Four centuries of civic pride: the Tudor timber-framed Moot Hall on the seafront at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK, built around 1520 to shelter an open market, has hosted meetings of local councillors for the last 400 years.
Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK: the timber-framed Moot Hall, built in the 16th century reign of Tudor monarch Henry VIII, has been used by civic leaders for more than 400 years and it still hosts the offices and meetings of Aldeburgh Town Council. The two storey jettied building, built around 1520, stands in Market Cross Place, facing Aldeburgh’s long shingle beach. As the address suggests, it was built to shelter the town’s open market and on its west front, four infilled arches survive from that time. Town councillors now share both floors of the building with the exhibits of Aldeburgh Museum. The Moot Hall, altered in 1654, was restored in the mid-1800s when the gable ends were rebuilt and an external staircase added. The ground floor timbers are now infilled with a mix of mostly 19th century brick, stone and flint, but the first floor brickwork is 17th century. The Hall has an external chimney stack bearing a painted sundial dated 1650 and topped by twin brick flues. Inside, the three rooms on the ground floor have four-centred carved doorways and the first floor hall, used for council meetings, has chamfered tie beams on arched braces supporting the tiled roof. In the 1500s, Aldeburgh was an important port with a flourishing shipbuilding industry. 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 a cultural centre and as the home of composer Benjamin Britten (1913-76). He founded the Snape Maltings arts complex, which hosts an international arts festival as well as many other cultural events.
Size: 2662px × 4000px
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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