The porch corridor

Beyond the entrance hall is the porch corridor. Pears once commented that “this twisty old house rambles all over the place” and this is the first of many long corridors that link the rooms.

Features include a set of Crown Derby plates commemorating Britten’s operas, made in a limited edition of 500 to celebrate his 60th birthday (1973) and sold in aid of improvements to Snape Maltings, and, hanging from the stairs, a set of Iranian camel bells. These were given to Britten and Pears by the pianist and accompanist Graham Johnson, and were a favourite of the ‘cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, a frequent visitor to the house, who would make a point of ringing them whenever he passed.

Paintings in the corridor include works by Mary Potter, Sidney Nolan and Philip Wilson Steer, and Duncan Grant’s design for a predella in Lincoln Cathedral (1958).

Move back to the entrance hallUpstairs to Peter Pears's study

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