]
TheAldeburgh Beach Lookout is a historic landmark on the Aldeburgh seafront.Grade II listed,[35] it was built in about 1830 as a lookout tower to assist or plunder shipping along the hazardous North Sea coast. The South African writerLaurens van der Post did his writing there for more than thirty years. Since 2010, the lookout has provided an artistic space for residents and tourists, withAntony Gormley sculptures on display between the lookout and the sea.
On Aldeburgh's beach, a short distance north of the town centre, stands a sculpture calledScallop, dedicated toBenjamin Britten, who would walk along the beach in the afternoons. Created from stainless steel by the Suffolk-based artistMaggi Hambling, it stands 15 feet (4.6 metres) tall and was unveiled in November 2003.[36] The piece is made up of two interlockingscallop shells, each broken, the upright shell being pierced by the words, "I hear those voices that will not be drowned," taken from Britten's operaPeter Grimes. The sculpture is meant to be enjoyed both visually and in a tactile way: people are encouraged to sit on it and watch the sea.
The upright portion of the shell splits into three sections positioned at different angles. The positioning of these effects a visual transformation, depending on the vantage point from which the sculpture is viewed.
The sculpture is controversial in the local area,[37] with some local residents considering it "spoils the beach".[36] It has been vandalised with graffiti and paint on thirteen occasions.[36] There have been petitions both for its removal and retention.[36]
A nearby aerodrome, Royal Naval Air Station Aldeburgh, was used in the First World War as a night landing ground and for trainingobservers.[38]
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Outside the town, theSnape Maltings is the venue for theAldeburgh Festival held every June.
Aldeburgh Music Club, founded by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in 1952,[61] has since evolved into one of East Anglia's leading choirs, with about 100 members and more than 120 supporting patrons. It rehearses from early September to late May each year and holds three major performances, two of them atSnape Maltings Concert Hall.
The annual Aldeburgh Carnival in August has been held at least since 1892 and possibly since 1832, when "Ye Olde Marine Regatta" was mentioned. The focal point today is a carnival procession featuring locals and visitors dressed in homemade costumes and on floats, often with a topical or local theme. In the evening, a parade withChinese lanterns and a firework display are traditional. The procession has been led for more than thirty years by Chief Marshal Trevor Harvey, also a Carnival Committee member for more than fifty years.[62]
TheSuffolk Craft Society hold an annual themed exhibition in the Peter Pears Gallery over July and August, showing the work of its members.[citation needed]
The town of Aldeburgh, or "Owlbarrow", is the setting of a series of children's illustrated books centred onOrlando (The Marmalade Cat) written byKathleen Hale, who spent holidays in the town. Many illustrations in the books feature landmarks in the town, including the Moot Hall. The town features in the 1989 thrillerCross of Fire by novelistColin Forbes, as do the nearby villages ofDunwich andSnape Maltings.[63]James Herbert based his bookThe Jonah in the area, using several names represented in the local area for characters, including Slaughden.
Aldeburgh (spelt there Aldborough) is the location of a key scene inWilkie Collins's novelNo Name, where Captain Wragge and Magdalen Vanstone enact their conspiracy against Noel Vanstone and Mrs Lecount. The town's Martello Tower is (1862) mentioned as a landmark. Aldeburgh also features in the M. R. James storyA Warning to the Curious as "Seaburgh" and in Joseph Freeman's novelArcadia Lodge. The Maggi Hambling sculpture appears in an early scene, as do various other landmarks.[citation needed]
Aldeburgh is notable for its line fishing for amateuranglers; it has been called "a great spot for bass, flounders, sole, dabs, cod, whiting and eels".[64] However, theEast Anglian Daily Times says "countless years of commercialover-fishing has all but destroyed many of our [Suffolk's] offshore sea fisheries"[64] and traditional, sustainable inshore fishing is under threat, with likely knock-on effects for the coastal community.[65] Local fishermen featured in the "Fish Fight" campaigns ofHugh Fearnley-Whittingstall andGreenpeace, supporting small-scale inshore fishermen.[66][67]
Aldeburgh is home to Aldeburgh and Thorpeness Rugby Club, based at Kings Field in Aldeburgh. The club runs an adult team in the Eastern Counties Leagues, an Under-15s team, Midi/Mini rugby, and Women's touch rugby. The club started out in nearby Thorpeness and moved in 2015 to work with Aldeburgh Town Council and Aldeburgh Community Centre.[citation needed]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East andITV Anglia. Television signals are received from theTacolneston TV transmitter and the local relay transmitter situated north-east of the town.[68]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Suffolk,Heart East,Greatest Hits Radio Ipswich & Suffolk and Alde and Blyth Community Radio (ABC), a community radio station.[69]
The town is served by the local newspaper theEast Anglian Daily Times.
These includeAldeburgh Cottage Hospital,[70][71] a traditional English cottage hospital, the Aldeburgh Library,[72] which also relies on volunteers,[73] and the Aldeburgh cinema,[74] which puts on films and cultural events.
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see para 4..."His 'Aldeburgh Te Deum' (published) commemorates his fondness for the Suffolk village in which some part of his later years was spent"...
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