Mackey A G - Encylopedia of Freemasonry - The Grand Masonic ...

314 HALL
HALL
its Hall Committee in 1773, for the purpose of
superintending the erection of the hall which
had been projected .
Hall, Masonic . For a long time after the
revival of Masonry in 1717, Masonic Lodges
continued to meet, as they had done before
that period, in taverns . Thus, the Grand
Lodge of England was organized, and, to use
the language of Anderson, "the quarterly communications
were revived," by four Lodges,
whose respective places of meeting were the
Goose and Gridiron Ale-House, the Crown
Ale-House, the Apple-Tree Tavern and the
Rummer and Grapes Tavern. For many
years the Grand Lodge held its quarterly
meetings sometimes at the Apple-Tree, but
principally at the Devil Tavern, and kept
the Grand Feast at the hall of one of the
Livery Companies. The first Lodge in Paris
was organized at a tavern kept in the Rue
des Boucheries by one Hure and the Lodges
subsequently organized in h'rance continued
to meet, like those of England, in public
houses. The custom was long followed in
other countries of Europe . In America the
practise ceased only at a comparatively recent
period, and it is possible that in some obscure
villages it has not yet been abandoned .
At as early a period as the beginning of the
fourteenth century, the Gilds, or Livery
Companies, of London, had their halls or
places of meeting, and in which they stored
their goods for sale . At first these were
mean buildings, but gradually they rose
into importance, and the Goldsmith's Hall,
erected in the fifteenth century, is said to
have been an edifice of large dimensions
and of imposing appearance . These halls,
probably, as they were very common in the
eighteenth century, were suggestive to the
Freemasons of similar edifices for their own
Fraternity ; but undoubtedly the necessity,
as the Association grew into importance,
of a more respectable, more convenient
and more secure locality than was afforded
by temporary resort to taverns and alehouses
must have led to the erection of
isolated edifices for their own special use .
The first Masonic Hall of which we have
any account is the one that was erected by
the Lodge at Marseilles, in France, in the
year 1765 . Smith describes it very fully in
his Use and Abuse of Freemasonry (p . 165), and
calls it "a very magnificent hall ." In 1773,
the Grand Lodge of England made preliminary
arrangements for the construction of a
hall, a considerable sum having been already
subscribed for that purpose . On the 1st of
May, 1775, the foundation-stone of the
new edifice was laid in solemn form, according
to a ceremonial which was then adopted, and
which, with a few modifications, continues to
be used at the present day on similar occasions
. On the foundation-stone it was
designated as Aula Latamorum, "The Freemasons'
Hall . " It was finished in less than
twelve months, and was dedicated, on the
23d of May, 1776, to Masonry, Virtue, Universal
Charity and Benevolence; a formula
still adhered to without variation in the
English and American rituals .
In the same year, the Lodge at Newcastle,
stimulated by the enterprise of the London
Freemasons, erected a hall ; an example
which was followed, two years afterward,
by the Lodge of Sunderland . And after
this the erection of isolated halls for Masonic
purposes became common not only in England,
Scotland, and Ireland, but all over
the Continent, wherever the funds of a Lodge
would permit of the expenditure .
In America, Lodges continued to be held
in taverns up to a very recent period. It
is not now considered reputable ; although,
as has been already remarked, the custom
is, perhaps, not entirely discontinued, especially
in remote country villages . It is
impossible to tell at what precise period
and in what locality the first Masonic Hall
was erected in this country . It is true that
in a Boston paper of 1773 we find (Moore's
Mag., xv ., 162) an advertisement summoning
the Masons to celebrate the festival of
St . John the Evangelist at "Freemasons'
Hall" ; but, on examination, we learn that
this was no other than a room in the Green
Dragon Tavern . Other buildings, such as
the Exchange Coffee-House, only partially
used for Masonic purposes, were subsequently
erected in Boston, and received by courtesy,
but not by right, the name of "Masonic
Halls" ; but it was not until 1832 that the
first independent hall was built in that city,
which received the name of the Masonic
Temple, a title which has since been very
usually conferred on the halls in the larger
cities. We may suppose that it was about
this time, when a resuscitation of Masonic
energy which had been paralyzed by the
anti-Masonic opposition, had commenced
to develop itself, that the Lodges and Grand
Lodges began to erect halls for their peculiar
use. At present there is no dearth of these
buildings for Masonic use of imposing
grandeur and architectural beauty to be
found scattered all over the land .
In America, as well as in Britain, the
construction of Masonic Halls is governed
by no specific rules, and is too often left to
the judgment and taste of the architect, and
hence, if that person be not an experienced
Freemason, the building is often erected
without due reference to the ritual requirements
of the Order. But in these particulars,
says Oliver, the Masons of the Continent
are governed by a Ritual of Building, and
he quotes, as a specimen of the Helvetian
Ritual in reference to the laying of the
foundation-stone of a Masonic Hall, the
following directions :
"A Mason, assisted by two others, if there
be a dearth of workmen, or distress, or war,
or peril, or threats of danger, may begin the
work of building a Lodge ; but it is better
to have seven known and sworn workmen .
The Lodge is, as we know, due east and
west ; but its chief window or its chief door
must look to the east. On a day allowed