The Masonic Hall

The Masonic Hall, originally the Free Grammar School founded in 1527, was built in 1587 and relocated in 1879. This timber-framed building resembles the contemporary Guildhall. It originally featured an open arcade with two rows of five octagonal columns supporting heavy beams with brackets. The first floor overhangs on a bressummer on each side, while only a small section of the ground floor at the north end was enclosed with a timbered wall; the rest was open and used as a playground. The entire ground floor has since been built in but remains recessed, allowing the arcade columns on each side to remain visible. The first floor is clad in weather-boarding, and the east side has five modern casement windows, which are currently obscured with black paint. The building has a tiled roof, with gables at the north and south ends that overhang on bressummers, featuring cove beneath and recently renewed moulded bargeboards, though the original pendants at the apex and angles are missing. There are six-light windows on these ends with wooden mullions and transoms, and the interior includes panelling. Photographs of the building are available in the National Monuments Record.