Masonic Hall, 76 Church Street, Antrim, BT41 4BA

Masonic Hall, 76 Church Street, Antrim

This is a fine late 19th-century building in Gothic Revival style, designed by the well-known Irish architect William J. Fennell and built in 1881–2, with the foundation stone laid by Sir Charles Lanyon. Together with its piers, gates and railings, it forms an ornamental feature of interest on one of the main streets of the town and retains a number of its original exterior and interior features.

The building comprises a single-storey gabled front block in Gothic Revival style, with a two-storey gabled transverse rear return of plainer style. The main entrance faces north.

The north elevation of the front block displays a symmetrical gable with a central doorway flanked by one window on each side and surmounted by an oculus in the apex. The walling is of roughly coursed basalt rubble with white painted stone dressings to openings, moulded copings with shaped kneelers, projecting plinth, and weatherings to regularly coursed basalt rubble angle buttresses. Original wrought iron ornamented finials crown the apex of the gable coping and the kneelers. The entrance contains a pair of original rectangular timber panelled doors with diagonal tongued and grooved sheeted panels, flanked by a pair of columns supporting a moulded Gothic arch with a tympanum panel decorated with raised ornament depicting a coat of arms, Masonic emblems and a ribbon inscribed 'Audi Vide Tace'. A granite doorstep is set beneath. The flanking windows are narrow rectangular openings with timber frames set in chamfered reveals and block surrounds rising to a Gothic arched head containing a sunken patera. Similar paterae ornament the kneelers and apex of the gable. The upper oculus has a moulded surround and contains tinted glazing of 'Star of David' pattern.

The east elevation of the front block has a roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with two flush rooflights and one chimney of smooth cement render with stop-chamfered corners and moulded cap. Moulded cast iron gutter and cast iron downpipes run along the eaves. The walling is as to the north elevation but without a plinth; a moulded eaves course and white painted smooth cement render is applied. Two rectangular timber sliding sash windows, vertically hung with one-over-one glazing and horns, are set in arched Gothic surrounds as described for the north elevation, with surrounds in unpainted smooth cement render.

The west elevation of the front block is similar to the east but has four openings. A central high-level window opening with block surrounds has the eaves course as its head; the opening is blocked with smooth cement render. A doorway at the right-hand end is rectangular flush timber with a plain fanlight set in a Gothic arched surround as to the windows. This doorway is coupled with a window in a similar surround, now boarded up, and there is a smaller similar window to the left of that.

The rear block is two storeys with a gable. The north elevation of the rear block has one window to each floor on each side of the front block connection. The roof is Bangor blue slates in regular courses with cast iron gutters and downpipes. Walling to the east side of the front block connection is roughly coursed basalt rubble with a high wet-dashed plinth and smooth cement quoins to the left-hand extremity. Windows are rectangular timber four-pane fixed lights with two-pane top-hung vents, set in smooth cement rendered block surrounds. Walling to the west side is smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with slightly raised cement quoins to the right-hand extremity. Windows are similar to those on the east side except the ground floor has a single-pane top vent.

The east elevation of the rear block is two-storey with two windows to each floor. The walling is roughly coursed basalt rubble with a high wet-dashed plinth and timber barge boards to the oversailing eaves, with a timber finial on the apex. Windows are rectangular, set in smooth cement rendered block surrounds with projecting concrete cills; the openings are blocked with smooth cement render containing a small modern metal ventilator.

The rear elevation of the rear block is two-storey, three-bay. The roof is slated as before. Walling is rendered with wet dash and smooth cement quoins to the extremities, with cast iron gutter and downpipe. One doorway to each floor is in the left-hand bay; these are rectangular timber panelled with plain three-light fanlight. The upper doorway is reached by a modern steel fire escape dog-leg stairway. First-floor windows are rectangular but blocked with smooth cement render; ground-floor windows are similar except only partially blocked, with three-pane timber top-hung vents.

The west elevation of the rear block is similar to the east except the walling is rendered with wet dash. There are two ground-floor windows, rectangular but blocked with smooth cement render, and two first-floor windows similar to those on the north elevation.

The building stands within its own grounds, facing onto the main street and set back slightly from it behind a small concrete surfaced forecourt. The front boundary is formed by a low plinth wall of smooth cement render and painted weathered coping, surmounted by original ornamental iron railings comprised of trefoil panels. A central pedestrian gate of similar design stands at the centre. The plinth and railings terminate at the left-hand extremity in a square pier of snecked basalt rubble with smooth painted plinth and gabled capstones ornamented with cusping and small circular sinkings. At the right-hand end, the plinth and railings terminate with a pedestrian gate of similar design to the central gate, linked to a square stone pier as described. The boundary to the east of the forecourt is formed by a wet-dashed rendered wall without coping. The boundary to the west is a similar wall with concrete coping. Extending to each side of the entrance gable of the front block are pedestrian gateways comprising original ironwork gates of plainer design than the boundary railings, mounted on pairs of gabled stone piers as the terminal piers but both sets surmounted by original ironwork finials similar to those of the main gable. Pathways along the east and west sides of the front block have concrete surfaces. The inner face of the boundary wall to the west side of the passage is rendered with wet dash, continuing to the rear boundary of the site as an unrendered concrete blockwork wall. The corresponding wall to the east is of basalt rubble, which continues to the rear boundary. The rear boundary is of rubble stonework. To the rear of the building is a concrete path leading onto a grassed area.