A project on the Greenall family started by Charles Shand before he died has finally been completed and presented in St Oswald Lodge

When Charles died a fellow member of St Oswald Lodge No. 5170, Derek Hunt, was asked with others to go through the many documents that Charles had collected.

Among them Derek found an unfinished work about members of the Greenall family who had been such a large influence on Freemasonry, not only in Warrington but in the Province of West Lancashire and Grand Lodge.

Two members of the family became Senior Grand Wardens of the United Grand Lodge of England and one became a Provincial Grand Master in Ireland.

Derek eventually found time to complete ‘The Greenall Family and its Service to Freemasonry’ and bring it totally up to date.

The history was presented by Derek at a meeting of St Oswald Lodge No. 5170 in which the last member of the Greenall family to be a Freemason, Lord Daresbury, was a member. He was a member of St Oswald Lodge for more than 50 years and after moving to live in Ireland became the Provincial Grand Master for the Province of North Munster.

After giving the history in lodge Derek presented a bound copy of it to Victor Charlesworth to place in Warrington Masonic Hall’s Library and Museum.

Vic said that St Oswald Lodge had been a fantastic supporter of the library and museum project since its inception and this presentation continued that support. He said the document would be a valuable asset along with other documents for anyone wanting to understand the history of Freemasonry in the town.

During his lifetime Charles produced many lectures and was acknowledged throughout the Province of West Lancashire and even further afield for his vast knowledge of Freemasonry. He was honoured with the high rank of Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden.

To read the full version of ‘The Greenall Family and its service to Freemasonry’ click here.

Members of St Oswald Lodge No. 5170 were the first to see a newly restored copy of the extremely rare 1769 edition of the Book of Constitutions

Lodge members had been so impressed by a talk given by Vic Charlesworth on the creation of a museum at Warrington Masonic Hall that they resolved to help him in whatever way they could.

His hard work to restore a particularly rare edition of the Book of Constitutions – so rare in fact that even the Library and Museum of Freemasonry does not have a copy – struck a chord with those present, however the book was in several pieces and needed to be professionally rebound, the work estimated to cost more than £200.

After the talk, and without Vic’s knowledge, those present decided to help restore the illustrated book to its former glory. They had a whip round and in no time at all had raised £120. Within a couple of days further donations had been received and the remainder of the money had been donated.

Because of their generosity and initiative, Vic decided that the members of St Oswald Lodge should be the first to see the restored book, and he presented it at their next lodge meeting in order to thank them in person for their support. 

Promotion has come quickly for Mersey Valley Lodge of Installed Masters No. 9057 (which meets in Warrington, Widnes, St Helens and Leigh in the Province of West Lancashire) member John Bartley since becoming a member of Probus Ante Meridiem Lodge No. 9195.

Just 11 weeks after he became a joining member of Ante Meridiem Lodge which meets only four times a year, John was installed as Worshipful Master at the meeting in the Masonic Hall, Sidcup, in the Province of West Kent.

Among the many guests present was Derek Hunt who travelled more than 220 miles from Warrington to see his friend of 50 years installed. Derek gave the address to the Worshipful Master who he proposed into Mersey Valley shortly after its consecration in 1983. John has been a regular visitor to Derek’s mother lodge - St Oswald Lodge No. 5170 which also meets in Warrington for more than four decades.

It will be a special year for John for apart from being Worshipful Master he will also be celebrating his 80th birthday.

Despite John’s apparent rapid promotion, he was not a newcomer to Sidcup as he has been a tyler there for several lodges for some time. At the committee meeting where John’s application to become a joining member was on the agenda he was asked if he would like to progress in the Lodge. He said he would so at the next meeting when the ballot took place for him to join he also became master elect!

John joined Freemasonry in Cheshire in Egremont Lodge No. 2872 in 1959 and became its WM in 1973. He was appointed as a Past Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies in the Province of Cheshire in 1984.

In 2004 John and his wife Jeanette moved from the north to Masonic accommodation in Aylesbury and in 2009 he was exalted into River Chapter No. 5126 in the Province of Buckinghamshire. Following his wife’s death John moved to the Duke of Kent Court in Chislehurst to be nearer his daughter and his skills as a tyler were soon in demand.

He is tyler at Sidcup for Alma Lodge No. 9792, Burnt Ash Lodge No. 6285, Falconwod Lodge No. 5826 and Sydney Lodge No. 829. He is also janitor at Sidcup for Bexley Heath Chapter No. 4918, Burnt Ash Chapter No. 6285, Ideal Endeavour Chapter No. 7379, Manor Way Chapter No. 6161 and Sydney Chapter No. 829. He is also tyler at Great Queen Street for St James Union Lodge No. 180.

When John completed 50 years as a Freemason he was sent a commemorative certificate by the Provincial Grand Master of West Lancashire, Peter Hosker, which was presented to him by David Bearman, an Assistant Provincial Grand Master of the Province of West Kent at a coffee morning in the home where John lived.

John is planning to join Probus Ante Meridiem Chapter in September but is not expecting rapid promotion there.