Snape Maltings, UK

Today stared early with the usual; feeding kitties, walking dog, feeding dog, etc. The days will pretty much be the same which is fine, in this case best not to have too much excitement.

I spent several hours today on the computer getting work done and also catching up on reading all the theatre reviews from NYC since I left on September 6. I hadn't read any so it took a long time to catch up. I've missed a lot of shows and some that sound great from the reviews, although you can't always trust a review, you must take it all with a grain of salt.  I do miss the theater though and I had forgotten to write this in the blog the other day but when I was in London I was walking through the West End, their version of Broadway, and thinking that the first major Broadway show I saw wasn't on Broadway at all but was in London on my first visit there in the early 90's. I saw the musical "Blood Brothers" and loved it. As I was walking around Saturday I was trying to remember what theater it was in but I didn't come across it so I put it out of my head. Anyway, the next day I was looking up stuff on line and it had a notice about "Blood Brothers" closing. I was shocked, I surely thought the musical had closed years and years ago so I looked it up to see if it was a revival that opened only recently and was closing but no, it was the one from the early 90's and it ran for 24 years making it the 3rd longest running musical in West End history. But the really strange thing for me is that it closed on that Saturday, the 27th, the day I was walking around the West End.

I know what does it matter, right, but it's just so strange that the first Broadway show I saw was in London and 20 or so years later I am walking around the city on the day it has it's final performance. Anyway, just an odd coincidence that made me pause and think how funny the world can be.

So back to today. Around 12:30pm I took the bus about 7 minutes down the road heading toward the town of Aldeburgh to a village called Snape Maltings. It's a charming place with picturesque views of the River Alde and it's surrounding countryside.  It's just over a mile from the house but it's too hard to walk because there are parts where there are no fields or side walks easily accessible. Anyway the bus is easy and only 2.50 pounds round trip. I got there too late to take the 45 minute river cruise so I'll do that another time but I walked around the wonderful little shops including a food hall that has the most wonderful treats. I indulged just a little on some caramels. I had a little something to eat at the Plough and Sail pub which was packed. At first I figured it must be mostly retired couples which would make sense since it's a Thursday and it was in the afternoon and they would certainly have time to lunch but it was filled with lots of families which kids and just random people who either don't work on Thursday or maybe they work nearby and have lunch here. Either way I was shocked at how many people were out eating lunch and then going in and out of the stores was astonishing as well because they were all packed too. This is a tiny little village but it's clearly the place to come for food, shopping or a long scenic walk.

So I did walk around the shops and the grounds for about 3 hours. They also have some great sculptures out in some of the fields and this one by Barbara Hepworth titled "The Family of Man" (Figure 1, Ancestor 1), (Figure 2, Ancestor II), (Figure 4, Parent I) was done in 197. There is also one of a big horse that I didn't get a picture of because some teens were climbing all over it so I just copied one from the internet. The sculpture is "Perceval," a life-sized sculpture by British artist Sarah Lucas. This is Edition 5/5 signed by the artist.Painted bronze Shire horse pulling a cart, overflowing with two giant marrows that have been cast in cement. It stands 7.5 feet tall by 13 feet long, and weighs 5 tons.

I also walked past, up the little hill a row of houses and one that was owned by Benjamin Britton and where he lived when he wrote the opera "Peter Grimes." At least that's what the plaque on this lighthouse looking home read. I don't know the opera, although I have heard of it. John had said the day he took me around to show me the area that they had contemplated buying the house but it need way to much work and then they found this one so they made a good choice.


I caught the bus back to Tunstall to feed, walk, etc. the little ones. But on my way back to the house I noticed next door there is a pink house that has on one side where there is an entrance sign that says "Boys entrance 1930" and on the other side at the second entrance there is a sign saying "Girls entrance 1931." And the little white house attached says "Teacher's Cottage." So interesting since the house I'm in was once a school back in the 1800's. It was actually built in 1872 so I wonder if they just needed more classrooms or if they closed the one next door and opened this, although I don't see any signs for separate entrances. I took a picture of the back of the house I'm in looking toward the pink house next door. Although I realize in this picture you can't tell it's a pink house but wow, the sky was really pink. I took it about 4pm and the sun was peeking through a cloud.

Here is a little history on Snape Maltings:

Snape Maltings is part of Snape, Suffolk, U.K., best known for its concert hall, which is one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival.

The Maltings is a set of buildings, mostly dating from the 19th century, built on the banks of the River Alde near Snape, Suffolk, England. Its original purpose was the malting of barley for the brewing of beer; local barley, once malted, was sent from here to London and exported to mainland Europe. Today Snape Maltings is a collection of granaries and malthouses nestled alongside the River Alde. Shops, galleries, restaurants and the Snape Maltings Concert Hall now fill the old buildings. The beautiful Alde Estuary is a haven for wildlife, which can be enjoyed both on river trips and walks through the reed beds.

Newson Garrett a Victorian entrepreur built the Maltings in the 1800s; his name appears on plaques around the site. The river made Garrett decide to build a Maltings at this already busy port. 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. Within three years of his arrival, Newson Garrett was shipping 17,000 quarters of barley a year from Snape. Much of this barley would have been destined for breweries, where it had first to be malted. Newson saw an opportunity. Snape was in the heart of good agricultural land, and halfway between the brewing area of Norwich and London. Demand from the London breweries was growing fast, and it was becoming impractical to make malt and brew beer on the same premises. In 1854 he began malting at Snape, and was soon shipping malt, rather than barley to the breweries.

The Maltings process at Snape came to an end in the 1960's as Swonnell and Son went into liquidation and seven acres of industrial buildings were left vacant. Thirty acres of land was offered for sale, including dwellings and an inn. It was difficult to imagine how such functional structures could be put to different use. However George Gooderham, a local farmer and businessman, recognised the potential. He purchased the site and set about finding alternative uses for the buildings.

By the 1960's the Aldeburgh Music Festival was outgrowing the limited space available in the Jubilee Hall. Benjamin Britten started to look around for somewhere to build a concert hall. Britten had the vision to see the largest Malthouse, in its magnificent setting overlooking the saltings as a possible site. 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.

Snape Maltings is a leading destination on the Suffolk Coast with the world famous Concert Hall and rehearsal space as well as independent shops, galleries, restaurants, art exhibitions and workshops. A calendar of events operate throughout the year from the June Festival and August Proms to guided river walks, boat trips, farmers markets and the Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival.