Masonic Birmingham
02 December 25
By Bro Simon Pierce
One hall on Severn Street
During a recent trip to my home town in England, I took the No. 45 bus from my childhood home in West Heath (South Birmingham) to the city centre, a trip I’d done thousands of times – albeit 40 years ago.
After flagging down the double-decker and watching my pound coins disappear into a slot, I retrieved my ticket and ascended the winding stair.
I couldn’t help but smile. This was the same bus I’d taken to school, then college and even my first job (until I could afford a car). Except for a route change just after Edgebaston Cricket Ground, everything seemed familiar. I knew exactly where I was and even recalled snippets of my misspent youth at most junctions along the way.
After the eight-mile (13km) journey into the city, I walked past well-known landmarks like the ‘Floozie in the Jacuzzi’, the Birmingham Rep, Black Sabbath Bridge, Centenary Square and Gas Street Basin with its colourful canal boats. Not many people outside of Birmingham know that the city once boasted over 170 miles of waterways – of which 100 miles still remain– significantly more than Venice. This claim is often proudly made by the city as a testament to its Industrial Revolution past, when canals were vital for transporting goods like coal and iron.
After concluding my business, I wandered a little further along the canal to the Mailbox, where I knew I’d be able to get lunch. One overpriced coffee and a ‘bashed avo’ (like smashed avo but with more Brummie attitude) later, I exited the wrong door and fortuitously stepped out onto Severn Street – which I don’t recall ever visiting, probably because there was nothing there that young me would find very interesting. Older ‘masonic’ me, however, was very interested…
Severn Street Masonic Hall
Severn Street was originally situated in an area called ‘The Froggery’, a poorly drained, marshy area that had been part of medieval Birmingham. By the 18th and 19th century, it had become a tenement block slum populated by thieves, crooks and prostitutes.
The infamous ‘Peaky Blinders’, who were based nearby in Small Heath, were active in the city centre in the late 19th century and were responsible for the murder of a Birmingham policeman in front of what is now ‘The Mailbox’, opposite the Masonic Hall.
The original building was first constructed as a synagogue to serve the small Hebrew Community in Birmingham as early as 1809. It had been part of the former Gooch Estates and was only the second permanent synagogue in the city. Originally,it consisted of only a few rooms. It was badly damaged during anti-semitic riots in 1813.
It was rebuilt in 1827 by Richard Tutin and continued to be used as a synagogue until 1857, when the Singers Hill Synagogue was built. It was then sold to the members of ‘Athol Lodge’ and opened as a Masonic Hall in 1858, being the first and oldest established ‘Masonic Meeting Place’ in Birmingham in the Masonic Province of Warwickshire.
The building
The lodge room boasts fluted Greek Doric columns with pilaster responds to either side of a platform that originally held the Torah Scrolls but now supports the Worshipful Master’s chair.
The dining room and anterooms were added between 1871–74. The architects included stars of David on the tops of each of the pillars and Masonic stars on the two ornate fireplaces. These touches reflect the building’s original functions – synagogue and Masonic Hall. When the Lodge of Israel was founded in 1874, the building was shared between them and Athol Lodge. In 1891, the frontage was remodelled and today is recognised as a Grade II heritage-listed building.
The King’s Chair
Athol Lodge has their very own ‘King’s Chair’ – a Worshipful Master’s Chair that has hosted the posterior of a former King of England – in this case, that of King Edward VII.
The carved oak chair bears two inscription plates which read ‘Presented to Athol Lodge No 88 by Bro John Vaughan PM AD 1863’ and beneath it on a silver plate: ‘This Chair was lent to the Birmingham and Midland Counties Agricultural Exhibition Society for the use of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales KG, Most Worshipful Grand Master, on the occasion of his visit to the Exhibition held at Bingley Hall on November 28, 1885.’
The Junior and Senior Warden’s Chairs are equally oaken, equally carved and equally bear a plate reading ‘Presented to Athol Lodge No 74 by Bro Archer, Rawlings and Stableford in 1875’.
It’s great to know that the city I knew well as a young man can still surprise me. Not because the city has changed, but because I have. Finally, I don’t want to encourage anyone to explore the back streets of a city, especially Birmingham, but there’s no harm in taking a new path occasionally – you never know what you’ll discover!
Mendelssohn and the Severn Street organ
While most Jewish religious services are traditionally unaccompanied by music, the Severn Street synagogue nevertheless featured a pipe organ, one which is believed to have been used by legendary German composer and Freemason, Felix Mendelssohn.
Mendelssohn visited Birmingham at least twice, staying with his benefactor Joseph Moore (also likely a mason), who commissioned Mendelssohn to compose and perform first St Paul (1837) and then Elijah (1846) as part of the Birmingham Triennial Musical Festivals. Though the performances were held in the Town Hall, Mendelssohn expressed difficulty playing that organ. Thus, as a member of the Jewish faith staying nearby, it is extremely likely that he availed himself of the synagogue’s organ for rehearsal.
When the Severn Street synagogue was sold, the organ was still part of the listed fixtures and fittings. In 1900, it was refurbished, with a new keyboard and a small plaque commemorating the date of refurbishment. It remains in the lodge room today but is very rarely used, owing to its age – but it remains the organ that Mendelssohn probably played.
The Lodges of Severn Street
These days Severn Street Masonic Hall is host to eighteen Craft and Mark lodges, whose warrants and banners are displayed in the lodge room.
These lodges are:
- St Paul's Lodge
- Athol Lodge 74
- Elkington Lodge 1016
- Lodge of Israel 1474
- Alma Mater Lodge 1644
- Aston Old Edwardians 3857
- Lodge of Freedom 3914
- St Martin's Lodge 4011
- Lodge of Loyalty 4340
- University of Birmingham Lodge 5628
- Lodge of Security 5650
- Lodge of Happiness 7952
- Forward Lodge 1180
- Charity Mark Master Masons Lodge 430
- Concord Mark Master Masons Lodge 735
- St Martin's Mark Master Masons Lodge 959
- Matthew Clarke Mark Master Masons Lodge 1012
- Holt Mark Master Masons Lodge 1041