On Thursday 24 th November 2022, the Chairman of Durham Benevolence, John D Watts accompanied by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master Michael Graham and members of the Durham Benevolence General Purposes Committee joined with the residents of Peter Stracey House to celebrate 30 years since its opening.

In 1992 the Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham was honored by a visit of a Royal personage when the Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Kent, KG, formally opened Peter Stracey House, situated in Fulwell Sunderland.

It was the first sheltered accommodation owned and managed by Durham Benevolence on behalf of the Freemasons of the Province of Durham.

The building is named after former Durham Freemason Peter Stracey who was born in 1918 and died in 2011 age 93. Peter was honored in many ways, holding the rank of Past Grand Sword Bearer in the United Grand Lodge of England. His greatest achievement was masterminding the project which resulted in the development of Peter Stracey house which on completion cost some 4 million pounds.