Newson Garrett was converted into the Snape Maltings Concert Hall, which has become the principal venue for the annual Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts. Newson Garrett Newson Garrett (31 July 1812 – 4 May 1893) was a maltster, instrumental in the revival of the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, of which he became mayor at the end of his life. Two of his daughters became famous as women's rights activists. Born in Leiston in Suffolk, Garrett was the grandson of Richard Garrett, who founded the agricultural machinery works at Leiston, and Elizabeth Newson, after whom he was named. Newson was the
Snape Maltings breweries, where it had first to be malted. Newson saw an opportunity. Snape was in the heart of good agricultural land, and halfway between the brewing area of Norwich and London. Demand from the London breweries was growing fast, and it was becoming impractical to make malt and brew beer on the same premises. In 1854 he began malting at Snape, and was soon shipping malt, rather than barley to the breweries. The Maltings process at Snape came to an end in the 1960s as Swonnell and Son went into liquidation and seven acres of industrial buildings were left vacant.