This view of the Temperance Hall on West Road in Loftus comes from the ”Cooke’s Views of Loftus and District”. The Temperance Movement was an attempt to stop the decline in the morals and christian behaviour of the British worker. It had a strong following among the employers, who were losing work-days through drunkenness and unruly behaviour. They built this fine building in Loftus to further their aims. It was also ”friendly” society; where, for a weekly subscription, the members were insured against illness and hard times. Today the building is the ”Dole Office” building or more properly The Department of Works and Pensions (DWP). Eric Johnson tells us: ”The dedication stone for the Temperance Hall is weathering and becoming illegible, I can make out the following inscription, but some of the letters and numbers may not be correct, or missing.
m – laid by s ?
v (or w) lapsley marske
on behalf of ??
plant of renown lodge
1283 ? I.O.G.T. june 11 1877”. ”The letters: I.O.G.T. stand for the INDEPENDENT ORDER of GOOD TEMPLARS. established in America about 1852 to combat the evils of drunkenness and abuse. with a structure similar to the Freemasons, with rituals, regalia, songs, and password to gain admittance. the order was started in England in 1868 in Birmingham, and eventually throughout the world. The order is still very much in existence.”
Image courtesy of John G. Hannah.
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