The Aldeburgh Beach Lookout is a historic landmark on the Aldeburgh sea front, in Suffolk, England. Grade II listed,^[1] it was built around 1830 as a lookout tower to assist or plunder shipping along the hazardous North Sea coast. It now houses an artistic space,^[2] hosting exhibitions by British artists including Sir Antony Gormley RA.

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Aldeburgh Beach Lookout
Type	Coastal lookout
Location	Aldeburgh, Suffolk
Coordinates	52.150563°N 1.602063°E / 52.150563; 1.602063
Built	c. 1830
Current use	Art venue
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated	August 1974[1]
Reference no.	1269772
Location of Aldeburgh Beach Lookout in the United Kingdom

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In the 19th century, observation towers were constructed along the United Kingdom's coastline to help ships navigate treacherous waters and sail safely on.^[2] Lookouts, as they were called, were typically commercial operations in the business of rescuing or salvaging vessels. The Aldeburgh Beach Lookout is the southern of two lookouts on Aldeburgh beach; its rival,^[3] the North Lookout, stands approximately 100 yards north and now forms part of the Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station.

The South Lookout, now known as the Aldeburgh Beach Lookout, became a coastguard post before falling into disuse in the mid-20th century. South African writer and Aldeburgh resident Sir Laurens van der Post wrote inside the lookout for over 30 years, from the mid-1950s onwards.^[2]

In 2010, the Aldeburgh Beach Lookout was co-founded by Francis Carnwath and Caroline Wiseman to provide an artistic space for the public to view modern art.^[2] Since then, the Lookout has hosted exhibitions by many international artists including Royal Academicians Antony Gormley, Alison Wilding, Nigel Hall, Chris Orr, and Eileen Cooper.^[2] Poets who have written in the Lookout include Blake Morrison and Ian McMillan. The Lookout has hosted philosophers and thinkers including A. C. Grayling and Andrew Marr.