I visited the Freemason’s Hall Museum in October 2022 to view the museum, and thought it was interesting enough that I brought my wife in October 2023. I really appreciated the chance to learn more about what Freemasonry is, the organization’s origins, and how it was involved in British and colonial history. More importantly, it got me thinking a lot about how fraternal organizations get started, and how such groups change over time. I had no knowledge of Freemasonry or other fraternal orders and I’m not sure I’d ever be a likely member, but I still found the museum compelling and interesting. I also came out with a much more positive and fact-based knowledge about the group.
As visitors, we had access to two rooms with lots of artifacts and exhibits, very good audio/video players (that also gave some commentary from individual Masons about why they like Freemasonry), a typical lodge arrangement, the organization's library, and the beautiful art deco main auditorium. The exhibits gave a good overview of the history of Freemasonry from informal groups meeting at all sorts of pubs across London through standardization, expansion out into the British colonies, and modern Freemasonry. There was also a fair amount on the ritual and artifacts of Freemasonry.
The museum was pretty quiet both times we visited. It was a nice break after visiting packed places like the British Museum. The member’s cafe downstairs was very much a space for the members, and felt a little like invading the cafeteria for an office or a university faculty club, but the staff and members were friendly even though we obviously were visitors.