Yasha Beresiner, PGStB

Freemasons’ Hall in London, the home of the United Grand Lodge of England, is a great tourist site for Masons and their families.

Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London, is the home of the United Grand Lodge of England, and their wonderful library and museum.

London’s Freemasons’ Hall is an imposing art deco building on Great Queen Street, situated in the very heart of the capital on the edge of Covent Garden. It is a short walking distance from the famous Temple Church, the seat of the original Knights Templar, now even more immortalized by Dan Brown’s recent book, The Da Vinci Code. It is easily accessible by bus and underground (Holborn Station on the Central Line) and open to Freemasons and the general public during weekdays.

The present building covering no less than two and a quarter acres and taking up much of Great Queen Street, was completed in 1933 and is dedicated to the memory of the 3,225 British Freemasons who died on active service in the First World War. It is the third hall built on the same site. The first Freemasons Hall consisted of two adjoining houses purchased in 1775 by the premier Grand Lodge. Thomas Sanby, the architect, was appointed to join the houses with a Grand Hall between them. The resulting building, which had the Freemasons’ Tavern as a frontage, became a popular venue for many events, amongst which are recorded meetings of the British and Foreign Bible and the Anti-Slavery Societies as well as balls, concerts, and other cultural events held during the well known “London Season.”

Considerable extensions took place after the Union of the two Grand Lodges in 1813 when, at the invitation of the new Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, the Duke of Sussex, the famous architect of the Bank of England, Sir John Soane added extensions to the building. Invited to submit his proposals as a layman, he was soon initiated, passed, and raised on the same day and given high rank to add a Masonic dimension to the respect he very much enjoyed as an architect. Sadly, when Frederick Cockerill built the second Masons’ Hall in the 1860s, much of John Soane’s work was replaced. Cockerill had incorporated Sandy’s original Grand Hall of 1775 into his building, which was destroyed in the devastating fire of 1883. The Connaught rooms, the neighboring banqueting suites where many Masonic dinners are now held, remains the property of Grand Lodge and is the surviving Eastern section of Cockerill’s original building. It was finally demolished to allow the building of the present Hall, which began in 1927.

The first Freemasons’ Hall was a building purchased in Great Queen Street
in 1775 and is now the site of the Connaught Rooms owned by Grand Lodge.

Freemasons’ Hall is an impressive building by any standard, and it is dominated by the Grand Temple totally isolated from the adjoining structures, allowing for a wonderful sense of peace and quite. It stands 120 feet in length, 90 feet in width and 62 feet in height. The extraordinary Masonic bronze doors, each weighing one and a quarter tons, open unto the impressive chamber that seats 1,700 brethren. The ceiling consists entirely of a mosaic design depicting Masonic emblems and symbols including allegorical figures of the four cardinal virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice. In addition to the Grand Temple there are nineteen other Craft and Royal Arch rooms in the building, as well as offices, meeting rooms, and the usual facilities. Rather ironically in recent years we have reverted to the traditions began in Sandby’s original Hall, and the Grand Temple is now again being hired out for performance by opera companies for musical concerts which recently included Mozart’s Magic Flute.

The most important and interesting area in the Grand Lodge is the Library and Museum situated on the first floor. It is open free of charge to Masons and non-Masons alike from Monday to Friday between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. It houses the largest Masonic library in the world and has artifacts and Masonic memorabilia famous worldwide. There are permanent as well as changing exhibits on display. All facilities including for the disabled, are available on the same floor which is accessibly by elevator. Free guided tours of the building start at the Library and Museum every weekday from 11.00 a.m. hourly until 4.00 p.m. It is advisable, however, to phone and confirm the tour time as sometimes ceremonial events at Freemasons’ Hall disrupt the tours. There are also facilities for pre-booked group tours on Saturdays. Calls can be made to 01144-20-7395-9257 for information and bookings. General information about the Grand Lodge of England is available at http://www.grandlodge-england.org/.

The ground floor now boasts Letchworth’s, a shop within Freemasons’ Hall where brethren and non-Masons can purchase various souvenirs of their visits and thus benefit Masonic charity. The shop was named after Sir Edward Letchworth who was the Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1892 to 1917.

There are usually several lodges meeting every day at Freemasons’ Hall, normally at 5:00 p.m., except during the summer. If you would like to visit a lodge while in London, have your Grand Secretary write a letter of introduction which you can present upon arrival. The staff will help you connect with a lodge meeting that evening. Normal dress for an English lodge is a dark suit, white shirt, and black tie, and most lodges have a dinner after the meeting that costs £20–40. There are regalia shops as well as pubs, restaurants, and coffee shops on Great Queen Street, across from Freemasons’ Hall, that you can enjoy before or after your tour.

Enjoy your visit!

Yasha Beresiner retired as a legal consultant and now operates an online store Intercol (www.intercol.co.uk), specializing in Masonic books and memorabilia, antique maps, and playing cards. He is Past Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, the premier lodge of research, and active in other English Masonic orders. He is also a City of London Guide, conducting weekly tours on Freemasonry, Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and Jewish History of London. Contact: Yasha@intercol.co.uk, 43 Templars Crescent, London N3 3QR, United Kingdom.