Ss. Peter and Paul, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
I have been to Aldeburgh several time before. Nover to park the car and wander round the shops and eateries in the centre, just to pass through on the war from or to Thorpness, the drive along the top end of the beach very enjoyable.
Aldeburgh is arty, and has been for many years. My thought was to look at the parish church, and thankful with the low rise town and large tower, it was easy to find. Although at the new roundabout I was tempted by the road leading to Church Farm, but though the centre of the town better.
I was right, as the main road passed right beside Ss. Peter and Paul, and had a very large and paved car park, although they did want I think £4.50 to use it.
I wasn't sure if it would be open, but there was a welcoming sign on the door beneath the tower at the western end of the church.
THere is a small "porch" in the base of the tower with a locked door for the bellringers. Ahead I walked to the double door and pushed.
Upon entering, the church. the nave spread out well on either side, and beyond broad columns were two wide aisles, looking contemporary with the church.. Altogether very impressive.
I heard hushed voices in the southern chapel, and looking over I saw someone reading with the aid of an angle poise light, and one other person listening. It seemed to be a list of names, maybe prayers requested by parishioners.
I tried to be quiet, but the quadruple click of my camera as I go my shots seemed to echo around the church, so I limited my shots near to the chancel.
I heard the final lines of The Lord's Prayer, and knew the service was at an end. I went over to apologise for disturbing them, and they said I had done no such thing. In fact, they insisted I had been there a week before, with a friend, taking shots. Not me I said, I have no twin and no friends.
The vicar, because it was he, was very kind, asked about what U was doing, mentioned Mr Knott, as he was familiar with his Suffolk Church website, but unaware that it also stretched to Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, The City of London and possibly soon, Rutland.
Ss Peter and Paul, at least to me, seems unusual as being a whole church, despite being Victorianised, the nave and aisles look of the same age, and so seem to complete a whole. Of course there is nothing wrong in unmatching buildings, indeed, making them more interesting. But all in all, pleasing to the eye.
Back outside, I much admired the porch to the south, with arches in the east and west side, probably for processions I thought, being correct at least for one.
It seems to be open all day, most of the day. And free, except the car park.
------------------------------------------
Aldeburgh, as Scott Fitzgerald might have observed, is different from the rest of Suffolk. Actually, if a writer was going to say this, perhaps E.M. Forster is more likely; he spent a lot of time here with his friend Benjamin Britten, and there's a memorable photograph of them sitting together in a boat.
Aldeburgh, pronounced Orld-brur, is, of course, the home of the Aldeburgh festival; but at anytime you'll find it full of visitors, many of them mild eccentrics, dressed colourfully for the season. Perhaps only in Lavenham would you find it harder to track down a local. The town's shops are thriving as a consequence, but even in winter the streets can become a car park on a sunny day. Don't even think of being able to park in high summer.
The difference between Lavenham and Aldeburgh, though, is that people often come here to stay. The desirable 18th and 19th century houses the length of the front are one of the reasons. Crag House, just down from the church and one of the largest, was where Britten lived for many years. Britten was born 20 miles north at Kirkley, in Lowestoft, where his father was a dentist. But it took him three years in America to realise that Suffolk was where he wanted to be, and so at the height of wartime he undertook the dangerous journey home with his partner, Peter Pears. They rented out the old mill at nearby Snape, where Britten wrote his first masterpiece, Peter Grimes, based on Crabbe's story The Borough, about a fishing village, where the anti-hero Grimes suffers the wrath of the community's hypocrisy, for his ill-treatment of his apprentices. One of the major scenes in the opera takes place in this church, for the Borough, of course, is Aldeburgh. It also appears in Wilkie Collins' finest novel, No Name, as Aldborough.
In later life, Britten and Pears moved to the Red House, near the quiet seclusion of the golf course; but their real local testament is, of course, Snape Maltings, the great arts complex three miles away, finished in the years before Britten's tragically early death in 1976.
Given that this town was a popular and wealthy resort in the 19th century, it is no surprise that the church has been almost completely restored, and very little internal evidence survives of its Catholic liturgical life. Aldeburgh's Catholic priests today minister the sacraments at Our Lady and St Peter, at the top of the hill 100 yards to the south. But St Peter and St Paul is a fine, municipal Anglican parish church, and should be enjoyed for that.
Externally, it is rather more interesting. The south porch adjoins the pavement, and has arches in its east and west walls to allow processions to pass within the precincts of the graveyard. This was built by the Holy Trinity gild, right on the eve of the Reformation. Because of its proximity to the road, the church has an imposing presence. The grand 14th century tower is not typical of the coast; with its towering stair turret, it looks more like Hoxne or Stradbroke.
You enter the church from the west, into the darkness beneath the tower, very like that at Debenham. This church is always open during the day, and has a cheerful welcome notice. You step into a warm, bright interior, with plenty of 19th century touches.
The finest feature here is, of course, the Britten memorial. It is by the artist John Piper, in stained glass, and shows images from three of his church parables: The Prodigal Son, Curlew River, and The Burning Fiery Furnace. It sits in the north aisle, and gets enough light to fill the aisle with colour. The font sits in front of it.
The colour of the sanctuary tempers its rather stern Tractarian makeover, but there are also plenty of reminders of the life of the Borough in years and centuries gone by. The lifeboat disaster memorial is a grand example of late Victorian copperwork at the west end. Rather finer is the town war memorial in the south aisle, the golden rays of the dying soldier's nimbus illuminating the inscription and everyone said to his brother be of good cheer. There is a fine monument in the south chapel to Lady Henrietta Vernon. This chapel was the chantry chapel of the Holy Trinity guild before the Reformation. Large squints sit either side of the chancel arch, marking the positions of altars. Today, a fine, early 17th century pulpit stands in front of one: the documentation still exists for its commissioning. The wooden angels guarding the sanctuary are a curiously naive touch. The glass in both chancel and south aisle east windows is excellent; St Cecilia is happily present, and reminds us that the musical tradition of Aldeburgh predated Britten. The lyrical tradition did as well, because against the arcade in the north aisle is the memorial to the poet George Crabbe.
This is a nice church, and a welcoming one. It isn't terribly significant as Suffolk churches go, but I prefer it to some of the more self-important ones. I'm also a big fan of Britten, which is another reason I like it. If you are looking for Britten's gravestone, don't look for anything grand. The large one towards the east wall is a memorial to the crew of the lifeboat who all died in the 1899 disaster here. This is very moving, despite the arch piety typical of that decade.
No, Britten's stone sits in the common run, along with the other 1976 graves. Beside it, space was reserved for Peter Pears, who died in the 1980s. By one of those acts of serendipity, the musician Imogen Holst, daughter of the composer Gustav Holst, lies just behind them.
It doesn't take long, looking around, to locate the graves of other musicians and singers, who all came to Aldeburgh attracted by Britten's light. Also buried here is Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of the Garretts who built the Snape maltings complex as part of their industrial empire. She, of course, is famous for being the first woman doctor in England. Less well known is the fact that she was also the first ever female mayor in England - of Aldeburgh, of course.
Simon Knott, January 2009
Ss. Peter and Paul, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
I have been to Aldeburgh several time before. Nover to park the car and wander round the shops and eateries in the centre, just to pass through on the war from or to Thorpness, the drive along the top end of the beach very enjoyable.
Aldeburgh is arty, and has been for many years. My thought was to look at the parish church, and thankful with the low rise town and large tower, it was easy to find. Although at the new roundabout I was tempted by the road leading to Church Farm, but though the centre of the town better.
I was right, as the main road passed right beside Ss. Peter and Paul, and had a very large and paved car park, although they did want I think £4.50 to use it.
I wasn't sure if it would be open, but there was a welcoming sign on the door beneath the tower at the western end of the church.
THere is a small "porch" in the base of the tower with a locked door for the bellringers. Ahead I walked to the double door and pushed.
Upon entering, the church. the nave spread out well on either side, and beyond broad columns were two wide aisles, looking contemporary with the church.. Altogether very impressive.
I heard hushed voices in the southern chapel, and looking over I saw someone reading with the aid of an angle poise light, and one other person listening. It seemed to be a list of names, maybe prayers requested by parishioners.
I tried to be quiet, but the quadruple click of my camera as I go my shots seemed to echo around the church, so I limited my shots near to the chancel.
I heard the final lines of The Lord's Prayer, and knew the service was at an end. I went over to apologise for disturbing them, and they said I had done no such thing. In fact, they insisted I had been there a week before, with a friend, taking shots. Not me I said, I have no twin and no friends.
The vicar, because it was he, was very kind, asked about what U was doing, mentioned Mr Knott, as he was familiar with his Suffolk Church website, but unaware that it also stretched to Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, The City of London and possibly soon, Rutland.
Ss Peter and Paul, at least to me, seems unusual as being a whole church, despite being Victorianised, the nave and aisles look of the same age, and so seem to complete a whole. Of course there is nothing wrong in unmatching buildings, indeed, making them more interesting. But all in all, pleasing to the eye.
Back outside, I much admired the porch to the south, with arches in the east and west side, probably for processions I thought, being correct at least for one.
It seems to be open all day, most of the day. And free, except the car park.
------------------------------------------
Aldeburgh, as Scott Fitzgerald might have observed, is different from the rest of Suffolk. Actually, if a writer was going to say this, perhaps E.M. Forster is more likely; he spent a lot of time here with his friend Benjamin Britten, and there's a memorable photograph of them sitting together in a boat.
Aldeburgh, pronounced Orld-brur, is, of course, the home of the Aldeburgh festival; but at anytime you'll find it full of visitors, many of them mild eccentrics, dressed colourfully for the season. Perhaps only in Lavenham would you find it harder to track down a local. The town's shops are thriving as a consequence, but even in winter the streets can become a car park on a sunny day. Don't even think of being able to park in high summer.
The difference between Lavenham and Aldeburgh, though, is that people often come here to stay. The desirable 18th and 19th century houses the length of the front are one of the reasons. Crag House, just down from the church and one of the largest, was where Britten lived for many years. Britten was born 20 miles north at Kirkley, in Lowestoft, where his father was a dentist. But it took him three years in America to realise that Suffolk was where he wanted to be, and so at the height of wartime he undertook the dangerous journey home with his partner, Peter Pears. They rented out the old mill at nearby Snape, where Britten wrote his first masterpiece, Peter Grimes, based on Crabbe's story The Borough, about a fishing village, where the anti-hero Grimes suffers the wrath of the community's hypocrisy, for his ill-treatment of his apprentices. One of the major scenes in the opera takes place in this church, for the Borough, of course, is Aldeburgh. It also appears in Wilkie Collins' finest novel, No Name, as Aldborough.
In later life, Britten and Pears moved to the Red House, near the quiet seclusion of the golf course; but their real local testament is, of course, Snape Maltings, the great arts complex three miles away, finished in the years before Britten's tragically early death in 1976.
Given that this town was a popular and wealthy resort in the 19th century, it is no surprise that the church has been almost completely restored, and very little internal evidence survives of its Catholic liturgical life. Aldeburgh's Catholic priests today minister the sacraments at Our Lady and St Peter, at the top of the hill 100 yards to the south. But St Peter and St Paul is a fine, municipal Anglican parish church, and should be enjoyed for that.
Externally, it is rather more interesting. The south porch adjoins the pavement, and has arches in its east and west walls to allow processions to pass within the precincts of the graveyard. This was built by the Holy Trinity gild, right on the eve of the Reformation. Because of its proximity to the road, the church has an imposing presence. The grand 14th century tower is not typical of the coast; with its towering stair turret, it looks more like Hoxne or Stradbroke.
You enter the church from the west, into the darkness beneath the tower, very like that at Debenham. This church is always open during the day, and has a cheerful welcome notice. You step into a warm, bright interior, with plenty of 19th century touches.
The finest feature here is, of course, the Britten memorial. It is by the artist John Piper, in stained glass, and shows images from three of his church parables: The Prodigal Son, Curlew River, and The Burning Fiery Furnace. It sits in the north aisle, and gets enough light to fill the aisle with colour. The font sits in front of it.
The colour of the sanctuary tempers its rather stern Tractarian makeover, but there are also plenty of reminders of the life of the Borough in years and centuries gone by. The lifeboat disaster memorial is a grand example of late Victorian copperwork at the west end. Rather finer is the town war memorial in the south aisle, the golden rays of the dying soldier's nimbus illuminating the inscription and everyone said to his brother be of good cheer. There is a fine monument in the south chapel to Lady Henrietta Vernon. This chapel was the chantry chapel of the Holy Trinity guild before the Reformation. Large squints sit either side of the chancel arch, marking the positions of altars. Today, a fine, early 17th century pulpit stands in front of one: the documentation still exists for its commissioning. The wooden angels guarding the sanctuary are a curiously naive touch. The glass in both chancel and south aisle east windows is excellent; St Cecilia is happily present, and reminds us that the musical tradition of Aldeburgh predated Britten. The lyrical tradition did as well, because against the arcade in the north aisle is the memorial to the poet George Crabbe.
This is a nice church, and a welcoming one. It isn't terribly significant as Suffolk churches go, but I prefer it to some of the more self-important ones. I'm also a big fan of Britten, which is another reason I like it. If you are looking for Britten's gravestone, don't look for anything grand. The large one towards the east wall is a memorial to the crew of the lifeboat who all died in the 1899 disaster here. This is very moving, despite the arch piety typical of that decade.
No, Britten's stone sits in the common run, along with the other 1976 graves. Beside it, space was reserved for Peter Pears, who died in the 1980s. By one of those acts of serendipity, the musician Imogen Holst, daughter of the composer Gustav Holst, lies just behind them.
It doesn't take long, looking around, to locate the graves of other musicians and singers, who all came to Aldeburgh attracted by Britten's light. Also buried here is Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of the Garretts who built the Snape maltings complex as part of their industrial empire. She, of course, is famous for being the first woman doctor in England. Less well known is the fact that she was also the first ever female mayor in England - of Aldeburgh, of course.
Simon Knott, January 2009