Blackburn Masonic Hall
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A report on the re-opening, in September 1976,
of these premises, after the fire that virtually destroyed them.
The fire occurred on the afternoon of Sunday 11th August, 1974, consuming and destroying the entire centre of the building on all three floors. It was ironical that the annual decorating and cleaning programme, done as usual, during the summer recess, had just been completed, and the hall was ready for a new season of Masonic activity.
Masonry in Blackburn was without a home and the first concern of the directors was to find alternative accommodation for all the Lodges and Chapters, so that the sequence of regular meetings could proceed with as little disruption as possible. The willing co-operation of our neighbouring halls, Darwen, Clayton-le-Moors, Rishton and Whalley, helped enormously. Dispensations were granted from Provincial Grand Lodge, to hold meetings away from home and on irregular dates, and the Lodges made up their diaries accordingly, endeavouring to meet as near to their regular Lodge nights as their host’s accommodation would permit.
Meanwhile, research was taking place and consideration being given to the possibilities of either building a new hall, on a new site or repairing the existing hall. Eventually circumstances dictated that the old hall be repaired and renovated. An architect was engaged and many different plans and estimates of cost were submitted, considered and rejected, before one was finally accepted. These plans were sent out to a number of builders and the contract was awarded to one of our own Brethren.
Whilst this was taking place, negotiations, with our insurers, had been completed and settlement agreed. It had taken ten months to each this stage and it was a memorable day when the workmen moved in and the work of clearing and demolition, preparatory to rebuilding, commenced. From the start it was evident that to comply with stringent fire and safety regulations was going to be expensive, in terms of both square footage and cash, but there was no alternative but to comply, if we were to be successful in obtaining the necessary licences, to allow us to function to the best possible advantage. Consequently, a very great deal of work is unseen and not readily apparent, particularly the excavations in the cellar.
A great weight of solid earth was dug out and a great deal of masonry (bricks and mortar) put in there to provide foundations for the lift shaft and give proper access to the cellar. Brother Albert Haydock, the Masonic Hall Secretary, had moved his office to the ground floor, where he worked on amidst the most appalling conditions of dirt, dust, damp and cold, clambering over heaps of debris, along improvised ladders and at risk of being struck by falling bricks or timber. It was several weeks before the workmen “came out of the ground” and we were encouraged by visible signs of progress.
Meanwhile, attention was being given to finding the wherewithal. The total cost was to be seventy five thousand five hundred and twenty two pounds, when all fees and costs of the new furnishings, etc; were added to the basic contract price of fifty seven thousand four hundred and twenty six pounds. The nucleus of our funds was the insurance settlement of twenty nine thousand six hundred and ten pounds and a loan from the Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire of five thousand pounds, which left just over forty thousand pounds to be raised by the Brethren.
With a Masonic population of almost eight hundred, the per capita target of fifty pounds was obvious, and each Lodge was given a target figure of its membership roll, multiplied by fifty pounds. This resulted in a prodigious figure for some Lodges. Fidelity being well at the top, with three thousand eight hundred pounds, for their 76 Brethren. The response was terrific, great activity and enterprise could be observed everywhere, as fund-raising schemes got underway.
By then end of 1975 many Lodges had reached half their target and the first Lodge completed its amount, on the 16th March 1976 to be followed soon after by several others. Thirty-two thousand pounds had been raised so far, and a total of sixty-one thousand, two hundred and eighty-four pounds paid off the contract, together with considerable other sums for necessary work not included in the contract.
As with so many similar enterprises, it had become obvious, at various stages, that advantage should be taken, during the reconstruction, to carry out extra work and improvements. Consideration was given to many suggestions, and where the extra expense was considered to be fully justified, the modifications and improvements were carried out.
Among the most apparent of these being the removal of the two pillars from the foyer, sandblasting the front façade, three extra suspended ceilings, extension of the kitchen, redesigned central heating, improved lighting in the main Lodge Room, carpeted throughout, a dance floor in the large bar, enlargement of the hatch in the banqueting, room to fully exploit the still room and the installation in that room of a dish washing machine.
Defects that have come to light during the rebuilding include a small amount of dry rot, weaknesses in two floors, that have required strengthening by steel girders, an unsafe wall in the kitchen and, as I write, another outbreak of dry rot is being eradicated. The effect of these extra items of expense has been to put our final bill up to an estimated figure of eighty-six thousand five hundred pounds.
There is still much that can be done to add to our comfort, but further expense must be out of the question until we have discharged the debt for what we have now.
TB King