Masonic Hall, The Square, Crossgar, Co Down, BT30 9EE

Masonic Hall, The Square, Crossgar

This two-storey red brick Masonic Hall was built in 1910 and stands on the north side of the Square in central Crossgar. The building is distinguished by a broad, asymmetrical gable to its south-facing front, which shows Jacobean influence in its decorative treatment, though the gable is somewhat too broad to be considered truly Jacobean in style.

The front elevation is carefully composed. The ground floor features an off-centre main entrance to the left, consisting of a narrow timber sheeted doorway with a three-pane semicircular fanlight. The doorway is framed by brick pilasters supporting a sandstone entablature inscribed with 'MASONIC HALL'. A moulded terracotta keystone rises through this entablature. Short string courses flank the entrance pilasters. To the right stand two semicircular-headed windows with PVC frames, each crowned with decorative moulded terracotta keystones linked to string courses following the window heads, with sill courses below. The entrance and windows are divided by simple pilasters extending to first floor level and topped with slim sandstone capitals. Similar pilasters mark the wall edges, finished with inscribed sandstone cornerstones.

The first floor carries three windows matching the treatment of the ground floor openings. The façade culminates in a decorative gable topped with terracotta coping. Within the gable is a large tympanum panel containing a sandstone roundel date stone inscribed '1910'. The gable edges are finished with short piers featuring cornicing and spherical urn finials.

The west and east façades each contain three windows to both ground and first floors, arranged with similar pilasters to the front. Above the pilasters runs an eaves course. The east façade windows feature keystones and string courses as on the front elevation.

A large single-storey brick gabled extension has been added to the rear, dating from approximately 1995. Its styling echoes elements of the main hall. On the west face of this extension is a plain sheeted door to the left and a semicircular arched recess to the right. The west side includes two similar recesses. A central pilaster marks the gable, with similar pilasters at the wall edges.

The rear gable of the main hall originally featured two central pilasters, now largely obscured by the extension. The ground floor right side contains a panelled door with fanlight, flanked to the right by a narrow semicircular-headed window. First floor right shows a window matching the east façade treatment. Edge pilasters are topped with piers comparable to those on the front gable, but without finials.

The gabled roof is covered in natural slate with a single brick chimney stack riding the ridge. Rainwater goods are predominantly metal.

The boundary treatment comprises a low brick wall with decorative brick piers capped in sandstone with ball finials to the front and west, topped with simple wrought iron railings and wrought iron gates to the front. The eastern boundary is enclosed by a higher rough-cast wall with a curved brick section to the south-east (a recent addition) incorporating a pier designed to echo the original walling.