If I mention Freemasonry to you, I imagine that the first phrase that comes to mind would be something like ‘a notorious secret society’. That might have been an appropriate description for this organisation some years ago but it doesn’t describe the experience I had today, when I visited Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden, the home of the United Grand Lodge of England which oversees the activities of Masonic Lodges across the UK and farther afield.
These days Freemasons’ Hall and its attendant library and museum are open to the public five days a week with, would you believe, a normal complement of five guided tours a day. Visitors are given the opportunity to visit the museum and library, and the tour takes in key areas of the building which even includes the Grand Temple itself. The library contains the details of Masonic Lodges going back to the 18th century (each Lodge is required to deposit its annual records with the United Grand Lodge each year, in a similar way that annual returns are submitted to Companies House) while the extensive museum covers the entire history of Freemasonry. There are colourful displays of the regalia – aprons, sashes, rings and jewels and the like that are worn at Masonic ceremonies – historical items of interest including portraits of Grand Masters, and an extensive collection of porcelain, glassware and silver, all of which display Masonic symbols. At the moment the museum is also playing host to a special exhibition, ‘Game, Set & Lodge’ which runs until 21 December and looks at the contribution of Freemasons to the Olympic movement and other major sporting activities (I note that the Freemasons loom large in the history of English cricket – no surprise there I suppose!).
For me the most interesting part of my visit was the tour however – this monumental early art deco building is a masterpiece. Triangular in shape, the building is the first steel-framed structure ever built. It was constructed between 1927 and 1933, replacing a series of previous buildings with the earliest dating back to 1775, and it cost an incredible £1m to build which, using a calculation of ‘economic power’, would equate to around £317m in today’s money. Believe me, it shows – the building is a literal forest of solid Italian marble columns and it has acres of elaborate decoration, including what is probably a few tens of kilograms of gilt. Let me go on to describe the vestibule and grand temple for you (photography isn’t allowed inside the building – at least not when the person holding the camera isn’t a Mason anyway!):
The main vestibule of the Freemasons’ Hall is up on the first floor, where it is flanked by two grand staircases that have some of the most elaborate stained glass windows I’ve ever seen in London which, as you would assume, are rich in symbolism – the Masonic symbols of the square, the level, the plumb, the trowel and the ‘divine’ hand holding a compass are all present. Apparently some of these windows were donated by ‘provinces’ as far away as Pennsylvania. On the opposite site of the vestibule there is a casket, flanked on either side by the names of the Lodges that contributed to the fund for the building’s construction. The casket itself is covered in carvings of religious figures and saints that are significant to the Masons, topped by four kneeling figures representing the four branches of the armed forces – an appropriate decoration because within it is a vellum scroll containing the names, ranks and honours of the Masons who died in the First World War . Between the vestibule and the Grand Temple itself are a series of three bronze gates set abreast which were donated by the two Lancashire ‘provinces’ (the three gates signify the three ‘degrees’ of Freemasonry – Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and finally Master Mason). Beyond these gates and below an elaborately decorated ceiling sporting an art deco chandelier that wouldn’t look out of place in a 1950s Flash Gordon serial are a pair of bronze doors. Twelve feet high, four feet wide and covered with reliefs depicting the life of King Solomon each door weighs an incredible one and a quarter tons, but they are balanced so finely you can push them open with a single finger…
Through these doors is the Grand Temple itself, which is capable of seating over 1700 people. The Grand Temple is oriented on the points of the compass and if you could consider the symbolism in the rest of the building to be rich, then here it goes into overdrive. High up in the ceiling is a spectacular mosaic depicting, at the corners, the four cardinal virtues (Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and Prudence) while along the sides are the Duke of Connaught’s Coat of Arms (who was Grand Master of the Lodge when it was built) flanked by George and the Dragon, Euclidian and Pythagorean mathematical symbols, King Solomon and on the fourth side a Greek god, all of them framed by four different styles of classical columns. Although our guide didn’t mention them you’ll also see the twelve signs of the zodiac prominently displayed. He did, however, talk about the three-manual pipe organ by Henry Willis & Sons that sits at one end of the hall – now I didn’t know Masonic meetings ever involved music but clearly they do if this fine instrument is anything to go by. While members of the public are allowed to see inside the Grand Temple, the building actually contains another 23 Masonic Temples in all, each with its own unique and elaborate decoration. Indeed the largest of the other Temples in the building can seat another 800 people…
In closing it would remiss of me not to mention what else goes on in this building – the Freemasons’ Hall contains the offices of the four Masonic charities that do good works in the UK. These are Freemasons’ Grand Charity, the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys, the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, and the Masonic Samaritan Fund. Today we were told that the London ‘province’ was well on its way to raising enough money to purchase a second laser scalpel for London hospitals – each of these devices costs £1m.
If you’re intrigued and thinking about visiting Freemasons’ Hall yourself you can find lots more information on their website. I called beforehand to check that they were open for visitors today, which I would advise doing if you don’t want to be disappointed. You never know, they might be filming the next series of Spooks on the day you plan to visit…
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