The Curlew Bench

A new ‘Curlew’ Bench is to be unveiled at Snape Maltings, a landmark collaboration celebrating craft, music and landscape in the Alde Estuary. 

 

A striking new handcrafted bench overlooking the reed beds of the Alde Estuary will be unveiled at Snape Maltings on Saturday 11th April 2026 at 10am, as part of a special Spring celebration. The bench was co-funded by Britten Pears Arts, Suffolk Craft Society and the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape.  

 

The opening forms part of Britten Pears Arts’ Place Weekend, which celebrates the magic of Spring at Snape Maltings, three days of nature, creativity and music set within the breathtaking Suffolk landscape.  

 

The Curlew Bench is the result of a unique collaboration between Britten Pears Arts, Suffolk Craft Society and The Bench Project. The Project brings together three influential organisations whose combined histories represent more than 120 years of cultural contribution to Suffolk and the wider arts community.  

 

Designed and crafted by Suffolk-based designer-maker Tim Germain and The Bench Project team, the bespoke bench sits along the Sailor’s Path, an ancient route connecting inland Suffolk to the historic coastal town of Aldeburgh. From this vantage point, walkers and visitors can look out across the dramatic reed beds and the estuary of the River Alde, within this nationally protected landscape.  

 

The bench design draws inspiration from the musical language of composer Benjamin Britten. Its curved form echoes a musical notation invented by Britten to indicate a double rest, an invitation to listen, reflect and notice the surrounding environment. Britten first used this notation in his composition Curlew River.  

 

The Bench Project team arrived at the design while researching Britten’s score in the Britten Archive. On This Island, a poem by W. H. Auden, selected by Britten Pears Arts, is inscribed on the bench’s surface, strengthening the connection between music, literature and place.  

 

The Project also celebrates several important milestones: The Aldeburgh Festival in 2026 will be in its 77th edition, over 50 years of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme and marking the historic founding of the Suffolk Craft Society at Snape Maltings in 1970.  

 

Tim Germain said: “Benches have become something of an obsession for me. I spend a lot of time looking at them, sitting on them and thinking about how they could be more comfortable, more beautiful and more connected to their surroundings. This Project is about creating a place where people can sit together, pause, and really notice the extraordinary landscape around them.” Beyond its artistic significance, the installation also improves accessibility within the landscape. By providing a welcoming place to rest along a popular walking route, the bench enables visitors of all ages and abilities to spend more time enjoying the estuary environment. By encouraging stillness and observation, the Curlew Bench offers a new way to experience one of Suffolk’s most treasured cultural landscapes — reminding visitors that sometimes the most powerful connection to place begins simply by sitting down and taking notice.”