News:

The annual East Lancashire District meeting will take place on Saturday 9th September, 11am at Rochdale masoinc hall.

Members can access the booking form and summons from the ‘summons’ page on the website. Contact your council Secretary for log in details.

Saturday 8th July Herbert Barrington Slater Council held it’s ever popular summer meeting at Salford. Since there were fewer clashes with other meetings the attendance was a credible 25, including five candidates for the ceremony of Grand Tylers of Solomon.

The Worshipful Master, W.Bro Nigel Graham Bramley-Howarth opened the Council In the Degree of St Lawrence and welcomed the Deputy District Grand Prefect, W.Bro Graham Newton.

The Council then completed admin business, including the election of a new Master in David Entwisle and the presentation of Grand Council Certificates to Bros Phillip Moore and Stephen Graham, which were explained by the Dep.D.G.P.

The Lodge of St Lawrence the Martyr was called off and a Lodge of Grand Tylers of Solomon opened. The ceremony was conducted in fine dramatic style by the Worshipful Master, who was most ably assisted by his Wardens and W.Bro Craig Wood who explained the signs and words of the Degree and W.Bro Fraser McCord G.Stwd who delivered the lecture in his own incomparable manner.

With five new Grand Tylers created the Council was closed and the Brethren retired to a magnificent lunch provided by the staff at Hemsley House.

Pictures and article by Graham Newton.

The week started with a new member and a new master and Rocdale St Lawrence Council No. 122 continued on Thursday when it admitted Bro Mustafa Avci to the order and installed Kevin Reaney as its new master.

David Ogden opened the lodge and greeted our District Grand Prefect and for the second time this week Mervyn returned the gavel to the master who had just polietly offered it to him.

Our Past District Grand Prefect, Alex McLaren once again found himself leading Mustafa into the council as acting Senior Deacon. David Ogden placed our Deputy, Graham Newton into the chair to admit Mustafa in fine style and also delivered the lecture.

With David back in his righful place Mervyn Wilson presented Kevin Reaney to him for the benifit of installation.

This was performed by David with much sincerity and Kevin was delighted to appoint and invest his team for the following year.

More good news followed when the Secretary announced the Council has another candidate to admit in September, this guy seemed keen as he was waiting to join the members for the festive board.

The District Grand Secretaries Council was hosted by Burton Cooper Council 195 (West Midlands). The Worshipful Master, VWBro Andrew Stanton had invited us to his mother Council and suggested that we assist in conferring the Grand High Priest ceremony.

Planning stage completed and a team put in place, we descended on Burton on Trent from all over the country, we now have members from 14 different Districts.

Burton Cooper opened their Lodge of St Lawrence and completed their business and called off, Shuttleworth then opened and completed some administrative matters, including electing W.Bro Peter Warner, Grand Junior Deacon as the next Worshipful Master. 

A Convention of Grand High Priest was opened by local boy, V.W.Bro Chris Farrar and the Order of Grand High Priest was conferred on 7 candidates from West Midlands, East Midlands, London, also two from the District of Spain. The Deputy Dist.G.Prefect. of Spain was in attendance to support his son.

V.W.Bro Chris as the Most Excellent President was most ably assisted by W.Bro Peter Warner as Chaplain, R.W.Bro Cliff Bull as Vice President and R.W.Bro Joe McCollum as Master of Ceremonies.

The Worshipful Master thanked all those making it a special evening of Allied masonry. All the brethren present ( 40 +) then repaired to the dining room for a well earned feast.

Thanks to Graham Newton for this post and photo

Its great news when one of our Councils installs a brand new Master for the first time, its also great when a candidate comes along so to have them both in one meeting must be the best news ever!

And that is exactly what took place at the June meeting of James Edward Glover Council No 137. They meet at various venues and the incomming Master Steven Boyle had chosen Rawtenstall. Good choice for a lovely warm sunny evening in Rosendale.

This turned out to be a well attended meeting, in fact the District Grand Prefect Mervyn Wilson commented on how pleased he was to see 19 brethren at the meeting. His predesssor Alex McLaren was also in attendance and dispite the large selection of members to choose from the DC asked that he could to act as Senior Deacon.

Brendan Harte, the Master then had alot on his plate? Well as any good Master will tell you the art of delegation is equaly important as learing the words so he had no hesitation in inviting John Green to take the chair for the admission ceremony.

Bro Peter Lambert was introduced to the council in the very capable hands of Alex McLaren. Peter later remarked what a privilage it was to be taken around the council during the ceremony by the past head of this and many other orders.

John Green then conducted a very fine ceremony including the lecture.

Now back in his rightful place Brendan thanked John and Alex for doing a great job and JEG made its new member very welcome.

So now onto the new Master bit. It was Master Elect Steven Boyle who was presented by Mervyn Wilson and installed by Brenden again in a fantastic ceremony .

Our District Grand Prefect was very pleased with what he saw and thanked everyone for thier efforts at the conclusion of the meeting. Following a few drinks and socialising at the bar the brethren enjoyed a fine meal and very good company as the very busy meeting drew to a close.

Perseverance Council No 42 is one of the oldest in our district and recently celebrated its centenary.

The next meeting on was the installation when Allan Shields was installed as Master in fine style by Steve Barritt.

In attendance was the District Grand Prefect Mervyn Wilson who presented Allan to the Master for Installation. All this under the guidance of his Deputy , Grahan Newton who acted as DC.

Its always worth persevering with things: This council was low on numbers 12 months ago but has been boosted by many joining members including another three at this meeting and there is a candidate to induct at the November meeting.

 The next meeting of Shuttleworth Council, where there is a further opportunity to see the Grand High Priest ceremony. All are welcome to attend. Summons attached for further information.

The meeting takes place at Burton and the summons and Secretary Details can be found in the summons section of the website.

Friday, 31^st March 2023 was the Date of the Michael Edward Herbert Council (MEH) No. 160 meeting, on this occasion at Middleton Masonic Hall. The MEH Council meets under the jurisdiction of the District of East Lancashire, but, as you may be aware, this is a Council for Grand Officers from both the East and West Lancashire Districts. As an aside, this mirrors the Timothy John Lewis Council No. 190 for District Officers of both East and West Lancashire, which meets under the jurisdiction of the District of West Lancashire. I think that this arrangement demonstrates the close working relationship between the two Districts.

For those with a geographical inclination, Middleton, although now part of the Greater Manchester conurbation, is historically a Lancashire Township, its name being derived from being the centre of a number of early settlements. It was originally an ecclesiastical parish of the Salford Hundred – also known as Salfordshire. Salford being one of the sub divisions of the historic County of Lancashire.

And so, I made my way to Middleton MH, which was a first for me, having never attended any meetings at this location. Lighter evenings made the journey reasonably pleasant, if you can ever think of driving up the M6 and M62 etc at workers going home time pleasant! No hold ups however, (but see comments below about my return journey) meant that I arrived at Middleton MH in good time. Good car parking meant that there was no driving around to look for a suitable parking spot.

The Hall is a relatively modern and attractive facility, with an upstairs Lodge Room and downstairs dining room. A very comfortable, roomy premises for a Masonic meeting and for meeting up with old and new friends.

RW Bro Mervyn Frank Wilson, DGP for East Lancashire, has given an extra purpose to this particular meeting of MEH Council in the annual calendar, by arranging for Grand Officer members to perform the ceremony of Knights of the Red Cross of Babylon; and on this occasion there was the excellent number of 13 Candidates attending to receive the accolade.

The WM, Very Worshipful Brother Geoffrey Catterall, opened the Council, and then welcomed Right Worshipful Brother Wilson, and offered him the gavel. The DGP, thanked the WM for the honour, but then paused to consider the amount of work to be undertaken later in the evening, and, deciding that discretion is the better form of valour, tactfully returned the gavel to the WM.                                                                                         

  Salutations were then given, first to the DGP for East Lancashire and then to the DGP of West Lancashire.

The preliminary business being concluded, the WM adjourned the Degree of St Lawrence the Martyr, and the Candidates were asked to leave the Council for a short time. The DC for the evening, W. Bro. Shaun Higson, then busied himself, setting up the Council for the Red Cross of Babylon Ceremony. It is fair to say that the Candidates were well and truly invested into the Degree, the whole of the team playing its part in the ceremony, but it is worth recording that W. Bro Fraser McCord, as Thrice Illustrious Sovereign, gave an excellent and very animated performance in the Persian Court, in a true lilting Scottish accent (pity the candidates couldn’t understand his brogue – I jest Fraser!!!!). However, the candidates fully understood his next gesture when, on completion of the ceremony, he offered each of them a miniature bottle of the Highlands’ finest, each miniature being edged with a purple ribbon. What a wonderful gesture from an excellent Mason.

The WM then resumed the Council in the Degree of St Lawrence the Martyr. Important items of business remained to be conducted, including to elect a WM and Treasurer for the ensuing year. Unfortunately, the current Senior Warden, W. Bro Trevor Jewitt, is unwell and unable to be Installed as Master at the next meeting; but cometh the hour and cometh the man, as English cricketer Cliff Gladwin once uttered, and RW Brother Mervyn stepped up to the crease and agreed to be nominated. There being no other nominations (would anyone dare?) he was declared Master for the ensuing year to great acclamation. W. Bro Jeff Huddart was then nominated and subsequently declared Treasurer, again to acclamation.

The Council being closed, the WM and both DGP’s retired, and Brethren made their way to the dining hall to enjoy a social drink and dinner. A goodly crowd of Mason’s delighted in exchanging pleasantries and honouring the formal toasts. It is true to say that Mervyn should be proud of the efforts of his team in ensuring that the Candidates were well and truly invested on this occasion, and we look forward to a similar occasion next year when the Brethren of MEH can again strut their stuff.

To close, I said earlier in the piece that I had a pleasant journey to Middleton MH, but the same cannot be said of my return home. Unfortunately, a large section of the M6 had been closed at 9pm and this caused me to get home somewhat later than intended. The upside is that I visited many areas of Greater Manchester and its surrounds that I hadn’t seen for some time – always look on the bright side of life I say!

PS, one of the Brethren present at the meeting played in a professional rugby league match in the 1980’s between Wigan and Huddersfield, which entered into folk lore as ‘The Battle of Fartown’. No kidding, and you can view it on YouTube if you’re interested (other social media outlets available etc. etc.). You need to be warned of scenes of violence if you are of a sensitive disposition, and you might need subtitles to understand the Lancashire and Yorkshire dialects. The Brother concerned acted as a Persian Guard on the occasion of the afore mentioned ceremony, and you can be sure he had no problem with his prisoner!!!

Words by Wigan Warrior

Photographs by the Rochdale Hornet.

One of our oldest councils is Goulburn having been consecrated in 1915 and continues to meet to this day now based at Radcliffe near Bolton.

The March meeting had two very important items of business, the first being to admit Bro Andrew Booth as the latest member to join the district. Shaun Higson took the chair to induct Andrew as a Brother of St Lawrence in fine style and assisted by council officers and visiting brethren which included our Deputy Graham Newton.

The next item on the summons was to install Ivan Millington as the Master for the ensuing year and this was again a fantastic ceremony this time performed by Adrian Hunter.

Welcome to our order Andrew was the cry as he received his collar of office from Ivan!

Saturday 4th March, East and West Lancs visited the District of Northumberland & Durham, en masse as the photo shows.

The meeting was presided over by the District Grand Prefect RWBro Danny Guy and guest of honour was the Grand Master MWBro Tom Jackson.

Following a very efficient meeting, cheques were presented to the Craft PGM and the Mark PGM for their respective charities. Both expounded their admiration and support for the Allied Degrees.

It was also great to see Ernie Gavan sporting his ‘cancer recovering’ new hair style.