Freemasons Tavern, Hove
Encyclopedia
The Freemasons Tavern is a 19th-century public house
in the Brunswick Town
area of Hove
, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in the 1850s in a Classical style
similar to the surrounding buildings in the rapidly growing Brunswick Town area, it was given a "famous" and "spectacular" renovation when a restaurant was added. Local architecture firm Denman & Son
designed an ornate Art Deco
interior and an elaborate, brightly coloured entrance adorned with Masonic
symbols; both the exterior and the interior survive in excellent condition. English Heritage
has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
and neighbouring Brighton
, with high-class housing forming an architectural set-piece around extensive seafront lawns, and lower-class houses in surrounding streets—was prompted by the rapid growth of Brighton over the preceding half-century and the willingness of architects, builders and speculators to design impressive lodging houses
to attract fashionable upper-class visitors. The estate, designed and planned mostly by Charles Busby
, lay within the parish of Hove but was generally considered to be part of Brighton, which at the time was much better regarded than the "mean and insignificant assemblage of huts" (as one contemporary writer described it) which made up Hove village. Work began in 1824 and continued for many years, but a second phase involving the construction of another three grand squares was unrealised.
Brunswick Square and Brunswick Terrace (Grade I-listed since 24 March 1950) formed the residential centrepiece; commerce and other support facilities, such as a town hall, jail, market and church
(which was not originally part of the estate's plan), were confined to side streets. One such was Brunswick Street West, which ran north–south from the seafront to Western Road, the main east–west route into Brighton. As well as some working-class housing, the small, narrow street supported four public house
s; such high densities of pubs were common in lower-class residential areas in the Victorian era
. Three survive: the Star of Brunswick, the Bow Street Runner and the prominently sited Freemasons Tavern, on the corner of Western Road and Brunswick Street West and with entrances in each.
The inn existed by the 1850s, according to census
information; its first landlord, Thomas Lindfield from Egham
in Surrey
, passed it on to his son John, who sold it in the mid-1870s. The next landlord was also long-serving, but ownership changed more frequently from the late 1890s onwards. The incumbent in 1928 was Frank Dickerson; at this time the recently incorporated Kemp Town Brewery of Kemp Town
, Brighton, took ownership of the pub
and decided to refit and extend it to include a restaurant. They commissioned John Leopold Denman
of Denman & Son to carry out the work. The firm was used regularly by the Kemp Town Brewery for pubs along the Sussex coast, and also undertook much work on offices and other commercial developments. Denman's preferred style for these buildings was Neo-Georgian, although he and his son were capable of handling other styles effectively. Their design for the restaurant was highly elaborate inside and out, and was based on the Art Deco
style popular at the time. The entrance was framed by a two-storey mosaic
of blue and gold pieces adorned with Masonic symbols, the Star of David
and bizarre griffin-like creatures. A partly glazed curved screen led inwards to an Art Deco interior with integral furniture.
Proposals to turn the former Brunswick Town Hall, on the opposite side of Brunswick Street West, into a sports-themed bar were overturned in the early 1980s. The landlord at the time argued that having a large bar so close would damage trade. In 2000, the pub's new owners planned to restore the building to its original condition; a designer who worked on the television programme Grand Designs
was enlisted for the work, which cost about £150,000 and took place in 2001–02. The work included a "spectacular" lavatory installation, with a glass feature wall with a waterfall and a volcano image.
The Freemasons Tavern was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
on 2 November 1992. This status is given to "nationally important buildings of special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
ed building in the Classical style
, with a slate-tiled mansard roof
. Underneath the stucco, the walls are of brick. The restaurant part is on the east side, facing Western Road only; the pub section wraps around the corner, with a one-bay
façade to Western Road and four bays facing Brunswick Street West.
The pub section has a canted
bay window
in the form of an oriel
rising through the two upper storeys. Pilaster
s topped by gold-painted capitals
sit above each window; on the top floor, they reach the parapet
. Above this is a flat-headed dormer window leading to attic space. There are similar oriel windows on two of the four bays on the western face, as well as a large single-storey porch with a modern glazed extension at first-floor level.
The "striking" and "spectacular" restaurant section, added as part of the "famous facelift" of 1928, has been described as "reminiscent of the Viennese Secession
". The three-bay exterior is framed by a two-storey gold and blue mosaic with gold lettering at the top, reading and . The dado
has gold Masonic
symbols, and the lettering at the top is framed by two Stars of David
; below these, there are a pair of gold figures in the form of chimera
, with a griffin
- or fish-style head and a curved body like that of a seahorse
. Below the mosaic frame, a two-storey glazed bronze
screen with metal framing leads to a recessed doorway. Some of the glass is leaded
with sunburst
forms. Paired bronze lamp-holders project from the entrance. At second-floor level, there is a modern three-part window. Inside, much of Denman & Son's Art Deco work survives. There are moulded
beams and frieze
s with swag motifs
, integral seating and other furniture, Art Deco lighting, decorative plasterwork and an original staircase.
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in the Brunswick Town
Brunswick (Hove)
Brunswick Town is an area in Hove, in the city of Brighton and Hove, England. It is best known for the Regency architecture of the Brunswick estate.-History:...
area of Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in the 1850s in a Classical style
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
similar to the surrounding buildings in the rapidly growing Brunswick Town area, it was given a "famous" and "spectacular" renovation when a restaurant was added. Local architecture firm Denman & Son
John Leopold Denman
John Leopold Denman was an architect from the English seaside resort of Brighton, now part of the city of Brighton and Hove. He had a prolific career in the area during the 20th century, both on his own and as part of the Denman & Son firm in partnership with his son John Bluet Denman. ...
designed an ornate Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
interior and an elaborate, brightly coloured entrance adorned with Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
symbols; both the exterior and the interior survive in excellent condition. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
History
The early 19th-century development of the Brunswick Town estate—a self-contained community between HoveHove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
and neighbouring Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, with high-class housing forming an architectural set-piece around extensive seafront lawns, and lower-class houses in surrounding streets—was prompted by the rapid growth of Brighton over the preceding half-century and the willingness of architects, builders and speculators to design impressive lodging houses
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
to attract fashionable upper-class visitors. The estate, designed and planned mostly by Charles Busby
Charles Busby
Charles Augustin Busby was an English architect.He created many buildings in and around Brighton such as Brunswick Square and St Margarets Church. His style usually included Romanesque style pillars to his buildings....
, lay within the parish of Hove but was generally considered to be part of Brighton, which at the time was much better regarded than the "mean and insignificant assemblage of huts" (as one contemporary writer described it) which made up Hove village. Work began in 1824 and continued for many years, but a second phase involving the construction of another three grand squares was unrealised.
Brunswick Square and Brunswick Terrace (Grade I-listed since 24 March 1950) formed the residential centrepiece; commerce and other support facilities, such as a town hall, jail, market and church
St Andrew's Church, Waterloo Street, Hove
St Andrew's Church is a former Anglican church in the Brunswick Town area of Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Although declared redundant in 1990, it was one of the area's most fashionable places of worship in the 19th century, when it was built to serve the wealthy residents...
(which was not originally part of the estate's plan), were confined to side streets. One such was Brunswick Street West, which ran north–south from the seafront to Western Road, the main east–west route into Brighton. As well as some working-class housing, the small, narrow street supported four public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s; such high densities of pubs were common in lower-class residential areas in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. Three survive: the Star of Brunswick, the Bow Street Runner and the prominently sited Freemasons Tavern, on the corner of Western Road and Brunswick Street West and with entrances in each.
The inn existed by the 1850s, according to census
Census in the United Kingdom
Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
information; its first landlord, Thomas Lindfield from Egham
Egham
Egham is a wealthy suburb in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area, and about south-west of central London on the River Thames and near junction 13 of the M25 motorway.-Demographics:Egham town has a...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, passed it on to his son John, who sold it in the mid-1870s. The next landlord was also long-serving, but ownership changed more frequently from the late 1890s onwards. The incumbent in 1928 was Frank Dickerson; at this time the recently incorporated Kemp Town Brewery of Kemp Town
Kemp Town
Kemp Town is a 19th Century residential estate in the east of Brighton in East Sussex, England, UK. Kemp Town was conceived and financed by Thomas Read Kemp. It has given its name to the larger Kemptown region of Brighton....
, Brighton, took ownership of the pub
Tied house
In the UK a tied house is a public house that is required to buy at least some of its beer from a particular brewery. This is in contrast to a free house, which is able to choose the beers it stocks freely.- Definition of "tied" :...
and decided to refit and extend it to include a restaurant. They commissioned John Leopold Denman
John Leopold Denman
John Leopold Denman was an architect from the English seaside resort of Brighton, now part of the city of Brighton and Hove. He had a prolific career in the area during the 20th century, both on his own and as part of the Denman & Son firm in partnership with his son John Bluet Denman. ...
of Denman & Son to carry out the work. The firm was used regularly by the Kemp Town Brewery for pubs along the Sussex coast, and also undertook much work on offices and other commercial developments. Denman's preferred style for these buildings was Neo-Georgian, although he and his son were capable of handling other styles effectively. Their design for the restaurant was highly elaborate inside and out, and was based on the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style popular at the time. The entrance was framed by a two-storey mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
of blue and gold pieces adorned with Masonic symbols, the Star of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
and bizarre griffin-like creatures. A partly glazed curved screen led inwards to an Art Deco interior with integral furniture.
Proposals to turn the former Brunswick Town Hall, on the opposite side of Brunswick Street West, into a sports-themed bar were overturned in the early 1980s. The landlord at the time argued that having a large bar so close would damage trade. In 2000, the pub's new owners planned to restore the building to its original condition; a designer who worked on the television programme Grand Designs
Grand Designs
Grand Designs is a British television series produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4 which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects....
was enlisted for the work, which cost about £150,000 and took place in 2001–02. The work included a "spectacular" lavatory installation, with a glass feature wall with a waterfall and a volcano image.
The Freemasons Tavern was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 2 November 1992. This status is given to "nationally important buildings of special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
Architecture
The Freemasons Tavern occupies a corner site, and is L-shaped and double-fronted with entrances in both the north (Western Road) and west (Brunswick Street West) faces. As originally built, it is a three-storey stuccoStucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed building in the Classical style
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
, with a slate-tiled mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
. Underneath the stucco, the walls are of brick. The restaurant part is on the east side, facing Western Road only; the pub section wraps around the corner, with a one-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
façade to Western Road and four bays facing Brunswick Street West.
The pub section has a canted
Cant (architecture)
Cant is the architectural term describing part, or segment, of a facade which is at an angle to another part of the same facade. The angle breaking the facade is less than a right angle thus enabling a canted facade to be viewed as, and remain, one composition.Canted facades are a typical of, but...
bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
in the form of an oriel
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
rising through the two upper storeys. Pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s topped by gold-painted capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
sit above each window; on the top floor, they reach the parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
. Above this is a flat-headed dormer window leading to attic space. There are similar oriel windows on two of the four bays on the western face, as well as a large single-storey porch with a modern glazed extension at first-floor level.
The "striking" and "spectacular" restaurant section, added as part of the "famous facelift" of 1928, has been described as "reminiscent of the Viennese Secession
Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists, housed in the Vienna Künstlerhaus. This movement included painters, sculptors, and architects...
". The three-bay exterior is framed by a two-storey gold and blue mosaic with gold lettering at the top, reading and . The dado
Dado (architecture)
In architectural terminology, the dado, borrowed from Italian meaning die or plinth, is the lower part of a wall, below the dado rail and above the skirting board....
has gold Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
symbols, and the lettering at the top is framed by two Stars of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
; below these, there are a pair of gold figures in the form of chimera
Chimera (mythology)
The Chimera or Chimaera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing female creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her...
, with a griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
- or fish-style head and a curved body like that of a seahorse
Seahorse
Seahorses compose the fish genus Hippocampus within the family Syngnathidae, in order Syngnathiformes. Syngnathidae also includes the pipefishes. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning “sea monster”.There are nearly 50 species of seahorse...
. Below the mosaic frame, a two-storey glazed bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
screen with metal framing leads to a recessed doorway. Some of the glass is leaded
Leadlight
Leadlights or leaded lights are decorative windows made of small sections of glass supported in lead cames. The technique of creating windows using glass and lead came is discussed at lead came and copper foil glasswork...
with sunburst
Sunburst
Sunburst is a type of finish for musical instruments such as electric and acoustic guitars and electric basses. At the center of a sunburst-finished surface is an area of lighter color that darkens gradually towards the edges before hitting a dark rim...
forms. Paired bronze lamp-holders project from the entrance. At second-floor level, there is a modern three-part window. Inside, much of Denman & Son's Art Deco work survives. There are moulded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
beams and frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s with swag motifs
Festoon
Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...
, integral seating and other furniture, Art Deco lighting, decorative plasterwork and an original staircase.