Web Forms :: Access Public Properties Of Master From Content Page?

Here's the scenario: A class based on System.Web.UI.Page has been created. A number of content pages derive from this class. All of these content pages use the same master page. The content pages define controls which need to access things on the master page (in code-behind). This is fine - no problem. In particular, each content page has its own data grid. The grid on each page has the same name, so that common code can reference it. In fact, some event handling for the grids on each content page is identical, so would like to factor that code to the base class. Interestingly, I can actually define the event handler entirely in the base class, with no stub in the content class at all, because the wire-up of event handlers uses the event-handler name defined in the grid, and that name happens to be found in the inherited base class. All good and dandy... very cool in fact. The problem comes when the code in the base class needs to access any of the common elements from the content page's master. Remember, the master is the same, and I know the type of the master. I would like to do something like this in the base-class code:

((myMasterType)this.Master).PropertyofMaster=xxx;

The problem is, that myMasterType - the type of the master page the content pages are using - is not available at compile time, at least not from a class definition for a base page. I've found articles that claim that the class name of the master is available - and it is, but not from a separate class. I CAN see it and compile with the master's class name from, for example, the code behind of the various content pages. But the actually class simply isn't available, it seems, from a pure class (the base page class). Judging from other times this question has been asked, here are common misunderstandings offered as solutions: 1. Use a page directive to declare the master type. This is not even vaguely a part of the problem, as the issue is not code in the content page, but in a separate base class which content pages inherit from. That base class is a pure class -- no .ASPX file at all. 2. Pass a reference to the master object from the content page to the base class. This can be done, but is pointless, because I can already get it, using "this.Master" from the base class! But because the type of the master is not available at compile time from the base class, it can't be passed from the content page either - unless it is passed with type MasterPage, thus losing all the properties/methods publically defined in the specific master page class. 3. Move the base page class out of the App_Code folder because the app_code folder is compiled before the other classes, and thus before the master page class. Doesn't work -- put the master page class file right in the same folder with these content pages and their master page, and the master page class is still not available at compile time from within the class. Re-summarized: Base page inherited by content pages. Content pages all use a common master page. Want to access the public properties of that master page from the base page, at runtime. Barrier is that I can find no way from within the base class to cast the master page object to the actual master page subclass being used.