Masonic Blackpool
Freemasonry first came to Blackpool in 1847 a year after the railway station was completed in the town. Sadly the first lodge did not survive for long. However, a few years later in 1857 another lodge was formed and it still meets today. More lodges were formed in the last quarter of the 19th century and we later saw the “boom” times of the post-war periods after 1918 and after 1945. In 1888 a plot of land was purchased in Adelaide Street, Blackpool, for the sum of £1,700. In May 1898 the cornerstone was laid for a Masonic Hall, by the Right Honourable, Lord Skelmersdale. PGW and on completion in September 1899 the building was also opened by him when he had become Lord Latham and the new Provincial Grand Master. Freemasonry has grown over the last 150 years much in line with the growth of Blackpool as Britain’s premier seaside resort. Today 19 lodges regularly meet at the Masonic Hall in Adelaide Street with a total of some 660 subscribing members. Membership is not rest