Benjamin Britten immortalised in bronze statue unveiled by Sir John Rutter and Zeb Soanes

12 November 2025, 12:08 | Updated: 12 November 2025, 13:08

Lowestoft’s famous musical son has been immortalised in bronze.

A new bronze statue of Benjamin Britten, sculpted by renowned artist Ian Rank-Broadley, has taken its place on Lowestoft’s seafront after three years of planning and community fundraising.

Facing the North Sea, the sculpture shows Britten as a boy standing just yards from his childhood home.

Composer Sir John Rutter, who was conducted by Britten as a young choral scholar, unveiled the statue in an event that brought together civic leaders, donors and local children, who sang a specially commissioned song inspired by Britten’s diary entries.

A fundraising project was led by Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes – recently appointed chancellor of the University of Suffolk – and Lay Canon of St Edmundsbury Cathedral. The £120,000 target, raised by the Britten As A Boy Statue Committee, was met on what would have been Britten’s birthday.

Read more: Composer Benjamin Britten to be honoured with a statue outside his childhood home

Bronze Britten statue is unveiled by Sir John Rutter and Zeb Soanes!

“This statue is as much about providing hope and aspiration as commemorating my hometown’s great son,” said Zeb Soanes.

He added: “When Britten was made a freeman of Lowestoft in 1951, he declared: ‘As an artist, I want to serve the community.’ I believe, 70 years later, he would be delighted that this image of his young self, cast in bronze, will continue to do that for 1,000 years to come.”

Rank-Broadley is the sculptor behind the Queen Elizabeth II which appeared on all UK and Commonwealth coinage since 1998.

Support for the project has come from across the arts, including Dame Janet Baker, Sir Thomas Allen, Julian Fellowes and Britten’s own relatives. Sophie and Tamara Britten, the composer’s great-nieces and patrons of the statue.