Freemasonry in Amble: what is it about?
There has been a Masonic Lodge in Amble for 136 years. Lord Warkworth Lodge 1879 was warranted on August 16 1880 following application to United Grand Lodge of England (U.G.L.E) by 21 members of Alnwick Lodge 1167 on March 31 1880. The ritual of Masonic consecration was held on January 14 1881 at the Assembly Rooms in Alnwick.
The first meeting of the Lodge was held on February 9 1881 at 51 High St. (known as Green’s Buildings) which had been adapted for the purpose.
In its early years the Lodge made steady progress and in 1897 the Congregational Church at Gloster Terrace was purchased at a cost of £205.
The membership increased to 200 and three cottages to the east of the building were purchased at a cost of £600 in 1924.
Further progress was made in May 1930 when Greenfield House was purchased at a cost of £1,000 which also included four cottages at the rear of the Lodge and a large plot of land which is now the car park and the undeveloped land leading down to Matt Fuels coal yard.
The Lodge premises were suitably extended and modified in time for its 50th Jubilee in 1931
Many of the readers of this article may ask what is Freemasonry about? There are many official websites explaining in more detail what we are about, and I would recommend anyone interested to visit www.ugle.org.uk and/or www.northumberlandmasons.org which provide much more official information than I can in this short article.
Much of the work of Freemasons concentrates on charitable giving in the fields of health, welfare of the elderly and education and relief of poverty and hardship.
Many grants are awarded to non-masonic causes and lately towards disaster relief.
Lord Warkworth Lodge tries wherever possible to assist in local good causes and in recent years has supported Amble lifeboat, Xmas lights, Food bank, GNAAS and the Age UK day centre at the Methodist Church.
It is intended to hold an open week at the Lodge to coincide with the Puffin Festival week May 28 – June 4 2016.
The week will open on Sat May 28 with a concert by the Village Voices choir from Seahouses.
Further details will appear in The Ambler nearer the time. We hope to see you there.
Bob Catchpole, Past Master 1879
