The Red House

About the museum

The Red House in Aldeburgh is a Grade II listed seventeenth-century farmhouse. Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears moved in in 1957 and lived there for the rest of their lives. Today the house is run by Britten Pears Arts, a registered charity, as a place where visitors can see how the composer and the singer lived and worked.

The interior is furnished with an eclectic mix of art, artefacts and furniture and is presented through documents, photographs and recollections of people close to the couple. The library and music room, designed by Peter Collymore in 1963, holds their collections of books and music and part of their art collection, which includes around 1,200 works. Britten composed in the studio on the upper floor of a converted nineteenth-century cart shed, which still has its original furniture, a piano and books.

A gallery built in the 1990s over Britten's former open-air swimming pool holds exhibitions about Britten and his music. Visitors can also explore five acres of garden with the original planting and lawns, and the Britten Pears archive, which contains music manuscripts, papers and rare books. Guided tours and art tours give a closer look at the house.

Highlights

• Britten and Pears' home with its original furnishings
• Library and music room designed in 1963
• Composition studio in a converted cart shed
• Art collection of around 1,200 works
• Gallery built over the former swimming pool
• Five acres of garden and the Britten Pears archive

Permanent exhibitions

• The Red House and garden – The home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears with its library, music room, composition studio and five acres of garden.
• Britten Pears archive – Music manuscripts, papers, rare books and a large collection of books and music; the archive can be visited on Thursdays and Fridays.

Founded

2005

Operated by

Britten Pears Arts

Admission & discounts

The standard admission price is £11 and includes the ground floor of the house, library, composition studio, exhibitions and garden. Other concessions are mentioned on the website but not listed there. Guided tours, art tours, talks and viewings of the upstairs rooms are ticketed separately.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The site is wheelchair accessible except for the first-floor composition studio and the upstairs of the house; descriptive films of these areas are available from reception. Two wheelchairs can be borrowed, one lightweight indoor chair and one self-propelled chair for indoor and outdoor use. Ten folding stools are available. Reception and the archive each have an accessible toilet. Large-print leaflets are available on request. The lane to the house is an unmade single track with an uneven surface, and the drive and car parks are surfaced with shingle.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

Free family activities include gallery trails, interactive exhibits, discovery cubes and audio guides. Under-18s enter free.

Getting there & parking

Walking from the Moot Hall in Aldeburgh takes about 30 minutes; the pavement on Golf Lane is on the right-hand side only. Satnavs may route visitors into Linden Close, which has no access to the site. From the A12 take the A1094 into Aldeburgh, then the B1122 Leiston Road; Golf Lane is the second turning on the left.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Lockers

A cafe serves hot drinks and light snacks, and a shop sells books, CDs and souvenirs. Bags are not allowed in the house; free lockers are available in reception.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit