Masonic Hall The Crescent Salford

A limited company has been registered to erect a new Masonic Hall on the site of the existing hall on The Crescent, Salford. Plans have been approved by the Buildings and Bridges Committee of the Corporation.  The scheme, described by the architects (Messrs Brameld and Smith, Manchester) as of a classic character, will cost, inclusive of the site, between £15,000 and £20,000. The facade will be of Portland stone with recessed brick panels, and a feature will be the recessed portico. [Builder 11 October 1929 Page 592].

SALFORD MASONIC TEMPLE – The new Masonic Temple in Salford, a symbol of the strength and progressiveness of Freemasonry, is a notable building on the Crescent, one of the city’s finest roadways, where Georgian mansions look out upon Peel Park and over the winding Irwell to Kersal Moor in the distance. In the centre of the front elevation a Georgian porch in Portland stone has been erected. There are two wings in Portland stone, and in the lower part s of recessed brick panels are finely proportioned Georgian windows. The vertical lines of the panels, in keeping with the vertical lines of the porch, lend height to the building, the repetition of the panels with semi-circular arches having key blocks and impost stones, lend strength, grace and beauty to the structure, and the windows give it character. In a simpler form the treatment of the front elevation is extended to the side elevations. To the right of the entrance hall, which runs from the front to the back, is the music room and to the left the banqueting room. The entrance hall is panelled with mahogany to the top of the doors, also of mahogany. The floor is of marble terrazzo, and the ceiling panelled with enriched plaster mouldings. Well lit and well ventilated, the music room is 64 feet long, and the timber of the floor – for dancing - has been selected for its hardness colour and finish. Of similar dimensions, the banqueting room is separated from the servery by a glazed folding screen and is close to the kitchen, though effectively cut off from it.

The first floor, reached by a wide staircase of three flights of steps, lit by a domed ceiling light, contains two large lodge rooms, provincial officers’ rooms, robing rooms, committee rooms, and caretaker’s flat. Special care has been taken to render the rooms sound-proof. The walls of the banqueting, music and lodge rooms are divided into panels by pilasters, and the ceilings by beams; these spaces are ornamented by plaster mouldings as well as the pilasters and beams. Walls and ceilings are painted in bright colours of a pleasing and restful character. Designed and erected under the supervision of Mr Fred Riley (Messrs Brameld and Smith), chartered architect, Manchester, the building, with the furnishings, has only cost about £20,000.

One of the most important considerations in the building of the Salford Masonic Temple was speed. Messrs Fearnley and Sons Limited, Salford, the general contractors, undertook to complete the contract within twelve months, and so organised the work that, in spite of bad weather, the building will be finished in that time. The whole of the carpentry, joinery and fittings have been made on the premises of Messrs Fearnley and Sons Limited by craftsmen who take pride in turning out the best work. Notable in that respect are the wall panelling of the entrance hall, the polished oak floors in the dance rooms and music room, and the seating in the lodge rooms.

Messrs Robinson and Kershaw, Manchester, manufactured and erected the structural steelwork of the building. Their name is familiar where steel-framed buildings are put up in this country. Since they constructed the first local example of this kind of building in 1905, they have been busy with large commercial and business premises in Manchester and elsewhere. All sections of work are done by the firm’s staffs. The Portland stone of the front elevation and the steps to the entrances of hard York stone, were supplied by J and E Moores, stone masons, Manchester, whose recent contracts have included work at the Manchester Grammar School; Nurses’ Home, Manchester Royal Infirmary; Weavers’ Convalescent Home, Poulton-le-Fylde; and St James’s Church, Bury. The have also erected monuments for the Imperial War Graves Commission. A large area of rubber flooring has been laid by Messrs Macinlop Limited, Manchester, the design specified by the architect being exactly reproduced. The adaptability of rubber flooring to colour designs is a fact increasingly recognised by architects and builders. The flooring is extremely long wearing, affords a firm, non-slip grip to the feet, is sound-deadening, easily cleaned, and the colours are unfadable.

The plain and ornamental plastering and painting is a fine example of the efficient work of F and J Pilling Ltd, Manchester. All the ornamental bands, ribbons, cornices etc have been made and run on the site in solid plaster, no fibre work having been used.

G and J Seddon Limited, Little Hulton, are responsible for the excavating, draining, concreting and brickwork in the building, and they also took down the old Masonic Temple and the property which stood on the site of the new Temple. The brickwork is built in a mixture of cement and sand, the basement and interior walls being in local commons, and the red facings of the best quality Ruabon bricks.

Messrs Harling and Watson, Manchester, supplied the decorative glass for the dome and lay lights, also screens and windows. This work, comprising embossed glass and leaded lights, is treated in modern design with various acids and colours. During the past few years the firm has executed various large contracts. Arranged with a view to long service and freedom from troubles, the electrical installation is the work of J A Somerset and Company, Manchester. All the wiring is carried in galvanised screwed tiubes sunk in the floors and walls. The plumbing and sanitary work is done by F Lewtas Limited, Pendleton. In the kitchen is a gold medal Eagle “Continental” range supplied and fixed by Chas F Fooks Limited, Eagle Range and Grate Agency Manchester, who also fitted in an independent boiler for the domestic hot water supply. [Manchester Guardian 24 July 1931 page 5 with illustration]

Reference    Builder 11 October 1929 Page 592
Reference    Builder 11 July 1930. Page 89
Reference    Salford City Reporter 17 July 1931. Page 2 with illustration
Reference    Manchester Guardian 24 July 1931 page 5 with illustration