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It is thought that many members of the Craft and their guests,
do not know the full historical background of the Croydon &
District Masonic Hall PLC (C&DMH PLC) which since 1953 has been
the Masonic home of this Lodge.
Forty years ago this month the
property came into the ownership of C&DMH PLC at a purchase
price of £10,000. Oxo Limited used it as a food depot during the
1939/45 war - the building was damaged by blast and after the
war it became surplus to the requirements of Oxo Ltd.
There was no Masonic centre in
Croydon and Lodges mainly met at the Cafe Royal in North End,
Croydon - since demolished - and on the site of the old
Greyhound Hotel in the High Street before it moved to its
present site in Wellesley Road, Croydon.
The purchase price of £10,000 was
found by well wishers as the guarantors and shareholders in the
C&DMH PLC, which was formed to be the new owner of 73 Oakfield
Road. The Company, which comprised a total of 20 directors and
the secretary. The Secretary was the late W.Bro. A.C.Searle
PAPGM of this Province. The company was the owner of the C&DMH
Club. Interested members of Lodges and other Masonic orders
joined the club at the cost of 5/- (25p) for life membership.
Before I proceed to recount the
historical background of the C&DMH PLC, as the Masonic centre
from 1947 onwards, allow me to delve a little into the
background of 73 Oakfield Road which my research enables me to
date back to 1868 (119 years ago this month). Many will ask the
natural question "How was this information known and how was it
brought to light?".
Not surprisingly the War damaged
building of 73 Oakfield Road required adaptation to Masonic
requirements and, of course, builders were brought on site to
carry out the necessary alterations. In the foundation of this
building, the builders found a screw top glass canister, the
contents of which were most interesting.
Inside the canister were:-
A copy of the equivalent of the local Croydon Advertiser dated
September 1868. This paper is now extremely brittle and on this
count I feel it should not be removed from the canister, but
through the glass of it can be seen the prices of various types
of wines which were advertised for sale e.g. £2.00 for a case of
12 bottles of red or white wine.
Also various coins of the realm all in mint condition but
naturally tarnished. The coins were all dated 1868 and bore
Queen Victoria's head when she was about 40 years of age. The
coins were a florin, shilling, sixpence, penny and a half penny.
Also in the canister was a copy of the printed appeal, dated
June 1868 (119 years ago), to the parishioners and well wishers
of the St George's Presbyterian Church, Croydon - the name of
this church. The appeal shows the Rev. Alex J Murray MS, the
minister, sought financial support to purchase the freehold site
of 73 Oakfield Road, and to furnish the building as a
replacement church to the iron church of the site. In this
appeal for financial support the minister stated that the then
population of Croydon was about 45,000 and initially he wished
to raise about £3,000 to purchase the Freehold site and to build
thereon a church to accommodate 350 persons.
A grant of approximately £2,000 was
received from church circles so in essence the appeal was for
£1,000. A future congregation would, he hoped, raise the further
£2,000 making £5,000 in all to extend the church to accommodate
about 600 persons and to erect a spire which was to be built on
the church at the corner of St James' Road and Oakfield Road.
The written appeal contained an
Architect's impression of the proposed church with the spire. It
is certain that the second phase of the building was never
accomplished since the steeple was not erected and it appears,
through lack of support, St George's Presbyterian Church,
Croydon fell into disuse in about 1938, after some 70 years as a
church. It is interesting to note that a member of this Lodge
recalls that he conducted a funeral at this church at about that
time.
Such were the contents of the glass
canister as were found, the present Board of Directors of the C&DMH
PLC will no doubt wish to consider presenting such items on loan
to the museum which has been established at 73 Oakfield Road.
We now come to the end of World War
II and in 1947 an estate agents board indicated that the
property was for sale. The late W.Bro. S.G.Leathwood, father of
W.Bro. Paul Leathwood and W.Bro. Ray C.E. Leathwood (both
members of this Lodge) noticed the board and paid the initial
deposit as he quickly realized the potential of the building,
bearing in mind the wishes of many Brethren in Croydon to
provide a Masonic Centre which would provide Temples and other
facilities for the use of the Craft.
The then Provincial Grand Master the
R.W. Bro. Lieut. Col. H.A. Mann gave his approval for the
formation of a small committee to carry through the initial
formalities. Shortly afterwards a larger committee was created
and the late W.Bro. Harding PAPGM was elected Chairman and the
late W.Bro. A.C.Searle PAPGM Secretary of the Company. Hence the
C&DMH PLC was formed and the necessary shares were issued to
defray the cost of the purchase of the property and the
essential alterations.
Much work was undertaken to prepare the building for Masonic
purposes and finally it was settled that the Dedication of the
Masonic Temple at the Masonic Hall, Croydon would take place on
25th September 1948 (39 years ago).
The then secretary of the C&DMH PLC
sent out a letter to all guarantors, donors and individual
shareholders informing them of the proposed Dedication and
inviting them to apply for tickets for the Dedication and the
subsequent dinner, the cost of which was the inclusive charge of
£1 5s (£1.25p) per head - to cover for expenses of the ceremony,
dinner including wine, and the entrance fee to the club - the
club was owned by the Masonic Hall Company but wound-up in 1960.
The Dedication of the Masonic Temple
was carried out by the then Right Worshipful Provincial Grand
Master, the late Right Worshipful Brother Lieut. Col. H.A. Mann
OBE, KMC, assisted by various others in their capacity as Surrey
Provincial Officers. Some 360 were present at the Dedication.
It is interesting to note from the
programme of this important event that some 40 Brethren and 2
Lodges (Addiscombe No. 1556 and Waddon No.4162) were especially
named and thanked by the directors of the Company for their many
acts of special service and numerous gifts, as were numerous
other unnamed Brethren and Lodges.
It must be stated here that the list
of printed names on the programme to which I have referred as
being specially named and thanked by the directors, contained
the names of three Leathwood brothers namely, Paul, Ray and Ken
- two of them are and have been members of this Lodge since
1957.
The C&DMH PLC was now officially
formed and, after Dedication, was available for Masonic
purposes. The Former church is a high building with a fine
timber roof above the main part of the church. The Brethren will
know that the main part of the church has been floored to
provide the Wheeler Temple (where we now hold this meeting) and
the Mann dining room is below this floor. There are also three
other temples and several other smaller rooms for Lodges of
Instruction and Committee Rooms.
There are also the main entrance hall and bar together with the
main staircase leading to the Temples above.
Those who remember the original
building will recall that the bar was part of the clergyman's
house next to the church and the present carpeted entrance hall
was open to the sky - separating the clergyman's house from the
church. Before the present kitchens were installed all the
catering was undertaken by an outside contractor who brought the
food to Oakfield Road from Horley. He used gas rings in the
kitchen area to reheat the transported meals.
Most consecrations of Surrey Lodges
take place here as do other large annual meetings of other
Masonic Degrees. Gradually various old and newly consecrated
Lodges and other Masonic orders left their old meeting places
and came to 73 Oakfield Road and, at the present time, the
existing premises provide a meeting place for over 90 Craft
Lodges and nearly 50 Royal Arch Chapter and other degrees. In
addition, meeting facilities are provided for about 70 Lodges of
Instruction and Committee meetings as required.
In due time, two adjoining houses
have been acquired by the Company, 71 Oakfield Road for around
£5,000 in 1963 and 153 St James's Road for around £3,500 in
1964. The ground floor of 71 Oakfield Road is occupied by the
Provincial Grand Lodge of Surrey and all other rooms in both
properties are used for Lodges of Instruction and Committee
meetings.
It is perhaps doubtful whether this
old building dating back to 1868 has any other secrets to be
disclosed, but a few years ago the board of the Company decided
to lay a Masonic floor in the Wisby Temple. The building
contractors involved in the floor alterations decided that it
was necessary to consolidate the existing flooring and in so
doing they came across a trap-door in the centre of the floor.
On opening the trap-door they found about 250 church kneeling
cushions which were decayed and fit only for the builders skip -
they had been stored there for nearly 50 years.
Many will say that the existing
Masonic Centre with its improvements over the years must surely
be one of the best in the country and we in Surrey must be proud
of 73 Oakfield Road. Although the properties referred to in this
talk have not been professionally valued they are estimated to
be collectively worth nearly £2 million.
Brethren, such is the heritage which
we have gathered around us over the years. I am sure that are
most fortunate in having such a fine Masonic Home - it is a
valuable asset which has been handed down to us by our
predecessors and which we in turn can pass on to our successors.
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