Provincial Grand Lodge of Dorset

The official website of Dorset Freemasonry

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.

News

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...

Christmas has officially begun! 

The 22nd Annual Provincial Carol Service took place at Sherborne Abbey on Sunday 10th December and was very well attended despite the inclement weather. Dorset Masons, their families and friends together with VIP guests took part in a traditional Carol service led by the Rector of Sherborne, The Reverend Canon Eric Woods DL. more...

Shaftesbury Lodge raises £600 for Local Girl Guide Project 

Shaftesbury's Lodge of Friendship and Sincerity organised a quiz evening to raise funds for the local Girl Guides. Nearly 100 people had a fun filled evening as their general knowledge was tested.

Together with a donation from the Lodge and a local pub, The Ship Inn, £600 was raised.

The local Guides are attempting to raise £80,000 to enable them to extend their temporary meeting place, Lindlar Hall, and make this hall a permanent home for them. more...

Provincial Grand Master becomes Serving Master of his Lodge! 

What does a Provincial Grand Master do when he isn't being Provincial Grand Master then...? Well, more Freemasonry of course!

Our Provincial Grand Master, Richard Merritt, was today installed as Master of Thomas Dunckerley Lodge in the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hampshire & Isle of Wight by John Harvey a Past Assistant Provincial Grand Master of that Province.

The Lodge is the Provincial Executive Lodge of the Province and Richard became a joining member in 2009. more...

New Master marks the start of the 2017 Poppy Appeal with donation. 

Significant donation by Blackmore Vale Lodge for the Poppy Appeal.

A terrific night was had by all on Friday 27 when Trevor Legg was installed as Master by Mark Harrold, with the Provincial team, led by Deputy Provincial Grand Master Nigel Leonard. more...

Pilot Officer Allan Russell Carrick remembered. 

This weeks Installation meeting at the Lodge of Unity was a very special event. The name of the of the new Carrick Bar was announced, 77 years to the day after we lost the only Mason in 190 years of Wareham Masonry to have made the supreme sacrifice in conflict.

On 27 February 1940 Pilot Sergeant Allan Russell Carrick, aged 21, was Initiated into the Lodge of Unity. more...

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