Date of Warrant : 10th June 1964
Meets Fourth Tuesday September, October, January to April; Second Tuesday December
Lymington Lodge is a well-established lodge with a broad age range of Members from diverse backgrounds.
There are over 20 Past Masters of the Lodge that still actively participate at Lodge meetings, working alongside other Past Masters in the Lodge and many newer and younger Members.
The Lymington Lodge strives to deliver high-quality (Emulation) ritual. The Lodge workings are well-documented for posterity and all visitors can be sure of a very friendly welcome, good ceremonies and enjoyable festive boards.
All Lodge Members (especially newer Members) are actively encouraged to participate at the Lodge of Instruction meetings held at the Lymington Masonic Hall on the second Thursday of January, February, March, April, September, October, and November at 7:30pm.
The Lymington Lodge has an active programme of meetings, which includes an Annual Burns Night, which is celebrated on 4th Tues. each January. The Lymington Lodge has established links with Lodge Tarbolton (Kilwinning) St. James No. 135 in the Scottish Constitution, which was the Lodge of Robert Burns.
History
In 1964 there were two Lodges meeting at the Masonic Hall in Lymington – New Forest No 319 and Powney No. 3099. Nearby Lodges also met at Brockenhurst, Totton and New Milton.
At that time there were about 180 Lodges in Hampshire and Isle of Wight. The interest in freemasonry was rising generally and many Lodges had waiting lists of prospective candidates, including New Forest and Powney.
The Lymington Masonic Hall was nearly 40 years old. It still had a mortgage of £3,000 and was in need of improvement and maintenance. The building was under-used and generated little income.
W. Bro. Ernie Smith from Powney Lodge No 3099 played a key role in the formulation of Lymington Lodge. He became the Lodge Secretary for 33 years and was awarded the Provincial Grand Master’s Certificate of Service to Freemasonry in the Province.
The first WM of Lymington Lodge was W. Bro. Ted Blachford and the first DC, W. Bro. Ben Longman. There were 31 Founders of the Lodge. The fees at that time were: Founders £10, Joining Fee 3 guineas, Initiation 25 guineas and Annual subscription 4 guineas.
At that time there were many Brethren living or working close to Lymington, so it was agreed that new initiates to the new Lymington Lodge should live within a 10-mile radius to retain camaraderie. This constraint had to be relaxed at a later date.
A Warrant was issued on 10th June 1964 and the Lodge was Consecrated on Wednesday, 30th Sept. 1964 by Provincial Grand Master, R.W. Bro. Major General R. L. Bond, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., M.C., Hon. F.R. A. M.
The first Initiate was W. Bro. Bob Cook and his initiation ceremony took place on 27th Oct. 1964. W. Bro. Bob Cook was the Lodge Organist for many years and he enjoyed a long and distinguished Masonic Career. He was also awarded the Provincial Grand Master’s Certificate of Service to Freemasonry in the Province.
Lymington Lodge later became the Sponsoring Lodge for its Daughter Lodge, Lentune Lodge No. 8743, which was Consecrated on 25th April 1977.