There are 35 Masonic Centres in the Province of East Kent, home to 186 Craft Lodges, 68 Holy Royal Arch Chapters, and a great number of Other Orders. This is the beginning of a new regular feature in which we will focus in each issue upon one or more of those Centres. Articles of up to 750 words (accompanied by a selection of digital photographs/ images in .jpg format) are invited from the Management Committee/ Board of Directors of every Centre, which will be published in the order in which we receive them. The series starts with a focus on the Maidstone Masonic Centre.

What a wonderful facility the Maidstone Masonic Centre is! From its earlier life as the works canteen for a paper mill, the building and land around it has been transformed magnificently, and now boasts two Masonic Temples, an array of ante rooms and Lodge of Instruction rooms, the Cornwallis Suite comprising a fully modernised bar area, dining rooms/dance floor/conference area, a Board Room which is also available for Lodge committee meetings and private hire, and the biggest car park in the Province. The Board of Directors, in a bold but popular move, have declared the whole building to be a no smoking zone.

Maidstone Masonic Centre Ltd is incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee, and is jointly and equally owned by eight of the Craft Lodges that meet there. In addition to those eight owner Lodges, there are an additional four tenant Lodges for whom the Centre is home, along with seven Holy Royal Arch Chapters and eight Other Orders. Each of the owner Lodges has an elected Director on the Board of Directors, and each tenant lodge has a Representative on the Board, who all participate fully in discussions and management concerns.

The building is on two levels, connected not by stairs, but by a wheelchair friendly shallow sloping ramp. The lower level contains the Temples and Lodge of Instruction rooms, and can thus be kept private when outside hirers are using the bar and dining/dancing facilities upstairs. The larger of the two Temples, air conditioned and painted an appropriate light blue, is generally used for Craft meetings, and has a capacity of approximately 120 in the fixed seating. For occasional larger meetings, additional chairs can be brought in to provide another twenty or so seats. This capacity is easily matched in the dining room for a very comfortable, uncrowded Festive Board. The smaller Temple is used for Chapter and Other Orders, and has a very cosy feel to it, enhanced by its warm rich red wall colouring.

Also on the lower level are the offices of the East Kent Provincial Charities Association, and the Maidstone Masonic Study Circle, which again can be kept private and serene, even when the Cornwallis Suite is in full swing. For safety in the event of a fire, the Maidstone Masonic Centre has introduced a “buddy” system on advice from the Board’s Safety Adviser. The essence, like so many very effective things in this world, is simple. It works on the acceptance that all regular attenders at a Temple are fully aware of the location of fire exits, and simply charges them to ensure that they point out those exits to their guests, and in the event of a fire take personal responsibility for guiding their guests to the nearest safe exit. Other options exist, for example having one person declare at the outset of a meeting that he is the responsible fire warden for the evening, who then proceeds to carry out a fair impression of an airline stewardess pointing out where the emergency exits are located. Such methods are doubtless equally effective, but the Maidstone system adds a certain “composed gentleman” feel which appears to sit very comfortably with
the membership.

The upper level contains the recently refurbished and refurnished bar area, which has dramatically enhanced the whole facility. The increased space behind the bar has led to a much more efficient bar service capability, and the increase in size of the whole lounge area has been quite remarkable, enabling a much more comfortable environment for everyone to chat over a drink, and also providing a fifty per cent increase in seating, thanks to an array of specially manufactured settees and armchairs.

The dining rooms have been very recently redecorated, and with the newly installed lighting system, provide just the right choices of ambience for Festive Boards and Ladies Nights alike. Seating capacity for social events with round tables of up to ten people per table is around 120. Much higher of course for Festive Boards with a top table and sprigs. There is a central dance floor, with newly carpeted surrounds. It is possible to divide the dining room into two smaller rooms, thus providing great flexibility for potential hirers. For example, an organisation could use one half for a theatre style seminar, and then sojourn to the other half via the welcoming bar lounge, for a nice lunch or dinner. During the summer and autumn of 2006, many thousands of pounds were spent in modernising much of the kitchen equipment, including the installation of a state of the art oven which would only normally be found in the kitchens of top class restaurants.

Future plans include the better utilisation of available space, upgrading of the air conditioning systems in the dining rooms, and the development of the grassed areas at the rear of the building to render them suitable for outdoor functions during the summer months. For the Lodges, Chapters, and Other Orders that meet there, the Maidstone Masonic Centre provides everything that they need, including ample car parking, and does it with style! We are all very proud of it, and determined that it will be passed on in prime condition to the next generation of Maidstone’s Freemasons. www.maidstonefreemasons.org

WBro Philip Sayer PGStdB,
Chairman, Board of Directors,
Maidstone Masonic Centre Ltd

From Ed46, P12