Masonic Hall

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey / three bay inter-war hall with suburban-style detailing, on south side of Greencastle Street.

Hipped natural slate roof with overhanging eaves, boarded soffit and half round metal rainwater goods. Single modern rendered chimney rises from eaves on left elevation.

Painted wet dash walls with raised V-channelled applied quoins to ground floor supporting a moulded architrave which runs width of façade between ground and first floor level. Main entrance to ground floor centre is a six (flush) panelled painted timber door with Edwardian timber detailing applied to lock rail. Door is recessed within a quoined opening with plain rendered lintel over.

To ground floor left and right are pairs of 1/1 sliding sash windows sharing a common sash box. The lower sashes have an unusual segmental headed meeting rail. Windows share a common painted render cill and have stepped quoins and lintel as door. To first floor centre, with head close to eaves is a single exposed box sliding sash window (as ground floor), with timber mouldings applied to exposed box. To its left and right, over ground floor windows are pairs of similarly detailed sashes. Below central window is a granite panel with chamfered edges etched with the Masonic emblem.

Left elevation is blank, with no quoins etc. Right elevation is partially abutted by a flat roofed return (see rear), and is otherwise blank.

A single storey gabled hall abuts rear elevation. Remaining wall is dashed and has a small window over left pitch of hall. Hall has a pitched natural slate roof, dashed walls as main block and an extension to left cheek. The remains of its left cheek have a blind semicircular headed arch with V-channelled render jambs and voussoirs. The small extension is dashed and painted as main block with narrow timber casement windows on its side wall.

Rear gable of rear return is blank and right elevation was not inspected.

Front to street is enclosed by decorative wrought iron railings with decorative gate posts and central pedestrian gates. To right end is a modern vehicle gateway.

Historical information

Shown on 1901 OS map and first cited in the valuation revision book of the following year under the ‘Society of Freemasons’.

Sources:
1. PRONI – OS 6/3/55/3; VAL 12B/19/14D, p.160.
2. 1901 OS map

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This attractive hall has some idiosyncratic details and is constructed in a style unusual for a building of this type.