Name change a sign of the times
THE NAME change of the Freemasons Hotel to the Toodyay Hotel is all but done with the new name now hanging from the front of the heritage listed building on Stirling Terrace.
For locals with an affinity for the old hotel name the Freemasons sign has been retained and can be found displayed on the pub’s wall.
The local watering hole has had a few names since its original licence starting as the Newcastle Hotel in 1861 then owned by William Tregoning a local publican.
A year later Tregoning sold the pub to Thomas Mead of Northam who changed the name to the Freemasons’ Hotel – this was due to a name-clash with another Newcastle Hotel just up the road (that hotel was subsequently renamed the Toodyay Tavern).
The naming of the Freemasons Hotel back then had nought to do with the secret society that is the Freemasons with its origins in medieval guilds and rituals of ancient orders.
Not that you would necessarily know if a Freemason did drop in for a beer.
Fast forward to 2024 to that recent name change which has caused some local chatter, over the bar and on social media.
For many locals the newly named Toodyay Hotel will remain the Freemasons.
Other locals support the name change and point to the promotional benefits for the town in having a pub with the same name.