THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND (Updated March 28, 2009)
Introduction
The United Grand Lodge of England is the governing body of Freemasonry in England, Wales and the Channel Islands. Its headquarters are at:
Freemasons’ Hall
Great Queen Street
London WC2B 5AZ
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 9811
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7831 6021
It meets in Quarterly Communication on the second Wednesdays in March, June, September and December and the Annual Investiture and Grand Festival take place on the last Wednesday in April.
The United Grand Lodge of England has some 270,000 members grouped in 8,322 lodges. Lodges in London (an area within a 10 mile radius of Freemasons’ Hall), are organised into groups administered by Metropolitan Grand Lodge of London. Lodges outside London and within England, Wales and the Channel Islands are grouped into 47 Provinces, based on the old Counties, each headed by a Provincial Grand Master.
Lodges meeting abroad are grouped in 33 Districts each headed by a District Grand Master, 5 Groups each headed by a Grand Inspector, with 12 lodges being administered from Freemasons’ Hall.
The Grand Lodge publishes a Year Book which can be purchased from Freemasons’ Hall, listing all of its lodges with their meeting dates and places, Grand Officers and senior Provincial and District Officers.
The Book of Constitutions (rule book) has been in the public domain since the first edition was published in 1723 and can be purchased from Freemasons’ Hall.
www.ugle.org.uk/ugle/intro.htm
Who's Who at The United Grand Lodge of England
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HRH The Duke of Kent, KG, GCMG, GCVO, ADC
Grand Master
Prince Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick, born in 1935. Educated at Eton and Le Rosey, Switzerland. He is a cousin both of the Queen and of the Duke of Edinburgh. His father, who was Grand Master 1939-42, was the fourth son of King George V, and his mother, Princess Marina, was the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece. He has been the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England since he was first elected in 1967.
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The Most Hon the Marquess of Northampton, DL
Pro Grand Master
Spencer Douglas David Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton. Born 1946. Educated Eton. Landowner. Deputy Lieutenant, Northamptonshire. Previously held office in the United Grand Lodge of England as Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies 1983-85; Grand Sword Bearer 1992; Senior Grand Warden 1994-95; Assistant Grand Master 1995-2001. Installed as Pro Grand Master March 2001.
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Peter Geoffrey Lowndes
Deputy Grand Master
Born 1948. Educated Eton. FRICS. Appointed Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies 1984 - 86; Grand Director of Ceremonies 1995 - 2003; Past Junior Grand Warden 2000. Installed as Deputy Grand Master 10 March 2004.
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David Williamson
Assistant Grand Master
Born 1943, in Bombay, India. Educated at King Edward VI School, Lichfield; Queen Mary College, London; and King's College, Cambridge. Trained as a pilot, and was appointed as Training Captain and Assistant Flight Training Manager for British Airways until his retirement in 1998. Served as Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies in the Province of Middlesex 1995. In 1995 he was appointed Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies and in 1998 Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies, serving until his appointment as Assistant Grand Master in March 2001. |
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Nigel Brown Grand Secretary Born in 1948, in Lusaka in the then Northern Rhodesia and was educated in Southern Rhodesia. From the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst he was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, retiring as a Captain. He then spent 15 years in senior management, and for the past 12 years has been a business consultant specialising in advising clients on winning competitive global tenders. Bro Brown is married with two adult children, has been a Freemason for 19 years and was appointed as a Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies in 2005, serving until his appointment as Grand Secretary in February 2007. |
www.ugle.org.uk/ugle/whos-who.htm
The Arms of the United Grand Lodge of England
The Arms are a combination of the coats of the 'Modern' and 'Ancient' Grand Lodges.
The former, founded in 1717, adopted the Arms granted in 1473 to the Freemasons' Company of London (the three castles and compasses). The 'rival' Grand Lodge formed in 1751, known as 'Atholl' or 'Antient', adopted arms (the man, lion, ox and eagle) which are alleged to have been designed by one Jacob Jehudah Leoni, who flourished towards the end of the 17th century.
The two coats of arms were combined, by impalement, at the union of the two Grand Lodges in 1813, with the addition of the Crest (the Ark) and the Supporters (two Cherubs) which were adopted from the Armorial Bearings of the 'Ancients'.
The representation of the Arms became very diverse and at variance both as to design and colours, so that in 1918 the College of Arms was approached to regularise them. His late Majesty, King George V, was graciously pleased to grant the Arms, which up to that time had been used by Grand Lodge without authority, and permission was given to add the bordure of lions, indicative of the Arms of England, to mark the long and close association of the Royal House with our Institution.
Blazon (coat of arms)
Per pale gules and quarterly azure and or; dexter, on a chevron, between three castles argent, a pair of compasses extended of the third, sinister, a cross quarterly of the fourth and vert, between, in the first quarter, a lion rampant of the third, in the second, an ox passant sable, in the third, a man with hands elevated proper, vested of the fifth, the robe crimson lined with ermine, and in the fourth an eagle displayed also of the third: the whole within a bordure of the first, charged with eight lions passant guardant of the third. For the Crest, on a wreath of the colours, a representation of an ark supported on either side by a cherub proper, with the motto over in Hebrew characters 'Holiness to the Lord': and for the supporters, on either side a cherub proper.
The heraldic description may be rendered in ordinary language as follows:
The Shield - is divided vertically into two halves. That on the left has a red ground, bearing a silver chevron on which is extended a pair of gold compasses: above the chevron are two silver castles, with a third below the right-hand side of the shield is divided into quarters by a cross which is itself also 'quartered' i.e. each arm of the cross is equally divided along its length and coloured in alternately green and silver. The first quarter of this side of the shield has a blue ground on which is a golden lion; the second quarter has a gold ground on which is a black ox; the third quarter also has a gold ground and on it a man, with his arms elevated. His main garment is green over which is a crimson robe lined with ermine. His face, hands and feet are in natural colours. The fourth quarter has a blue ground on which is a golden eagle with its wings outspread.
Around the shield is a red border and on which are eight golden lions in a walking attitude with their right forelegs raised.
The Crest - consists of a golden ark, supported by two cherubs. These have the upper part of the body in a natural flesh tint, with lower half covered in brown fur. Their wings are golden, and above them in Hebrew is the motto 'Holiness to the Lord'. The background to the crest consists of golden rays of light radiating around the ark. The crest stands on a 'wreath of the colours'. This is depicted as a twisted wreath of two pieces of material, the alternating colours of which are gold and red.
Supporters - are two cherubs coloured similarly to those in the crest.
The Motto - 'AVDI VIDE TACE' translated means 'HEAR SEE BE SILENT' may be shown in gold lettering on a blue ribbon.
The Coat of Arms of The United Grand Lodge of England
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www.ugle.org.uk/ugle/coatof-arms.htm
United Grand Lodge of England
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The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the main governing body of Freemasonry within England and Wales and in some countries, predominantly ex-British Empire and Commonwealth countries outside the United Kingdom. It is the oldest Grand Lodge in the world, deriving its origin from 1717.[1] Together with the Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland they are often referred to, by their members, as “the home Grand Lodges" or "the Home Constitutions."
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[edit] History
On 24 June, 1717, four London lodges came together at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House, St Paul’s Churchyard and formed themselves into a Grand Lodge for the purposes of an annual dinner.[1] Anthony Sayer was elected as the first Grand Master, in 1718 succeeded by George Payne. In 1721, under the Duke of Montagu as Grand Master, the Grand Lodge established itself as a regulatory body over the craft in England and began meeting on a quarterly basis. Prior to 1717 there was evidence of Freemasons entering in both England and Scotland with the earliest being in Scotland.[1] Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth, was Grand Master in 1735-36.[2]
The City of London Corporation has erected a Blue Plaque near the location of the original Inn.
The Constitutions of Masonry[3] were published, by James Anderson, in 1723 for the purposes of regulating the craft and establishing the authority for Lodges to meet.
The creation of Lodges followed the development of the Empire with the three home Grand Lodges warranting Lodges around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa, from the 1730s.
Throughout the early years of the new Grand Lodge there were any number of Masons and lodges that never affiliated with the new Grand Lodge. These unaffiliated Masons and their Lodges were referred to as "Old Masons," or "St. John Masons, and "St. John Lodges".[4]
During the 1730s and 1740s antipathy increased between the London Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland. Irish and Scots Masons visiting and living in London considered the London Grand Lodge to have considerably deviated from the ancient practices of the Craft. As a result, these Masons felt a stronger kinship with the unaffiliated London Lodges. The aristocratic nature of the London Grand Lodge and its members alienated other Masons of the City causing them also to identify with the unaffiliated Lodges.[5]
On 17 July 1751, representatives of five Lodges gathered at the Turk's Head Tavern, in Greek Street, Soho, London - forming a rival Grand Lodge - The Most Ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons. They believed that they practiced a more ancient and therefore purer form of Masonry, and called their Grand Lodge The Ancients' Grand Lodge. They called those affiliated to the Premier Grand Lodge, by the pejorative epithet The Moderns. These two unofficial names stuck.[6]
An illustration of how deep the division was between the two factions is the case of Benjamin Franklin who was a member of a Moderns' Lodge in Philadelphia. Upon returning from France it transpired that his Lodge had changed to (and had received a new warrant from) the Ancients Grand Lodge; no longer recognizing him and declining to give him "Masonic Honours" at his funeral.[7]
In 1809 the two Grand Lodges appointed Commissioners to negotiate an equable Union. Over a period of four years the articles of Union were negotiated and agreed and a ritual developed reconciling those worked by the two Grand Lodges. On 27 December 1813 a ceremony was held at Freemasons' Hall, London forming the United Grand Lodge of England with HRH the Duke of Sussex (younger son of King George III) as the Grand Master. The combined ritual was termed the Emulation Ritual and adopted as a standard ritual by UGLE, although other rituals continue to be used in many lodges.
[edit] Current position
Today, the United Grand Lodge of England or Grand Lodge is organised into a number of subordinate lodges. The Provincial Grand Lodges are approximately equivalent to the historic counties of England. These form the local administration of the organisation. In London it is known as a Metropolitan Grand Lodge. Overseas jurisdictions that are controlled by Grand Lodge are organised into District Grand Lodges. There are a small number of lodges that are ungrouped and are administered directly from Grand Lodge.
[edit] Grand Masters
- Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex (1813 - 1843)
- Thomas Dundas, 2nd Earl of Zetland (1844 - 1870)
- George Robinson, 3rd Earl de Grey and 2nd Earl of Ripon (1st Marquess of Ripon from 1871) (1870 - 1874)
- Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (1874 - 1901)
- Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1901 - 1939)
- Prince George, Duke of Kent (1939 - 1942)
- Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (1942 - 1947)
- Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (1947 - 1950)
- Lawrence Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough (1951 - 1967)
- Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (1967 - present)
[edit] See Also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c "UGLE". http://www.grandlodge-england.org/ugle/the-history-of-grand-lodge.htm. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
- ^ Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth, thepeerage.com
- ^ The Constitutions of the Free-Masons
- ^ Coil, Henry W. (1961). Two articles: "England, Grand Lodge of, According to the Old Institutions," pp. 237-240; and "Saints John," pp. 589-590. Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia. (rev. ed. 1996). Richmond, Va: Macoy Publ. & Masonic Supply Co. Inc.
- ^ Jones, Bernard E. (1950). Freemasons' Guide and Compendium, (rev. ed. 1956) London: Harrap Ltd.
- ^ Batham, Cyril N. (1981). "The Grand Lodge of England According to the Old Institutions, otherwise known as The Grand Lodge of the Antients." The Collected Prestonian Lectures, 1975-1987, Vol. Three. London (1988): Lewis Masonic.
- ^ Revolutionary Brotherhood, by Steven C. Bullock, Univ. N. Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1996
[edit] External links
-An interesting addition to the UGLE (United Grand Lodge of England) material: Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England
http://www.grandchapter.org.uk/index.htm
http://www.grandchapter.org.uk/sgc/whos-who.htm
http://www.grandchapter.org.uk/royal-arch/index.htm