Below 1500s herringbone brickwork, a vine bearing regular bunches of oak-carved grapes decorates load-bearing beam in north gable of Tudor timber-framed Moot Hall at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK. The Hall was built around 1520 in the reign of King Henry VIII and altered in 1654. Originally an open market, the building is now the Town Hall and houses the Aldeburgh Museum. The Moot Hall has been the centre of local government in Aldeburgh for 400 years.
Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK: vine trail carving with bunches of grapes decorates the oak bressummer beam bearing the load of timber framing and 17th century herringbone brickwork, above a mullioned and transomed wooden window with 14 leaded lights in the north gable of the Moot Hall, built in the reign of King Henry VIII. The Moot Hall, dating from about 1520, stands in Market Cross Place, facing Aldeburgh’s long shingle beach. It was built to shelter the town’s open market and on its west front, four infilled arches survive from that time. It has been the centre of local government in the town for the last 400 years 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. The Snape Maltings arts complex, founded by Britten, hosts an international arts festival as well as many other events.
Size: 4071px × 2709px
Location: Moot Hall, Market Cross Place, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1500s, 1520, 16th, 17th, aldeburgh, anglia, architecture, beam, bearing, bressummer, brick, brickwork, building, built, bunches, carving, century, civic, clusters, council, councillors, cross, , east, eastern, england, frame, framed, framing, fruit, government, grade, grape, grapes, hall, herringbone, infill, kerr, kingdom, lattice, leaded, leaders, lights, listed, load, local, market, meetings, moot, mullioned, museum, nogging, oak, place, sculpted, seafront, suffolk, terence, timber, timbered, timbering, town, trail, transomed, tudor, uk, united, vine, window, windows, woodcarving, wooden
