To celebrate their lodge number in 2017 and the Tercentenary of Grand Lodge, the Duke of Portland Lodge No. 2017 held an emergency meeting in the Indian Temple (No. 10) at Freemasons’ Hall on Thursday 25th May 2017

Brethren and their ladies left from Goldsmith Street, Nottingham, by coach in the morning, accompanied by the Provincial Grand Master for Nottinghamshire, RW Bro Philip Marshall and other guests.

On arrival at Great Queen Street, the party, which had been joined by brethren and ladies travelling from other parts of the country, received a guided tour of the Freemasons’ Hall and the Grand Temple.

At the meeting, the Worshipful Master W Bro William Randall, invited W Bro Tim Sisson PPrJGW to take his chair in order to initiate his son George Sisson into the lodge. Bro Edward Sisson, Senior Deacon, then acted as Junior Deacon to guide his brother around the Temple.

Berkshire Freemasons Family Fun Day and the start of the Classic 300

Glorious weather greeted the Classic 300 cars and almost 2,000 people in Windsor Great Park on Sunday May 21st, as part of the United Grand Lodge of England's Tercentenary celebrations

As well as the start of the Classic 300, there was a bear hunt and teddy bears picnic, a 300 mile walk to the Copper Horse, displays from over 20 charities together with the Berkshire Masonic Charity and the Masonic Charitable Foundation, a ‘time tunnel’ explaining the history of Freemasonry and the Egham Brass Band who made sure the day went with a swing.

UGLE's Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Kent, started the Classic 300 at 2pm having first viewed the cars, talking to their owners and visiting VIPs. Oliver Lodge, Grand Director of Ceremonies, introduced HRH The Duke of Kent to the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Cllr Sayonara Luxton, Martin Peters, the Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire, Colin Hayes, Past Deputy Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire and Chairman of the organising committee for the event, and other dignitaries including Provincial Grand Masters from other Provinces and members of the Classic 300.

Over 100 classic vehicles of all types - car, motorcycles, commercial vehicles and even a six-wheeled Range Rover fire engine - turned up for the occasion and made for a spectacular sight in the sunshine, as HRH The Duke of Kent flagged them off for the start of the Classic 300, an 18 mile drive around Great Windsor Park.

Elsewhere, the 300 mile challenge for 300 people to walk one mile each to the Copper Horse along the Long Walk was easily achieved with over 400 people taking part. In fact, over 800 miles were walked as they realised that it was a mile back to the show ground as well!

The bear hunt was also a great success with many proud new owners enjoying a picnic with their TLC bears.

Martin Peters, the Provincial Grand Master of the Berkshire Freemasons, said: 'It has been a wonderful day, with a really good turnout and it is quite clear that everyone enjoyed themselves.'

Rachel Jones from the Masonic Charitable Foundation commented: 'We all very much enjoyed the event – what a fantastic way to celebrate the Tercentenary year and raise awareness of Freemasonry.'

This was the national start of the Classic 300. Over many weekend dates between now and October 1st the series continues all over the UK, with separate runs to the Isle of Man, the Lakeland Motor Museum, Thruxton Race Circuit, MFest300 in the Midlands, the Shelsley Walsh hill climb, Ashton Gate rugby and football stadium, Brands Hatch race circuit, Beaulieu Motor Museum and many more famous motoring venues. The national final will take place at Brooklands Circuit in Surrey on Sunday October 1st.

Scroll through the gallery at the top to view some of the classic vehicles on display

300 years of heritage on display at Reading Museum from 14th February to 27th May 2017

Freemasons have been a part of the community in Berkshire since at least 1724 and a display of Masonic artefacts spanning 300 years will be on display in Reading Museum from 14th February to 27th May 2017.

The Tercentenary is not only an important historical landmark; it is celebrating 300 years of Freemasonry and its heritage. The display reveals how Freemasonry has developed in the local community from the 1700’s, the core values of the organisation and the role it plays in society, including the charitable works undertaken.

The display includes items from the Napoleonic and First World Wars and of particular note is a Master’s chair dating from about 1800. It has an ornate painting on the back containing Masonic symbolism (squares, levels, pillars, columns, chequered floor) and is thought to have been made by a Scandinavian carpenter who was a Napoleonic prisoner of war.

In addition, one of Oscar Wilde's Masonic membership certificates, on which Wilde's 'Masons Mark' can be seen, is on disply. On temporary loan from the vaults at London’s Museum of Freemasonry, this is the first time ever that Oscar Wilde’s certificate has been put on public display. Originally initiated into Oxford University's Apollo Lodge, his connection with Reading was his infamous incarceration in the town prison 1895-1897 and his writing of ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’.

There was a reception to mark the official opening of the exhibition in Reading Museum on Monday 13th February 2017 attended by The Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Berkshire, The Pro Grand Master MW Bro Peter Lowndes and a number of Mayors from Berkshire local authorities. Martin Peters, the Provincial Grand Master for the Masonic Province of Berkshire formally opened the exhibition.

On Saturday 29th April, Mark Dennis, Curator of the Museum of Freemasonry at Freemasons' Hall in London will give a public talk in Reading Museum to coincide with the exhibition.

Martin Peters, Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire commented: 'Freemasonry is more relevant today than it ever has been, particularly with regard to its community involvement and contribution to local good causes. I am delighted that we have been given the opportunity to present Freemasonry in this way and on behalf of our 3,000 members in Berkshire I thank Reading Museum for showcasing our work.'

Cllr Paul Gittings, Reading Lead Member for Culture, Sport and Consumer Services, said: 'I'm delighted to see the Berkshire Freemasons have put together this fascinating glimpse into local Freemasonry heritage, hosted at Reading Museum, to mark 300 years of national Freemasonry. It is great to see this organisation’s rich history made accessible to the public.'

Brendan Carr, the museum’s Community Engagement Curator said: 'It has been intriguing to work with the local freemasonry community to produce this display. It is a story weaved into Berkshire’s wider social history over three centuries. The Museum is about presenting the facts and using real objects to promote understanding. I hope that this not so secret look at 300 years of heritage will dispel some of the myths that have built up around Freemasonry.'

The District Grand Lodge of South Island, New Zealand, held their own celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the United Grand Lodge of England

After months of planning, a Lodge was set up for the day in the Assembly Hall at the distinguished Christ’s College School for Boys in Christchurch, New Zealand. Founded in 1850, the school’s historic buildings provided the perfect backdrop for the weekend’s events held on Saturday May 13th and Sunday May 14th.

The celebrations were led by the current District Grand Master Geoffrey Rowe, who welcomed representatives from the English North Island District as well as the Scottish, Irish and New Zealand Grand Lodges.

Over 100 Freemasons comprised the meeting and, after the usual formalities, the Lodge was called off to allow them to be joined by around 50 non-masonic guests who were treated to an address on the history of English Freemasonry, delivered by the District Grand Orator, W Bro Karl Moen CBE.

The evening commenced with a reception for almost 200 guests followed by a banquet in the historic Dining Hall at Christ’s College, together with an entertaining after dinner address from Rear Admiral (Ret.) Jack Steer ONZM, himself a Freemason.

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of a cheque for $10,000 to Neil Porter of the College faculty. It is understood that the money will be put towards the restoration of a stained glass window in the chapel.

On the Sunday morning passers-by were then treated to the sight of more than 50 Freemasons in full regalia parading along the streets to attend a service of thanksgiving at the school chapel, marking a truly memorable weekend to celebrate the Tercentenary.

Watch unique and unprecedented access to the Freemasons

To mark the United Grand Lodge of England's Tercentenary, a Sky television crew were given unique and unprecedented access to discover what it means to be a modern-day Freemason

The five part documentary they made looked to go beyond the myth and legend to discover what it means to be a Freemason today and answer the questions – who are Freemasons and what do they do?

From our regalia to some lavish ceremonies, through to ancient rituals and bonds of brotherhood, many viewers will recently have had the pleasure of watching the documentary ‘Inside the Freemasons’.

There were many behind the scenes highlights to enjoy including coverage of the biggest day of the masonic calendar, the Annual Investiture, and the official consecration of the first masonic football lodge, as well as a feature with UGLE’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Doctor David Staples, FRCP, DepGDC.

Although the documentary was recently shown on Sky 1, if you missed it, fear not, as a special edition on DVD is now available to pre-order: it consists of two DVDs, featuring all five episodes and 30 minutes of exclusive extra content.

The ‘Inside the Freemasons’ DVD will be released by June 15th and is now available to pre-order from Letchworths Shop by clicking here

Revving up for the Tercentenary

Celebration of the United Grand Lodge of England’s Tercentenary year will continue this Sunday when the Masonic Classic Vehicle Club launch the Classic 300 at Windsor Great Park – the first in a series of individual classic vehicle runs

A large gathering is expected as UGLE’s current Grand Master, His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent will be in attendance and will be officially starting the event.

Fans of classic cars will certainly be in their element, with a vast array of vehicles set to be displayed on the Review Ground, a large grassed area, from 10 am before proceeding on a short symbolic run at 2:30 pm.

The Classic 300 has 18 national classic car runs taking place across England and Wales this year at famous venues including the Isle of Man’s TT, Brands Hatch and the Brooklands motor circuit in Surrey. The runs are open to Freemasons and those with an interest in Freemasonry and classic or future classic cars.

The Provincial Grand Lodge of Berkshire will also be holding a number of Tercentenary events on Sunday at Windsor Great Park including a 300 mile walk, which refers to 300 people walking one mile, and a teddy bears’ picnic. Everyone who takes part in the mile walk will receive a commemorative certificate to celebrate the Tercentenary.

Entrance to Windsor Great Park is free and parking is available for everyone.

You can find out more about the Classic 300 here

Stamps of approval

To commemorate the Tercentenary celebrations of United Grand Lodge of England and 300 years of English Freemasonry, we are delighted to present a set of six exclusive postage stamps

Isle of Man Post Office is celebrating the occasion with this beautiful set of postage stamps, which has been designed by Glazier Design.

Printed in gold foil, each stamp is filled with discreet symbols and architectural elements from the lodges of England, as well as GPS references to places important to Freemasonry and a subtle ribbon honouring the 50th year of office of our current Grand Master, His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent.

As an added touch, each of the stamps also contains a hidden logo only visible under UV light. Once placed under this light, the official logo of the United Grand Lodge of England  Tercentenary will appear.

The main features of each stamp though are the badges of office of the senior officers within the lodge.

The first of these is the 20p stamp which bears the jewel of the Steward, a cornucopia on a background of geometric patterns containing a bright star and concentric rings. The first class stamp illustrates the jewel of the Inner Guard, with two swords in saltire against a backdrop of Art Deco lines.

The 50p stamp depicts a stylised version of the Junior and Senior Deacons’ jewel, a dove bearing an olive branch, with the design for these taken directly from the celling of the Great Hall at Grand Lodge.

The £1.30 stamp portrays the jewel of the Junior Warden, a plumb rule on an Art Deco-inspired pattern. This is then followed by the £1.74 stamp containing the jewel of the Senior Warden, a level, with a background inspired by the windows of the Freemasons' Hall in the Isle of Man.

The last stamp in the collection is the £3.40 stamp, showcasing the jewel of the Worshipful Master, which is a square represented by an overlaid tiled pattern of right angles.

Brig Willie Shackell, Grand Secretary of the UGLE, commented: 'United Grand Lodge of England is delighted to be celebrating its Tercentenary by working with Isle of Man Post and the Province of the Isle of Man to present this unique and very special set of commemorative stamps.

'Whilst rightly proud of its 300 years of history, the United Grand Lodge of England is now looking forward to the next three centuries, which is symbolically reflected in this innovative and creative stamp issue.'

You can order this innovative set of stamps here

Highlights of today's unveiling of the memorial to Freemasons awarded the Victoria Cross during The Great War 1914 - 1918.

The tercentenary celebrations in West Lancashire were very much in the thoughts of the many members and guests attending the biennial Hall Directors’ Dinner of the St Helens and Prescot Group held at Prescot Masonic Hall

This event hosted by Colin Rowling, Group Chairman, was to celebrate the continued success of the membership of the group and also to acknowledge the excellent work undertaken by the board members of the St Helens and Prescot Masonic Halls.

Everyone attending the evening received a very warm welcome to the hall by master of ceremonies Graham Williams. The principal guest David Steer, QC, Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside, was accompanied by Deputy Provincial Grand Master Philip Gunning and his wife Anne. Also in attendance were the Mayor of Knowsley, Councillor Frank Walsh, the Mayor and Mayoress of St Helens Council Councillor David and Councillor Jeanette Banks, the Deputy Leader of St Helens Council Councillor Andy Bowden, The Right Honourable, The Earl of Derby, Edward Stanley and Lady Kirsty Pilkington MBE, Ambassador for the Willowbrook Hospice.

The evening got underway with guests taking a comfortable seat in the Masonic Temple to witness a performance of ‘A Timeline Drama and Pageant’ presented by the members of the St Helens and Prescot Group of Lodges and Chapters.

The team announced their arrival with a hearty knock on the lodge door; then the Herald (Dave Burgess) followed by the team, dressed in authentic period costume with wigs, entered the room and announced the start of the pageant. The timeline began in 1646 with Elias Ashmole (played by Allen Yates) who becomes the first recorded speculative Freemason in England. This took place at Warrington, which was then in the County of Lancashire. While Elias Ashmole is conversing with the Herald, there can be heard the ring of a chisel working on stone in the hands of a more experienced workman, the operative mason John Stones. John (played by Norman Lay) represented those skilled tradesmen who, for hundreds of years, knew and kept the secrets of how to measure and build the iconic castles and cathedrals.

The pageant sees the introduction of the first ever worshipful master of the new Grand Lodge which was formed in 1717, which gives us the current tercentenary date of 2017. This was Anthony Sayer (played by Don Fraser). Events move on when five years later, the constitutions drafted by James Anderson are accepted and printed. This character is portrayed by John Roughley, who later also plays the part of the Duke of Kent. Only seven years later, we see the arrival of Samuel Pritchard, (Peter Hornby), who is ‘credited’ with exposing the secrets of Masonry in print.

Moving on over 20 years, we witness the arrival of Laurence Dermott, (Chris Maloney) a painter and decorator by trade, but obviously a man of some intellect, who arrived from Ireland and would later be instrumental in forming a rival Grand Lodge which became known as the ‘Ancients’. Chris also later played the character of the Duke of Sussex. In 1753, Lodge of Loyalty (now No 86) receives its Deputation to constitute a lodge in Prescot and so in later times becomes the oldest lodge in the Province of West Lancashire to this day.

When the Grand Lodge met to discuss a problem, two of the players mentioned above were joined by two more team members Alan Jones and Don Fraser.

The penultimate section focuses on William Preston (Frank Davies, the originator of the pageant,) twice expelled from Grand Lodge for his perceived misdemeanours, re-admitted and sets up a legacy to finance study and lectures, which is alive and well today with the annual Prestonian Lecture. The final scene in the pageant is the unification of the two Grand Lodges in 1813, when the Dukes of Sussex and Kent, heads of the respective Modern and Ancient Grand Lodges, join as one, with Sussex then taking his seat as the first Grand Master of United Grand Lodge. The performance was undertaken with dignity and interspersed with humour throughout.

The guests then made their way into the banqueting suite which was elegantly decorated in a blue and white theme. Following grace delivered by Chris Maloney (chairman of St Helens Masonic Hall Ltd), the guests enjoyed a four course meal of luxury pâté with Melba toast and salad for starters, a main course of roast sirloin of English beef, Yorkshire pudding accompanied by seasonal vegetables and for dessert Eton Mess, then a choice of English cheeses with biscuits.

Following dinner, the first toast of the evening, ‘The Queen’ was proposed by Graham Hughes (chairman of the Prescot Masonic Hall Ltd) which was then followed by Deputy Provincial Grand Master Philip Gunning proposing the toast to ‘The Tercentenary of Masonry.’

Philip commenced by saying how delighted he was to be invited to propose the toast to 300 years of Freemasonry. He spoke about the foundation of Masonry and its origins, mentioning that its popularity grew following a succession of Royal Princes joining the fraternity, the first being in 1727 when HRH Frederick Lewis Prince of Wales was initiated. Others included George IV, Edward VII, Edward VIII and George VI all of whom went on to become Grand Masters, also acceding to the throne. Still today, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is a subscribing member of Navy Lodge and The Duke of Kent will be celebrating 50 years this year as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. Philip went on to mention the importance of the charitable side of Freemasonry and the vast amounts of money distributed over the years to assist in relief of national and man-made disasters and humanitarian crises throughout the world. In conclusion Philip said that the values that were established 300 years ago, honesty, truth, integrity and kindness are just as relevant today as they were all those years ago.

In response to Philip’s toast, Frank Davies (pageant leader) gave an overview of how the pageant was put together with members representing lodges and chapters within the group who were not known to each other, but over the last 12 months had joined together to become a very happy team. The members have given nine performances to date with a further nine booked for the future. Frank was delighted to announce that £1,000 had so far been raised for the 2021 Festival.

Colin Rowling proposed the toast to ‘Our Guests’ declaring how proud he was to be the group chairman. He then gave an interesting account of the background of each distinguished guest with poignant details of their many achievements. Colin then had the pleasure of presenting three cheques of £100 from the SHPG, the first to Lady Pilkington who accepted on behalf of her charity, Willowbrook Hospice; the next to the Mayor of Knowsley for the Big Health Project in Kirkby which is part of the Knowsley Food Bank; and thirdly to the Mayor of St Helens for his ‘Appeal Fund.’ Flowers were then presented by the hall chairmen to Lady Pilkington, Anne Gunning and Jeanette Banks.

To conclude the formalities, David Steer, QC, DL, gave an eloquent and witty response as befits a Queen’s Council, on behalf of the distinguished guests and brought warmest greetings from Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside Dame Lorna Muirhead and her congratulations on this special 300th anniversary celebration. He went on to congratulate the performers saying that the pageant was interesting and entertaining and felt very much at home with it, as having worn one of those wigs in court for the best part of 40 years, he felt very much in tune with the whole affair. David pointed out the many similarities between Freemasonry and the Judiciary - its traditions, customs, ritual and secrets, before revealing a judicial secret which had to remain within those four walls; bringing much hilarity to the proceedings. In concluding David commented: 'You are all to be congratulated upon your heritage and all your good charitable works and donations.' He then thanked everyone for the very warm and generous reception he and the guests had received and wished the group continued success in all they undertake.

As the evening came to a close, Colin thanked the two hall chairmen, Graham Hughes and Chris Maloney, and also John Roughley and John Whalley for their involvement in making the evening a great success.

Quarterly Communication

8 March 2017 
An address by the MW the Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes

Brethren, it seems that we have been anticipating 2017 for longer than I care to remember and now we have arrived and I hope we have all been looking forward to our celebrations with great excitement and expectation. It is vital that these celebrations do not disappoint and, from what I have seen and heard so far and from what I know will be happening in the future, they most certainly will not disappoint.

From my point of view there was an early kick off in our District of East Africa who held a terrific celebration in Dar es Salaam last August. The District described the event as a Masonic Conference. That may well be the case, but to me it seemed like a 3-day party, superbly organised and attended by many of our Districts in Africa and elsewhere. I was also able to see the extraordinary charitable work that our brethren have carried out in that District which I am sure is mirrored elsewhere. Since then the Deputy Grand Master has been to Bombay. He can’t, of course, compare this event to Dar es Salaam, but he reports extremely favourably about it.

Between myself and the Deputy and Assistant Grand Masters we will be visiting most of our Districts or gatherings of our Districts during the year and I am quite certain that they will all make us proud that they are part of UGLE and that they will use every opportunity to advance the cause of Freemasonry in their parts of the world.

It is, of course, equally important that our Provinces take up the challenge in the same way and I am in absolutely no doubt that this will be the case. There are far too many events being organised around the country for me to start trying to highlight them. I hope it is true to say that all Provinces, who have asked for the Rulers to visit, are being visited either by the current Rulers or Past Rulers, no doubt I shall be told later if this is not the case, but we have tried very hard to ensure that we do get everywhere and I am most grateful to MW Bro Lord Northampton, PPGM and RW Bros David Williamson and George Francis PAstGMs for giving so readily of their time to help us out. We will be attending services in many of our great cathedrals and this started when the Grand Master visited Canterbury last month.

Our Provinces have been most original in their planning of events and I am sure they will all be a great success – they certainly deserve to be so with the amount of time and effort that numerous brethren have put in to the organisation. At the same time individual lodges and groups of lodges are really entering in to the spirit of the occasion.

It is not just at home that this milestone is being recognised and many of our sister Grand Lodges are celebrating with us. Indeed I was invited to the Grand Lodge of Denmark in January and they made our tercentenary very much the central theme. During their meeting they announced that our Grand Master was to become an Honorary Member of the Order of Danish Freemasons, Grand Lodge of Denmark and I had the privilege of receiving this honour on behalf of the Grand Master.

How are we going to know whether the year has been a success. It will be very easy to sit back and bask in reflected glory. This must not happen. The year is a tremendous opportunity to put all the great things that Freemasonry stands for in front of the public. We must not and will not waste this chance. The five programmes to be shown on Sky1 at 8.00pm on five consecutive Mondays commencing on April 17th, will, I believe, go a long way to displaying to the public at large what we stand for and the tremendous amount of work we put into the community both by way of financial charitable giving and by physical help to those who need it. I fear not everyone will be able to receive Sky1, but do tell all your friends about it – who knows they might ask you to come and watch it with them. Some will, no doubt, consider that we have taken a huge risk by opening ourselves up in this way, but I am in no doubt that, having been given the chance, we would have thrown away the biggest opportunity we have, perhaps, ever had for getting our story across, had we not proceeded.

In addition a further DVD has been prepared by the makers of the Documentaries for distribution – I should probably say sale – to our members and to the general public. I strongly recommend that you try to gain access to all the above.

In a perfect world at the end of the year we will see our numbers soaring and the press, printing story after story about how wonderful Freemasonry is. I am not naive enough to believe that this will be the case immediately, but I shall be very disappointed if we don’t see an increase in our membership, perhaps, just small to start with, but improving gradually as time goes on. In addition it will be fascinating to see what the press, as a whole, make of our opening our doors to such an extent.

These are exciting times brethren, let us all make the most of them.