The Scallop is a 4 metre high monument that stands on the beach between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness. Created by Maggi Hambling it is a memorial to the composer Benjamin Britten. On the rim of the shell are the words “I hear those voices that will not be drowned” from Britten’s opera Peter Grimes. It is a ‘tactile’ work of art and children are free to climb on it and enjoy it like a large rock on the beach. This work of art has prompted a huge amount of opposition. Considering that it was largely funded by the chairman of Adnams Brewery and that the beach is a pretty desolate place with the slightly ominous view of Sizewell B up the road, I can’t help wondering why some locals are so against it? Is it that they feel that too much of Benjamin Britten is already celebrated here in this area? Or is that this somewhat shabby but charming little town of Aldeburgh wants to stay firmly planted in its past? For me, the way The Scallop captures the light in so many different ways enhances its beauty and having met Britten as a child I feel he would have enjoyed that fact that children are free to clamber over it.
