Masonic Hall

OLD ORCHARD STREET

No.12 Masonic Hall 12/06/50

GV II

Theatre, later Roman Catholic church and Freemasons' Hall. 1750, altered and extended 1775, altered and reconstructed after bomb damage in WWII. John Hippisley and John Palmer, after a design attributed to y Thomas Jelly. MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar, rendered and painted to ground floor, roof not visible at front, Welsh slate to rear. EXTERIOR: Three storeys, ten windows in all, but only top floor has ten, arranged two:three:three:two, sashes of late C18 type, six/six, with plain beaded architraves. First floor has two:three:two:two, ground floor has two:two:three. Stone Doric pedimented doorway with double panelled doors to right, doorway post 1866 alteration for Freemasons, additional (stage) door to left, six panels with rectangular light over. Platband at first floor level. Cornice, parapet, partially heightened at stage end. Rear elevation rubble with freestone dressings. Mixture of windows, all small paned sashes, some six/six with arched heads (two), with flat heads (three), hall has eight/eight with cambered heads below, and with arched heads above, tall stair window, six/six/six. INTERIOR: Much altered and mainly rebuilt. The axis of the auditorium lay parallel to the street. HISTORY: This at one time was one of the most important theatres outside London, especially for the period 1790-1805, having gained a Royal licence in 1767 (the first provincial theatre so to do). All the significant actors and actresses of the day, including Garrick, Kemble and Siddons performed here. A print of 1804 depicts the original door arrangement (See Lees-Milne and Ford, below). The closing performance was on 13 July 1805, before the opening of the new Theatre Royal in Beauford Square (12 October The Orchard Street Theatre then became a Roman Catholic Chapel in 1809, and subsequently passed into use as a Freemasons' Hall after the Catholics moved to St. John's in 1866. The present pedimented entrance dates from the Freemasons¿ time. SOURCES: W. Ison, The Georgian Buildings of Bath (1948), 101; J. Lees-Milne and D. Ford, Images of Bath (1982), 717; J. Earl & M. Sell (eds), `The Theatres Trust Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950¿ (2000), 10.

Listing NGR: ST7519464621