‘Masonic Temple’. Deep in the heart of the oldest part of Sunderland, in the corner of an unkempt car park stands one of the oldest buildings in the town. From the outside it appears to be in the early stages of dereliction which in reality, is a disguise for its magnificent interior, for this is the Phoenix Hall, built in 1785 by the members of Phoenix Lodge to replace a similar hall nearby which had been destroyed by fire and is now the oldest purpose built Masonic meeting place in the world and incredibly is still used by the Lodge that built it 213 years ago.