Background

The Masonic history of this Province is of course set within the wider development of Freemasonry in this country over the centuries.  Students of Masonic history will be aware of the formation of Grand Lodges in the 18th Century and of the split between the ‘Ancients’ and the ‘Moderns.’

The first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of England (GLE), was founded on 24 June 1717 and, because of the way they varied or modernised their ceremonies, members were known as the Moderns.

In 1753 the Grand Lodge of the Ancients was formed.  This consisted of those who adhered to the traditional or ancient ceremonies and practices.  Because the 3rd and 4th Dukes of Athol presided over them members were known as Athol Masons.

After difficult and protracted negotiations ‘Articles of Union’ unifying the two Grand Lodges were adopted on 27 December 1813.  The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was thereby formed.  This remains the governing body of regular Freemasonry today.

Early Masonic History of Northamptonshire

The first record of a Lodge in Northamptonshire is of the George and Dragon Lodge No 62.  The date of its warrant (or constitution as it was then known) was 16 January 1730.  By 1740 the Lodge had become the St George and Dragon Lodge No 64.  On 29 November 1754 it was erased.

The second Lodge was the Lodge of Harmony No 544 (later becoming No 453).  Its warrant was dated 20 August 1789 and it met at the White Hart in the Drapery, Northampton.  There is no record of the Lodge existing in Northampton after 1792. (It has no connection with the presently constituted Lodge of Harmony No 9048.)

An endorsement on its Constitution, dated 18 January 1806, declared that it had removed to the ‘Ship Tavern’ in the Borough of Boston, in the County of Lincoln.  The same Lodge of Harmony (now) No 272 still meets in Boston, Lincolnshire.  Its Brethrens’ application in 1906 for a Centenary Warrant failed because they were unable to show any record of working before 1806.  The Lodge minutes for the short period it was held in Northampton were non existent.

WBro Clegg belonged to the Lodge.  Most Masons will perhaps not be familiar with his name.  They will, however, be familiar with “Hail Eternal by Whose Aid” and “Now the Evening Shadows Falling” both of which he wrote.

In 1798, the Province of Northamptonshire under the Earl of Pomfret as its first Provincial Grand Master was granted a Patent from the UGLE.  As that Patent was being issued, the country celebrated Rear Admiral Nelson’s victory over the French Fleet at the Battle of the Nile in Aboukir Bay.

George Fermor, 3rd Earl of Pomfret, became first

Provincial Grand Master of Northamptonshire on 27 January, 1798

Early Masonic History of Huntingdonshire

The first recorded Lodge in Huntingdonshire was Lodge No 160B.  In 1802, it moved from Norwich to meet at the Angel Inn, Narrow Street, Peterborough.  It had been originally warranted by the Grand Lodge of the Ancients on 3 September 1787 as Lodge No 160 meeting at the Golden Anchor, Norwich.  In 1812 it moved from Peterborough to Pontypool as the Hiram Lodge.  It was erased in 1830.

Bro John Taylor Allison of the 2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Militia was a member of the Lodge of Perseverance No 213 which was originally warranted by the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns) and, to this day, meets in Norwich.  He was a petitioner for Pomfret Lodge No 360 and its Secretary from 12 June 1821 to 19 September 1822.

It was warranted on 16 October 1819 and met in Northampton at the Fountain (later renamed the Criterion).  Its eleven founders were drawn from the different Constitutions that existed before the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) in 1813.  They had such widely differing views on procedure and the Lodge had little chance of survival.  Helped by the newly formed UGLE they reached a measure of agreement, loosing two founders in the process.  Attendances were small and it took many years for the Lodge to recover from these early setbacks.  In 1836 there were only 13 members and they did not all attend regularly.

Freemasonry in Kettering dates back to 1839 when the first meeting was held in the White Hart Inn (now the Royal Hotel). Click here to see a brief history of Freemasonry in Kettering. Click here for interior pictures of Kettering Masonic Hall which has been used as a Masonic Hall since 1895.

First 100 Years of the Combined Province

In 1840, Northamptonshire combined with Huntingdonshire to form the Province of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire which continues to this day.

The Lodges existing at the time of this combination were

By 1840 the membership of Pomfret Lodge No 360 had increased to 61 but bad feeling still existed and the Lodge of Merit No 466 was formed in that year.  A few years later it moved to Oundle and then to Stamford (where it still meets).

Although some members had misgivings about meetings taking place on licensed premises they continued to do so until 1875 when premises in Abington Street, Northampton were bought, rebuilt and converted into a Masonic Hall – all for £2,000.

Interest in Freemasonry then rapidly increased.  Pomfret Lodge and its Royal Arch Chapter grew rapidly.  In 1878 Eleanor Cross Lodge No 1764 was consecrated.  The following year, Simon de St Liz Lodge of Mark Masons No 245 was formed.  In 1881, De La Pre Lodge No 1911 was founded.

After only six years in their Abington Street Masonic Hall, Northampton brethren were finding it to be too small.  They bought a site in Princes Street, Northampton for a new Masonic Hall.  On 5 September 1889 a special Provincial Grand Lodge met at the Masonic Hall, Abington Street, Northampton for the purpose of laying the Foundation Stone of the new Masonic Hall.  About 70 brethren heard the Provincial Secretary read the dispensation to wear Masonic clothing.  They then adjourned to the garden of Beethoven House, Market Square, Northampton.  From here, they paraded in procession to the Princes Street site where they were addressed by the RW Provincial Grand Master, the Earl of Euston, and others.

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Rt Hon Henry James Fitzroy, Earl of Euston,

PGM, 1887 - 1912

The Provincial Grand Master then laid the Foundation Stone. 

PGM, Earl of Euston, Laying Foundation Stone of Princes Street Masonic Hall, Northampton, 1889

The trowel he used had Masonic connections through Pomfret Lodge

Library, Princes Street Masonic Hall, Northampton

In 1890 the Princes Street Masonic Hall was opened and the Provincial Grand Lodge met there for the first time. At that time there were three Lodges in Northampton. 

Lodge Room, Princes Street Masonic Hall, Northampton

As the end of the 19th Century approached, more Lodges were consecrated:

By the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 a further six Lodges had been consecrated. 

During the Great War 119 Brethren of the Province (about 10% of the total membership) served King and Country.  It was suggested at the Provincial Grand Lodge of 1915 that a Roll of Honour of those who laid down their lives be kept but this was not done.
 
Grand Lodge issued a Masonic prayer for use in time of war.  Some Lodges in the Province issued a War Card with a prayer for Brethren on active service.  This was printed in the languages of the five warring nations (English, French, German, Italian and Turkish).

Between the First and Second World Wars ten Lodges were consecrated.

Because of the emergency created by the Second World War many of the activities associated with Freemasonry were temporarily curtailed.  These included restrictions on meeting days and times, suspension of the traditional Festive Board and the short notice cancellation of Lodge meetings.

The Later Half of the 20th Century

The last meeting in Princes Street Masonic Hall (of Kingsley Lodge No 2431) was in 1972.  The growth in the strength of Freemasonry in Northampton can be gauged by the fact that it had become the home of (from three when it opened in 1890).

Princes Street Masonic Hall, Northampton, 1969

This growth meant the building had become grossly inadequate.  An appeal was launched by the Provincial Grand Master, RWBro Richard Palmer, OBE, TD, DL.  A site in St George’s Avenue, Northampton, was subsequently purchased from Northampton Borough Council and the present Freemasons’ Hall built. In 1971 he laid the Foundation Stone.

PGM, RWBro Richard Palmer Lays Foundation Stone,

Freemasons’ Hall, St George’s Avenue, Northampton

At a Benevolence Committee Meeting in November 1971 the Provincial Grand Master introduced a new concept of the role he wished Provincial Grand Stewards to play.  He stated that he intended to appoint four Provincial Grand Stewards each year from the Masters who had recently vacated the Chair and that they would continue to hold that rank until eligible for promotion.

Accordingly, at the Provincial Grand Lodge of May, 1972, he appointed the first four of these new style Provincial Grand Stewards.  Amongst them was WBro Brian Smith who was destined to be Provincial Grand Master from 1990 to 1997.

The Most Honourable the Marquess of Northampton DL was initiated into the Ceres Lodge No 6977 in this Province on the 8 December 1976, appointed Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies in April 1983 and invested as Assistant Provincial Grand Master in May of the same year. In 2001, after 6 years as Assistant Grand Master, he was appointed Pro Grand Master, an appointment of which the Province is very proud.      

The Province’s first Provincial Grand Master, George, 3rd Earl of Pomfret was the Great Great Grandfather of our 9th Provincial Grand Master, Thomas, Lord Hesketh who died in 1944.  The family tradition was continued in the person of Thomas Alexander, Lord Hesketh, a member of the Lodge of Fidelity No 445 which meets at Towcester, Northamptonshire.

Into the 21 Century

As the new Millennium dawned on 1 January 2000 there were 83 Lodges in the Province. An emerging theme has been the consecration of special interest Lodges:

Deputy Provincial Grand Masters of the Province of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire