The Freemasons' Tavern was established in 1775 at 61–65
Great Queen Street in the
West End of
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. It served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the 18th century until it was demolished in 1909 to make way for the
Connaught Rooms.
History
In 1769, the
Premier Grand Lodge of England decided to build a Central Hall. A building was purchased in Great Queen Street in 1775 and
Thomas Sandby
Thomas Sandby (1721 – 25 June 1798) was an English draughtsman, watercolour artist, architect and teacher. In 1743 he was appointed private secretary to the Duke of Cumberland, who later appointed him Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park, wh ...
was tasked with building a hall in the garden. The original house became the tavern with a second house providing office space for the
Freemasons. In 1813 the Premier Grand Lodge and rival
Ancient Grand Lodge of England merged to form the
United Grand Lodge of England
The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...
.
The hall was not only used for Masonic purposes, but also became an important venue in London for a variety of meetings and concerts.
Organisations using the hall included:
*
Political Economy Club
*
African Institution
*
British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society,
for the
World Anti-Slavery Convention in 1840
*
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world.
The ...
* Fund for the Relief of the Suffering Clergy of France in the British Dominions
*
Highland and Island Emigration Society
*
The Football Association
The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
(FA) held its first meeting here on 26 October 1863
*
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows.
Fe ...
was founded here in 1807
Connaught Rooms
In 1909 the Grand Lodge demolished most of the Freemasons' Tavern and replaced it over succeeding decades with a new building designed by H. V. Ashley and Winton Newman, who also designed the adjoining
Freemasons' Hall. The new building, costing £30,000, was named the Connaught Rooms after the Lodge's Grand Master,
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942) was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Gove ...
.
After a further renovation by Friendly Hotels (later the
Real Hotel Company) in the 1980s it reopened as the New Connaught Rooms, a hotel and
conference centre. The
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
Grand Hall can seat 800 conference delegates.
When the Real Hotel Company collapsed in 2009,
Principal Hayley Group bought the venue,
renamed it the Grand Connaught Rooms,
and in 2016 placed it in its
De Vere brand.
In 2010 it became
Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
.
References
External sites
*
{{coord, 51.5156, -0.1205, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Freemasonry in England
Covent Garden
Demolished buildings and structures in London
Buildings and structures demolished in 1909