Meetings: Second Saturday, Sept – Feb, Apr
Prince of Architects Lodge No.4188 The first 50 years.
Notes included on the menu card at the 50th anniversary celebrations, held on Saturday 12 March 1971.
These notes were compiled by W.Bro. Tom W. Siggins PPrJGW, the Chaplain, who died just before this meeting and was cremated on 05 March 1971.
Following the end of the 1914-18 war, there was an upward surge in Freemasonry and in
the 3 years 1919, 1920 and 1921, five hundred new lodges were founded under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England, forty-eight of which were formed in the Province of West Lancashire.
At the end of 1919 and through 1920, many meetings formal and informal of interested Brethren were held in and around Christ Church Parish Hall, Bootle, to discuss whether or not a new lodge should be founded and eventually twenty-five Founders emerged and decided to petition Grand Lodge for a warrant. Of the twenty-five Founders, half the number were members of Christ Church, Bootle, the prime mover being W.Bro. Sharples of Derby Lodge (No.724, which now meets at Woolton Golf Club). In connection with this history and in the absence of our minute books, thought to be due to war time destruction, it was decided to consult Grand Lodge to ascertain whether or not they could supply particulars regarding the consecration. Apart from a photostatic copy of the petition which was forwarded to our Secretary (W.Bro. Malcolm Bell), it emerged that the sponsorship of the petition by the Derby Lodge was deleted from the form of application and superseded by the names of the Worshipful Master and Wardens of Fermor-Hesketh Lodge No.1350, which would point to the latter being our Mother Lodge, otherwise no information of note of any moment was received.
The beautiful name, “The Prince of Architects” was given in appreciation of W.Bro. Robert Wylie, a Deputy Provincial Grand Master of the Province of West Lancashire (1893-1913) and a well-loved holder of that office. The significance of the name will be appreciated by those attending Provincial Grand Lodge. Most of the Founders lived within a short distance of the Parish Hall. At one of the committee meetings prior to the consecration, the question arose as to whether or not the proposed lodge should be a Temperance Lodge and there was a sharp cleavage of opinion, indeed one Brother flatly refused to become a Founder if intoxicating liquor was served. W.Bro. Sharples, a lifelong teetotaller who was to become the first Worshipful Master, was equally adamant that it should not be a Temperance Lodge but a temperate one and his views were endorsed by a majority.
When Grand Lodge agreed to grant the petition, the Founders got busy acquiring furniture for use in the Parish Hall, which was to be our meeting place. Many handsome gifts of very suitable furniture were provided. The type of work to be adopted was the cause of much discussion, but eventually it was agreed that the work should be broadly based on Emulation. It was hoped that our first Initiate would be Rev. W.Mather, the Vicar of Christ Church, but prior to the consecration of the lodge he was offered and accepted the living of Wraxall in Somerset and Mr. J.J.Drummond was the first Candidate. The new Vicar, Rev. Edward Mayson, already a Freemason, was elected an honorary member of the lodge and later, Rev. T.Lever, a Curate of Christ Church, was initiated into 4188.
At an early stage it was decided that we become a Hall Stone Lodge and it gives a thrill to our members to see the Hall Stone in Freemasons Hall, London.
The lodge was duly consecrated by the Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master, Bro. J. Hearn Burrell, on 23rd March 1921, with a delightful ceremony and the following named Brethren took up the principal offices :-
WM – W.Bro. W.M.Sharples PPrGStdB
SW - W.Bro. T.R.Mansergh PPrSGD
JW - W.Bro. J. Nicholson
It was decided to hold the Installation Meeting in October when the following named officers were appointed :-
WM – T.R.Mansergh
SW - J.Nicholson
JW – W.Taylor
Treasurer – J.Bradley
Secretary – J.T.Taylor
DC – J.Hayton
SD – R.G.R.Seanor
J.D. – S.J.Proctor
ADC – T.D.Clothier
Almoner – T.E.Williams
Organist – S.Backhouse
Ass.Sec. – A.Williams
I.G. – J.S.Riley
Stewards – S.Carter
W.Murray
J.Bell
T.Aizlewood
D.Eaton
E.W.Whitmore
F.E.Cross
T.W.Siggins
J.Welsh
Tyler – W.Read
Of the Founders, 13 became Worshipful Masters of the lodge and it is thought that there is only one surviving Founder, Bro. J.Q.Fox, living in Australia. Efforts to contact him have failed.
Each lodge day at about 2.30pm, members of the lodge volunteered to attend the parish hall to set out the lodge and polish the furniture, leaving off shortly after 4.00pm to change into evening dress. The furniture had to be removed to and from the easterly side of the upper hall and stowed away after the ceremony. This was done after the meeting and it was usually 10.30 or 11.00pm before we closed.
A Lodge of Instruction was formed and was a source of great interest. Often there were two teams vying with each other in performing the ritual and indeed members of other lodges frequently attended. With the outbreak of war in 1939, the Parish Hall was commandeered by the Government and we had perforce to find another venue for our meetings. Unfortunately minute books of that period were mislaid and cannot be traced. The Second World War was inevitably responsible for the diminution in ability to attend the lodge and its concomitant duties and the Lodge of Instruction was eventually abandoned, to be superseded by a Class of Instruction.
The lodge has tradition for good music and we have been particularly happy and fortunate to have had excellent organists, amongst them W.Bro. Seanor, Bro. Sam Backhouse, W.Bro. Allen Quigg, W.Bro. Woodward and several others to provide “a concord of sweet sounds”. At one period at the Parish Hall we even managed to have a vocal group who rendered pleasing harmony.
A feature of our lodge worthy of record is the large number of initiates who were sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, brothers-in-law and sons-in-law of members of 4188.
To mark the 25th Anniversary of the lodge, the Ladies were invited to a Social Function when they presented silver goblets to the lodge for use on special occasions.
We are proud of our lodge, we are grateful to our predecessors who, we believe, have laid the foundations which will enable our younger brethren, to whom we must look for the future, to continue to build a superstructure perfect in its parts and honourable to the builders. We pay tribute, not only to our Past Masters and senior officers, but also to the many unrecorded Brethren who have served us so well on committees, classes of instruction and occasions such as this evening, when their ungrudging assistance is so much appreciated.
Finally, to our visitors, may we thank you for your presence here on this happy occasion for, without guests “rejoicing loses half its savour”.
At the 50th Anniversary celebrations the Officers of Prince of Architects Lodge No.4188 were as follows :-
Bro. S.Dunn WM
W.Bro. W.M.Parsons IPM
Bro.H.T.Fielding SW
Bro.T.Morris JW
W.Bro. T.W.Siggins PPrJGW Chaplain
W.Bro. G.F. Williams Treasurer
W.Bro.M.Bell Secretary
W.Bro. S.Jones PPrGD DC
Bro. J.H.Sangster SD
Bro. A.F.G. Blunden JD
W.Bro. C.Harwood ADC
Bro. B.R.White Almoner
W.Bro. J.Woodward Organist
Bro. R.Whalley Ass. Sec
Bro. S.W.Graves IG
Bro. R.W.Heath Steward
Bro. D.M.Johnson “
Bro. C.H.Hardman “
Bro. D.J.Hulme “
Bro. P.Williams “
Bro. B.K.Cocken “
Bro. R.S.Brake “
Bro. J.A.Shirley “
Bro. C.C.Donnison “
Bro. J.R.Eccles “
Bro. W.J.Johnson “
W.Bro. A.L.Lund PPrGD Tyler
Warrant: 3rd November 1920