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Portcullis Lodge No 6672 |
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WALLINGFORD MASONIC HALL Goldsmith Lane, Wallingford.
In 1929 a permanent home for
Wallingford Freemasonry was found after nearly fifty years of meeting in
a variety of venues which included the George, Lamb, and Beau Regard
Hotels, and the Town Hall.
It was at a meeting in the Town
Hall on 30th September, 1929, that the members of St. Hilda Lodge No.
1887 decided to purchase part of the Wallingford Brewery buildings,
together with the manager’s house, on the south side of Goldsmiths Lane.
The opportunity arose as the brewery had recently been sold by the Wells
family to Ushers in Wiltshire and the brewing operation transferred to
Trowbridge.
The site where the Temple now
stands was acquired for the sum of £451 and Bro.
T.TalfourdCumming, a Reading architect and member of the lodge, was
appointed to design and oversee the erection of the new building.
By March 1930 plans had been drawn
up and approved at an estimated cost of £1300. Tenders were invited from
local builders and in June of that year the contract for the erection of
the new Temple was awarded to Smallbones of Streatley for the increased
sum of £1800.
In the meantime a building fund had
been set up, £30 bonds issued and offered for sale to the members of the
lodge, and a bank loan of £1200 obtained to furnish and equip the
building.
The work was carried out in a first
class manner and the Grand Opening took place on 16th April, 1931, as
part of St. Hilda Lodge’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. With over one
hundred members and visitors present the Temple was formally dedicated
by the provincial Grand Master, H.R.H. prince Arthur of Connaught. For the next eight years until the outbreak of war in 1939, St. Hilda Lodge and Chapter were the only Masonic bodies meeting in the Temple, and to all accounts the cost of upkeep was already becoming a burden. However, at this point the building was taken over by the War Office for use as troop billets and was in use as such until it was handed back to the lodge at the end of 1945. Unfortunately the building and contents suffered considerable damage during this period, but the walnut panelling and oak floor of the Temple itself were saved from desecration by the American Commanding Officer, himself a Freemason, who appreciated their intrinsic and aesthetic value and had them covered with hardboard for the duration.
In 1946 the decision was made to
sell Brewery House which is the Georgian fronted building facing High
Street. It was purchased by a member of the lodge for £2750, and became
a furniture depository, and later offices.
The first post-war meeting in the
Temple took place on 9th October, 1946, with RWBro. Charles Nicholl,
Provincial Grand Master, present.
Despite the formation of two new
lodges after the War, Portcullis Lodge No. 6672 and Ingham Clark Lodge
No. 8164, St Hilda Lodge continued to struggle alone with the financial
burden, until March 1976 when a committee of enquiry was set up under
the chairmanship of WBro. Charles Wilkinson to try to resolve the
situation. As a result of this St. Hilda Lodge relinquished the
management to a new committee comprised of members of all participating
bodies; new Trustees were appointed and Wallingford Masonic Centre came
into being. Since then with the proceeds of various fund-raising activities and a generous loan from the Provincial Building Fund considerable improvements have been made, and to quote WBro. Alan Purton (whose help in compiling these notes is gratefully acknowledged) 'We now have one of the finest Temples with auxiliary accommodation in the province.'
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