It should be noted that Women’s Freemasonry pre-dates both the Women’s Institute founded in 1915 and also the Townswomen’s Guild which started in 1929.
The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons was founded in 1913 and the first Grand Master was Mrs Elizabeth Boswell-Reid who held that Office from 1913 to 1933 ; she was succeeded by her daughter Mrs Lily Seton Challen.
The first three Lodges to be consecrated were ;
· Stability No 1 ·
. Wisdom No 2 (later to change its name to Fidelity)
· Strength No 3.
The progress of the Order was severely restricted by the outbreak of the Great War as many of its members had dedicated themselves to voluntary service for the war effort. Nevertheless in 1916 the dream of establishing the Higher Degrees was realised with the consecration of the Chapter of Hidden Splendour no 1 of the Holy Royal Arch.
In 1932 the Mark Degree was established when the Keystone Mark Lodge no 1 was consecrated, followed by the Rose Croix 18th Degree Rose of Sharon Chapter no 1 in 1935. Ark Mariners in 1996 and Knights Templar in 2001.
Our very first masonic home was Dr Johnson’s Library, swiftly followed by Caxton Hall,Westminster and then St Ermins, Westminster. In 1947 the Fraternity moved to Clive Court, Kensington, in 1955 to 68 Great Cumberland Place and in 2005 we moved to 402 Finchley Road, London NW2. This nowadays is known as “402″.
The women’s movement in France continued along the lines of Adoptive Masonry until 1959 when the Grand Loge Féminine de France decided to work the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. This led to the consecration of further national Grand Lodges in Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Turkey, Germany, Canada and the Americas.
There are two Womens Grand Lodges
The Order was founded in 1908 as the Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry, and formed by a small group of men and women who seceded from the Co-Masonic movement. They disagreed with the theosophical precepts and the governance of the Co-Masonic organisation and wanted to return to the traditional workings of English Masonry. The leader and first Grand Master was W. F. Cobb, Rector of St Ethelburga’s church in the City of London. By the time he resigned from the Order in 1912, six Lodges had been consecrated. The second and all subsequent Grand Masters have been women.
The sanctions of United Grand Lodge of England against any of their members who associated with “irregular bodies” of Freemasons, including those admitting women, meant that there were few male candidates after 1910. In 1920 a petition was sent from the Order to UGLE for recognition as a bone fide Masonic body but this was refused. After that men were no longer accepted as candidates into the Order although there were still a few who, distancing themselves from their own Obedience, chose to remain in high office. In 1935 Peter Slingsby, the male Grand Secretary, died and the remaining male Grand Officer, Deputy Grand Master Peter Birchall, was asked to resign. From this date the Order has been exclusively female. Relations with UGLE are now mutually cordial. Some all female Lodges meet at mens’ Masonic Halls, however inter-visitation is not allowed!
In 1913 a small group who wished to introduce the Holy Royal Arch degree in an unorthodox manner were expelled from the Order and founded their own female Order, the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasonry.
The degree of the Holy Royal Arch was legitimately introduced in 1929 and the Mark Degree in 1946. Other Higher and Further Degrees including the Chivalric Degrees were introduced in the late 1940s and the 1950s. All these are administered by the same Grand Lodge as the Craft Degrees.
The Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry took as its subtitle in 1958 ‘The Order of Women Freemasons’, to make its single-sex nature more obvious, and it is by this name that it is known today.
The Order currently comprises nearly 300 working Craft Lodges, based in the British Isles, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe. There are approximately 7,250 members, at last count. The headquarters, Grand Lodge administration and Grand Temple are at 27 Pembridge Gardens, Notting Hill Gate, London. The workings and Constitution of the Order parallel those of the United Grand Lodge of England.
The current Grand Master is Brenda Irene Fleming-Taylor.
Grand Masters of the Order:
* William Frederick Cobb 1908 – 1912
* Marion Lindsay Halsey 1912 – 1927
* Adelaide Daisy Litten 1928 – 1938
* Lucy Bertram O’Hea 1938 – 1948
* Mary Gordon Muirhead Hope 1948 – 1964
* Mildred Rhoda Low 1964 – 1976
* Frances Hall 1976 – 1989
* Brenda Irene Fleming-Taylor 1989 -
Lady Masons, in most peoples eyes are a real masonic secret.
Men and Women together?
The Grand Lodge of Freemasonry for Men and Women was Inaugurated on the 18th February 2001, as a result of a need of an Order for Freemasonry freed from the dictates of other Obediences. These dictates precluded young Masons from reaching Grand Lodge level and as such assisting with the policies of the future.
The Order was created especially to meet a need to provide a modern organisation in the Millennium; maintaining the ancient Landmarks and Principles of Freemasonry, alongside similar Masonic Orders in England, such as the singular masculine and women’s Masonic Orders. It was seen to be of paramount importance to very senior members who were the Founders of the Order, that it is essential that all members, whether in Great Britain or overseas, certify that they have a belief in a Supreme Being.
The sharing of responsibilities of officering a lodge regardless of gender, race or creed brings a vibrant enthusiasm to common responsibilities of Officering a Lodge.
The three great principles of Masonry being Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth are essential to the Order and are the basis of the harmony in Lodges.
With the beginning of the Millennium and the beginning of the Grand Lodge of Freemasonry for Men and Women, it was considered unnecessary to continue with the expression Co-Mason, and to use the one word ‘Freemason’ to express the name of the individual. It was Dr.Annie Besant who said in 1927 at the Festival to commemorate the Founding of the Order of Universal Co-Masonry in the British Federation (later called International Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain). ‘In forming what was at first called in England ‘Joint Free Masonry’ and in France where the Order took its birth, ‘Maconnierie Mixte’ we did not think that would be a very favourable title for us here in England, the term might have been misunderstood, and so we at first chose the word ‘Joint’ and then, a little later, taking the idea from the education of boys and girls together, we used the prefix ‘Co’ to represent our position, and called it ‘Co-Masonry’.
So we, the new moderns, insist that, as we are unable to recognise International Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain, and as an entirely British Organisation, we are now known to all as Freemasons, regardless of gender.
Our Overseas Lodges are independent Grand Lodges but work to our Constitution at present, the Ancient Landmarks are adhered to, and a Belief in a Supreme Being is an essential requirement for all membership.
False Freemasonry.
There are many self styled organisations who have constructed their own Grand Lodges and who carry out initiations on willing but unsuspecting candidates. These are not recognised by legitimate Masonic Authorities, but continue to imitate. Their members are excluded from mainstream or “regular” Freemasonry.
This website is designed to bring you a little of the history of the various fraternities.
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