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Aldeburgh is a small town in East Anglia, on the East Coast of England, which despite its size has achieved considerable world-wide fame, especially among devotees of music and literature. It has consistently and persistently attracted artists of many persuasions, from George Crabbe in the Eighteenth Century to Benjamin Britten in the present Century, the latter being, with Peter Pears and others, the founder of the Aldeburgh Festival. Recently the town has been host to its own Poetry Festival.
Originally a fishing port and a small market town, Aldeburgh suffered the coastal erosion of much of East Anglia, losing several of its streets so that the old meeting hall (The Moot Hall) finished up on the sea front rather than in the centre of the town. In Victorian times, the town extended inland, substantial development being carried out by Newson Garrett, whose daughter, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, enjoys the distinction both of being the first English Female Doctor and the first Lady Mayor of an English Borough (of Aldeburgh naturally).
Many books have been set in or have started in Aldeburgh, some of which can be found in our excellent and well-stocked local bookshop on the High Street. Wilkie Collins' "No Name" is an example from the 19th Century. George Crabbe's writing in the Eighteenth Century provided the inspiration for one of Benjamin Britten's operas in the Twentieth. A number of modern thrillers start in or are set in the area.
There are other parts to the town which have no connection to the arts. There is a Golf Club at the western side of the town, and a Yacht Club and a Sailing Club at the southern end of the town, on the River Alde. There is a significant fishing fleet whose boats are still launched directly off the beach, and whose interests are overseen by an RNLI lifeboat. Several hotels cater to the many visitors who come to have a quiet holiday, to spend time on the beach or to look at the sights which include a fine Church.
Some of the needs of the small population of about two and a half thousand in the town, and several thousand more in the surrounding area and the towns of Leiston and Saxmundham, are provided for by the Aldeburgh and District Community Hospital, which against the trend in the UK was rebuilt a few years ago at a cost of several million pounds, with considerable help from the very enthusiastic "Friends of Aldeburgh Hospital". It has beds for general use and beds specifically for elderly patient rehabilitation.
See also the Aldeburgh Page.
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