THE ABBEY LODGE
of
ANTIENT FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS
No. 945
1863 - 1963
WITH SOME GENERAL NOTES ON
FREEMASONRY IN ABINGDON
By Worshipful Brother Tom Bowen
FOREWORD
I am very grateful to the Master, Wardens and Brethren of the Abbey Lodge for inviting me to write a Foreword to this interesting little history of the Lodge.
It affords me the opportunity of congratulating you on celebrating your Centenary and of paying a tribute to Worshipful Brother Tom Bowen who is responsible for this charming Brochure but even more to express on your behalf all our thanks for his many years of service to the Abbey Lodge and Berkshire Freemasonry in general. It is noteworthy that at your Jubilee meeting fifty years ago he was Junior Warden. The Lodge has always been in the forefront for its sincerity, efficiency and its generosity to our Masonic Charities.
The high standard it has always set has been a great example to other Lodges and I sincerely hope that its first Century is merely a prelude to its continued vitality for many years to come.
R. H. INGHAM-CLARK,
Provincial Grand Master.
APRIL 1963.
THIS RECORD of one hundred years (and more) of Freemasonry in Abingdon to commemorate in particular the centenary of 945 may, I hope, be of interest to its members and possibly to a few others. Its early days almost certainly have the greater interest for its latter days are more hum-drum, but a record would be incomplete without them.
The Abbey Lodge was consecrated in Abingdon on 30th April, 1863, its number being 1247, later that year to become 945 on a re-numbering by Grand Lodge. Its original membership was 26 and there were 18 Founders.
It is a great misfortune that the first minute book is missing but all the attendance books exist, so do all, or very nearly all, the Lodge Summonses.
The one for the Consecration Meeting is particularly interesting, giving details of the ceremonial which included much music and choristers attended from The Chapel Royal and from Westminster Abbey under the direction of Bro. Dyson.
The Province then was Berks and Bucks; the Grand Registrar who conducted the Consecration being R.W. Bro. Aeneas J. McIntyre and the first Master was the Rev. Richard Whitmore Norman, Warden of 51. Peter's College, Radley.
He appointed as his Principal Officers Richard Badcock (the Mayor), S.W.; J. Blandy Jenkins of Kingston Bagpuize, J.W., whose loan helped to finance the founding costs and who presented the Bible; E. J. Trendall, Treasurer; H. d'Almaine, Secretary. W.Bro. R. J. Spiers, Deputy Prov. G. Master for Oxfordshire, assisted at the ceremony and was a Founding Member. He presented the massive iron-bound alms box and obtained for us the attractive Silver Collar Jewels worn by the Officers at the cost of £12 14s. 6d. Bro. Spiers edited the Freemasons' Calendar for Oxfordshire, the earliest instance of a Provincial Calendar. Much of our Lodge furniture and equipment was purchased from him; his occupation in our register being given as "Glass, China and Oriental Furnishing."
The Banquet held at 4.30 cost 15/- including wine and the menu was vast; a reproduction of it may be seen alongside that of our Centenary Dinner. Thirteen members and thirty-eight visitors sat down.
The Alfred Lodge, then No. 425, was our Mother Lodge; although in the adjoining Province; and for the first fifty years the Oxford Ritual was used. Emulation working has since crept in and we are now a mixture of both for which we are occasionally criticised as being unorthodox. The cost of the Lodge furniture and equipment was £195.
The Abbey was not the first Masonic Body to hold its meetings in Abingdon. The Foundation Lodge No. 82 now functioning in Cheltenham, which celebrated its Bi-centenary a few years ago, met in Abingdon for ten years from 1807 to 1817. It moved here from London possibly because of the Napoleonic Wars and it had a spot of bother with Grand Lodge over the move which was not officially notified. However an apology procured forgiveness and an acquiesence to the move. Its meeting place in Abingdon was the Lamb Inn, Sheep Market, neither of which now exists, but the site must have been adjacent to or perhaps the actual premises occupied by Messrs. Baylis & Co.
Of this Lodge when in Abingdon little is known, for no minute books exist; but it is certain that among the forty or so who ranged under its banner were members of rank and opulence. Its register includes representatives of the Church and Professions; two Peers of the Realm; three Members of Parliament and seven Mayors and ex-Mayors of Abingdon. Among its members whose names and memories still retain local interest were: Sir John Throckmorton of Buckland, Prov.G.M., Berks., 1817 to 1833; Benjamin Morland, the grandfather of John Thornhill Morland, Prov.G.M., Berks, 1904 to 1922; Samuel Smallwood, Town Clerk of Abingdon for 38 years from 1780; Charles Dundas of Barton Court, Member of Parliament and afterwards Lord Amesbury; James Cole, Banker and Auctioneer, six times Mayor, whose attractive miniature is in the Borough Collection; George Knapp, M.P. for Abingdon in 1807, who died from a fall from his gig in 1809; his father was George Knapp, presumably a brother of Henry Knapp of Northcourt; Thomas Knight, grocer, Mayor eleven times between 1800 and 1832, a member of the first Elective Town Council in 1835, and one of its first Aldermen; Henry Harding, baker and Mayor 1804, grandson of Henry Harding, silversmith, through whom the 1760 Punch Bowls in the Borough Collection were purchased from returned fees due to Lord Abingdon in his capacity as High Steward.
An interesting connecting link between the two Abingdon Lodges may probably be found in the person of Henry Bowyer who belonged to both. He was the third son of Admiral Sir George Bowyer of Radley and was M.P. for Abingdon from 1809-1811 and afterwards Prov.G.M. for Oxfordshire. He became a Joining Member of the Foundation Lodge in 1810 and was the first Joining Member of the Abbey Lodge in May 1863. On this day also Lieut. Col. Sir Robert Loyd-Lindsay, V.c., became a Joining Member; he was afterwards Lord Wantage and became Prov. G.M. for Berkshire so our two earliest Joining Members became Provincial Grand Masters.
Creature comforts for our early Brethren was considered important for the first two Initiates were Thos. Stevens and W. L. Hunt, both Serving Brothers. In this first session there were eight Initiates and three Joining Members. At first the Lodge meetings were on the second Monday from October to June but excluding January.
In January 1864 the meeting day was altered to the second Thursday and in 1875 the June meeting was dropped and January included. No change has since been made and the Council Chamber has been its home from the first.
In 1870 a Silver Tobacco Box having Masonic Emblems and the Abbey Arms, was presented to the Lodge by Bro. William Ballard, Mayor of the Borough.
In the very early days the attendances were sometimes poor and June must have been an unpopular month. The Signature Book for 9th June, 1864, only gives the J.W. and two Tylers, and a week later, on the 16th, the W.M., his two Wardens and two Tylers. No dispensation was obtained.
The first Prov. Grand Lodge Meeting of Berks & Bucks to be held in Abingdon was in May 1864, and it commenced with a Service in St. Helen's Church. On that occasion the tickets for a very sumptuous banquet cost 6/- (without wine).
The Installation Meeting of the Lodge was changed from April to October in 1884.
The Lodge dues originally one guinea were increased to 1½ guineas in 1870, but these included refreshments, for in 1874 it was resolved that the cost of refreshments should be defrayed by individual members. This cost was £1 1s 0d for the session or 4/- per head per meeting at the members' option.
On the June meeting of 1873, with J. T. Morland as W.M., a houseboat was chartered to go to Nuneham - dinner being served on board.
An interesting letter, dated 22nd May, 1873, from the Bear Club to the Lodge Secretary, written by Bro. Richard Badcock, invites him to the Club Meeting held in the room to which we adjourn after our Lodge Suppers, saying that their meetings were held two Monday evenings in the month (second and third).
In 1874 the Lodge collected amongst its members £588 5s 0d - a generous figure for those times - to be divided between the Boys' School and the R.M. Benevolent Institution.
The County Hall, Abingdon, was the venue for the Berks & Bucks Provincial Meeting in 1872, when £5 5s 0d was voted towards the cost of repairs to St Helen's Church.
At the Prov Grand Lodge Meeting in 1875 one of the Berkshire Lodges (not 945) was fined one guinea for failing to send in its annual returns.
The Abbey Mark Lodge was founded in 1878, its first Master being W.Bro. W. Ballard. At a Lodge Meeting in 1879 in anticipation of the coming Provincial Meeting in Abingdon, a resolution was passed that the Provincial Grand Masters be solicited to allow Ladies to attend the banquet It was refused. The Abbey Chapter was founded in 1880, its first M.E.Z. being Rt W.Bro. J. T. Morland.
A summary of the Lodge accounts appears in October 1884, to cover the first twenty years when the total income far the period was £1,331, and the total expenditure £1,328; this included banquets and refreshments a total of £544, and the balance of £3 was an the right side.
In August 1885, by dispensation, the Lodge appeared in all its Masonic Glory clothed in the Jewels, Collars and Badges of the Craft to assist the Mayor, John Heber Clarke, a Past Master of 945, to lay the Foundation Stone of the Corn Exchange.
Masonry in the Lodge reached a low ebb in the session 1882/3. There were no Candidates, no Joining Members, and with the exception of the Installation Ceremony the W.M. did not make an attendance. He was a surgeon living at Wallingford, and it is a little sad that no explanation is given in the minutes. He resigned two years later.
In 1887 a prospective Candidate not wishing to have his full age recorded, application to Grand Lodge was made asking if the wards "of full age" could be substituted. The reply was NO and the Candidate acquiesced - he was a Parson! In November 1885 apprehension was expressed because of the additional charges proposed by the Council far the hire of the Borough Buildings.
The Mayor and the Town Clerk, who were present, gave the assurance that the members need have no anxiety. A provision would be made to allow the Lodge to hold their meetings at such nominal charge as would suffice to allow the expenses of the Sergeant-at Mace only.
The present custom of restricting the Ceremony at the October Meeting to the Installation of the Master only, did not pertain in the mid period days. In 1887 there were also Initiation and Passing Ceremonies; again in 1890 Initiation and Raising Ceremonies; and no "calling off" on the earlier occasion.
A new carpet far the Lodge Room was ordered in 1888, the first having lasted 25 years.
In 1890 the Provincial Grand Lodges of Berks & Bucks were divided: His Rayal Highness The Duke of Clarence became Prov. G.M. of Berks, with Bro. John Thornhill Morland as his Deputy.
This year the Lodge held a Masonic Ball and it caused a somewhat serious rift in the Lodge; very fortunately the one and only that can be recorded. The cost of the tickets was fixed at 15/- for members and 17/6 for their ladies; extra casts to be shared by the 24 Stewards.
These additional costs were very considerable; one of our Wantage members thought there had been mismanagement; that the extra costs should be shared by all; and some acrimonious correspondence took place. None of this appears in the Lodge minutes but the correspondence exists and for very many years Ladies' Nights were taboo as I think they are now.
In January 1891 out of a total membership of 45 no less than 25 attended Prov. Grand Lodge, an exceptional muster, but so was the occasion; it was the first and only time The Duke of Clarence presided as Prov. G.M.; he died the following year.
This year at a special meeting in Abingdon, M.B. Companion John Thornhill Morland was installed as Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masons of Berkshire by M.E. Companion Shadwell H. Clarke, Grand Scribe E.
This year £2 2s 0d was voted far a supply of the Masonic Calendars for Berkshire and a vote of thanks was recorded to the Deputy Prov.G.M. (Bro. J. T. Morland) for his services in relation to the past history of Freemasonry, especially as editor and initiator of the Berkshire Masonic Calendar. A complete set of these calendars from 1893 is in the possession of the Lodge.
In March 1895 a Supper Club was formed enabling the Lodge dues to be reduced to £l 1s 0d; and in the following year Provincial Grand Lodge was held here; again in 1904 and for the last time in 1917.
The Lodge organ was purchased in 1898 at the cost of £21, and this year the Lodge made its first investment of funds, viz. £75 in the Post Office.
In 1898 Lord Wantage was invested as S.W. of the Lodge, and this year that great stalwart of Freemasonry, Bro. the Rev. F. J. C. Gillmor, was initiated in the Lodge. The Supper Club purchased in 1899 china, glass, cutlery and linen at the cost of £32 18s 6d. Six bottles of Old Rum, out of stock, were presented to W.Bro. H. d'Almaine, the first Secretary of the Lodge, and the father of the late W.Bro. H. G. W. d'Almaine, the Local Solicitor. Lord Wantage was installed W.M. in October this year, the Ceremony of Installation being performed by the Grand Secretary (Bro. Letchworth). In 1902 the office of Almoner was duplicated; one to serve the Abingdon area and the other the Wantage area. The Lodge was registered as a Club in January 1903, under the Licensing Act of 1902.
W.Bro. John Thornhill Morland was appointed Prov.G. Master for Berkshire in 1904, having been Deputy P.G.M. for a number of years. This year a daughter Lodge was consecrated at Wantage, The Loyd Lindsay Lodge, with W.Bro. E. B. Ormond as its first Master. In 1910 Bro. J. T. Morland presented to the Lodge the two photographs of King Edward VII and The Duke of Connaught in Grand Master's Regalia, and the Lodge subscribed towards the stained glass window in St Helen's Church in memory of W.Bro. Dr. Slade Innes Baker.
Owing to the Municipal Buildings being under repair during this session the Supper and after proceedings for several meetings were held at The King's Head and Bell Inn and on 12th October, 1911 the Installation Dinner was held at The Lion Hotel, the Brethren, by dispensation, wearing Masonic clothing.
In 1912 it was noted for the first time that the Abbey Lodge votes for the Masonic Charity need not be forwarded, nor have they been from this time on.
The Jubilee Meeting of the Lodge was held on 9th October, 1913, when the Rt W.Bro. J. T. Morland was installed as W.M.; this being the third occasion (previously in 1868 and 1873) the Installing Master being the Grand Secretary, W.Bro. Sir Edward Letchworth. Bro. Morland was presented with a silver gavel and sounding block, also his portrait in oils, very finely executed by a member of the Lodge, Bro. T. F. M. Sheard: the occasion was also Bro. Morland's Masonic Jubilee, he having been initiated in the Lodge in 1864. The Lodge subscribed 20 guineas this year to the Prince of Wales National Relief Fund and at a later meeting a further £5 was added and £8 8s 0d to two other war funds. This year the Lodge became a Patron of the R.M.I.G.
In April 1918 a dispensation was obtained to raise four Brethren at one meeting; they were J. Brewer, J. T. Tate, J. A. Stone and W. R. Allen; the last two were serving in the RAF.
At the November meeting in 1919 the Lodge accepted a resolution proposed by Bro. Wm. Stone, seconded by Bro. T. Bowen, that a Lodge of Instruction be formed. The By-Laws were drawn up by an approved committee, the consent of the Prov. G.M. obtained, and the first meeting was held in October 1920. In 1944 it became the second Lodge of Instruction in the Province to receive official recognition from the Emulation Lodge of Improvement and the yearly visit paid by a member of that body is greatly appreciated.
The Lodge Benevolent Fund for the benefit of Present or Past Members or their dependants was formed in 1921, and its funds are now in excess of £500. In 1922 the Lodge dues were increased to one and a half guineas.
Rt W.Bro. J. T. Morland, Prov. G.M., died in 1923 and his family presented his portrait to the Lodge. In the following year the Lodge subscribed 25 guineas towards the cost of the John Morland Memorial Temple in Reading. This year Bro. T. Bowen became Secretary of the Lodge, his two predecessors in this office having been his business partners, Bro. John King in 1890 and Bro. C. D. Adkin in 1904, all of 10 High Street, a continuity of the address of the Secretary for 73 years.
In an Initiation Ceremony in 1927 the first portion had to be repeated; the Candidate, Bro. J. C. Waugh, being in possession of money.
In October the first Past Master's Jewel given by the Lodge was presented, the first recipient being Bro. A B. West A new carpet, the third, was bought this year at the cost of £24 8s 9d. During the 7 years 1931 to 1936 the following special donations were made: 20 guineas for the purchase of an operating table for the Abingdon Cottage Hospital; 60 pounds over two years towards the endowment of a ward in the Royal Masonic Hospital; 70 guineas to the Gil1mor Memorial Fund.
In November this year (1936) a tribute was paid to Bro. H. P. Simpson on his retirement as Steward of the Lodge, having served in this capacity for twenty-five years; he followed Bro. J. G. T. West who had served for ten years. There were no Assistant Stewards then, and our present Principal Steward, Bro. T. G. M. Lewington, followed Bro. Simpson, so that the Lodge has been well served by three Stewards since 1901 with the able co-operation in modern times of many assistants.
In 1937 a Ladies' Night under the joint auspices of the Abbey, the V.W.H. and the Loyd Lindsay Lodges, was held at the Randolph Hotel, Oxford (after an interval of 47 years in regard to 945).
In 1938 the Secretary received Grand Lodge recognition as Past Grand Standard Bearer and it was in this year that Bro. W. M. Coxeter became Treasurer, an office held by him until 1959.
In 1939 in the Lodge accounts, the furniture was written down from £100 to £25, as previously recorded its original cost was £195.
In 1941 the sum of £200 was voted out of Lodge Funds for the R.M.B.I., the occasion being the Chairmanship at the Festival of Rt. W.Bro. Charles Nicholl, Prov. G.M. The Lodge total being £472.
In 1942 the presentation of a P.M.'s Jewel was discontinued as recommended by Grand Lodge in the interest of economy during the War. A donation of 50 guineas in 1944 to the Royal Masonic Hospital made it a Patron of the Institution. It was already a Patron of the three Masonic charities. In December 1945 the Abbey Lodge Benevolent Association was formed, W.Bro. B. C. Belcher being the first Secretary and the institution by him of the Covenant System has been a great benefit to all the Masonic Charities. This year the Abbey Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners was reformed, having previously functioned from 1895 to 1911.
In January 1947 a petition for forming a new Lodge in Abingdon, to be named St. Edmund Lodge, was presented and approved. It was duly consecrated on 31st May by Rt. W.Bro. C. R. J. Nicholl, Prov. G.M. Berks. In May the following year a special donation of 25 guineas was voted to the Royal Masonic Hospital as a thank-offering for its being exempted from the provisions of the National Health Act. In April 1950 W.Bro. W. M. Coxeter was congratulated on his Grand Lodge appointment of Past Grand Standard Bearer. In November this year the original Tracing Boards which were very much worn were repaired and framed; the cost, £31 16s 9d, being met by a generous Brother. This restoration, while necessary for their preservation, has caused them to be somewhat heavy and cumbersome to handle. In 1951 it was decided in response to a recommendation of the Permanent Committee that Past Masters' Jewels be obtained and presented to all Past Masters since 1942, when they had been discontinued as recommended by Grand Lodge. Eight Jewels were obtained costing £7 10s each. The Roysse Room was used for the last few meetings of this session when decorations and repairs were being done to the usual Lodge rooms. This year our Prov. G.M. presided at the Girls' Festival when the Lodge subscription to this amounted to £1,575, the third highest of the Berkshire Lodges. In February 1952 in response to the recommendation of the Benevolent Association the Lodge voted the allocation of the yearly sum of 120 guineas to the Masonic Charity which the W.M. elected to support, and 50 guineas each year to the Royal Masonic Hospita1.
In December 1953 it was resolved (some members not voting) that there should be a reversion to the old custom of wearing evening or dinner dress at Lodge meetings, with a reservation that dark morning dress was equally in order and that no Brother need stay away or feel embarrassment if he found it inconvenient to change into evening clothes.
In March 1955 a presentation was made to the Secretary of a gold "Parker" pen, also a photograph of himself in colour to his wife from members of 945 in which St. Edmund Lodge joined to commemorate his Jubilee as a member of the Lodge, of his having been Secretary for 31 years and to mark the occasion of his golden wedding. This year the Lodge received a gift from the Dockar Drysdale family of a large and fine pair of antique Goblets engraved with Masonic Emblems.
In 1956 a recommendation from the Permanent Committee was accepted that the Lodge should be a "Founding Member of the Royal Masonic Hospital by giving 500 guineas to its extension fund. It is of interest that St. Edmund Lodge also became a Founding Member of the Hospital. In 1957 Bro. Drake received a gift of 20 guineas on his retirement from the office of Tyler held by him since 1943. In 1958 the annual dues were raised from £2 2s 0d to £2 12s 0d.
By the gift of one hundred guineas this year to the Wakefield Wing of the Royal Masonic Hospital the Lodge was constituted a "Double Patron."
A Rose Croix Chapter, under the name of Sinodun was founded in November 1960 meeting at Lacies Court, Bath Street, by permission of W.Bro. J. M. Cobban, the Headmaster of Abingdon School.
On 18th May, 1960, died W.Bro. William Morgan Coxeter, P.P.G.Treas., P.G.Std.B. He was initiated in "945" in 1911 and served as Treasurer for twenty-one years. On 4th October W.Bro. Bernard Belcher died. His services to the two Abingdon Lodges and to the Lodge of Instruction will long be remembered, especially for his work on behalf of the Masonic Charities. On the occasion of his funeral over seventy pounds was obtained, in lieu of flowers, for the Masonic Hospital.
It seems appropriate to record here that in 1961 when our Provincial Grand Master presided at the 163rd Anniversary Festival for the Boys his grand total exceeded £235,000, of which Berkshire subscribed £100,424; a remarkable effort for such a small Province.
Of this total the two Abingdon Lodges subscribed over £4,100; the effort of our daughter, St. Edmund Lodge, exceeding ours.
That our obligations towards the Masonic Charity organisations has not been neglected over the years is exemplified by the following figures, which are approximately up to date:
| The Girls' School | £3,691 |
| The Boys' School | £4,471 |
| The R.M.B.I. | £2,663 |
| The Hospital | £1,677 |
Finally it should be recorded that very generous gifts have been made to show appreciation and to mark our centenary.
Our daughter Lodge (St. Edmund) has given three oak pedestals made by local craftsmen to take the place of our original ones, now somewhat dilapidated. The Abbey Chapter is supplying some new Collars with the appropriate Jewels for the Lodge Officers.
The Abbey Mark Lodge has given three oak columns to take our original and beautiful Corinthian Column Candlesticks; in lieu of the ugly iron brackets attached (on the wrong side) to the old columns.
A brother, not attached to an Abingdon Lodge, but who has visited us on occasions, has had the platforms on which the pedestals stand newly covered in crimson felt.
Much of the information about the members of the Foundation Lodge, which had its sojourn in Abingdon from 1807 to 1817, is taken from notes given to the writer by the late Miss Agnes Baker a good many years ago which he gratefully acknowledges.