Lodge 6141 Warrant - view PDF

The Formation & History of the Lodge

Text adapted from 'Golden Jubilee Commemoration 1945 - 1995', written by W Bro G W Roberts.

The consecration meeting of the Lodge took place on 10th November 1945 in the Assembly Hall of King Edward VI Grammar School, Stourbridge.

Those present included:

Together with the following consecrating officers:

The founders were:

Total 23 (22 present)
Bro. J.R. Guest was not present at the consecration.

There were 28 Worshipful Brethren and 62 Brethren as guests. The Lodge masonic business which followed the consecration ceremony included the appointing and investing of the officers as follows:

The consecration ceremony commenced at 2.30pm and closed at 5.25pm. Enclosed in the minutes was the original oration (shown below) given by the Provincial Grand Chaplain, Bro. The Ven. Canon A.P. Shepherd, D.D.

'Not many months ago, I had the privilege of taking part in this building in the consecration of another Lodge, St. Kenelms.

But today there is an especial connection between the ceremony and the building, in the consecration of the Old Edwardian Lodge of Stourbridge No. 6141 for past Scholars of the King Edward VI Grammar School.

On the wall at the back of the stage in this hall will be found a bronze tablet with these words - "Near this spot stood the altar of the Chapel of the Holy Trinity founded by Phillip and Joan Hareby in 1430."

In the public records you will also find the following: "1430 - A stipendiary Priest kept a School in a market town called Stourbridge being within the Parish of Old Swinford and a mile distant from the Parish Church and stood charges to teach the poor children of the same Parish freely."

On June 17th, 1552, King Edward VI granted a Charter to the School, "To endure for all future time in the education, training, instruction and teaching of boys and youths."That century was a great age for founding Schools. The reformation laid great insistence on the importance of morality in religion and accordingly of the teaching of the young, and they formed the basis of morals in religion. In the late 14th and this 20th century men began to think that morals were independent of religion and the importance of religious teaching was discounted. Today, we have the situation that Christian moral standards, and even those accepted by non - Christian peoples, are being challenged and disregarded and we see in the new Education Act an attempt to provide again a religious foundation for a moral life.

It is a fitting thing to have an Old Edwardian Masonic Lodge, for Freemasonry professes to take morality very seriously. In this we must be on our guard, for we are all children of our age, and we must preserve consciously the deep connection between Freemasonry and Morality.

Freemasonry bases Morality not only on the Volume of the Sacred Law, but on the existence of God and it regards the facts of human life against that background. In the Ceremony of Initiation we are taught lowliness and dependence and the great principle of the golden rule "to do unto others as you would they should do unto you." Reverence for God and man is the true foundation of the moral life.

In the ceremony of the 2nd degree with its prayer that "the rays of Heaven may shed their influence to enlighten us in the paths of virtue and science", we are led to couple knowledge with morality and to see in our increasing knowledge of Nature a discovery of the Divine Wisdom.

The ceremony of the 3rd degree, based as it is on the recollection of death and judgement, of resurrection and the hope of immortality, leads a man to that which the Ancient Mysteries regarded as the key to all true living, the Knowledge of Oneself.

Again if we turn to the working tools of each degree, we remember how they are applied to our morals and how exact that application is. It would be well for each of us to meditate on those applications as standards of our life as Masons.

Once more, if we turn to the ceremony of Consecration of the Lodge, on which we are now engaged, at every point we are reminded of our belief on the vital importance of morality, based upon our relation to the Great Architect of the Universe.

If there is a danger of our losing this true perspective, it is that we tend to spend more care in training candidates for the three degrees in the appropriate ritual of their admission, and not enough in the moral significance of the degree itself.

I trust then that the Officers and Rulers of this Lodge will always bear in mind this element in Freemasonry, than which none could be a more valuable contribution to the needs of our age. May this Lodge be a home of true fellowship, but, above all, may it be a centre of high ideals, an Institution to enter which the boys of the School look upon as a great privilege. It is a great thing that these standards should be set from the very beginning, both inside the Lodge and out in the world, and in the choice of those who shall be admitted to the Lodge. So only will your Lodge be built on the true pattern of the Great Architect of the Universe.'

Below are copies of the original costs for the use of school hall, consecration expenses and warrant.

Lodge 6141 Bill - view PDF

At the first regular meeting of the Lodge, held on 5th February 1946, seven joining members, proposed at the consecration meeting, were admitted. Notable among these was Bro. W. Cartwright, who served the Lodge for many years, attaining the rank of P.PJ.G.W.. Eight honorary members were also elected, including the Provincial Grand Master, R.W. Bro. Sir Francis J. Davies.

The Banner was given and presented to the Lodge by Bro. H.D.L. Perks, Senior Deacon, and was unveiled by the Provincial Grand Master and dedicated by the Provincial Grand Chaplain. Founder's jewels were also presented, as were consecrating jewels to the appropriate officers. Also at this meeting, the first initiate to the Lodge, Mr T.W. Watson, Headmaster of the school, was received, having been proposed at the consecration meeting.

During 1946 two emergency meetings were held, on 4th June and 14th July, for the apparent purpose of speeding up the process by which the first two initiates of the Lodge, viz. Mr T.W. Watson and Mr F.C. Carter might attain the rank of Master Mason before the first installation, thereby commencing a progression of officers.

The first Ladies' Evening was held on 12th October 1946 at the Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge. In September 1948 the Lodge applied to become a member of the Federation of School Lodges.

The 21st meeting of the Lodge on 6th February 1951 was marked as a special occasion by a visit of the Master and Wardens of Old Dudlean Lodge, who were invited to close the meeting in due form. This took place notwithstanding the fact that English Freemasonry was in mourning for the death of the M.W. The Grand Master, the Duke of Devonshire.

Throughout the first decade of the Lodge's history (1945-55) attendances by members varied between 23 and 26 at ordinary meetings and 32-35 at installations. The second decade (1955-65) was marked by the following events:

On 1st October 1963 alterations to the Lodge Bye-Laws were proposed as follows:

1. The dates of regular meetings should in future be the first Tuesdays of March, April, May, October, November and December.
2. Instituting the category of 'non-dining' member at a then reduced subscription of S,1-11-6d. This privilege to be available for those brethren residing outside a radius of 20 miles from Stourbridge. If, on isolated occasions, these brethren attended meetings and remained for dinner, they would be required to pay the visitor's dining fee.

In spite of the proposal made in 1. above, a regular meeting was again held on 4th February 1964 because approval for the revised Bye-Laws had not been received by that date.

At the next meeting on 3rd March 1964 an abstract from the Will of the late Bro. EC. Cooper was read. This directed that the annual income from a legacy he had made should be used to purchase both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to be served at one regular meeting in each year. This is the origin of the present custom of issuing Port at one regular meeting.

On 6th October 1964 a petition was presented on behalf of the Founders sponsoring the proposed Sebright Lodge of Old Wolvernians, No.8007, now our daughter Lodge which was consecrated on 5th January 1965.

It was during this second decade that some of the present serving Past Masters began to appear, including W. Bros. T.StC. Stanley (initiated 1962), N.V.C. Court (initiated 1964) and D.K. Jones (joined 1963).

Early in the third decade (1965-75), on 1st November 1966, the 21st anniversary of the consecration occurred. This took the form of a Past Master's Night with the following occupying these chairs:

The candidate, Bro.C. Morgan was raised by W. Bro.W.R. Guy.

At the regular meeting held on 7th November 1967 a few further detailed amendments to the Bye-Laws were proposed, all of which, by 1995, have become obsolete and superseded.

The regular meeting held on Tuesday 7th May 1968 being the 100th meeting of the Lodge, the occasion was marked by Founders occupying offices as follows:

A ceremony of passing was performed.

Tuesday 3rd November 1970 was another celebratory occasion. Being the Silver Jubilee of the Lodge, a combination of Founders and other distinguished brethren occupied chairs as follows:

Summaries of the consecration and first meeting were read.

W. Bro. Ralph Hall read a paper entitled "The Old Edwardian Lodge and other Old School Lodges".

On 5th January 1972 an emergency meeting was held to install W. Bro. J.L. Moulder as W.M., the Senior Warden and Master Elect being prevented by ill health from presenting himself for installation. W. Bro. Moulder was the first Past Master to occupy the Chair twice.

Tuesday 3rd October 1972 was marked with a demonstration by the Sutton Goldfield Masonic Study Circle of a ceremony of initiation as practiced 200 years ago. It was also announced that the Lodge of Instruction would hold a festival on 16th October 1972 to mark the 100th regular meeting of the Lodge of Instruction.

The third decade of the Lodge's history was further marked by the Provincial Grand Master, R.W. Bro. Lt. Col. O.W.D. Smith becoming an Honorary Member on 7th April 1970 and continuing as such until his death in 1973.

On Tuesday 5th October 1976 a proposal was made to further amend the Bye-Laws so that in future, regular meetings of the Lodge would he on the first Tuesdays of February, March, April, October, November and December. This arrangement having been approved, still remains in force in 1995. Having dispensed with the regular meeting on the first Tuesday in May, this date came to be adopted as one on which the Lodge holds a dinner with entertainment for the benefit of widows of former brethren of the Lodge.

On 12th September 1984 at the conclusion of a meeting of the Lodge Committee, this committee reconvened in an extraordinary session for the purpose of debating a special resolution. For the purpose of this session the W.M. invited W. Bro. J.J.L. Brookes, the senior surviving founder of the Lodge, to take the chair. The special resolution was worded as follows:

"Whilst the explanatory preamble to the Lodge Bye-Laws stipulates that candidates for initiation, or joining members, shall he primarily old pupils of King Edward VI Grammar Schools, or masters or governors past or present of such schools, the Lodge shall, as from this date, welcome any candidate deemed suitable and acceptable, whether coming within those categories or not."

In the ensuing discussion opinions were divided but when the motion was put, voting proved to be 13 in favour, 2 against and 1 abstention. Subsequent to this resolution open ended recruitment became the policy. Curiously though, after a period marked by a dearth of candidates (mentioned hereafter) a flow of candidates did emerge who proved to be Old Edwardians of Stourbridge.

The 200th regular meeting of the Lodge was held on 5th February 1985. It was marked by the attendance of the R.W. Bro. EH. Griffiths, Provincial Grand Master, the founding first Master of the Lodge. In spite of having to be carried into the lodge room on account of his age and infirmity, he communicated his charisma and made his presence felt in gracing the proceedings. The main labour of the Lodge was an extended explanation of the Second Tracing Board, with certain additions of significance to a School Lodge. Everyone present that evening was presented with a copy of the complete roll of membership from the consecration to the then present date, devised by W. Bro. W.R. Cartwright and compiled by W. Bro. A.G. Eyles, at that time the Lodge Secretary W. Bro. Eyles acknowledged warmly and gratefully the prodigious amount of work done by W. Bro. D.K. Jones in compiling and assembling the data.

Prior to 1986, in common with many other Lodges, this Lodge had experienced a dearth of candidates for initiation and joining. From that year onwards, however, this trend was reversed, and, commencing with the initiation an Old Edwardian and a Lewis, there were eight further initiates and three joining members.

At the conclusion of the regular Lodge meeting held on 7th November 1995, which was the 50th Anniversary meeting of the formation of the Lodge, members were invited by the Headmaster and the School Governors, to a tour of the school followed by dinner.

During its fifty years of life the Lodge has acquired and maintained a reputation for very high standards of work, and has contributed a considerable quota of Acting Provincial Grand Officers and a goodly number of officers of the Grand Lodge of England.

We have every confidence that the Old Edwardian Lodge of Stourbridge will continue to thrive into the 21st century.