The historic half-timbered Moot Hall, facing the North Sea at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK, was built in 1520, in the reign of King Henry VIII, to shelter an open market, but for the last 400 years it has served as the town hall. Aldeburgh Town Council now shares both floors with Aldeburgh Museum.
Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK: the east front of the early 16th century timber-framed Moot Hall, facing the town’s lengthy shingle beach, has a jetty or overhang at first floor level with a load-bearing bressummer beam carved with ribbon trail ornament. Above the beam, gaps between the ancient timbers are filled with 17th century herringbone brickwork, while beneath it the wall mixes 19th century brick with flint and ashlar cut stone. Twin brick chimney flues rise from the south gable. The Moot Hall, dating from about 1520, stands in Market Cross Place and was built to shelter the town’s open market. On its west front, four infilled arches survive from that time. For the last four centuries, the Hall has been the centre of civic administration in the town and Aldeburgh Town Council now shares both floors of the building with Aldeburgh Museum. The Tudor building was altered in 1654, then restored and partly rebuilt in the mid-1800s when an external staircase was added. Inside, the three ground floor rooms are accessed by four-centred arched doorways with sculpted spandrels. On the first floor, the council chamber has chamfered tie beams on arched braces supporting a tiled roof. In the 1500s, Aldeburgh was an important port and flourishing shipbuilding centre. It gained borough status under Henry VIII, but declined as the River Alde silted up and large ships could no longer berth. Much of Tudor Aldeburgh was lost to coastal erosion, but the town survived on fishing until the 1800s, when it became a seaside resort. It is now best known as the home of composer Benjamin Britten (1913-76), and for its cultural activities, centred on the Snape Maltings arts complex
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Moot Hall, Market Cross Place, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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