
For over one hundred years the City of Liverpool has had citizens actively involved
in Freemasonry, and many Masonic and non-Masonic charities have benefited from
donations made by the brethren of the lodges.
Passing Hope Street Masonic Hall recently I realised that whilst writing
about the many buildings we all know in the city I had omitted to mention,
Liverpool Masonic Hall. Much more detail can be found on the links to Masonic
websites, posted below this article, my intention here is to give but a brief
overview. Please do click on the links
as I feel sure that you will find the information therin to be of interest.
So what is Freemasonry?
Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest secular fraternal
societies, it is emphatically not a religion. Membership of the brotherhood
requires a belief in God and its principles are common to many of the world's
great religions. From its earliest days,
Freemasonry has been involved in charitable activities, and since its inception
it has provided support for many widows and orphans of Freemasons as well as
others in the community. All monies raised for charity are drawn from amongst
Freemasons, their families and friends. Freemasonry is not a secret society.
members are perfectly free to acknowledge their membership and will do so in
answer to any reasonable enquiry. There is no secret about the aims and
principles of the Order.
The Masonic
Hall Hope Street Liverpool
One Hundred years ago the Lodges of Liverpool met in various
locations around Liverpool, the Masonic leaders at the time realised that a
central meeting place for Liverpool freemasons needed to be established and
thus the Masonic Hall in hope street came into being. Various locations were
looked at including premises in Colquitt
Street and Seel Street as well as the site of the Newington
Chapel in Renshaw Street .
Liverpool’s Masonic Hall is in the Province of West Lancashire ,
the province is not only the largest of the Provinces ranged under the banner
of the United Grand Lodge of England, it also has claims to be the birthplace
of English Freemasonry. The initiation of Elias Ashmole in Warrington
in Lancashire on 16th October 1646 is the
earliest recorded initiation into English Freemasonry. Liverpool
is the headquarters of the Province and the greatest concentration of lodges.
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The House in the Garden |
The building in Hope
Street , referred to as “The house in the garden” was purchased on
the 27th April 1857. It was April 23rd 1858 that the committee met for the
first time to discuss the possibility of converting the property for the
purposes of Freemasonry. As a result on October 8th 1858 to the delight of the
membership, the Hall was declared open.
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Etching of the new Masonic Hall |
It was not until 1872 that plans were submitted to demolish
the house and replace it with a Masonic Hall, thus on 2nd November 1872 the
Cornerstone was laid in full Masonic honours by the Right Hon, Lord
Skelmersdale, Past Grand Warden of England and Deputy Provincial Grand
Master of the Western Division of Lancashire. The work on the building was
completed by 1874, by which time Freemasonry had become so popular that the
decision was made to extend the building. A strip of land adjoining the hall
was purchased and the hall was extended with the old entrance being bricked up
and a new entrance formed. Due to delays caused by the Great War it was not
until 1932 that the building we know today was completed. The building
celebrated its Centenary in 1958 and its 150 year celebration in 2008.
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The Masonic Hall Hope Street |
The vast majority of the lodges meet at the Masonic Hall in Hope Street (the
administrative centre of Freemasonry in the Province of West Lancashire ).
But other Groups have met at such diverse venues as the Britannia Adelphi
Hotel, the Liverpool Racquet Club and Staff House at the University of Liverpool
Between them, these Liverpool Groups comprised a
cosmopolitan array of different lodges with much fascinating heritage,
reflecting the history and development of the city. Some lodges are very old;
there are several over two hundred years of age and one over two hundred and
fifty, but many were founded since the second world war, the most recent in
1979. Most lodges meet in the evening during the week but there is one lodge
which met at lunch time and a few met on Saturdays.
For more
information about Freemasonry in Liverpool click on the links below.
Sources
Liverpool Central Library
Liverpool Records Office Archives
United Grand Lodge id England
By Robert F Edwards