The Masonic Hall in
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, is designated by
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...
as a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. It was originally built in the early 19th century as St George's Chapel, the first Roman Catholic chapel open for public worship in Taunton since the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. The building, which forms the end of a terrace, features a series of prominent
Ionic pilasters along the front and southern end.
Opened in 1822, St George's Chapel served Taunton's growing Catholic community for over 35 years, before they moved to a larger church which was completed in 1860. After being rented out for a time, when it was known as St George's Hall, the building was then sold in 1878 to a company acting on behalf of a group of
Freemasons, who purchased it to provide a home for the Unanimity & Sincerity Lodge. It now hosts nine different Lodges of the Freemasons.
History
Catholic chapel
Prior to the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, Taunton had three Catholic churches; the Church of St Peter and St Paul, which was part of
Taunton Priory
Taunton Priory, or the Priory of St Peter and St Paul, was an Augustinian house of canons founded c. 1115 by William Gyffarde (also called William Giffard), Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England near Taunton, Somerset, England.
Histo ...
, and was destroyed during the
Dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
; and the Churches of
St Mary Magdalene and
St James, which both became Anglican.
The Roman Catholic Church all but died in Taunton; one book records that prior to the 19th century, "there were no Papists in Taunton". In 1787, a
Mission Rector was sent to Taunton. Four years later, Catholic chapels
were legalised, and the rector registered a chapel in a house on Canon Street. Upon his death in 1818, a new
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
was appointed;
Rev. Samuel Fisher. The new rector immediately began raising money for a permanent church, which was opened on 3 July 1822. The building was located on
The Crescent, and was dedicated to
Saint George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...
. The church seated 200; greater than the estimated 120 Catholic resident in Taunton.
This new church, known as St George's Chapel, was the first public Roman Catholic church in Taunton since the Reformation.
Within 35 years, the congregation had swelled, and St George's Chapel was no longer large enough to serve the Catholics of Taunton. The nearby
Franciscan Convent purchased a plot of land adjacent to their own in 1858, and
St George's Church was opened in April 1860, to replace the chapel of the same dedication.
Masonic Hall
The chapel building was subsequently let out for various uses, and known as "St George's Hall". In 1878, the hall was purchased by members of the Unanimity & Sincerity Lodge of the
Freemasons, and named the Masonic Hall; it was consecrated by
Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon
Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, (24 June 1831 – 29 June 1890), known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party. He was twice Secretary of State for the C ...
, the Provincial Grand Master of Somerset Freemasons in January the following year. The Unanimity & Sincerity Lodge had originally met in
Ilminster
Ilminster is a minster town and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, with a population of 5,808. Bypassed in 1988, the town now lies just east of the junction of the A303 (London to Exeter) and the A358 (Taunton to C ...
after their constitution in 1788, and moved to Taunton in 1797, meeting at the London Inn. The owners of the building, though members of the Freemasons had purchased the property as a limited company, and also rented the building to other users:
Richard Huish's School taught their girl's classes from there, and the cellars were used by a wine merchant.
After purchasing the building, the Masonic Hall Company, in addition to the necessary decorating, also commissioned a builder, William Templemen to carry out a number of structural changes; the lobby was split into three rooms, to provide a "robing chamber" on one side, and a small waiting room on the other. Beyond the large main hall, what had been the
vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
had a temporary partition removed, and a toilet added. The staircase down to the kitchen was moved, and in the kitchen itself a cooking range was installed.
In the mid-1880s, an extension was made to the hall by the same builder; a two-storey building, of which the ground floor served as a warehouse. The extension replaced a previous building that had been deemed "unfit for repair". The extension was completed at a cost of
£337 and 10
shillings, slightly more than the initial estimate. By 1892, the hall was no longer being used by the school, now known as Bishop Fox's, for their girl's lessons. Further renovations were carried out around that time at a cost of just over £180.
The hall continued to be let out for various social functions, and is currently home to nine lodges of the Freemasons; Unanimity & Sincerity Lodge, Lodge of St George, Taunton Deane Lodge, Queens College Lodge, Old Aluredian Lodge, Taunton School Lodge, Richard Huish Lodge, Vivary Lodge and the Emergency Services Lodge.
Architecture
The Masonic Hall sits at the southern end of a terrace. It has a
stucco front, with two pairs of
Ionic pilasters; the larger ones frame the building, and appear to support an
overhanging cornice with a decorative
dentil
A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian R ...
finish. The smaller pilasters are either side of a large doorway, and are topped by a
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedim ...
. The double wooden doors have six panels, and are fronted by six steps which are almost the same width as the building. On the southern side of the building, more Ionic pilasters rise the height of the building, spread between four large windows.
The hall is designated by
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...
as a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, and is considered to form a group with Numbers 1–11 and 15–20 The Crescent, which are both similarly Grade II* listed, and with the Grade II listed properties; 21 and 22 The Crescent, Somerset County Club, Dragon Book Shop and Number 14 Bath Place.
Notes
References
{{reflist, 30em
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1822
Former churches in Somerset
Freemasonry in England
Grade II* listed buildings in Taunton Deane
Masonic buildings in the United Kingdom
1822 establishments in England
Buildings and structures in Taunton