Welcome to the Members Home Page
Please look around and feedback any comments (good or bad), or requests for additional information to the Secretary, Masonic Hall Ipswich Ltd at;
E: peterthomasmhi@gmail.com E: ipswichmasoniclodge@btconnect.com
Have you thought about organising a themed evening for your Lodge's festive board?
Maybe a St Georges, Burns or Trafalgar Night. These nights can pull in lots of visitors and add something different to your festive board. All themed nights tend to be really well attended and a great success. Why not add a jug of Beer, a tot of whiskey or a tot of Rum for your guests also.
Hall News
| Month | News Item |
| November 2022 | Central Heating: Whilst the new boiler has been installed, we are still waiting for the suppliers to carry out the commissioning. This has been promised for 25th November. Naturally the Board is not at all happy with this and are insisting that this date is brought forward. Donations towards the cost of the boiler are needed before the replacement of the lift can be considered. Dining- (less than 15 present.) Lodges meeting with less than 15 attending are welcome to supply their own food, on the understanding that the dining room is left in a clean and tidy state. However, the kitchen will not be available to use. We are pleased to say that the heating has now been commissioned and is working well. |
| January 2023 | The new heating boiler appears to be working well and temperature and timings have been set. Donations to the Development Fund have started to come in and, to date, we have received donations from 6 lodges. Naturally we need more donations to enable us to meet the cost of the new boiler at £28,000. Once we have reached this target we will be able to move on with the next project which is to update / replace the lift. We are beginning to see more interest from outside parties about booking the hall as a result of updating our website. |
| February 2023 | The bill for replacing the heating boiler and associated pipework at £26,000 has now been paid. Unfortunately, due to a very poor response from Lodges (only 6 lodges made donations), we are left with almost zero funds in our development account. We are now obtaining quotations for repairing the lift, which we expect to be around £27,000. However, we will only be able to carry out this work once Lodges have made sufficient donations to enable us to do so. On other matters, we will be fitting 3 security cameras to the outside of the building. This has been triggered by the recent attack on a lady in Soane Street. |
| March 2023 | Three new security cameras have been fitted to the outside of the building. Two covering the entrance and one covering the area behind the double gates. An updated quotation is being obtained for the repair or replacement of the lift. However, further donations are needed from Lodges, (only 6 Lodges have made donations to date), to cover the cost of the heating boiler before we can go ahead with the lift. Bar prices have been increased in line with inflation. We welcome to new Wardens namely, Chris Holloway of Perfect Amity, and Bob Piper of Orwell Lodge. |
| April 2023 | We have obtained a music licence for the building. This will give us more opportunities for external hire. Copies are being sent to all lodge secretaries. A copy is also available in the Bar. The weekend of 9th-10th September has been booked for us to be open for the Ipswich Heritage weekend. An recent inspection by Environmental Health has given us a 5* rating. |
| May 2023 | We await another quotation for the repairs/ maintenance of the lift. However, we remind lodges that we need donations to be able to go ahead with the work. We have had advice from the Lift engineer regarding the problem with "going down" from the first Floor. The instructions are : WAIT FOR THE CAR DOORS TO CLOSE BEFORE PRESSING THE LIFT BUTTON. This has been tried several times with success each time. We are obtaining an electronic notice board to be fitted above the bar. A.G.M's for the Trust company, Hall Company, Bar and Catering will take place on Thursday 8th June at 6 pm. |
| September 2023 | Another successful Heritage Weekend. We were open on Saturday and Sunday and had just over 300 visitors each day. The hot weather on both days encouraged some of the visitors to use the bar. The feedback we received from visitors at the end of their visit was excellent with many saying it was the best of those open. There was a constant flow of people which meant that all of those helping were constantly busy, so many thanks to everyone and , not forgetting, Hannah and Anouska. It was an excellent opportunity to let the general public see our lovely building, but as expected, the vast majority of the questions were about freemasonry and not the building, and also, the majority of the questions were from the ladies. |
| December 2023 | The Board has decided to have the lift repaired and brought up to current standards. We have used all of the remaining funds in our development account for the boiler upgrade and new extraction fans in the kitchen. As donations have not been received, the work will be carried out using funds from our General account. The cost will be approximately £28,000. This means that we will not be able to carry out any other major projects until sufficient funds have been donated by Lodges and/or, Lodge members. |
| February/March 2024 | A quotation has been accepted and an order placed for the lift to be brought up to date. This is at a cost of approximately £28,000. The funds for this work are coming from the current account as there are insufficient funds in the development account. Naturally, therefore, we will not be able to carry out any further major work until the development account is re-plenished. The funds to do this come mainly from donations from individual members and lodges. The work will be carried out during June/July. Re-furbishment of the old Robing Room is now complete. |
| May / June 2024 | The upgrading of the lift has been ordered with Stannah Lifts and the work will be carried out during the summer recess. An order has been placed for the re-sanding and varnishing of the Dining Room Floor and will be carried out during July / August. |
| November 2024 | The Lift has been upgraded at a cost of aprox. £28,000, and the Dining Room floor was re-varnished during the summer recess. We currently have no further plans for any major projects, however, when new funds become available, it is the intention of the Board to "tidy up" the rear yard and construct a patio area. |
Dates for your Diary
| Date | Meeting | Purpose | Who | Time | Where |
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