Masonic Hall

The Masonic Hall, also known as the Connaught Rooms, stands on Manningham Lane in Bradford and was built between 1926 and 1928. Designed by Ross & Briggs of Bradford, it was constructed for the Bradford Masonic Association. The building is steel-framed with flat roofs and is characterised by its Classical Revival style, employing an ashlar facade with coursed stone side fronts and tiled internal courtyards. It is four storeys high and eight windows wide.

The main, south-western facade features a centrally recessed doorway within a slightly projecting, pedimented porch. The rusticated surround incorporates columns 'in antis' with a modern canopy and inner steps leading to glazed double doors. Flanking either side are single shops, each with an original metal-framed shop window and recessed doorway, framed by rusticated ashlar piers. The shop to the right (No. 32) echoes this design with similar side shop windows to Trafalgar Street. A giant order spans the two upper floors, composed of outer Doric pilasters and inner Ionic half-columns defining the two centre bays. The first-floor windows have moulded surrounds and pediments, while the second-floor windows have moulded surrounds. This giant order supports a moulded entablature with a deeply bracketed frieze containing small casement windows. Three similar windows are visible on the right return to Trafalgar Street.

The south-eastern facade to Trafalgar Street retains a well-preserved, though somewhat irregular, fenestration pattern.

The interior features a main entrance hall with marble doorcases, marble-lined walls with pilasters, and coffered ceilings. A marble memorial tablet commemorates the laying of the foundation stone by Viscount Lascelles on 2nd November 1926. Original features include a staircase with stained glass windows and a lift with a timber-panelled interior. The dining room is decorated with plaster panelled walls, pilasters, and a coffered ceiling with a stained glass central roof panel. A smaller dining room displays similar decoration with wooden doorcases and a dado rail. The York Temple has wooden panelling with plaster panelling above, a chequered floor, and original Masonic fittings. The larger, two-storey Lancaster Temple or Banqueting Hall is also elaborately panelled with plaster panelling above and a coffered plaster ceiling. This hall incorporates balconies around three sides and a music gallery positioned over the entrance, all enclosed by iron railings supported on scroll brackets.

The building was constructed at a cost of £61,000.