Welcome to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Dorset

The existence of Freemasonry in our County is first recorded as far back as 1736 with the creation of the Three Crowns Lodge No 145 at Weymouth. Other Lodges appeared over time and a Masonic Province of Dorset was eventually established in 1780.

Since that era Dorset Freemasonry has flourished continuously throughout the County and now comprises 49 Lodges meeting at 18 centres from Shaftesbury & Sherborne in the north to Swanage & Portland in the south and from Branksome & Kinson in the east to Bridport & Lyme Regis in the west.

Dorset is one of 47 administrative groupings of Lodges established as Provinces throughout the length and breadth of England and Wales under the authority of the United Grand Lodge of England. Our membership of some 3000 men from all ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds, regularly meets in harmony and friendship.

Members share a common bond from the unique experience of being 'made Masons' and a wish to make their lives more fulfilling through their concern for the well-being of others. As Freemasons they are encouraged to observe moral and spiritual guidelines and to gain a greater knowledge and understanding of themselves as upright and respectable citizens.

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News

A Celebration of Service

We gathered together on Friday 15 June 2018 to thank Richard Merritt for the wonderful leadership he has given us over the past ten years as Provincial Grand Master.

A glittering array of guests, wonderful friendship and an evening of surprises for Richard and his ever supportive wife Vicky. We were particularly delighted to see Michael Wilks, PGM of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hampshire & Isle of Wight, a close colleague and friend of Richard. more...

Dorset Masonic Bikers invade Normandy!

Warm sunny weather marked the start of the DMB trip to Normandy to witness the D-Day Celebrations. A calm voyage across the English Channel was followed by a short ride to our Gîtes located 10 miles north of Utah Beach. more...

Blackmore Vale Lodge support 'SturYouth'

Worshipful Master Trevor Legg handing over a donation of £250 from Blackmore Vale Lodge to Youngsters from the SturYouth Duke of Edinburgh Team.

The Club is raising money for a a Public Access Community Defibrillator. The idea came about after members of SturYouth Club took part in the British Heart Foundation's 'Restart a Heart' day last Autumn. During the evening a total of 36 young people were trained in CPR and how to use a defibrillator. more...

Deputy and Assistant Provincial Grand Master Designate announced

On behalf of the Provincial Grand Master, Richard Merritt, we give notice that the Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Dorset, Nigel Leonard and the Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Stephen James, will both retire from office at the meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge to be held at Sherborne School on Thursday 25 October 2018. more...

Dorset Masonic Bikers ride again!

With clear skies and bright sunshine forecast for the day, seventeen bikers met up last Sunday at Bovington Tank Museum. Despite having booked in advance, a tour guide was not awaiting us on arrival so a slight delay occurred before they found one with a sufficiently loud voice! more...

92 Year Old takes the Chair at St Mark!!

Monday 14 May proved to be a very memorable day for the members of The Lodge of St Mark as they created their own piece of history with a 92 year old, World War II veteran being installed as their Worshipful Master.

Ray joined the Royal Navy as a 17 year old in 1943 and served on HMS Illustrious. The carrier's aircraft attacked targets in Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies and took part in the Battle of Okinawa. more...

Dorset Freemasons remember the fallen at the Menin Gate.

Paul Baggett, the Immediate Past Master of Dunckerley Lodge in Poole, with fellow Mason Phil Conway travelled to the Menin Gate and laid a wreath there on behalf of Dorset Freemasonry.

Paul was then greatly honoured by being asked to take an active part in the ceremony that was to follow. Paul was invited to read the Exhortation and help continue this most important tradition. more...

Double Celebration at Dorset Stewards Lodge

The April meeting of the Kenneth Cross Lodge of Dorset Provincial Grand Stewards No. 9508 saw a double celebration. The Lodge marked the 90th Birthday of one their Founders and the 25th Anniversary of the Lodge, consecrated on 3 April 1993.

On 3 May, Brian Knight, Past Deputy Provincial Grand Master and highly respected doyen of Dorset will be celebrating his 90th birthday. To his surprise, the Brethren rose and sang a rousing 'Happy Birthday to him. more...

Lodge of Amity get painting!

Freemasons from the Lodge of Amity in Poole recently gave up their Saturday to redecorate a local charity's building.

Members of the Lodge assembled at 9 am at Barnabas House, a facility of the Diverse Abilities charity in Poole. Armed with paint brushes, rollers and gallons of white paint they set about transforming the appearance of the building. more...

Dorset Freemasons Support Children's Eye Cancer Charity with £1785 donation.

Members of Wimborne's Lodge of St. Cuthberga travelled to Freemasons Hall in London to present a cheque for £1785 to Diana Emery the Fundraising Manager and Patrick Tonks the CEO of Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT).

CHECT supports children with Retinoblastoma which is a fast-growing eye cancer found in some babies and children under the age of six years. CHECT helps guide families through the shock, stress and practical challenges after diagnosis. more...

Ashley Lodge donate to Children's Ward

Supporting local causes through charitable giving is a key principle at the heart of every Masonic Lodge. The Ashley Lodge in Poole is no exception with ongoing support for these causes through donations from its members at each of its meetings and social events throughout the year.

Last year the Master of Ashley Lodge, David Sanford, selected The Piam Brown Children's Oncology and Haematology ward in Southampton General Hospital. The Piam Brown ward caters for children from: more...

Five generations is it a record ?

Mr Geoffrey James Blake became the fifth generation of his family to become a member of Portland Lodge . His heritage stretches back to 1908. His family have been members of the Lodge unbroken since 1908 and have supported the lodge for a total of 152 years, with more to come.

Geoffrey's Great- Great Grandfather Joseph Stone; was initiated into Portland Lodge in 1908 serving the Lodge as Worshipful Master in 1919 and died a member in 1954. more...

Blandford Freemasons donate to Fashion Museum

Blandford's Lodge of Honour and Friendship recently donated £500 to the Blandford Fashion Museum, to help with the restoration and preservation of their exhibits. The members of the Lodge and their partners were given a fascinating talk by two members of the team from the fashion museum. This led to the lodge loaning items from their collection of Masonic regalia and memorabilia to the museum. more...

All plain sailing for Montagu Lodge.

Members of Montagu Lodge in Lyme Regis have donated £300 to the Local Sea Angling Club Youth Section.

Lyme Regis Sea Angling Club is a family friendly sea fishing club based in the beautiful Dorset town of Lyme Regis. They run competitions and matches throughout the year for both adults and juniors.

The money has helped to fund the youth team with transport to and from competitions and help provide extra tackle. more...

Enough is Enough

The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) has taken full page ads in The Times, Daily Telegraph and Guardian calling for an end to discrimination of its 200,000 plus members.

Headlined 'Enough is Enough', the ad is a personal letter from Dr David Staples, Chief Executive Officer, which reiterates the organisation's values and highlights how throughout its 300-year history when people have suffered discrimination, Freemasonry has welcomed them into lodges as equals. more...

Dorset Sportsmen's Pool, Snooker & Darts Competiton

On Sunday, 14th January the Dorset Sportsmen's Lodge (DSL) hosted the inaugural Snooker, Pool and Darts competition held at the Greenbaize Snooker Club in Wallisdown. The day raised over £500 for charity.

Organised by Pat Green and ably assisted on the day by Mike Parkes registration started at 0900 as did the immediate consumption of copious amounts of tea, coffee and bacon. more...

Dorset Freemasons support local disability charity

Members of the oldest Masonic Lodge in Dorset have given £2000 to help fund local charity Diverse Abilities. The donation was the result of money raised by members of The Lodge of Amity in Poole at social events during Martin Barker's year as Master of the Lodge in 2017.

Martin was delighted to nominate Diverse Abilities as his chosen Charity for the year. more...

Masonic Charitable Foundation Grant to Julia's House

The Masonic Charitable Foundation has awarded a grant of £1,812 to Julia's House in recognition of the excellent work being done to support children with life limiting or life effecting conditions.

As part of these services, Youth Clubs are run both within the Hospice and at venues selected by the children. Matt Devereux (Provincial Grand Charity Steward) visited the Hospice to learn more about the Youth Club activities and presented an Award Certificate to the nursing staff. more...

Masons supporting local Primary School in Gillingham

Kings Court Masonic Charity Association were happy to help when approached by the Brethren of Friendship and Sincerity Lodge to support them with purchase of a new electric piano for Gillingham Primary School by making a donation of £200.

Charity Steward, Roger Knight said ' We hope the new piano gets lots of use and hopefully one day in the future one of the pupils will be proficient enough to come and play for us?' more...

Masonic Charitable Foundation Grant to Lewis Manning Hospice

In recognition of a grant from the Masonic Charitable Foundation, Matt Devereux (Provincial Grand Charity Steward) visited Lewis Manning Hospice to present an Award Certificate.

For 25 years, Lewis-Manning Hospice has given local people with life-limiting illnesses the choice to live their lives right up to the last moment. They do this by providing the best possible care in a beautiful setting overlooking Poole Harbour. more...

UGLE Chief Executive on BBC Radio 4

Further to the recent news coverage, David Staples the Chief Executive Officer of the United Grand Lodge of England has taken the opportunity to appear on the BBC Radio 4 The Today Programme.

You can listen to the broadcast on the following link and will need to register for BBC iPlayer to do so.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09k0nmr#play

The relevant clip is at is 2hours, 46minutes and 21 seconds in. more...

Dorset Freemasons help History Centre save important local photo collection.

Dorset Freemasons have given over £4300 to save a historic photo collection at the Dorset History Centre. The Dorset Archive Trust have been trying to save the 'Herbert Collection' of images showing 20th Century life in Dorset.

When Richard Merritt, Provincial Grand Master for Dorset, heard about the project to save the pictures, he stepped in to help. 'Vinegar Syndrome', an irreversible breakdown of the acetate, has been destroying the negatives. more...

St Cuthberga in Christmas Charitable Giving

The Lodge of St Cuthberga support Dorset Cancer Care Foundation (DCCF) with a £3400 donation! On Sunday at the Family Christmas Lunch Chris Hawkes presented a cheque for £3432 to the founder of DCCF Leslie May Harrison.

Lesley then joined us for a wonderful Christmas lunch at Wimborne Masonic Hall. Further special guests were eight widows of deceased Lodge Members. They were able to join us in singing carols accompanied by the Wimborne Musical Theatre Society (WMTS). more...

Articles

Tribute - Bruce Graham Clarke

Bruce Graham Clarke, one of the last surviving crew members of the XE Midget Submarines used in Operation Foil in 1945, has passed away aged 95 years in Dorset. A Public Servant, dedicated Freemason and talented artist, Bruce won the Distinguished Service Cross for his role in the mission to cut the undersea telephone cables connecting Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The successful operation forced the Japanese to use radio and leave themselves open to message interception. more...

Jurassic Coast Youth Adventure 2017

Thank You Messages to Dorset Freemasons from Provinces:

JCYA 2017 – QUOTE
'My granddaughter had serious health problems…. The doctors tried all forms of medication to no avail so she was referred to surgeons ……. This course of action made her very depressed ….. and she has been undergoing psychology sessions which did not appear to be helping.

After a week spent abseiling, zip wiring, archery etc. she returned home a different young lady to the one who left. more...

Shillingstone Oak Trees - five years on

On the last day of 2012 a band of intrepid Freemasons from the Lodge of Honour and Friendship 1266, led by the then Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Nigel Leonard, scaled an almost vertical slope in freezing cold, driving rain and a howling gale to plant three Oak Trees on a hillside in Shillingstone. more...

1266 and friends celebrate 300 years in style

The lodge of Honour and Friendship lodge, along with our daughter lodge Bleckley Clark, marked the 300 annoversary of freemasonry with a rare march through the streets of Blandford in full regalia. The lodges were joined by guests and friends from accross freemasonry and were honoured to be joined by the Provincial Grand Master and the rest of the provincial team. Over 100 members in total were present! more...

472 and Provincial Grand Master's Discretionary Fund help young girl

Shaftesbury's Lodge, Lodge of Friendship and Sincerity No. 472, with the assistance of The Provincial Grand Masters Discretionary Fund were able to present a cheque for £1000.00 to the family of Ruby Mae recently.

Ruby Mae McBride is a 6 year old local girl suffering from an extreme form of diabetes. For the last 3 years she has had to have between 7 and 10 injections a day on top of 10 to 15 blood sugar tests a day. more...

How football - and Adam Lallana's father - helped save the Freemasons

iNews (the online version of the daily paper) carries an excellent article by the author Adam Sherwin explaining why a specialist football lodge is encouraging young men to become Freemasons.

Point your browser at the URL below.

https://inews.co.uk/essentials/culture/television/freemasons-adam-lallana/

more...

Blackmore Vale Lodge put their 'ducks in a row' with charity donation.

Blackmore Vale Lodge from Sturminster Newton were recently delighted to donate to the Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust; a local charity raising funds for specialist equipment and nurse training.

Andrew Drake and his family set up the charity when he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, Juvenile Polyposis. As this type of cancer is genetic the rest of Andrews' family were checked and his sister and father were found to have the same condition. more...

Doc Martin discovers ancient Masonic burial site - Part Two: The Dorset Connection

There are strong Dorset links to this story in the background to the Mother Lodge of George Hales, recorded in 'Ancient Freemasonry and Old Dundee Lodge No. 18 1722-1920' by Arthur Heiron written to celebrate 200 years of the Lodge.

In the 18th century Lodges customarily met in taverns and took their name from their home, when they moved they changed their name to the new hostelry. more...

Atlantic Rescue of Dorset Freemason.

A Dorset Freemason and his family have been saved when their yacht became rudderless in the Atlantic Ocean.

Tony White, Treasurer of the Lodge of St Cuthberga, his step-daughter Fran, her husband James and their children Heath (9) and Isla (7) were rescued from their rudder-less yacht, Dove II, five hundred miles east of Barbados. more...

Doc Martin discovers ancient Masonic burial site - Part One

Last Tuesday evening Martin Clunes presented the first part of a series of programmes exploring the Islands that surround Australia. One of the Islands he visited was Norfolk Island.

Norfolk Island was originally a penal colony reserved for the worst offenders, being hundreds of miles from any other land in the Pacific Ocean. more...

Weymouth Drama Club, Curtain Raisers.

Members of Faith and Unanimity Masonic Lodge Number 417 of Dorchester, attended a recent production of, 'It Snows', by the youth players of the group 'Curtain Raisers'.

The current master of the lodge, Grant Baker presented the youth group with a cheque for £ 2061.30. on behalf of the lodge members. This donation enabled them to purchase a background scenery projector and other props needed for their future productions. more...

A very happy 100th Birthday party at Zetland Court.

The Dorset Freemasonry family encompasses all ages; from our newest Entered Apprentice, through our most experienced Past Master to the beloved Widows our sadly departed members leave behind.

We had a great example of this at Zetland Court this week as we celebrated Olive Loake's 100th birthday. Olive was born in Coalville, Leicester. After moving to Dorset she was a manager at the Co-Op in Moordown for many years. Her late husband Joe, was a Past Master of Northbourne Lodge. more...

Presentation of a sailing boat to Lyme Regis Sailing Club

Montagu Lodge No: 665 at the very west of the province presented a new Oppi Cube sailing boat to Lyme Regis Sailing Club to assist with training children from the age of six to sail. This training also helps with their personal skills and development. As our Charity Steward said at the presentation it will help the development of other muscles instead of just their thumbs. The Mayor was present and a very happy occasion was shared by all with a glass of champagne. more...

A Brief History of Thomas Dunckerley

The inaugural Provincial Grand Lodge for Dorset was 'held under the Banner of the Lodge of Amity' on the 24th June 1780 at Poole. Thomas Dunckerley was the first Provincial Grand Master for Dorset and held the position for 18 years.

The Lodge of Amity purchased a portrait of Thomas Dunckerley in 1783 for 5 guineas, and had it framed for three shillings and sixpence. This portrait hangs in the Lodge of Amity temple over the Secretary's table. more...

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