when did lodges stop meeting in taverns

Masonic lodges did not stop meeting in taverns at a single fixed date; the transition to purpose-built halls occurred gradually across different jurisdictions throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries 12.

The earliest recorded dedicated lodge hall was built in Marseilles in 1765 2. The Grand Lodge of England made arrangements for its own hall in 1773, dedicated Freemasons' Hall in London in 1776, and was soon followed by individual English lodges in Newcastle and Sunderland 2. After these examples, erecting independent halls became widespread across Britain, Ireland, and continental Europe wherever lodge funds permitted 2. Concerns over the propriety of tavern meetings had appeared earlier; the Lodge of York barred public-house keepers from membership in 1725, and the Grand Lodge of Scotland excluded them from serving as Grand Stewards in 1739 1.

In the United States, lodges regularly assembled in taverns until the 1830s 2. Early meeting places named as halls, such as one advertised in Boston in 1773, were often rooms inside public houses like the Green Dragon Tavern 2. The first independent temple in Boston was built in 1832, initiating a wave of dedicated hall construction following the revival of Masonic activity in that era, after which meeting in taverns came to be regarded as disreputable 2.

In Scottish Craft Masonry, reliance on public houses and hotels persisted well into the nineteenth century 1. The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 frequently moved between public establishments—including the Star Hotel, Cafe Royal, Turf Hotel, and Ship Hotel—before moving to the Waterloo Hotel in 1869 1.

Early efforts to discourage tavern meetings were initiated by governing bodies and individual lodges seeking to enhance the standing of the Craft. The Lodge of York enacted a rule in 1725 barring anyone who kept a public house from being admitted as a brother 1. In 1739, the Grand Lodge of Scotland passed a resolution declaring that brethren who kept public houses were ineligible for election as Grand Stewards 1. Individual bodies, such as the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1, likewise sought dedicated accommodation out of a conviction that assembling in grand premises brought greater respectability than meeting in taverns 1.

Occasional Lodges convened by Grand Masters for special initiations continued to assemble in taverns and public houses even while governing bodies held their regular communications elsewhere 2. In 1766, an Occasional Lodge convened by Lord Blaney met at the Horn Tavern to confer the degrees on the Duke of Gloucester, whereas the Grand Lodge met at the Crown and Anchor 2. Similarly, an Occasional Lodge convened at the Thatched House Tavern in 1767 conferred the degrees on the Duke of Cumberland, and another met at the Star and Garter in Pall Mall in 1787 to initiate the Prince of Wales 2.

Individual lodges also made functional exceptions by separating their ritual business from their social assemblies 1. The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 resolved in 1740 that while candidate admissions and private affairs would be conducted strictly inside Mary's Chapel, the lodge's quarterly convivial communications would be held in taverns, such as Brother Biggar's house or Brother Patrick Grant's house in Advocate's Close 1.

Provincial lodges outside London began moving away from tavern meetings by following the example set in the capital 2. Stimulated by the construction of Freemasons' Hall in London in 1776, the lodge at Newcastle erected its own dedicated hall that same year, followed two years later by the lodge at Sunderland in 1778 2. Following these provincial examples, the construction of independent halls became widespread across England, Scotland, and Ireland, taking place whenever individual lodge funds permitted the expenditure 2.

In overseas British provinces, lodges similarly transitioned into dedicated accommodations as local resources allowed. In Bengal, for example, the Provincial Grand Lodge moved its assembly in 1787 to new dedicated rooms constructed above commercial premises in Calcutta 3.

In North America, provincial and state lodges continued meeting in taverns until a comparatively later period 2. Early sites described as halls were frequently rented rooms within public taverns, such as the room at the Green Dragon Tavern in Boston advertised in 1773 2. The broader movement toward independent, purpose-built structures in American jurisdictions gained momentum around 1832 with the erection of the Masonic Temple in Boston, following a revival of activity after the anti-Masonic period 2.