Our History
The Hampshire & Isle Of Wight Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge has been in existence and served the Province for over three decades. Its members have distinguished themselves …
Meetings
Venues:
The Hampshire & Isle Of Wight Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge meet three times a year on the fourth Friday of the month:
- March
- November (Installation) which is held at the Southampton Novotel
- July (1st Friday)
Registered address:
King’s Court Masonic Centre, Winchester Road, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 2GG
Histories
On 2nd July 1986, W.Bro. James Edward Bullen was installed as Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master for the Masonic Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight at Southampton Guildhall. An experienced and well respected Freemason, R.W. Bro. Bullen’s knowledge of the Province was unsurpassed and his influence was considerable. He had decided, prior to his installation, that the Province would benefit from having a Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge on its roll of lodges, and one of his first tasks as PGM was to request the Assistant PGM, W.Bro. R J McGarel-Groves, to make contact with other Provinces which had Provincial Grand Stewards Lodges, and to obtain such information as was available to assist him in deciding upon the format of the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge, which he had decided would be consecrated within his Province.
In early 1987 the PGM spoke with W.Bro. Wilks and mentioned his decision to consecrate a Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge within the Province. There followed a discussion and on 9 February 1987 W.Bro. Wilks wrote to the PGM with his thoughts and visions for a Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge. W.Bro. Mike Wilks along with W.Bro. Tony Haines and W.Bro. John Woodward had been appointed Provincial Grand Steward at the Provincial AGM in Southampton on 4 July 1984 in recognition of their work for the 1984 Festival and they were all to become leading lights in the founding of our Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge
On 13 February 1987 R.W.Bro. Bullen and W.Bro. Wilks met formally in Fareham when the PGM passed over all the paperwork which had been accumulated by W.Bro. McGarel-Groves and asked W.Bro. Wilks to become the Organising Founder of the proposed Lodge. The PGM had formulated the aim and purpose of the Lodge and its rationale and these were laid down very clearly at this first formal meeting:
The Lodge was to be the premier Lodge in the Province. It would be expected to set the highest standards and be a role model for all other Lodges. Its joining members would be selected especially by the PGM, based on his assessment of the ability of the Brother concerned and his likely future contribution to the Province.
The Lodge was to have specific duties which were laid down by the PGM and which included in particular the provision of demonstration teams when required. This was a reference to the Province’s need during the previous year to demonstrate the ritual with the penalties removed from the obligations. W.Bro. Bob Mills-Goodlet had organised the demonstration teams with members from various Lodges around the Province; how much easier the task would have been if appropriate teams could have been provided by a single Lodge.
W.Bro. Wilks turned immediately to those two firm friends who had been appointed Provincial Grand Steward with him in 1984 – W.Bro. Tony Haines and W.Bro. John Woodward. The then Provincial Grand Secretary, W.Bro. Ron Champion suggested that W,Bro. John Oliver, who was to be appointed Provincial Grand Steward at the Provincial AGM in 1987, be approached to become the fourth member of the Founders Committee.
The proposed Lodge needed Founders and the Founders Committee canvassed as many members of the Province as possible, who were eligible, to become Founders. In February and March 1987 W.Bro. Wilks wrote to all group area representatives asking them to recommend suitable Founders and to the Secretaries of all Lodges within the Province asking that the letter be passed on to Past Provincial Grand Stewards who might be interested in becoming founder members of the new Lodge. Active Provincial Grand Stewards of the year were also contacted. The response from Group Representatives, Grand Officers, Lodge Secretaries and Past Provincial Grand Stewards was very gratifying. By April 1987, 38 Brethren had expressed an interest in becoming founder members of the proposed Lodge and all were invited to attend the first Founders Meeting called for 1st May 1987 at Chandlers Ford. The meeting was attended by 25 Brethren who arrived keen and left enthusiastic. Each Brother who attended pledged his full support. There was considerable excitement amongst all those concerned and it was clear that it would be possible to form the Lodge as required by the PGM later that year. A second Founders Meeting was fixed for 29th May 1987 when the Petition was to be completed and signed for presentation to the members of our sponsor Lodge. The Petition was presented to the members of Kings Court Lodge at their regular meeting on 19th June 1987. We are very grateful to Kings Court Lodge for their ready acceptance of our invitation to sponsor the Lodge and that the Petition was signed and submitted to enable the new Lodge to be consecrated before the end of 1987.
There was considerable work carried out by the Founders in preparation for the Consecration which was set for 30th November 1987 at The Masonic Hall, Lake Road, Portsmouth. The PGM honoured the Lodge by acting as both Consecrating Officer and as Installing Master and started a tradition that all subsequent Masters of the Lodge have been installed by the Provincial Grand Master. The Lodge was given custody of the Provincial Grand Lodge Bible which had been presented to the Province many years previously.
With a view to cementing the relationship between the Lodge and the Province, the Founders decided to offer Honorary Membership to members of the Provincial Executive and during Lodge business immediately after the Consecration ceremony the Provincial Grand Master, the Deputy and Assistant PGMs, the Provincial Grand Secretary and the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies were elected Honorary Members and Honorary Membership has been offered to and accepted by all subsequent holders of those offices.
R.W.Bro. Bullen honoured the Lodge in a number of respects. In particular members of the Lodge are permitted to wear their red Stewards’ regalia (notwithstanding their holding a higher rank) at Regular Meetings of the Lodge and when representing the Lodge at other Masonic meetings. Subsequent Provincial Grand Masters have honoured the Lodge by allowing those privileges to continue and by continuing “the tradition” of the PGM installing the Master of the Lodge.Since 1988 only Past Masters have been appointed Provincial Grand Stewards within the Province. Those Master Masons who would previously have been appointed Provincial Grand Steward active or past, would in future be appointed to the rank of Past Provincial Assistant Grand Standard Bearer. It was also at this time that members of the Lodge donated to the Province their Active Provincial Grand Stewards Collars and since this time Brethren being appointed Provincial Grand Stewards receive from the Province not only the Provincial Grand Stewards Jewel but also an Active Collar, which are loaned to the Brother concerned for his year of office.
The Lodge had acquired, or received by way of gift, much of the Regalia and furnishings necessary but it was not complete without a Lodge Banner, and Bro. Ken Walkden set about the task of producing the Banner, which is a superb example of the embroiderer’s art bringing colour into the Lodge Crest. The predominant colour of the background of the Banner is crimson or “Stewards red”. The outline of Hampshire and Isle of Wight is surrounded by the garter blue of Provincial Grand Lodge, and the compasses are in gold. The fruit spilling from the horn of plenty is brought to life by the creative skill and the dexterity of the embroiderer. At the same time as the Banner was being made, the Bible cushion and drop, together with the Secretary’s tablecloth – each in crimson and bearing the Lodge Crest – were completed so that whenever the Lodge meets within the Province the Temple takes on the distinctive style which is the hallmark of the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge. The Banner was dedicated at the Regular Meeting of the Lodge in Lymington on 7th July 1989 by R.W.Bro. James E. Bullen, and the dedicating Chaplain, V.W.Bro. Rev. Dr. Michael Morgan then Assistant Provincial Grand Master and an Honorary Member of the Lodge.
The Most Excellent Grand Superintendent, E.Comp. Rev. Dr. Michael Morgan, at a meeting of Domus Dei Lodge in Portsmouth on 1st November 1995, asked W.Bro. Mike Wilks to organise the founding of a Provincial Grand Stewards Chapter within the Province. The Lodge responded admirably to the Grand Superintendent’s wishes and twelve months later, and nine years to the day after the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge was consecrated, the Provincial Grand Stewards Chapter was consecrated at Lake Road, Portsmouth comprising 42 Founders, 34 of whom were members of the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge. At the Consecration ceremony the Grand Superintendent emphasised the strong connection between the Lodge and the Chapter by inviting the PGM, R.W.Bro. Alan Chun, to give the Invocation; and the Past PGM, R.W.Bro. James Bullen to present to the Founding First Principal the Charter of the Chapter, which was a very moving experience for all concerned. The PGM said:
“……the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent said in his oration that he did not know why this date, 30th November, had been chosen for your Consecration. Perhaps I can enlighten him. On this day, the 30th November 1987, the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge was consecrated by me. You were installed into the Chair of King Solomon by me. The Warrant or Charter from the Grand Lodge of England was presented to you by me and from the foundation laid that day you and the Founders have raised a superstructure perfect in its parts and honourable to the builder. Now on this day, the 30th November 1996, the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Provincial Grand Stewards Chapter has been consecrated. You have been installed into the First Principal’s Chair and the privilege of presenting to you the Warrant or Charter from the Most Excellent First Grand Principal has been given to me and may you and the Founders raise a superstructure similar in all respects as that in the former; may the seed which has been sown today bear a harvest of great bounty.”
The MEZ in his response referred to the enormous support which the Lodge had received from the Past Provincial Grand Master since its Consecration 9 years previously, to the great emotion which he felt personally on receiving the Charter of the new Chapter from the Past PGM, and to the wonderful kindness shown by the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent in delegating that part of the ceremony to the Past Provincial Grand Master. The MEZ pledged that the new Chapter would be a credit to the Lodge and to the Province.
Membership of the Lodge has increased from 31 Founders in 1987, to 192 members by 2006, with 26 Honorary members, and is increasing on average at the rate of 10 per year. The Lodge has become a major part of the Masonic life of many of its members. It is important that those members and those Brethren who become Joining Members in the future are made aware of our beginnings, our progress over the years, our achievements and, possibly just as importantly, our aspirations for the future.
Ian McKiver, PPJGD, PPGStwd
Perhaps, for the benefit of the non-Mason, I should answer the question “Why do masons wear aprons?” first. Briefly, although there is much debate about where modern Freemasonry comes from, I think it is fair to say that Freemasons wear aprons as a symbolic link to the operative masons who built castles and cathedrals in the middle ages. Early (17th Century) Freemasons wore plain aprons that were made of lamb skin, but these evolved into more elaborate hand painted and decorated examples.
In 1731 the Grand Master, his Deputy and the Grand Wardens (then the only “Grand” Officers) were permitted to line their white leather aprons with blue silk. Masters and Wardens of particular Lodges were allowed to line theirs with white silk and the Grand Stewards for the year with red. When the ‘Moderns’ and ‘Antients’ Grand Lodges combined to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813, a standard design for aprons was adopted with Master Masons and Installed Masters wearing aprons trimmed with sky blue and Provincial and Grand Officers trimmed with dark blue. Colours and designs of aprons vary in other Masonic constitution (eg Scotland and Ireland).
Grand Stewards are appointed for a year and they are tasked with regulating and arranging the Annual Festival of the Grand Lodge of England and also assist in the arrangement of Grand Lodge Communications. Since 1731 they have been entitled to wear an apron trimmed with crimson and a collar of the same colour during their year of office. In 1723 six Stewards (they were not known as Grand Stewards until 1792) were appointed and the number rose to twelve in 1728, eighteen in 1815 and settled at nineteen in 1904. You may be interested to read Canon Tydeman’s humorous explanation of the Grand Steward’s red apron.
Provincial Grand Stewards are permitted to wear crimson trimmed aprons similar to those worn by Grand Stewards, but with a two inch border rather than the three and one half inch borders which adorn the Grand Stewards’ apron.
Whilst the pale blue used in Masonry is said to derive from the Order of the Garter (“Garter Blue”), the red, scarlet or crimson is associated with the Order of Bath. Universally, red is the emblem of faith, fortitude, divine love, magnanimity and, in its suggestion of blood, martyrdom.
In Freemasonry scarlet is an emblem of high dignity and is worn by one of the principal officers in the Holy Royal Arch. Crimson is said to imply “justice tempered by mercy” (perhaps because it is worn by high court judges?). Scarlet is said to represent “fervency and zeal”. Wallace McLeod ruminates that since charcoal is sometimes associated in Masonry with “zeal”, and “fervency” takes its root from the Latin word for “glowing, burning or hot”, then scarlet would certainly be a good description of glowing charcoal! However to the members of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge, the “red apron” will always represent service and a dedication to excellence.
A sort of just-so-story produced on the occasion of the Installation of R.W. Bro. The Hon. EL Ballieu, A.G.M., by the R.W.Bro. G.L.O. Colenso-Jones, P.J.G.W., in the Grand Stewards Lodge, 18th January 1978.
When the Temple at Jerusalem had been completed, King Solomon ordered that a great Feast should be held, so that the brethren in all classes of workmen might have the opportunity to rejoice together at the successful culmination of their labours.
Accordingly, a stated day having been fixed for the Feast, preparations began to be made. It soon became obvious that they could not all sit down together, for the only dining-hall available was the House of the Forest of Lebanon which King Solomon had built between the Temple and the Palace, and this would only hold three hundred and thirty three.
As you are aware, a vast number of masons had been employed in the building, and so the following arrangements were made:
- the E.A.s were issued with a double ration of corn, wine and oil, and told to enjoy themselves as best they could.
- the F.C.s were summoned to the Middle Chamber and given double wages, and told to buy themselves a good dinner.
- the Menatschin or prefects were given a stand-up buffet lunch in marquees erected in the Palace garden.
This left just three hundred and thirty of the most senior Brethren to sit down in the Hall. They consisted mainly of Grand Officers, together with Provincial Officers representing each Province from Beersheba to Dan, and a number of J.G.R.s (Jerusalem Grand Rank).
The question then arose; who was going to serve the wine at this banquet? Normally, some of the junior brethren would have been recruited for this duty, but on this occasion they were all disporting themselves elsewhere and so some of the 330 would have to wait upon the others.
King Solomon therefore sent for Adoniram who was, as you are no doubt well aware, the general masonic odd-job-man in Jerusalem. (It doesn’t matter what degree or Order you are in, Adoniram will be in there somewhere, ready to undertake any office at a moment’s notice. You know the sort).
The King ordered Adoniram to select a couple of dozen of the 330 and to make them Grand Stewards; at the same time informing him that although the office of Grand Steward would always be the most junior office in Grand Lodge, yet in the days to come it would be such an honourable office that it would be sought after by the highest in the land.
Adoniram didn’t believe this, but he accepted the task, and enquired how the Grand Stewards were to be distinguished; for, as he pointed out, when one’s glass is empty, it is important to be able to identify the man who will fill it. And, of course at this time everyone was wearing white aprons to keep up the pretence of innocence.
King Solomon declared the Grand Stewards should be distinguished by a jewel appended to a white collar, and he summoned a skilful artist to design it, a certain Brother Garth (generally known as “Hoe” Garth because he was a bit of a rake).
Unfortunately the jewel designed by Brother Garth consisted of a combination of the jewels worn by the Principal Officers and this led to very great difficulties. The Feast had only been going for a few minutes before it became obvious that this system wouldn’t work. Indeed, one Past Grand Warden, on his way to the door in order to restore himself to his personal comforts after the fish course, was accosted by a fairly junior brother at one end of the lower tables, who demanded of him a full bottle of wine, asking at the same time what he was expected to do with the empty one.
To his credit, be it said, the Past Grand Warden did not ignore the junior brother, but turned and told him exactly what he could do with his empty bottle. advice which, had it been taken, would have proved extremely uncomfortable, even if physically possible.
Certain of the more eminent of the brethren then went to King Solomon to acquaint him with the utter confusion into which they had been thrown. The King therefore stood up and observing Adoniram at a distance (and notice that, even at this early stage, Adoniram had already achieved that quality which has been found in wine-stewards ever since – the ability to be always “at a distance”) – the King, observing him, beckoned him in the accustomed manner.
Adoniram was so flustered that he wondered if he ought to kneel. Then, thinking better of it, he decided that he ought to salute the King with the G. or R. Sign. Unfortunately, at that particular moment he happened to have a bottle of red wine in each hand. The consequences were inevitable: the glass shattered in fragments while the wine, like Aaron’s precious ointment, ran from his head to his beard, and even to the skirts of his clothing.
There was a moment of deathly silence, and then one of the brethren cried:- “See, Adoniram has a red apron” while others, more animated, exclaimed:- “Lo, how it matcheth his face”! (Certain obstinate historians maintain that the words used here were actually; “Lo, how it matcheth his nose”, but it is kinder to think that the authorised version is preferred at this point).
The King, ever mindful of the comforts of all his officers, soon put Adoniram at his ease: he called an immediate muster of all the Grand Stewards who were told to form a column in the North and turn half left. Each was then handed two bottles of red wine and, taking their time from the G.D.C., saluted the King with eleven.
Thus were the Grand Stewards first equipped with their red aprons. For several years the custom continued, and at the annual meeting of Grand Lodge, after the other officers had been invested, the Grand Stewards were lined up, handed bottles and instructed to salute. And then came the year when inflation pushed up the cost of wine to an unprecedented height. (I think that there had been a bad harvest of apes and peacocks in Ophir, or something). It was at that opportune moment that there came before the King three zealous and expert brethren by the names of Toye, Kenning and Spencer, who made a full confession that they had in their possession a large quantity of red ribbon which they were anxious to place at the King’s disposal. (In actual fact they had been decorating chocolate boxes for an RMBI festival and had over-ordered).
From that time, therefore, red ribbon has been substituted for the genuine and original regalia. Perhaps the time has now come when we should revert to the ancient custom, especially now that the cost of ribbon greatly exceeds the price of the bottles of wine. (Though I am afraid that the tickets for the Grand Investiture would be in even greater demand than they are at present)~
Long may the Grand Stewards continue to enjoy their traditional privileges and custom, and the proud motto specially composed for them by King Solomon himself: “Aspectu meo quam mappa rubro, quia fortiter labore’ which, being interpreted, is:’If my face is as red as my apron, it is because I am working so hard’!
The Rev. Canon Richard Tydeman P G.C., O.S.M, P G.J.W., (Past Prestonian Lecturer)
