Masonic Hall

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An imposing late neo-classical cruciform plan Masonic hall of 1882-84 sited on elevated ground on the NW side of Ann Street.

SE elevation facing Ann Street : A pedimented gable entrance with central 6 panelled moulded and fielded door, moulded architrave, narrow panelled pilasters with scrolls supporting a pediment, over the pediment a roundel encircling the letter G. Within the gable pediment an oculus or oeil-de-boeuf with moulded architrave and 4 keystones. Walls smooth rendered, painted, with plinth, lined dado and moulded stringcourse, painted quoins. SE walls of each transept treated with pedimented aedicule windows. Flanking walls of nave have circular vent and square headed door. Gables of transepts, pedimented with oeit-de-boeuf and wall below windowless. Rear wall of NW elevation pedimented with oeil-de-boeuf and below 2 no. square headed windows. All walls smooth rendered as SE gable.

The hall sits on an elevated site, detached, overlooking Ann Street with stepped path leading to main entrance. Garden in front terraced, plain rendered boundary wall with pedestrian gate and piers.

Historical information

This Masonic hall was built in 1882-84 to a design by architect (and fellow Mason) Samuel P. Close of Belfast. The foundation stone of the building, in Masonic tradition, was laid on the feast of St. John the Baptist (24 June) in 1882, and the hall was officially opened ‘with the greatest éclat’ on the same day in 1884. The construction costs are said to have estimated at £400. Previously the local lodges (Provincial Loges Nos.19 and 89, founded in 1830 and 1817 respectively) had assembled in the first floor of premises closer to the Diamond.

The ‘Belfast News-Letter’ report of the opening states that – “The new structure, which is built of sandstone, is situated just outside the town, on the Quay Road, and occupies a very prominent site, granted by Sir Frederick Boyd…free of rent. The building, which is two storeys in height, stands in the centre of a plot of ground some distance off the roadway, and access to the entrance is gained by a series of steps. The hall bas a frontage of 44 feet, and it has a side measurement of 44 feet. In the interior is one large hall and two small rooms. The former is where the lodges will meet, and this will be fitted up in such a manner that the rituals of the various degrees in connection with the Craft -Royal Arch and Templar Freemasonry - can be carried out. The hall is 40 feet long by 24 feet wide, and the ceiling has an elevation of 18 feet. All the most modern improvements are introduced, so as to secure the best possible ventilation. The hall as it stands is a very commodious edifice, and will ever remain as a memorial of what the energy and hard work of a few good and true Masons can do; and the members of lodges 19 and 89 must be complimented on becoming thus possessed of a place of meeting so capitally designed for their purposes. Br. S. P. Close was the architect, and the contractor was Br. Thomas Humphreys.”

The building doubled as a community hall for the town when first built, and Percy French gave recitals there in the early twentieth century. It was renovated in 1974 at which point a kitchen was added to the rear, and appears to have remained in use (by Lodge No.89, No.19 having ‘closed’ in Ballycastle in 1890) into the late 2010s. It was sold to a private owner in 2021.

References- Primary sources
1. PRONI VAL/12B/2/3a-g Annual valuation revision books, Ballycastle ED, 1864-1921
2 ‘The Coleraine Chronicle’ – 1 July 1882, p.6
3 ‘Belfast News-Letter’ - 25 June 1884, p.8
4 PRONI VAL/12E/8/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1898-c.1935
5 PRONI VAL/12E/8/2/1 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, c.1905
6 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5a-c Annual valuation revision books, Ballycastle UD, 1921-31
7 PRONI VAL/3G/6/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1934-50
8 PRONI VAL/3B/1/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD, 1935
9 PRONI VAL/3C/1/6 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, 1936-57

Online sources
10 http://www.lmcca.co.uk/testpgla/hallBallycastle.shtml [accessed 14 Jan 2022]
11 http://www.irishfreemasons.com/Page%202.htm [accessed 14 Jan 2022]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

An imposing late neo-classical cruciform plan Masonic hall of 1882-82 designed by Samuel P. Close, whose setting on elevated ground adds to its temple-like appearance.
This charcter is complemented by its boundary wall along Ann Street.