Description of Historic Place

The Salisbury Masonic Temple is a two-storey red-brick Greek Revival hall with front-facing gable roof. It is located on Main Street in Salisbury.

Heritage Value

The Salisbury Masonic Temple was designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with the history and the community contributions of the Freemasonry organization in Salisbury.

The Salisbury Masonic Temple is recognized for its architecture. The rectangular two-storey masonry building was built in 1930 of red brick with sandstone trimmings. The triangular front gable forming a large pediment with a central oculus and the triangular pediment portico with two Doric columns give this simple building a distinctive Greek Revival appearance. The side elevations contain a series of three 12-pane rectangular windows below three oculus windows. This triple use of elements, or triptych, was often used in medieval art and architecture and is often found in Masonic buildings, representing the three levels of masons. The front elevation also has three-bay arrangement consisting of two 12-pane rectangular windows on either side of the main entry door.

The Salisbury Masonic Temple is also recognized for its association with the Freemasonry organization. Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th, early 17th centuries. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world. The Masonic Lodge in Salisbury is one of the oldest active organizations in Salisbury. The Salisbury Masonic Lodge history goes back to its first meeting on August 3, 1858. In 1860 it was granted number 1110 on the registry of the Grand Lodge of England. In 1868, it came under the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick and was allotted number 20, which it still retains. Other organizations have also met in the Temple building. The Walton Royal Arch Chapter, organized in 1930, was named after James Walton, who was a prominent member of the Salisbury Masonic Lodge around the year 1866. The Order of the Eastern Star, Coronation Chapter 38 was organized in 1952. In 2004 the Masonic Lodge in Havelock, ”Fownes Lodge” no. 45 and Salisbury Lodge no. 20 amalgamated to become “Harmony Lodge ” no. 20 on the register of New Brunswick.

The Salisbury Masonic Temple is also recognized for its association with the contribution of Freemason’s to the community. Despite the organization's great diversity, freemasonry's central preoccupations remain charitable work within a local or wider community, moral uprightness as well as the development and maintenance of fraternal friendship. Although the Masonic Lodge is a fraternal organization, through its teaching and precepts it has led members to become active in service groups and in other community functions and enterprises. In Salisbury, Freemasons have been civil servants and politicians, merchants and bankers, entrepreneurs, railway men, labourers and woodmen, builders and tillers of the soil as well as serving in the armed forces. Each of these Masons has contributed in his own way and all together, have been an integral part in the development of the community.

Source: Salisbury Village Office, Local Historic Places file #2

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Salisbury Masonic Temple include:
- two-storey rectangular massing;
- red brick and sandstone masonry;
- size and triptych arrangement location of windows 12-pane rectangular windows and oculus windows;
- triangular front gable forming a large pediment with an oculus;
- central portico with triangular pediment roof and Doric columns.