Freemasons' Hall

Inspired by one of London's great interwar memorials, this architectural object interprets the entrance of Freemasons' Hall — Ashley and Newman's 1933 Masonic Peace Memorial on Great Queen Street — as a refined, sculptural form.

Built as a memorial to the 3,225 Freemasons killed in the First World War, this piece focuses on the building's main entrance: the stripped classical facade that remains the working headquarters of English Freemasonry today.

Read the full Freemasons' Hall architecture guide

A stripped classical entrance, interpreted as an object

Freemasons' Hall's main entrance concentrates its monumental character into a single, disciplined composition: austere Portland stone, crisp classical detailing, and the fine metalwork of its windows and door. Rather than attempting the building's full two-and-a-quarter-acre footprint, this object isolates the entrance so its proportion and restraint can be appreciated as a piece of sculpture in its own right.

This architectural model focuses on the building's defining characteristics:

• the austere, monumental massing of the entrance in pale Portland stone
• the crisp geometry typical of the building's stripped classical style
• the fine metalwork of the windows and door, rendered in etched brass

By reducing the building to its entrance alone, the object allows the proportion and restraint of Ashley and Newman's design to be appreciated up close, independently of the building's much larger scale.

Why Freemasons' Hall works as an architectural model

The entrance translates especially well into object form because it is built on disciplined, symmetrical geometry rather than heavy ornament, with a monumental, self-contained character that reads clearly even at small scale. These characteristics remain powerful when isolated from the wider building. The object feels both architectural and sculptural — a restrained counterpart to more flamboyant Art Deco designs of the same era.

Craft, materials, and finish

Each Freemasons' Hall object is crafted with an emphasis on material honesty and precision. The plaster finish echoes the pale, austere Portland stone of the original entrance, while the etched brass window frame and door render the fine metalwork of the facade against the smooth cast form. The result is an object that sits comfortably within architectural interiors and design studios, on bookshelves and workspaces, and in collections focused on Art Deco or Masonic history. It is equally suited to architects, designers, and Freemasons with a personal connection to the building.

A piece of Masonic and Art Deco history

Freemasons' Hall was built entirely by subscription as a memorial to Freemasons lost in the First World War, and remains, remarkably, the only Art Deco building in London still unaltered and in use for its original purpose. It is Grade II* listed, both internally and externally, and continues to serve as the working headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England. As an object, this piece offers a way to engage with that history in tactile, physical form.

Product details

• Subject: Freemasons' Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London
• Architectural style: Stripped Classical / Art Deco
• Original completion: 1933
• Architects: Henry Victor Ashley and Francis Winton Newman
• Designed and made by: Chisel & Mouse

Learn more about Freemasons' Hall

For a detailed exploration of the building's architecture, history, and cultural legacy, see our in-depth guide:

Freemasons' Hall Architecture: Ashley & Newman and London's Masonic Peace Memorial