Three views of the Masonic Hall on Wellington Street, Stockton. Taken February 2015.
Masonic Hall, Wellington Street c2015
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Three views of the Masonic Hall on Wellington Street, Stockton. Taken February 2015.
Don’t want to offend any one but thank goodness it looks nicer on the inside, cos it’s certainly not a looker from the outside. There’s the strangely offset main door, oddly shaped extensions added to the back over the years and oddly placed windows, yet it survives while many more handsome buildings have gone. Not that I want to see it suffer the same fate, but as the saying goes, “thats a facade (face) only a mother could love”. The door on Wellington Street has the motto above it “Audi, Vide, Tace ” which means “Hear, see, be silent”.
Had our wedding reception in there 20 years ago…….didn’t look good on the outside then! Thankfully much nicer inside!
Hi Ian,
hmmm awkward 🙂 …. glad I added the line about not offending anyone 😉
…even happier that you agree!
Your wedding reception remains the only time I’ve been inside. Remembering how good it looked inside, and passing it quite regularly since, I did begin to doubt it was the same place. Was it really 20 years ago… Congratulations and all the best to you both!
The Stockton Masons website says they moved from their previous building (also on Wellington Street) as they needed more room due to the venue’s popularity. I guess they soon ran out of space in this building too and added the various extensions, which would of been less visible when it was surrounded by other buildings.
Hi Jonathan
Yes, 20 years in September this year! Time flies….
I’ve got a photograph of the previous Masonic Hall in a book of old Stockton pictures, I can remember doing a pencil drawing of it in Art class at school. It seemed to be a much nicer looking building, as I recall it became the library for a while before the library moved to Church Road