Assistant Provincial Grand Master Tony Bent delivering a talk oo Freemasonry in the community
FREEMASONS from all parts of the North West attended a special church service at Warrington celebrating the creation 300 years ago of the first Grand Lodge in the world.
The Province of West Lancashire holds a unique place in the chronicled history of English Freemasonry as the earliest known record of anyone being initiated into an English lodge appears in the diary of Elias Ashmole, of Lichfield.
In an entry for October 1646 he wrote: “1646, Oct: 16, 4.30 P.M. I was made a Free Mason at Warrington in Lancashire, with Colonel Henry Mainwaring of Karnicham in Cheshire. The names of those that were then of the Lodge (were) Mr Rich. Penketh, Warden, Mr James Collier, Mr Rich. Sankey, Henry Littler, John Ellam, Rich. Ellam and Hugh Brewer.”
The surnames of two of the lodge members are, of course, familiar to local residents as the names of local districts on the outskirts of Warrington, namely Penketh and Sankey.
Freemasonry in Warrington is still very strong today with 14 lodges meeting at the Masonic Hall in Winmarleigh Street in the town centre. The oldest lodge still meeting in Warrington – the Lodge of Lights No 148 was founded in 1765, while the youngest was founded as recently as 1990.
The celebration at St Elphin’s Church, Warrington of the creation 300 years ago of the first Grand Lodge was attended by the Provincial Grand Master Tony Harrison and his wife Maureen, the Deputy Provincial Grand Master Philip Gunning and nine Assistant Provincial Grand Masters, and many hundreds of Masons and their families from Warrington, Wigan, Widnes, Liverpool and many other towns across Lancashire.
From its earliest days, Freemasonry has been concerned with the care of orphans, the sick and the aged. This work continues today and Masonic charity is exercised at every level: individual lodges make gifts and give aid to their own communities.
The benefit of group and lodge activities to the local community in Warrington is most readily seen in the donations of more than £30,000 annually to local charities resulting from the Freemasons and the many fund-raising events. In recent years donations have been made to St Rocco’s Hospice, the Elderly Persons’ Unit at the Warrington Hospital and to the Warrington Crossroads Carers’ Scheme, Warrington Disability Partnership, British Heart Foundation along with many other local charities.
In the last 10 years more than £100,000,000 has been given by the Grand Charity in London, Provinces and Lodges across England to medical research, hospices, national and local charities.
The Provincial Grand Master said: “It’s wonderful to see so many Freemasons from all walks of life coming together with their partners and families to celebrate 300 years of tradition.
“Freemasonry is the oldest fraternal society in the world and through their own efforts members have in the past years donated more than £100,000,000 to medical research, hospices, national and local charities – long may it continue.”
Provincial Grand Chaplain Rev Canon Godfrey Hirst delivers his oration.
