Crowther Masonic Hall
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Crowther Masonic Hall or Freemasons' Hall in
Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
is a part of the
Grand Lodge of India The Grand Lodge of India (GLI) is the main governing body of Freemasonry within India, it was officially constituted on Friday 24 November 1961. There were three delegations from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, Grand Lodge of Ireland and Grand L ...
and it was a meeting place for many
Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
s in the Quilon (Kollam) area. It is near
Kochupilamoodu Kochupilamoodu or Kochupilammoodu is an important neighbourhood and cashew hub in Kollam city, Kerala, India. It is one of the prominent business centres in the city. Kochupilamoodu is very close to Downtown Kollam area and is about 1 km awa ...
in
Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
city and has been a Masonic meeting place since 1806. The building is now considered as a historic monument of
Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
activities in ancient
Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
area.


History

The Crowther Masonic Hall, Quilon
Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
(formerly known as ''
Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
'') was there in the map of
Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...
of
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
even before the constitution of
Grand Lodge of India The Grand Lodge of India (GLI) is the main governing body of Freemasonry within India, it was officially constituted on Friday 24 November 1961. There were three delegations from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, Grand Lodge of Ireland and Grand L ...
. The first
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
lodge was established at
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1730 and first
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
Lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...
was established at
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
in 1754. Incidentally the first
Lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...
in
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
was founded in the year 1806 by the name "Travancore Union" at
Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
. It was actually the relocation of Lodge
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...
(Lodge Minden no. 464) to
Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
. Crowther Masonic Hall was constructed during that time by Richard F. H. Crowther, who received Roll of Honour repeatedly in the year 1934, 1935 and 1941. In 1822 another Lodge by name ‘Hibernia and Union’ was started and that too at
Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
. In 1941, Lodge Quilon was established, nearly 135 years after the first Lodge in
Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
was constituted. Now the
Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
are active in Lodge Vanchinad No. 273
Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
, which is near Anandevalleeswaram temple in the city. A
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
hall is there in Anandevalleeswaram. They are conducting meetings on 1st Sunday of every month


Threat of Demolition

In 2009, the district authorities had taken a decision to demolish Crowther Masonic Hall to build Kollam's court complex. Mr. Shajahan, the then district collector have directed the authorities to initiate the land inspection as a preliminary to the land transfer proposal. But later they dropped the project because of protests from the local population to demolish an ancient pride of the city.


Location

*
Kollam Junction railway station Kollam Junction railway station (station code: QLN) is a junction station situated in the city of Kollam in Kerala, India. It is the second largest railway station in Kerala in terms of area and largest in terms of number of tracks and one of t ...
- 700 m * Kollam KSRTC Bus Station - 1.9 km * Andamukkam City Bus Station - 800 m *
Chinnakada Chinnakada or Chinnakkada is considered as the heart of the city of Kollam in Kerala, India. Chinnakada is a busy junction where 5 city roads and one National highway interconnect at a traffic roundabout. The city's symbolic clock tower is loca ...
- 1 km


References

{{Kollam , state=expanded Tourist attractions in Kollam Buildings and structures in Kollam History of Kollam Masonic buildings completed in the 19th century 1806 establishments in India Buildings and structures completed in 1806