King Arthur's Hall, Tintagel

Coordinates: 50°39′50″N 4°45′04″W / 50.664°N 4.751°W / 50.664; -4.751

King Arthur's Hall, Tintagel
The interior of the hall
One of the stained glass windows by Veronica Whall

King Arthur's Hall (opened 1933) is a historic building in Fore Street, Tintagel, Cornwall, England, UK. Built in the early 1930s by Frederick Thomas Glasscock (died 1934),[1] it originally served as the headquarters for a social organization known as the Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table. It contains some works of art relating to the Arthurian legend and is now a popular visitor attraction for Arthurian enthusiasts, and has a bookshop devoted to the subject at the front of the building.

Glasscock founded the Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table in 1927 to promote Christian ideals and Arthurian notions of medieval chivalry.[2] Glasscock was resident at Tintagel (in the house "Eirenikon" which he had built) and responsible for the building of King Arthur's Hall. The Hall was itself an extension of Trevena House, which had been John Douglas Cook's residence and had been built on the site of the former Town Hall and Market Hall in Fore Street.[3] A variety of Cornish stones (53 different types of stone) are used in the construction.

Since 1952, the building has been used as a Masonic hall and is home to the King Arthur Lodge No. 7134.[4] In 1962 a Royal Arch Chapter was formed by the Lodge, and the building is used by some other lodges to hold their installation meetings.[5]

Works of art

The 72 stained glass windows illustrating the Arthurian tales are by Veronica Whall. These tell the story of King Arthur and show the coats of arms and weapons of the knights involved.[6] Whall designed 73 windows for the hall. As of 1997 it is considered to be the largest collection of stained glass panels of King Arthur made in the 20th century and a great example of Arts and Crafts workmanship.[7][8][nb 1]

There are also several paintings of scenes from King Arthur's life by William Hatherell.[7]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ King Arthur author Mike Ashley states that there were 72 panels made.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Dyer, Peter (2005) Tintagel: a portrait of a parish. Cambridge: Cambridge Books ISBN 0-9550097-0-7; pp. 359-377
  2. ↑ Dyer, Peter (2005) Tintagel: a portrait of a parish. Cambridge: Cambridge Books ISBN 0-9550097-0-7; p. 364
  3. ↑ "King Arthur's Great Halls". Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  4. ↑ "Home - PGL Cornwall". Pglcornwall.castus.co.uk. 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  5. ↑ Province of Cornwall (2012) Cornwall Masonic Year Book 2012/13
  6. ↑ Catalogue "Christopher Whall 1849-1924: Arts & Crafts Stained Glass Worker". At this exhibition organised by William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest between 17 November 1979 and 3 February 1980, Several of Veronica Whall's designs for stained glass were displayed.
  7. 1 2 Mee, Arthur (1937) Cornwall. London: Hodder & Stoughton; pp. 280-281
  8. ↑ Norris J. Lacy. The Arthurian Handbook, Second edition.. Taylor & Francis; 1 October 1997. ISBN 978-0-8153-2082-1. p. 236.
  9. ↑ Mike Ashley. The Mammoth Book of King Arthur: Reality and Legend, the Beginning and the End--The Most Complete Arthurian Sourcebook Ever. Running Press; 20 April 2005. ISBN 978-0-7867-1566-4. p. 507.

Further reading

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