BENJAMIN BRITTEN'S SUFFOLK MUSIC STUDIO LISTED

16 Oct 2002 01:15 PM

The tiny brick-built music studio in Horham, Suffolk - where Benjamin Britten wrote Death in Venice, Phaedra and the Third String Quartet - has been listed Grade II by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

This means that it will receive additional protection against inappropriate alterations or redevelopment.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said:

"Benjamin Britten is without a doubt the greatest English classical composer of the last century. Britten's music studio, with its view across his beloved Suffolk countryside, is no architectural gem, but its importance as a piece of our cultural heritage cannot be denied."

Notes to Editors

1. Pictures of the house can be downloaded free of charge from our site on PA Picselect. Please go to the DCMS folder situated within the Arts section of Picselect either at www.papicselect.com or through the PA bulletin board.

2. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) moved to Chapel House in Horam, Suffolk in 1971 after his home in Aldeburgh, The Red House, had become too popular for him to work in. Chapel House allowed him more privacy and, shortly after, he arranged for a studio to be constructed in the garden where he could resume composing. The building was not designed by his architect, Peter Collymore, and its design was probably agreed between Britten and his builder. It is made of painted brick with a simple pitched pantile roof. There is a single doorway on the garden façade and a large window overlooking the fields. Although it is agreed that it is of no architectural interest, it has been listed Grade II on the basis of its immensely strong historic interest. Chapel House itself is already listed (18th century, with additions by Collymore from 1972), and so the studio also has very strong 'group value' with the house.

3. The listing follows advice from English Heritage, the Government's statutory adviser on all matters concerning the conservation of England's historic built environment. In the present year its grant-in-aid from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is £115.4 million.

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