King Arthur's Hall, Tintagel facts for kids

King Arthur's Hall, Tintagel

King Arthur's Hall is a special building in Tintagel, Cornwall, England. It opened in 1933. A man named Frederick Thomas Glasscock built it in the early 1930s.

At first, it was the main meeting place for a group called the Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table. Today, it's a popular place for people who love the stories of King Arthur. You can also find a bookshop there that sells books about Arthurian legends.

The Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table

Frederick Thomas Glasscock started the Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table in 1927. He wanted to share Christian values and his ideas about medieval chivalry, like the knights of King Arthur.

Glasscock lived in Tintagel and was in charge of building King Arthur's Hall. The Hall was an addition to an older house called Trevena House. This house was built where the old Town Hall and Market Hall used to be. The Hall is special because it uses 53 different kinds of stone from Cornwall in its construction. The Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table of King Arthur still uses the Hall for their yearly dinner. This dinner happens on the first Saturday in June.

A Special Meeting Place

The interior of the hall

Since 1952, King Arthur's Hall has also been used as a Masonic Hall. It is home to a group called the King Arthur Lodge No. 7134. A "lodge" is like a local club or group.

Other Masonic groups also use the building for their meetings. Today, four different Masonic groups meet there regularly:

• King Arthur Lodge No. 7134, which started in 1951.
• St Enodoc Lodge No. 9226, which began in 1987.
• King Arthur Royal Arch Chapter No. 7134, which was formed in 1962.
• Tintagel Castle Lodge of Mark Master Masons No. 1800, which started in 1999.

Amazing Artworks

One of the stained glass windows by Veronica Whall

The Hall is famous for its beautiful art. It has 72 stained glass windows that show scenes from the Arthurian tales. These windows were made by an artist named Veronica Whall. They tell the story of King Arthur and also show the special shields and weapons of his knights.

Veronica Whall designed 73 windows for the Hall in total. As of 1997, this collection is thought to be the largest group of stained glass panels about King Arthur made in the 20th century. It's a great example of the Arts and Crafts style. There are also several paintings inside the Hall by William Hatherell. These paintings show different moments from King Arthur's life.