In Quarterly Communication

Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes on restoring masonic halls to places worthy of admiration Pride in place

Brethren, if you look up, you will see one of the finest mosaics in London. It took Italian craftsmen 10 years to create and, like so much of our Craft, it is laden with symbols, allegory and meaning. But look more closely, especially in the south-west, and you will see that all is not quite as it should be. Cracks have been appearing over the last few years. Tesserae have fallen, and the Grand Superintendent of Works’s brow has furrowed, but he informs me that you are not in immediate danger.

After extensive research, chemical analysis, ultrasounds, X-rays, thermal studies, endoscopies, not to mention all manner of expert opinion, we are now able to confidently conclude that we have no idea why. We do know the many things that are not responsible for these cracks, and contrary to scurrilous rumour, hot air from this chair has nothing whatsoever to do with it. But pinning down the exact cause has proved elusive.

Take a good look, brethren, because in a few weeks’ time, it will be shrouded in scaffolding, and for the first time in nearly a hundred years, men, and probably women, will begin work on restoring it to its former splendour.

What does your hall say about you? We recently heard from the Grand Superintendent of Works about his role within the organisation and some of the work being done by his team to ensure that not only this building, but all of our masonic halls up and down the country, are up to scratch. A huge amount of work has been put into producing the Masonic Halls Guide, available in the members’ section of the UGLE website, to provide a ‘best practice’ guide to help lodges and Provinces

improve their halls and meeting places, and how they are managed.

I was recently told of a lodge in Cambridgeshire [Stone Cross Lodge, No. 6704] which has transformed its own hall from a rather dingy affair

to something the whole community can be proud of. Members, under the guidance of more expert

craftsmen – also members of that lodge – have spent weekends and time over consecutive summers to transform it into a venue

that they can all look forward to using – and it has made a huge difference to the first impressions and attendance of new members.

As we actively seek out new members to join us, we should ensure that we are examining what it is that we would expect

‘As we actively seek out new members to join us, we should ensure that we are examining what it is that we would expect them to find – not just in the physical spaces we occupy, but in our lodges too’

them to find – not just in the physical spaces we occupy, but in our lodges too.

Many of us find a great deal of fulfilment in volunteering and giving of our time for the benefit of the community at large. We will shortly be sending out a survey to estimate just how great an impact we as Freemasons have within our local communities. Our last estimate was that our members contribute more than five million hours volunteering for worthy causes.

We must be unique as an organisation in that we have premises embedded in almost every community in the country. Just as we draw our members from all walks of life and all backgrounds, so our halls are found in villages and cities, in areas rich and poor. The Communications Working Party of the Board, made up of Provincial Grand Masters from each region of the country, will soon be looking at what we might do to raise our profile by putting these to better use – not only for ourselves, but also for those communities from which we are drawn.

What does your hall say about you, and the wider organisation, to a person seeing it for the first time and, indeed, to that potential new member, or that member of the public giving blood, being screened or just looking around?

Many of our halls are both precious and beautiful; some, cracking a little around the edges and in need of loving care. But I’m sure, brethren, we all feel like that at times. Let us remember that we are custodians not just of the Craft and its heritage and traditions, but also those meeting places which have, for generations, inspired our members. Cracked: The ceiling mosaic in the Grand Temple at Freemasons’ Hall will be covered in scaffolding while experts restore the work to its former splendour