History of Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall

In 1887, to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, Newson Garrett, together with the lord of the manor, added a large public hall to the already existing reading room, intended for "Concerts and dramatic entertainments provided by well-known artistes, dances for the little people on wet afternoons and for the 'grown ups' in the evenings." The hall was the prinipal venue for performances organised by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in the early years of the Aldeburgh Festival, from 1948 until 1967 when the concert hall at Snape Maltings was built. The demands made by the increasing prestige of the Festival led to the hall's extensive renovation in 1959, when the backstage areas were increased and the orchestra pit built under the stage. The new-look Jubilee Hall re-opened in 1960, with the first performances of Britten's opera 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', composed for the occasion. Other notable premières to have taken place at the hall include Britten's opera 'The Little Sweep', William Walton's opera 'The Bear' and Harrison Birtwistle's opera 'Punch and Judy'. The hall is still used by the festival as an occasional venue. Since 1989 it has been the main venue for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, and since 1995 it has been used by Jill Freud's Summer Theatre Repertory Company.