The Plucknett Lodge No: 1708
George Plucknett Senior was the founder & First Master of the Plucknett Lodge No: 1708. He was a surveyor by profession, residing in Gray’s Inn Road, North London & was initiated into Freemasonry on 28th March 1850 in the Royal Naval Lodge No: 70 (now No: 59). He was passed & raised in the same year & made a rapid advancement through the Lodge, being appointed Junior Warden in 1851, Senior Warden in 1852 & by 1853 he was installed as Worshipful Master.
Following his resignation from the Royal Naval Lodge he became a joining member of the Prince of Wales Lodge No: 259 on the 26th November 1861. Serving as Worshipful Master for two consecutive years from 1872 to 1874, George Plucknett resigned from this Lodge in 1891.
1864 saw him appointed as Senior Grand Deacon of the United Grand Lodge of England acting as chairman of the Meeting for the Board of Benevolence, in his capacity as a Grand Officer, on Wednesday 19th October 1864.
Taking into account his professional career as a surveyor, Grand Lodge appointed him a member of a special Committee in 1862, where he was to consider & implement plans to Enlarge Freemasons’ Hall. On the 14th April 1869, to consecrate the new building, a special meeting was held by Grand Lodge. The former president of the Board of General Purposes & Chairman of the Building committee, Worshipful Brother J. Havers, Past Grand Deacon (PGD) stated the following in the course of his report:
“He should be sadly wanting in gratitude if he did not express his cordial thanks to his colleagues for the kind support they had at all times offered him, & especially to his esteemed Brother George Plucknett for his invaluable assistance.”
Grand Lodge, as a gesture of thanks, erected permanent memorials of the Committee 
members. This consisted of a bust of W. Bro. Havers, surrounded by plaques depicting the profile portraits of the remaining Committee members. The memorial was removed to storage during the construction of the present Freemasons’ Hall & finally re-erected near to the present Board Room.
V.W. Bro George Plucknett P.G.D
Several Brethren residing in the Parish of Finchley desired to form a new Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons, in order to hold meetings in their said Parish. George Plucknett Senior was nominated & recommended to be the first Master of the new Lodge & for it to bear his name. A Petition to form the new Lodge was submitted to which the following is a copy:
“To the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the United Fraternity of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of England. We the undersigned being regular registered Masons of the Lodges mentioned against our respective names having the prosperity of the Craft at heart are anxious to exert our best 
endeavours to promote & diffuse the genuine principles of the Art, & for the convenience of our respective dwellings & other good reasons we are desirous of forming a new Lodge to be named Plucknett. In consequence of this desire we pray for a Warrant of Constitution empowering us to meet as a regular Lodge at the Railway Hotel, Ballards Lane Finchley, on the first Thursday in October, November, December, January, February & March, & there to discharge the duties of Masonry in a constitutional manner according to the forms of the Order & the Laws of the Grand Lodge, & we have nominated & do recommend Brother George Plucknett P.S.G.D. to be the first Master, Brother George Plucknett junior, to be the first Senior Warden & Brother Adolphus Byam Abbott to be the first Junior Warden of the said Lodge. The prayer of this petition being granted we promise strict obedience to the commands of the Grand Master & the laws & regulations of Grand Lodge.”
The prayer of Petition was presented to the Worshipful Grand Master at the time, HRH Albert Edward Prince of Wales, & by his hand & seal a Warrant of Constitution was granted. The ceremonies were fixed to commence at 4 o’clock on the 22nd day of September 1877, at the Railway Hotel, Ballards Lane, Finchley. Summonses were issued for Brethren to assemble on said date for the Consecration of The Plucknett Lodge No: 1708. The ceremony took place at the time & place arranged & was carried out by the then Grand Secretary Brother John Harvey. United Grand Lodge of England kindly lent golden consecrating vessels for the occasion & the musical & vocal part of the ceremony was carried out by a Masonic Quartet. Following the Consecration Brother George Plucknett Senior was installed as the first Worshipful Master.
A couple of years later difficulties arose regarding the accommodation available at the Railway Tavern. There were a variety of possible places considered for future meetings & in September 1881, the Lodge removed to “The Bald Faced Stag” situated in East Finchley. Due to the move the Installation Meeting was deferred to the December in 1881, & in the next year to the January 1883. The Installation Meeting has been held in January ever since.
Brother George Plucknett was elected to become an Honorary Member of the Lodge on 10th November 1892. It was in the December meeting that the Lodge would hold its first Ladies Night, a “Cinderella Ball” at the Cannon Street Hotel. It was proposed that full Masonic Regalia was to be worn & a special dispensation was issued. It reads as follows:
“To the Worshipful Master, Wardens & Brethren of the Plucknett Lodge No: 1708, London. You having represented to the M.W. The Grand Master that you are about to hold a Ball at the Cannon Street Hotel on the 15th inst., & the Brethren are desirous of wearing their Masonic Craft clothing & jewels, the M.W. Grand Master has considered your application & is pleased to grant this dispensation permitting the Brethren on the occasion in question to wear their Masonic Craft clothing & jewels on condition that the tickets are not sold to the public openly & indiscriminately & that none but the Craft clothing be worn charging you the Master & Wardens to take special care that the above conditions are strictly complied with & that none of the Brethren appear in such clothing out of the rooms in which the Ball is held. You will cause this dispensation to be recorded on your minutes. Given at Freemasons’ Hall London this 5th day of December A.L. 5892, A.D. 1892 by command of HRH The Prince of Wales K.G. etc., etc.,”
M.W. Grand Master (Signed E. Letchworth G.S.)
In February 1894 Brother, Charles Albert Batho was initiated at the age of 22. He was destined for high office, not only within the Craft but also within the outside world. He was eventually appointed the position of Grand Treasurer & elected as Lord Mayor of London in 1928. In the same year he was also made a Baronet. Also during 1894 further difficulties arose from the current accommodation at “The Bald Faced Stag”. However, a hall had been erected as part of the Woodside Club in North Finchley, so, in October the Lodge removed to the location where it had access to a large or small hall to hold its meetings & dinners, its own wine cellar & food was supplied by an outside caterer which was re-heated on site. The Lodge remained there until 1908. Records show a variety of venues occupied by the Lodge to hold their meetings over the following years, even as far as South London, but it was on 10th January 1969 that a motion was given to meet at the Southgate Masonic Centre, which is still used to this present day. Apparently the first meeting held at Southgate was a memorable one, as the heating in the then great hall was broken. This hall is now occupied by the Grand Temple & two dining rooms. It is described that the 31 members & 44 visitors present were ‘heroes’ donning their overcoats for dinner, keeping warm with copious draughts of whiskey & large portions of haggis. Southgate was christened with the sound of bagpipes a wonderful rendition of Burns ‘Oration to the Haggis’ performed by a visitor.
The Plucknett Lodge Crest
The Lodge Seal or Crest does not appear to have been in existence until 1881. This was when Past Master’s Jewels were presented to three Brethren who occupied the chair for the first three years. It is apparent that the Lodge adopted the design of the seal from the Local Board of Finchley designed by Mr. W. M. Passmore.
The Finchley Board designed by W.M. Pasmore
The seal features the Tower of St. Mary’s Church which represents the oldest structure in the Parish of Finchley. Next to or in front of the tower is an Oak Tree representing ‘Turpin’s Oak.’ This was located in Oak Lane opposite the St. Pancras & Islington Cemetery & so named after its association with the famous Highwayman Dick Turpin. In the tree sits a bird, a finch, suggesting the origin of the Parishes name. Finally, the last significant item in the crest is the Whet Stone. History shows that the stone formerly stood in the northern extremity of Finchley during Cromwell’s time. It is the location where Cromwell’s Ironsides would sharpen their swords. Now days Whetstone is the area North of Finchley & part of the London Borough of Barnet.
There are other interesting facts relating to Plucknett Lodge which are too complex for this website, but as you can see, the Lodge is full of Craft History. Special thanks should be mentioned to W. Bro. S.B. Davis P.G.St.B., L.G.R. P.P.G.D. for compiling ‘Plucknett Lodge History 1877-1977’ as without that this page would not be possible
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