Description

ST JOHN'S PLACE
1.
5112 (West Side)
SE 09 24 NW Freemasons' Hall and
attached front railings
18/SP 889
II
2.
Freemasons' Hall and attached railings. Mid-late C19. Thinly-coursed squared stone,
front of ashlar with rock-faced basement and left-hand bay. 2 storeys with basement;
1:6 bays, the left bay being a much altered caretaker's apartment, the right bays
comprising the hall. The hall: the 3 left-hand bays on 1st floor (this part being
the Temple) are blind, classically-treated, and taller than the right-hand bays
with pediment; central 2-bay portico. Bays defined by pilasters, channelled on
ground floor with elaborate capitals 1st floor left-hand bays. Cill bands, 1st
floor impost band, ground- and 1st-floor cornices. Openings stone-lintelled to
basement and caretaker's apartment, segmental-arched to ground floor and round-arched
above, with keystones and architraves to upper-floor openings. Columns of portico
have capitals of anthemions and symbols of freemasonry; entrance up steps, has
6-panel double door under tall overlight, the window to its left (within portico)
having raised apron panel. Deep dentilled cornice to portico and pediment. Left-
hand 1st-floor bays have fine-quality relief carvings including central arched
panel with coat of arms and motto, the flanking bays each with an open book on
pedestal, various numerals, mottoes and symbols. Roof hipped over right hand bays,
with vents to ridge behind pediment.
Basement area is fronted by low stone wall supporting heavy cast-iron railings with
Obelisk-finialled standards flanking decorated panels, some of which incorporate
5-Pointed star,compass and square motifs. Rear: ashlar bands; pilasters to ends
and flanking narrow bay 3; some of the windows - plain sashes, but most have leaded
glazing with freemasonry symbols. Interior: inner double door up steps the fanlight
having coloured glazing with compass and square. Lobby has modillion cornice and
elaborate light roundel. Panelled doors. Stair hall has decorative wall panels
and egg-and-dart cornice; open-well stair with elaborate, cast-iron, open work,
panel balusters; round-arched stair-window and stair-well overlight have coloured
glazing; lst floor stair/hall elaborately decorated with red-polished stone-clad
columns and pilasters supporting elaborately-decorated cross-beam; wall panels
have raised, lugged mouldings and are set in round-arched niches on landing. The
Temple is highly decorated, having anthemion-capitalled pilasters to walls with
panels between bearing a variety of symbols including eyes and hand.-held daggers;
scrolled frieze below heavily-moulded modillioned cornice, which breaks forward
at either end on large, elaborate, console brackets (with organ inset behind wall
at rear end); coved,coffered ceiling,the beam soffits having pomegranate and trailing
leaf decoration, the panels having fretted surrounds and painted with sun and stars;
circular ceiling vents have grilles incorporating square and compass.

Listing NGR: SE0906925516

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26431797

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)