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Bath's Old Orchard Street Theatre Book

£9.95

This 96 page softback book describes the history of the building stretching back 260 years to when it was built in 1750. It covers the three main uses over that period, initially as the very first Provincial Theatre Royal, then as one of the foremost Catholic Chapels post-emancipation, and finally as the home to one of the oldest Masonic Lodges in the country.

 It also provides background history of the City of Bath and of the three organisations that have owned it, plus a section on the lives of some of the main people involved. These include: Sarah Siddons, one of the finest tragic actresses of all time; John Palmer, who as well as owning the theatre, introduced the nationwide system of Royal Mail coaches; Bishop Peter Augustine Baines, who founded Prior Park College, the first Catholic University in England; John Lum Stothert, the grandson of the founder of one of Bath’s largest employers, Stothert & Pitt; and many more, including John Wood the Elder, William Hoare and Thomas Beach.

Lavishly illustrated with over 120 images, mostly in colour, this is a unique history of a unique building that is one of Bath’s hidden gems.

FREEMASONRY in the PROVINCE of SOMERSET From 1733

£25.00

Edited by Martin Yates, Photography by Paul Mallon.

This 480 page hardback book, richly illustrated with hundreds of photographs, mostly in colour, provides a perspective of the evolution of Freemasonry in the Province of Somerset, one of the oldest Provinces in England. Sections cover individual biographies of the sixteen Provincial Grand Masters, the histories of the Masonic Halls throughout the county and the Lodges that meet in them, plus an insight into other Masonic Orders. With Forewords by the Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Kent, and the Provincial Grand Master for Somerset, David L Jenkins.

This book will be of interest not only to Freemasons, but also to those who wish to learn something of one of the longest-established organisations in Somerset. It provides a fascinating insight into the activities of this distinguished organisation, the earliest record of which stretches back to the very first Provincial Lodge formed in the City of Bath in 1725. Each of the 88 Lodges meeting in 2010 give their own account of their formation, key events and more recent developments. Their buildings, many of which are of historical importance, and numerous Masonic artefacts are described and extensively illustrated.

This First-Edition copy is one of only 1,750 printed.