Throughout its 300-year history, the distinguishing characteristics of Freemasonry have been a quest for knowledge, charitable giving, support to fellow Masons and a venue for men of like purpose to meet and form friendships, many life-long. The quest for knowledge manifests itself in learning about the history and philosophies underlying masonic ritual; charitable giving provides a conduit for contributing to the improvement of other’s circumstances less well-off than ourselves in many ways; friendships are forged at our Meetings, at the Festive Boards that follow these and at Lodges of Instruction where Officers of the Lodge work together to practise our ceremonies and, as a result, frequently for a life-long bond.
In an age of uncertainty, Freemasonry provides a stable foundation on which to build a useful, happy and productive life. Its Lodge meetings provide a protected space in which to leave behind the concerns of a busy daily life and enjoy the company of other men from many backgrounds whom otherwise you might not have the pleasure to meet.
Further information on London Freemasonry and Freemasonry in general can be found on the website of the Metropolitan Grand Lodge, http://www.londonmasons.org.uk.
Freemasonry celebrated 300 years in 2017; the Friars’ Lodge has been in existence for almost a half of that period and marked our 150th anniversary of its consecration in 2021.
The formation of a new Lodge was proposed at a meeting of eight Freemasons at the Cheshire Cheese Tavern in November 1870. The tavern, which was – and still is – in the City of London street known curiously as Crutched Friars, had been associated with Freemasonry since 1784. It is perhaps fortunate that the founding Brethren were inspired to draw upon the name of the street, rather than the tavern, for the name of the Lodge! In the petition to establish the Lodge to be known as The Friars, it was noted that although there were many Freemasons living and working in the area and that there were many applications from local people to join Freemasonry, no Lodge met locally. The establishment of The Friars’ Lodge was approved on the basis that it would meet west of Gracechurch Street and would therefore draw its membership from east London. The Lodge was consecrated at the Cheshire Cheese Tavern on Wednesday, 19 April 1871.
The Lodge members covered a wide spectrum of the east end community, merchants, builders, mariners, clerks, a doctor and a “dairyman and cow keeper”! From early in the 20h century, fathers were bringing sons into the lodge and at least one family seems to have brought in every male member – brothers, uncles and cousins.
Edward Friedberg, a licensed victualler, joined Friars’ at the age of 27 and eight years later became its Secretary. He held the post for almost 50 years to his death in 1936. Nowadays, the United Grand Lodge of England prefers office holders to serve a maximum of 10 years. Bro Friedberg received several presentations for his contribution to the Lodge and, following his death, the members dedicated a Charity Box to his name – an attractive box still used in our Initiation Ceremonies.
Comparing the management of a Lodge to a company, the Worshipful Master equates to the Chairman, the Secretary to the CEO and the Treasurer to the Finance Director. The Secretary is responsible for the day-to-day management and business of the Lodge. Since its inception, the post of Worshipful Master has been held by any individual member for just one year. Friars’ has been fortunate in the high standard of the members who have taken these three roles throughout its history. Since the death of Edward Friedberg a little more than 80 years ago, there have been just seven Secretaries and a similar number of Treasurers.
Charity has always played a big part in the essence of Friars’ and the Lodge Benevolent Fund was established more than a century ago in 1913.
The Lodge met 7 times a year in its early days, this was reduced to 5 regular meetings a year in 1905. We now meet 4 times a year between November and May, allowing a summer recess period. The first open meeting to which ladies were invited, “a ladies’ night” was held in 1895 and was a grand affair. In 1905, it was agreed to hold an annual Ladies’ Night – now called a Ladies’ Festival – but that its cost should be restricted to 15 shillings so that all were able to attend.
In 1891, Newman Goldman, a stockbroker, was initiated into Friars. He later fixed the ritual and ceremonial practice of the Lodge. To this day, Friars’ practices the Newman Goldman working. It was adopted by two other daughter Lodges, Universal Brotherhood No 5785, consecrated in 1939, and Faith and Friendship No 7326. Friars’ has a reputation for conducting ritual well and much of the credit for this stems from the time of Philip Taylor as Secretary and his insistence on high standards for the Lodge. Since then, the Lodge has had, through to the present, a series of excellent Preceptors who manage the Lodge of Instruction.
An Initiate is passed through three degree ceremonies – Initiation, Fellow Craft (2nd Degree) and Master Mason (3rd Degree). A Summons from 1874 shows that these three degrees were carried out sequentially at the same meeting lasting 4 hours. This practice continued into the 1940s. In contrast to this, the standard Friars’ practice today is for a meeting to last about 2 hours and for a single degree ceremony to be conducted at each meeting. However, exceptionally an Initiation and a Second Degree (to Fellow Craft) have been performed at the same meeting.
Another difference in early practice compared to today was the number of Initiates at a single meeting. In 1897 and 1898, there were no fewer than 39 Initiates. It was then permitted to Initiate 5 Brethren at a time, the maximum number today, without obtaining a special Dispensation, is two. At one Friars’ meeting in the early years, a Dispensation was obtained for 7 Initiates.
In common with most Lodges, Friars’ suffered a number of losses in the Great War, both members and their sons.
Following a temporary closure of the Cheshire Cheese in 1880, Friars’ met at different public houses until 1919, after which meetings were held at The Great Eastern Hotel, Hotel Cecil and the Criterion Restaurant. From 1924, for more than 70 years, the Lodge met at the Café Royal, Piccadilly. This move, being a long way west of Gracechurch Street, must have required a Special Dispensation. There was a hiatus of 5 years from 1942 when the Café Royal suffered bomb damage and meetings were held at the Holborn Restaurant. In the late 1990s, the Café Royal closed its doors to Freemasonry and the Lodge was fortunate to be one who gained a place for its regular meetings at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street.
By the 1930s, attendance at meetings rarely fell below 100 and it was normal for 135 to sit down to the Festive Board at the Café Royal. During WWII, attendance fell considerably but picked up again in the post-war years with so many applications to join that Dispensations were frequently required to Initiate 4 men at a time. In recent years, attendance varies between 40 and 65.
In 1995, the Lodge made its first recommendation for many years for Grand Office and David Taylor, son of the former Secretary, Philip Taylor, was appointed Assistant Grand Registrar, the first time in Lodge history that a member had been appointed to Active Grand Rank. David was later promoted to Past Grand Superintendent of Works while another senior Past Master, Jeffrey Monnickendam, has been appointed Past Senior Grand Deacon.
Strangely, no Great Celebration was held for the 25, 50 or 75 year anniversaries of the consecration of the Lodge, the first being in 1971 to celebrate the 100th anniversary. 335 Brethren were present from a wide range of Lodges and the proceedings were graced by the Assistant Grand Master and the Chief Rabbi. A Great Celebration was held in 1996 to mark the 125th Anniversary of the Lodge and another was proposed for the 150th to be celebrated in 2021; but alas, it fell victim to COVID. The Lodge has made a good recovery from the pandemic and has a stream of upcoming initiates.
