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Description: Freemason's Hall & attched front railings

Address: Masonic Hall Halifax Building Society 2/4 St Johns Place Halifax West Yorkshire HX1 2QG

Grade: II

Group detail: St John's Place (west side)

Full description:
Freemasons' Hall and attached railings. Mid-late C19. Thinly-coursed squared stone, the front of ashlar with rock-faced basement and left-hand bay. 2 storeys with basement; 1:6 bays, the left bay being a much altered caretaker's apartment, the right bays comprising the hall. The hall: the 3 left-hand bays on 1st floor (this part being The Temple) are blind, classically treated, and taller than the right-hand bays with pediment; central 2-bay portico. Bays defined by pilasters, channelled on ground floor with elaborate capitals 1st floor left-hand bays. Cill bands, 1st floor impost band, ground and 1st floor cornices. Openings stone lintelled to basement and caretaker's apartment, segmental-arched to ground floor and round arched above, with keystones and architraves to upper floor openings. Columns of portico have capitals of anthemions and symbol of free masonry; entrance up steps, has 6-panel double door under tall overlight, the window to its left (within portico) having raised apron panel. Deep dentilled cornice to portico and pediment. Left hand 1st floor bays have fine quality relief carvings including central arched panel with coat of arms and motto, the flanking bays each with an open book on pedestal, various numerals, mottoes and symbols. Roof hipped over right hand bays, with vents to ridge behind pediment. Basement area is fronted by low stone wall supporting heavy cast-iron railings with obelisk-finialled standards flanking decorated panels, some of which incorporate 5-pointed star, compass and square motifs. Rear: ashlar bands: pilasters to ends and flanking narrow bay 3; some of the windows plain sashes, but most have leaded glazing with freemasonry symbols. Interior: inner double door up steps the fanlight having coloured glazing with compass and square. Lobby has modillion cornice and elaborate light roundel. Panelled doors. Stair hall has decorative wall panels and egg and dart cornice; open-well stair with elaborate, cast iron, open work, panel balusters; round arched stair window and stair well overlight have coloured glazing; 1st floor stair/hall elaborately decorated with red-polished stone-clad columns and pilasters supporting elaborately decorated cross-beam; wall panels have raised, lugged mouldings and are set in round-arched niches on landing. The Temple is highly decorated, having anthemion-capitalled pilasters to walls with panels between bearing a variety of symbols including eyes and hand held daggers, scrolled frieze below heavily-moulded modillioned cornice, which breaks forward at either end on large, elaborate, console brackets (with organ inset behind wall at rear end); coved, coffered ceiling, the beam soffits having pomegranate and trailing leaf decoration, the panels having fretted surrounds and painted with sun and stars; circular ceiling vents have grilles incorporating square and compass.