WALLINGFORD MASONIC HALL
Goldsmith Lane, Wallingford.
1/4 Mile out of Town Centre on A4130 towards Didcot.
Parking in Public Car Park adjacent to Jenkins Garage.
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
R.W.Bro. 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 W.Bro. 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 W.Bro.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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