Garston Masonic Hall. A Brief History

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1 Garston Masonic Hall A Brief History Garston is one of a host of villages within Liverpool, standing on the banks of the River Mersey between Speke and Grassendale, some 5 miles south of the City. Its name derives from the Saxon word Gaerstun, meaning grazing settlement, and the original Manor of Garston was once part of the ancient parish of Childwall. Between the 13th and 16th centuries much of what was then Southern Lancashire was the property of the Cistercian Order of Monks, who had local monasteries at Whalley Abbey near Clitheroe and at Stanlawe Abbey on the Wirral Peninsular where the Stanlow Oil Refinery now stands. Whilst it might now be hard to believe, during this time the Mersey teemed with fish and the land on the Liverpool side was particularly rich farming land. The coming of the Industrial Revolution brought major development of Garston with the building of a Salt Works and Salt Dock as well as the construction of Garston Dock. From here, coal and timber from all over the county was shipped to Ireland and it also handled the importation of foodstuffs from around the world, bananas in particular. Local employment boomed during this period with local people employed in not just the docks but also the new iron and copper works, the newly built gas works and tanning company to name but a few. Records show that Freemasonry had existed in the Garston area since the mid-nineteenth century. There were various meeting places in the area, mainly in hotels and public houses. The first recorded meetings were in 1857 when the Lodge of Harmony No. 267 (now 220) met at Wood s Wellington Hotel, Garston. Meetings alternated between the Wellington and the Garston Hotel until 1919 when Garston Co-operative Hall was used. However, in parallel with the growth of Garston, so the growth in Freemasonry showed the need for a dedicated facility to fulfil the needs of the ever increasing number of brethren.

2 In October of 1922 a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association was drawn up to form The Garston Masonic Hall Ltd. An agreement was signed for William Lofthouse to acquire land in Island Road South and to erect, fit and furnish Masonic Halls, rooms, lodge rooms to include club rooms, billiard rooms and public bars. In all, some 5,000 shares were to be issued, with 13 people each stating their desire to form a company in pursuance of the memorandum of association agreeing to take some 50 shares each in the new company.

3 The Masonic Hall that now stands in Island Road is a purpose built facility and was officially opened on 21 May The memorial foundation stone for Garston Masonic Hall was laid on 21 May 1924 by the then Provincial Grand Master Bro John Hearn Burrell who was assisted by the full Provincial team of the day. Crowds of people lined the street to witness the occasion.

4 The building of the hall was finally completed in 1925 and it soon became a popular venue for lodges, chapters and other masonic orders within the South Liverpool area. It also became a local social focal point, holding exhibitions, concerts, and lectures as well as masonic meetings. It also held regular dances and balls and organised many day trips and outings to such places as Chester. In the 1980 Shareholders Annual return, the name of Vincent Phoenix is shown as having some 5 shares. Vince, as he was known to everyone at the hall, was for many years, along with his wife Pat, the stewards of the club. During this period the hall was a busy meeting and social venue with a much used snooker room and bar. The same return shows that Arthur Frederick Davey held some 20 shares with the address for Arthur given as c/o Post Office, Kenya, East Africa perhaps helping to confirm the phrase Masonry Universal?

5 Today the hall houses nine Craft Lodges, two Royal Arch Chapters and several other Masonic orders including the Mark Mason degree and Knights Templar. Overall the Hall is home for more than 450 masons. It is owned by the Lodge and Chapter of Harmony and by Royal George Chapter on a share basis, with the former Royal George Lodge also owning shares. The largest number of shares is owned by the Lodge of Harmony and the combined aim of all the shareholders is to ensure that all Freemasons who meet at Garston enjoy a pleasant experience as economically as possible. Directors are selected from the shareholding lodges and chapters. The hall chairman is elected by these selected directors. The hall is also made available to the community at large to use for carefully selected functions. A Garston pensioners group use the hall on a weekly basis and other local organisations such as the Air Training Corps use it from time to time for their functions. Members are also permitted to use the facilities for anniversaries, birthdays, etc., for a nominal charge. Over the years a great number of improvements have been made to the hall. However, it became apparent that a major programme for its renovation was necessary and this was scheduled to be carried out during the summer recesses of 2008 to 2013 inclusive, in order to minimise the disruption of the hall s activities. Summer 2008 Some years ago, the daughter of the late (Charles) Brinley Lettsome, a member of St David s Lodge, donated 10,000 to the hall on the strict understanding that the money be used towards replacing the ageing stair lift, (which was always breaking down), with a disabled persons lift. The donation was doubled by the hall to raise the 30,000 necessary for the work to go ahead. The lift work was completed very successfully during this summer period and a small, first floor committee room, which had to be altered because of the need for a lift shaft, was also decorated. The lift work also meant that the ground floor ladies toilets had to be altered resulting in their refurbishment and re-decoration.

6 Summer 2009 This summer, attention was paid to the main rooms on the ground floor. The dining room was redecorated, new soft furnishings fitted, new lighting and an air conditioning unit were fitted. The gentlemen s downstairs toilets were also upgraded. A major scheme saw the ceiling in the main lounge lowered and new lighting installed. The entrance to the lounge, from the hallway was also altered to make access far easier, particularly for people with mobility issues. The overall effect was really pleasing and the final touch was a new look bar area. Summer 2010 This year the programme was a little less hectic. Having provided the new lift primarily for disabled people it was necessary to make the gentlemen s toilets on the first floor, more accessible. They were completely altered and now provide an excellent facility for the disabled. Some years earlier, the snooker room had been converted into a meeting room to cater for smaller lodges. At that time it was, on occasion, necessary for two lodges to meet on the same evening. Larger lodges used the main temple, and smaller ones the new Lewis room. At the time of this alteration, it had been carried out on a restricted budget so it was decided to include the improvement of this room in the programme. The room was completely re-furbished with new radiators, lighting, a concertina door fitted across the rear of the building making it more compact, carpeting and a full re-decoration. It seemed sensible to make this area more appealing for lodges and chapters to use as a small dining room when the main room is not really needed. It has proven very popular and it can easily accommodate up to 40 people for festive boards. The room is also used for buffet service for functions at the hall.

7 Summer 2011 This year saw major improvements made. The Tyler s area, entrance to the Temple and the landing (robing) area were completely revamped. New flooring was laid and shelving installed for cases. The glass fronted dresser containing artefacts was also cleared and important historic memorabilia was kept. The beautiful cut glass tableware which was presented to the Lodge of Allegiance some years ago is now also housed in this cabinet. The heating in the Temple was very old and an inefficient, warm air system. The boiler was ancient, extremely noisy and costly to run. It only heated the Temple with the areas outside having no heating at all. The hall caterer retired during the summer and the new caterer needed the kitchen updating. It was completely gutted and re-plastered. The ceiling was also lowered and new catering equipment was provided. The kitchen is now leased to the new caterer and he has exclusive use of the facilities. This generates income for the hall on a monthly basis and the caterer has permanent access to the facilities. Finally, this year the furniture in the lounge was replaced which has made the entire room warm and welcoming.

8 Summer 2012 Another busy year saw more major updates. It had become a regular occurrence for the power to fail when too much equipment was in use in the kitchen. Indeed on one occasion when the Provincial Grand Master was present the whole building was plunged into darkness when a piece of kitchen equipment was switched on. Fortunately there was a director present who knew how to reset the system and we were back in business after a few minutes in the dark. It was a good test for the emergency lighting, which proved its worth, working very well! The only answer was to install three phase power. This was a really major scheme as the road outside needed digging up, the cable had to come through the hall foundations and new consumer units had to be fitted. When that was complete the interior cabling was upgraded and everything needed testing and the appropriate certificates obtained. During this exercise it was decided that while the hall was in such a state it would be better to bring forward the boiler replacement programme and install a new combination boiler for the ground floor. Another major but very necessary update with a more controllable, ultra-efficient and environmentally friendly boiler. Smoke and heat detectors were fitted and the building was assessed by an independent company which issued the appropriate fire safety certificate. After the electrical and heating works it was necessary to re-decorate the entrance hall and again no expense was spared. The ceiling was lowered, new lighting fitted, the floor retiled and new doors fitted. The whole area was re-decorated and those using the hall were very pleased with the welcoming new entrance area. Unfortunately, most people using the hall probably thought that the hallway was all that had been attended to during the summer, as the heating and boiler renewal and the installation of three phase electricity were not things that could be seen.

9 The Future The hall directors are constantly looking at what other improvements can be made and have already decided to continue their rolling programme of improvements. Next on the agenda is to improve the look of the exterior which is looking a little tired it must be said, however, you shouldn t judge a book by its cover. Come along, have a look and you may be surprised. Today car parking seems to be a universal problem, however the hall benefits from on street parking for which a car watch can be arranged for a small cost, with additional monitored parking being available locally. Today Garston Masonic Hall is a venue fit for the twenty-first century, be it for private functions, local community use or its original purpose of providing a true masonic home here in the south of Liverpool.