W. Bro Leonardo Monno (PPrGStdB) member of the News Team, presents a fascinating account of the formation and early days of Pinner Lodge and its members.
In the nineteenth century, England was home to fraternal organisations which were established to provide the destitute with a safety net as an alternative to entering a workhouse. Indolence was associated with poverty and the institutions of the workhouses were set up to alleviate such social plague. In exchange for hard labour, they provided shelter and sustenance to the poor. But regrettably, they only succeeded in curbing freedom, separating families, and failed to find outside work for the destitute, with the exception of a small number of lucky young and healthy people. The British Prime Minister Disraeli, described the workhouses as “none other than prisons.”
Among the three fraternal organisations present in Middlesex throughout the nineteenth century, the Oddfellows was the more prominent and boasted a membership of 250 principally made up of craftsmen, farmers, and merchants.But, when the National Insurance Act in 1911 gave birth to the Welfare State, mutual organizations like this became less relevant, and some of their members directed their interest and attention towards Freemasonry.
Middlesex freemasonry has an extensive history. The Royal Abercorn Arms Lodge No 1549, for example, has met at the Abercorn Arms Hotel in Stanmore, Harrow since 1875 and according to Masonic historian Prof. A. Beaver, throughout the 1900s there were at least six Masonic Lodges in and around Harrow. Over time, these have either merged, changed their names, or not survived due to declining membership.
The Premier Grand Lodge of England exercised its authority over territory which was ostensibly Middlesex when it was formed on June 24, 1717. In 1815, the boundaries were broadened to cover areas within a ten-mile radius of the Grand Lodge in Holborn, London, resulting in the inclusion of Harrow and Pinner.
The Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex, was formally established on January 22, 1870, following a petition submitted by nine Local lodges. Its consecration ceremony took place at the Clarence Hotel in Teddington and Sir Francis Burdett was installed as its first Provincial Grand Master.
An important note about the Masonic Province of Middlesex is that only once in history did a Provincial Grand Master become the ruler of England. HRH Albert, Duke of York, served as the Middlesex Provincial Grand Master from 1924 to 1936, and following the abdication of his brother Edward, he ascended to the throne of England as HM King George VI that same year.
With regard to Pinner, there are only two Masonic Lodges listed in the Provincial registry with that name: Pinner Lodge No. 3423 and Pinner Hill Lodge No. 6578. Established on November 4, 1947, the latter had a strong affiliation with the Pinner Hill Golf Club, which supplied most of the Lodge’s members. A significant decline in membership, however, led to its erasure in June 2009.
The Birth Of An Exclusive Masonic Lodge In Pinner
Ye Old Cocoa Tree Tavern
On November 16, 1909, a group of twelve Freemasons convened at Ye Old Cocoa Tree Tavern on the High Street to deliberate on the creation of a new Lodge that would cater to the requirements of those residing or working in and around Pinner.
A second meeting was held a week later and the number of Freemasons who signed the petition to Grand Lodge increased to twenty-seven including Police Constable William Penfold from Wembley, who for reasons unknown, later decided to withdraw his endorsement. These signatories were all members of other Lodges that met in places like Watford, Rickmansworth, Willesden, Cricklewood and even Central London. The majority were Freemasons in the third-degree, ten were Past Masters of their Lodges of Provenance, two were Middlesex Provincial officers, and one was London Grand Rank Freemason.
In terms of profession, the members of Pinner Lodge No 3423 were mainly merchants and craftsmen from the High street. Among them were the chemists A W Hall and Frederick Gurney, proprietors of two stores on the High Street. They were joined by the master tailor Francis Conway; the manager of the London Bon Marche Drapers Alfred Henry Mellish; the licensee of the Queen’s Head public house Dawson Billows and his father Charles Billows, the local boys’ schoolmaster; the solicitor A. Toovey; the newspaper owner Willie John Sholl; and even the gentleman Charles Leonard Rummens.
The Pinner Lodge’s summons for May 15, 1911, indicates a year after its foundation it had thirty-four members. Such growth was the result of the initiation of more local individuals, namely the manager of the Midland Bank at 10, The Parade: Albert Townshend, the butcher; Trayton-Geering, the builder; William Whittle, a commercial traveller as well a poultry dealer and an ironmonger.
As the residents of Pinner grew more sophisticated, so did their interests, resulting in an influx of more craftsmen and professionals with different, and in some cases, totally new, sets of skills.
Who Are The Freemasons?
For example, among the Pinner Lodge’s Freemasons of the 1920s and 1930s, we find: a dentist; a bookshop owner; two builders; various engineers; a land agent; an auctioneer; two accountants; an art collector; two factory managers; an architect; a hotel owner; an insurance broker; two constables; and an Inspector from the Metropolitan Police Force.
A Merry Masonic Meeting At The Queen’s Head Hostellerie
On Friday, May 9, 1913, the Pinner Observer published the article “Masonic Dinner at Pinner: A Successful Annual Function.” It reported about the members of the Pinner Lodge No3423 meeting on Thursday, May 1st, at the Queen’s Head on Pinner High Street to celebrate the lodge’s achievements in its first three years of operation.
The licensee of the Queen’s Head was Charles Dawson Billows, a founder of Pinner Lodge along with his father and local schoolmaster, Charles Billows.
Many influential local characters from the parish were present for the extravagant and delectable supper, as recounted by the Pinner Observer. There was the Councillor and solicitor Arthur Toovey; the Midland Bank branch manager A. Townshend; the pharmacist A. W. Hall; the High Street two stores proprietor Fred Gurney; the headmaster of the local boys’ school, Charles Dawson
After the meal, they raised glasses in a toast to the Duke of Connaught, the then Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England and sent wishes for a speedy recovery to his consort the Duchess of Connaught, who had just undergone surgery.
Prior to closing the evening with joyful songs, the brethren delivered speeches. This is a strong tradition in Freemasonry, and new members were actively encouraged to engage in this activity in order to enhance their self-assurance. Regrettably, not everyone has an innate talent for it.
Anecdotal Evidence
Here are a few anecdotes which I hope you will enjoy.
‘During my first period as a Freemason, I encountered a situation where I had been speaking for a while before I paused to ask, “Can everyone hear me?” “Yes, I can hear you,” replied a senior Freemasons sitting at a table close to mine “but I am willing to switch my seat with someone who cannot.” I am afraid one can never be too well prepared as a speaker and must always expect to find one or two jokers amongst the audience’.
Over the course of its first thirty years, Pinner Lodge achieved notable success and played a pivotal role in the establishment of 49 new lodges in Middlesex, referred to as daughter Lodges. These were smaller entities established by Freemasons, whose larger provenance Lodges’ internal progression list for promotion hindered their advancement.
I came across an anecdote that vividly portrays the despair experienced by those frustrated ambitious Freemasons. When a Lodge’s Secretary passed away, a brother who had been eagerly waiting for that office to become vacant, approached his Worshipful Master and asked him: “Do you think there is a chance for me to replace him?”. The Master gave it a serious thought and replied, “I have no objections, and I will have a word with the undertakers and see if it can be arranged”.
As you see Freemasons undeniably possess a sense of humour and their company can be a greatly enjoyable one.
When World War I broke out, the people of Pinner showed their patriotism by joining the Army as volunteers or reservists. The implementation of conscription seems to have commenced only in early 1916.Throughout the conflict, the local newspaper regularly printed lists of community volunteers’ names that it took from legitimate sources, one of which was also Pinner Lodge. The Observer’s data was undoubtedly genuine, but the editor demonstrated a lack of knowledge of how diverse a Lodge’s membership can be, because not all Pinner Lodge Freemasons were local residents.
Giuseppe Emilio Ceci, an Italian-born British citizen who worked at the British Museum and was an operatic tenor in his spare time was just one such outsider. Coming from Hammersmith where he lived, he became a member of Pinner’s premier Lodge, despite being a complete outsider to the community. Perhaps after Giuseppe performed at a music event at the Ye Old Cocoa Tree hotel on the High street, one of Pinner Lodge’s brethren approached him and invited him to join?
Before the development of Masonic centres, which eliminated the need for Lodges to migrate between hotel rooms, schools, public houses, restaurants and so forth, each Lodge was tasked with providing and removing its own furniture at the beginning and conclusion of each function.
Soon, the Brethren came to the realisation that sharing brought significant cost reductions. As a result, in its early days, Pinner Lodge No3423 entered into an arrangement with the Lodge of Unity No1637 for the use of its furniture in return for a nominal fee. Other lodges were already emulating this strategy on a nationwide scale. Prior to 1955, the Gayton Rooms in Harrow were the designated locations for hosting ceremonies and festive boards of many Middlesex Lodges, including, of course, Pinner Lodge No 3423 and Pinner Hill No 6578.The rooms were above Wright Cooper’s Bakers & Confectioners shop at 301 Station Road, Harrow, which now houses a Superdrug store.
Historical records indicate that, with a Grand Lodge’s dispensation, on some occasions the Pinner Lodge moved its festivities to either Cafe’ Monico or the Frascati Restaurant, two Italian food establishments of excellence in the West End of London. Perhaps the different arrangement was dictated by a large presence of Freemasons that necessitated more seating capacity? What is certain, however, is that other Masonic Lodges also adopted this approach and became not particularly loyal to their designated location.
Before World War I, the stewards of Pinner Lodge consistently offered cigars and ample amounts of alcoholic drinks at the Lodge Festive Board. This tradition played a significant role in attracting several prospective candidates, as you can imagine.
But its implementation declined during World War II and has not been reinstated since. Instead, from 1939 to 1945, the Lodge began to serve a fixed amount of beer on every table to complement the meals, which, although it was a period of strict rationing, were always described as abundant.
Until the mid-1980s, the Masonic Lodges in the Middlesex Province had a substantial membership, and their meetings often drew hundreds of attendees. Long-serving Freemasons have told me that for many years there was a regular need to place two additional rows of chairs around Kenton’s main temple. In 1956, both the Pinner Lodge and the Pinner Hill Lodge began gathering there.
In July 1944, the Right Worshipful Bro Alan Burnett, Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex presided over a meeting at the Gayton Rooms, to discuss a plan for the acquisition of a site that would serve as a permanent home for the Middlesex Freemasons. Representatives from forty-two Masonic Lodges attended and endorsed the motion, but it took the committee nine years and an exhaustive search to find a suitable home.
In April 1953, the Northwick Sports Club site at Northwick Circle, Kenton y was purchased and after some structural alterations it opened the doors of its bar and fully furnished Temples to the Middlesex Lodges on October 2 of the same year.The building is currently one of four Masonic centres in the Middlesex province, with the other three being in Twickenham, Uxbridge, and Southgate.
Conclusions
Philanthropy is a long-standing Masonic tradition, and it is only coincidental that my account of the Freemasons of Pinner Lodge might perhaps suggest that what motivated those good men were commercial interests.
If we believed this, we would not be further from the truth because the desire to give to charity is the distinguishing characteristic of a Freemason’s heart!
The principal beneficiaries of the individual philanthropic charity work of Lodges in Middlesex are organisations that support the local communities and hospitals, as well as retirement and care homes like The Princess Alexandra in Stanmore, Michael Sobell Hospice in Northwood, St. Luke’s in Kenton, and many others. All contemporary Masonic Lodges are places where diversity is a reality, and where members happily interact with one another without regard to race, country, or religion.
As to the issue of secrecy in Freemasonry, this can be better and hilariously summed up by the following anecdote. During a friendly match between a Freemasons football team and one made up of laymen, a late-arriving spectator unknowingly approached a brother and inquired about the score. “I can’t tell you,” replied the brother “It is a secret!”
You may be surprised to find out how significant is the number of households in Pinner and Middlesex in general, that have a member who is a Freemason. If you ask your neighbour, chances are that he is one of us.
Worshipful Bro. Leonardo Monno PProvGStdB
RESOURCES:
Middlesex Matters by Prof. Alan Beaver, 1995
Lane’s Masonic Records
Pinner Lodge No 3243 records
British Newspapers Archive
Ancestry.com
Middlesex 150 – A history of the Masonic Province of Middlesex 1870-2020, by Ron Selby
Masonically Speaking by Yasha Beresiner.
https://museumfreemasonry.org.uk/themes/pippip/lodge/Chart_2548.pdf
