Library and Museum archives shed light on history of Albert Coveney Lodge No. 3519
More than a memory The written records generated by masonic lodges and chapters can give revealing insights into the masonic people, places and…
freemason
The Freemason prisoners of war at Ruhleben Camp during WWI
On 18 December 1914 an extraordinary document arrived at Freemasons’ Hall in London addressed to Sir Edward Letchworth, the Grand Secretary. It began: ‘We, the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians at the concentration camp at Ruhleben, Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally.’
The First Freemasons Hall
The first Freemasons’ Hall, designed by Thomas Sandby, had no street frontage but was built in the garden behind 61 Great Queen Street, a house dating…
Napoleonic Wars
During the period known at the Napoleonic wars (1793 circa 1814) there were up to 122,000 enemy sailors and soldiers held in captivity. The officers were…
Augustus Manning: one of the founders of Tilbury Lodge No. 2006
Head above water Instrumental in the construction of Tilbury Docks, Augustus Manning met Kaiser Wilhelm II eight years before the start of World War I,…
Heritage in the building
The new experience Freemasonry has a refreshingly open-minded attitude when it comes to age. The routes to the Craft for engaged young people are now more…
Freemason Support of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution spans 140 years
With a partnership that stretches back more than one hundred and forty years, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Freemasonry have a shared history. John Hamill charts its origins
The Entered Apprentice
You are now an Entered Apprentice Freemason – the first step in your journey through what is known as The Craft Degrees. The word ‘apprentice’ means…
Jim Borthwick 60 Years a Freemason
On October 2nd 1954, the Lodge of Prudence No. 1550 in Plymouth Initiated a young man named James Thomas Borthwick. On October 2nd 2014, at the regular…
Captain Matthew Flinders: the Freemason who gave Australia its name
Putting Australia on the map Few men in history can claim to have named an entire country, but Freemason Matthew Flinders is one of them….