Description

CAMDEN

TQ3081SW GREAT QUEEN STREET
798-1/105/680 (South East side)
09/03/82 Freemasons' Hall

GV II*

Central headquarters of English Freemasonry. 1927-33. By HV
Ashley and Winton Newman, whose ingenious fitting of the plan
to the irregular polygonal site won them the commission as the
result of a competition. Steel frame construction faced with
Portland stone. Massive building in stripped Classical style.
Long facades (with slightly projecting entrance bays)
emphasised by string courses and heavy cornice above 1st
floor. 2 attics stepped above, culminating across the west
angle in the corner tower, which echoes the form of the Temple
entrance beneath, flanked by 2 giant fluted columns in antis.
This defines the diagonal axis along which the Temple itself
lies, as well as its associated processional access route.
Metal-framed windows. Decorative lamp brackets.
INTERIOR: principal halls, meeting rooms and staircases all
marble lined, richly detailed but austere neo-Grecian in
pattern. Set on diagonal axis. Grand entrance hall and museum
collection on ground floor. The principal rooms on the first
floor, with Grand Temple, Grand Officers' rooms, library and
reading room. Grand Temple of double height with gallery, dias
and organ. Walls lined with Ashburton and Botticino marbles,
surmounted by cove decorated with mosaics, coffered and
decorated ceiling. Bronze doors in neo-Egyptian style by
Walter and Donald Gilbert. Boardroom panelled in hardwood, and
with stained glass. Fine bronze and wrought-iron work
throughout the building.
HISTORICAL NOTE: built as the "Masonic Peace Memorial
Building" and a memorial to Freemasons killed in World War I.

Listing NGR: TQ3047081244

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 9 February 2017.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Freemasons' Hall at Wikipedia
• Freemasons' Hall official website
• Wikidata Q1453586

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record