Brethren and guests of Hercies Lodge No. 9651 who attended the 100th meeting of the Lodge at the Uxbridge Masonic Centre on Wednesday 20th November, 2023.
Amongst Craft Lodges in the Province Hercies Lodge No 9651 is a relative “newcomer” having been Consecrated in October 1997. Meeting at Uxbridge Masonic Centre its name, and the fact it meets in Hercies Road, Hillingdon, is very much one of a local origin. On Wednesday 20th November 2023 the members celebrated their 100th meeting which although not long in years, is a significant milestone. Indeed, this meeting also was the 26th Installation Meeting and W. Bro John Powell PPrSGD was Installed as Worshipful Master for the second time having served as Master of the Lodge in 2006. RW Bro Alistair Mason PPrProGM of Middlesex was the personal guest of the Master along with others to celebrate the occasion.
A piece of ritual was performed that Lodges do not regularly work any more and that is the presentation of the Working Tools of an Installed Master which is given in the Board of Installed Masters. It appears that this became an obsolete working dating back some time. However, on the evening the Lodge Secretary, W. Bro Jim Callnon PPrJGW presented them to the newly Installed Master in a version peculiar to the Lodge. Of note was the comment made by RW Bro Alistair Mason that, “it was the first time in his 40 years of Masonry that he had witnessed the presentation of the Working Tools of an Installed Master”. He complimented all the Brethren who took part in the ceremony.
W. Bro Jim said that the version used in the Lodge, although he was unaware of its origins, in his opinion encapsulated the same ethos in today’s wordings and without diluting any of the original meaning when the ritual was a regular working. He supposed it had evolved from Lodge to Lodge and from generation to generation ever since the UGLE imposed changes about a 100 or so years ago.
What’s In A Name
Getting back to the Hercies name, some research came up with a short piece in the Victoria History of Middlesex Volume 4, which your editor just happened to have a copy of. However, the Founders must surely have picked the name because of the association with local history. This is an extract which can be found on the web:
“The origins of the estate later known as Hercies manor are obscure. The property is first mentioned by name in 1386 when it formed part of the extensive estates of the Charlton family. In 1778 or 1779 Hercies was sold to the trustees of Thomas Bridges under whose will it descended to Thomas Clarke, Rector of Ickenham and lord of Swakeleys manor. At the end of the 18th century Hercies or Herres Farm comprised 222 acres lying north of the farm buildings in the rectangular area bounded by Uxbridge Common, the Ickenham boundary, Long Lane, and Sweetcroft Lane. In 1796 Thomas Clarke died and the property, then described as the site of the manor of Hercies, passed to his son Thomas Truesdale Clarke. Under the inclosure award of 1825 Thomas Truesdale Clarke was allotted approximately 330 acres in lieu of Hercies and Rye Fields farms. The property is not mentioned again until 1922 when Hercies Farm was acquired by the local authority.
Although a relative newcomer in the Province, the Lodge can trace its development from Grenadiers’ Lodge No 66 consecrated in October 1739 which still meets at Freemasons’ Hall. The first meeting place is given as May Fair with subsequent Lodge venues in the Mayfair area as we would now know it today. At that time this was firmly in the area known as Middlesex. But that’s another story.
35 members and guest stayed to dine on what was surely a special occasion for the Lodge.
See also:
https://museumfreemasonry.org.uk/themes/pippip/lodge/Chart_66.pdf
https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/LMA_OPAC/web_detail/REFD+ACC~2F0443?SESSIONSEARCH
https://middlesexfreemasons.org.uk/hercies-happenings/
https://middlesexfreemasons.org.uk/l9651-article/
