Masonic Hall

Masonic Hall is a building originally constructed as a mechanics institute between 1845 and 1846, later converted into a masonic lodge in 1883, with further alterations in 1910 and a partial rebuild and extension in 1969. It was designed by JB and W Atkinson and is built from brown brick in English garden-wall and stretcher bonds, featuring a stuccoed front on a chamfered plinth, topped with slate hipped roofs and brick stacks.

The building is two storeys high with an attic and has a three-bay main front. To the left, there is a two-storey, one-bay wing, and a one-storey extension set back further left, which contains the entrance. The main front has quoining on both floors, with the ground floor framed by pilasters that support a moulded cornice. The former central doorway has been altered to an 8-pane sash window, flanked by three-light windows with narrow sashes and painted stone sills. The first-floor windows are round-headed, featuring blind sashes painted with radial glazing, set in rectangular surrounds with spandrel rosettes, above a moulded sill band. The attic is designed as a blind pilastraded parapet with a moulded cornice. The openings in the two-storey wing match those on the main front but with plain detailing. The interior was not inspected.