We first discovered that this would be a location in The Hallmarked Man from one of J.K. Rowling’s X header photos, which was of the Latin quote on the front of the Hall.
‘ … the shop deals in masonic stuff and is right beside the Master Lodge of All England or something—’ Ch 4
Cormoran Strike misnames the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), which is the home of freemasonry in the United Kingdom – excluding Scotland – its headquarters being Freemasons’ Hall (FM), in London.
When Robin Ellacott is reading online articles about the body found in the cellar of Ramsay Silver, the Freemasons’ Hall is described as ‘an imposing meeting place’ (Ch 7)
The Art Deco building which stands where Great Queen Street, Drury Lane and Long Acre meet, was built between 1927 and 1933 as the Masonic Peace Memorial for those who died during the First World War.
A memorial to freemason’s who received the Victoria Cross was installed in the pavement outside one of the entrances to FH in 2017, which is depicted on the cover of The Hallmarked Man.
The history of the site goes back to 1769, when the Premier Grand Lodge of England reconfigured a house and garden on Great Queen St into the Freemason’s Tavern and a meeting hall which was used as a gathering place for freemasons and as a venue for social events for the wider public for 150 years. Most of this building was then demolished in 1909 to make way for The Connaught Rooms, the designers of which also created Freemason’s Hall.
Robin parks the Land Rover on Great Queen Street and the car is commented upon by a passerby.
‘She (Robin) watched the man turn into the huge art Deco building of pale grey stone beside which she’d parked’ Ch 14
‘Impressive building’, said Robin …’It is’, agreed Strike. From this angle Freemason’s Hall looked as though it has been constructed like an isosceles triangle, except that at the point where the two long sides converged it had been squared off, presenting a relatively narrow but very tall and grand frontage comprising columns, a square clock and a tower’ Ch 14
Strike and Robin make a reconnaissance of the exterior of the building which backs onto Wild Court. In chapter 97, Strike procures a map of Freemasons’ Hall and Wild Court from the Holborn Library to find out how the Hall might be accessed without using the main entrance.
‘The silver shop, which sat at the join of the red brick Connaught Rooms and the pale grey stone of Freemasons’ Hall’ Ch 14
Neither enter the Freemasons’ Hall on this first visit to the area – on Friday 2nd December 2016 – but we’re made aware that, ‘(Robin) might have expected those entering to require, if not a secret password, then at least a membership card, but a sign beside the glass doors proclaimed that there was a cafe inside, a museum open to the public and guided tours’ (Ch 14).
Freemasons’ Hall has several floors, accessed by a central staircase and elevator, containing a Grand Temple, twenty six further temple or lodge rooms, including Temple 17 with its large carved Buckingham swan, rooms for various boards and committees to meet and administrative offices all accommodating the various lodges within the Metropolitan Grand Lodge of London, as well as provincial lodges, in order for them to conduct their meetings and rites.
DCI Malcom Truman is one of the freemasons in The Hallmarked Man who attends Freemasons’ Hall.
‘Last night I sent Shah to watch the entrance of Freemason’s Hall. Guess who turned up for his six thirty lodge meeting, apron bag in hand?’
‘DCI Malcolm Truman?’ said Robin, with a sinking feeling.
‘Right in one,’ said Strike. ‘Shah got some covert snaps.’
‘Interesting,’ Robin forced herself to say.’ Ch 38
In Chapter 28, Jim Todd tells Strike that William Wright had visited the Freemasons’ Hall.
‘E was def’nitely into it all, though. Wen’ an’ looked round Freemasons’ ’All, in ’is lunch hour.’ … They’ve got a museum in there, in Freemasons’ ’All, an’ a shop, wiv books in it. I fort, “’e was lookin’ stuff up. Tryina find out what it was all worf, that Whatsit silver.”’
This makes Strike want to visit the museum and Temple 17, so he contacts his old SIB friend Graham Hardacre.
In Chapter 72, Strike is given a guided tour by Graham Hardacre who has been a freemason for as long as Strike has known him. Robin had also been invited but she ‘remained angry at Strike’ (Ch 71) so refused.
After a pint in The Freemason’s Arms on Long Acre, they enter ‘the marble lobby of Freemason’s Hall, which was high ceilinged, with a gilded cornice’ (Ch 72) and Hardacre makes arrangements to view Temple 17.
‘They climbed the broad staircase to visit the first-floor museum. There were several pieces of masonic silverware on display …’ (Chapter 72)
The museum is free to visit and contains a wide variety of memorabilia and antique items of Masonic interest, including regalia and jewels contained in a variety of wood and glass display cabinets and on the walls and dias.
‘While Strike continued to browse the contents of the glass cabinets, Hardacre visited the shop opposite the museum …’
Freemasons can buy items of clothing and regalia in the shop and there’s an extensive range of reading material and souvenirs for visitors.
Along the corridor from the museum and shop is a large library and a further room containing more masonic artifacts. Members of the public are able to register for a readers card and use the library for research.
There’s also a cafe open to the public. J.K. Rowling mentioned in an interview that she was writing notes in here when she was approached and offered a private tour.
Map:
The UGLE website has more information: