History of West Lancs & the Liverpool Masonic Hall

The province of West Lancashire is not only the largest of the provinces ranged under the banner of the Grand Lodge of England, it also has claims to be the birthplace of English Freemasonry. The initiation of Elias Ashmole in Warrington in Lancashire on 16th October 1646 is the earliest recorded initiation into English Freemasonry.

The province, founded as Lancashire Western Division in 1826, became the province of West Lancashire in 1960 and covers that part of the ancient county of Lancashire, west of the Great North Road, but including Preston and Lancaster.  It extends from the Lake District to the River Mersey and from Liverpool into the suburbs of Manchester. Its lodges now meet in five counties: Lancashire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and parts of Cheshire.

Any description of the province inevitably begins in Liverpool. Here is the headquarters of the province and the greatest concentration of lodges - 155 of them. The province, being so large, is divided into twenty-four groups, each with its own chairman, vice chairman ,secretary and support team.

The Masonic Hall stands on a famous street , Hope Street. The spectacular lantern crown of the Metropolitan Cathedral gazes down on one end of the street and the monumental Anglican Cathedral, the final blaze of gothic, looks down at the other end.

The Hope Street Masonic Hall was built to give Liverpool freemasonry a home, and a home that they could be proud of. Originally the forefathers had a few different sites in mind for the building and after all the suggested sites had been appraised and their pros and cons weighed, so it was that 22 Hope Street (the house in the garden) which won the day. 

The property was purchased on the 27th April 1857 but it was not until the 23rd April 1858 that the committee met for the first time to discuss the possibility of converting the property for the purposes of Freemasonry. On 8th October 1858, amidst great rejoicing, the hall was declared open.

After much deliberation and organisation, plans to demolish the house in the garden and build the new hall on the land at 22 Hope Street were agreed to and on 2nd November 1872 the cornerstone was laid with full Masonic honours by the Right Hon Lord Skelmersdale, the Past Grand Warden of England and the Deputy Provincial Grand Master of the Western division of Lancashire. Work went along rapidly and in 1874 the new building was ready for use.

Due to worldwide popularity of Freemasonry, Hope Street saw many new lodges forming under its roof and before long it became obvious that the building needed extending. 

In the 1920's it was brought to the attention of the Brethren that a strip of land running parallel to the lodge was for sale and a proposal was forwarded to purchase the land and extend the current lodge building.  

The land was purchased, the architecture was approved and funding was organised by the Brethren of the Masonic Hall Rebuilding Committee but with delays, due to the after effects of the Great War, it was not until 1932 that the work was completed and the hall is finally the building it is today.

The original 1870's building had a large grand entrance in its centre. For whatever reason, the grand entrance was done away with in the 1930's, in favour of a smaller entrance in the extension of the building.

The old entrance was bricked up and the room behind it was turned into a meeting area and bar. The extension made the building 25% larger than it had been previously. The centenary of a lodge building on the Hope Street site was enjoyed in 1958 ,then in 2008 we all celebrated the 150 year.

On the 14th April 1975, 22 Hope Street, Liverpool, was made a listed building. One must wonder if the founding fathers knew what a legacy they had left for Freemasonry in Liverpool and if they ever imagined that the building would still be in use by Liverpool lodges today.
The four central Liverpool Masonic groups, namely Gladstone, Sandon, Trafalgar and Wellington, are, contrary to popular belief, actually named after four of the more famous Liverpool docks.

The vast majority of the lodges meet at the Masonic Hall in Hope Street, but about half of those in the Gladstone group, and a small number in the Sandon and Wellington groups, meet at such diverse venues as the Brittania Adelphi Hotel, the Liverpool Racquet Club, the Staff House at the University of Liverpool and the Harold House Annex, Dunbabin Rd , Childwall.

Between them, these Liverpool groups comprise a cosmopolitan array of different lodges with much fascinating heritage, reflecting the history and development of the city.

Some lodges are very old - there are several over two hundred years of age with one approaching two hundred and fifty - but many were founded since the Second World War, the most recent being in 1979.

Most lodges meet in the evening during the week, but there is one lodge which meets at lunch time and a few meet on Saturdays.

Some lodges hold many social events, including ladies nights, old English nights, barbeques and various fund raising activities, both for Masonic and non Masonic charities.

Charity is one of the great driving forces of Freemasonry, and every member is encouraged to contribute regularly to this worthy cause.

The sums raised enable the Freemasons' Grand Charity to donate considerable amounts to nearly all the major national charities and has become one of the major sources of charitable giving in the country.

In addition, the brethren also support local charities as well as the Masonic charities in the province of West Lancashire. There are some lodges where membership is encouraged from particular groups of people such as those who work in similar trades or professions, those associated with particular schools or the university or ex servicemen.

All lodges are connected by a regulatory body for the province of West Lancashire and are held under the auspices of the United Grand Lodge of England.

Young people would not feel out of place in Liverpool Masonry as there are many members in their twenties and early thirties.

At the other end of the scale there are many members these days that, because of work or other commitments, do not join until retirement.
As will be seen the scope for Freemasonry in Liverpool is very great and there are a variety of lodges in which any upright and honourable man, from whatever quarter in life, could feel at home, where he can make many firm and lasting friendships and where he can feel he is making a contribution, not just to his particular lodge, but to the good of society as a whole.