which took place here, such as the celebration of Britten’s life peerage in 1976. In the summer months we welcome visitors to bring a picnic or enjoy a spot of croquet on the croquet lawn where Britten and Pears played. New additions to the visit include a museum shop and The Red Hut garden café offering takeaway lunches and afternoon tea. For opening times and to book a visit, see www.brittenpearsarts.org/visit-us/the-redhouse or call the Box Office on 01728 687110. On 1st April 2020, Snape Maltings and the Britten–Pears Foundation came together to create the new music, arts and heritage charity, Britten Pears Arts. Britten Pears Arts runs both The Red House and Snape Maltings.
The Red House The Red House on Golf Lane, Aldeburgh is the home Benjamin Britten shared with his partner, the tenor Peter Pears, for the last two decades of his life and where he wrote many of his famous works. The site also includes Britten’s evocative Library, the Studio where he composed, an award-winning Archive building housing the Britten-Pears Foundation’s extensive collections, and peaceful gardens. It also boasts one of the finest collections of paintings in East Anglia. The house has been carefully re-presented as it was, based on a room inventory and recollections from people who knew the house at that time. The result is a charmingly informal snapshot, as though Britten and Pears had just stepped out for a moment. Visit the room where Britten wrote such masterpieces as the War Requiem. His desk, piano and other original items have been put back into the elegant first-floor room created for him our of a former hayloft next to the main house. The Library was built on the site of a disused barn to the rear of The Red House in 1963. Britten and Pears entertained guests, cultivated vegetables, and even played croquet and tennis in their much-cherished gardens. There were many important social occasions
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