Fleetwood Masonic Hall was extremely busy during the 2026 Heritage Open Days. 75 visitors attended the hall during the two days and were welcomed by the hard-working club secretary Peter Dunn, ably supported by a range of North Fylde Group brethren.
The majority of visitors were visiting the resort as part of a holiday or just having a day out to Fleetwood; knowing that the Heritage Open Day venues were available to visit. Peter Dunn had skilfully prepared all the rooms and spaces in the hall so that visitors could see the layout of a lodge room, what Freemasonry regalia looked like alongside the impressive and quite beautiful embroidered and original Hesketh Lodge No 950 banner.
Peter had also produced and printed a very helpful leaflet entitled Fleetwood Masonic Hall – Heritage Open Days, which gave a short history of the hall, tracing its development from a private house, to an orphanage and children’s home and then finally in 1955 to a Masonic hall.
It is very interesting to note the key members of the Fleetwood community, including some local philanthropists who supported the hall during these early days. The brochure also referred to seven lodges and seven other chapters that currently use the hall for their meetings.
Peter referred to the improvements made to the hall over the years and quite correctly drew the readers’ attention to the fact that heritage buildings such as Fleetwood Masonic Hall require financial donations alongside regular, planned and sustained support to the building, to help keep it watertight, safe and comfortable for all users of the building.
Peter Dunn said, “I am grateful to my North Fylde Group colleagues Tony Blundell, Clive Gitsham, Phil Drake, James Drake, Eddie Wilkinson and John Topping for their support and active assistance they have given me across the two Heritage Open Days.”