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HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY IN KINGTON

Freemasonry began in Kington with the formation of the Silurean Lodge in 1791. This was only the second Lodge to be consecrated in Herefordshire by the then Provincial Grand Master, Right Worshipful Brother (R.W.Bro.) Thomas Dunkerley, the first being the Palladian Lodge in Hereford City. The Silurean Lodge met at the Sun Inn in Duke Street and later at the King’s Head, where the town clock and Market Hall now stand. Unfortunately, the lodge was unable to attract sufficient new members and it became inactive after a period of only four years.

Interest in Freemasonry in Kington developed again in 1885 when it was thought that there may be sufficient Freemasons in the area to form a new Lodge. The consecration of the Arrow Lodge was held in March 1888 at the Burton Hotel, by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Monmouthshire, the Provincial Grand Master of Herefordshire being unavailable due to his political duties in the House of Commons.

At an emergency meeting of the Lodge in July 1907 it was agreed to petition Grand Lodge to change the meeting place of the Lodge from “licensed premises to unlicensed and more convenient premises situated at 1, Duke Street, Kington, to be called the Masonic Hall”.

An agreement had been drawn up between Arrow Lodge and the Old Radnor Trading Company to occupy the first floor of the Company’s new premises at the junction of Bridge Street and Duke Street in the centre of Kington, above the present day library. Several of the principals of the Old Radnor Trading Company were members of the Arrow Lodge; thus, the Lodge enjoyed undisturbed use of these rooms, which were described by many as cramped but quaint, for nearly 90 years. With the demise of the Old Radnor Trading Company, the building was bought by the County Council in 1970, and the ground floor converted into the new Kington Library.

The Arrow Lodge continued to occupy the rooms until the County Council refused to renew the lease in 1992 on the grounds that the room would be required for an enlargement of the library. However, this was a time when generally there was some political sensitivity with regard to Freemasonry, and it was clear that the Council felt uneasy about its premises being let for masonic purposes. Suddenly there was the utmost urgency to find alternative accommodation, and extra efforts had to be made to acquire new rooms.

In 1993 a building at Headbrook, Kington, was acquired by the Lodge. The long process of converting this rather unattractive building then began in earnest. The Arrow Masonic Hall Company Limited was formed with representatives becoming Directors from each of the different orders. The Company then set about raising monies from members, by seeking loans, offering shares and accepting donations. The bank provided a substantial facility and subscriptions had to be raised to service the loan.

The conversion and fitting-out was completed by the efforts of many of the members, under the guidance of W.Bros Bryan Giddings and Langley Shuker. Very many hours of intensive effort brought the project into shape, and in October 1994 the room was opened for the Consecration Meeting, the ceremony being performed by R.W.Bro. Brian George Lambert.

During this early period the hall had to double up as a Lodge room and a dining room, so the Lodge furniture and equipment had to be put away, the partition drawn back and tables arranged before any meal could be taken. W.Bros Giddings and Shuker became adept at setting up the dining tables beforehand and stacking them carefully together so that they could be quickly and efficiently brought into use.

As Company Secretary W.Bro David Joyce had the task of presenting a report at the Consecration Meeting to explain the progress made and the work still to be done. He took the opportunity to describe a dream he had had, when he found himself looking through the double doors at the side of the hall into a large empty room with plain walls and a blue floor covering. The more he thought about this dream the more he realised that it had to become a reality.

The kitchen facilities in the original hall were far too small to cope with larger meetings and the small amount of car-parking space by the side of the hall was used for an extension. W.Bro Malcolm Ormerod very kindly designed the extension and obtained Planning Permission. A new appeal for funds was mounted and a new bank loan obtained. The shell of the building was put up professionally in 1998 and subsequent internal works were done by a small group of members completing various tasks as and when money allowed and time permitted.

The extension was finally completed in the early autumn of 2001 providing a splendid room for use by each of the different Masonic Orders meeting there and well worthy of the work and dedication of the brethren who built it. None of this could have been achieved though, without the magnificent response of the other brethren who supported the work by digging deep into their pockets.

So the dream did eventually become reality and the base for Freemasonry in Kington became secure and stable as a result. The Arrow Lodge now meets monthly, eight times a year, and the Lodge of Instruction meets on the fourth Monday of each month. A number of other orders also meet at the Masonic Hall, including Arrow Royal Arch Chapter, Silurean Mark Lodge, and Arrow Conclave of the Order of the Secret Monitor.

Extracted from a History of Freemasonry in Kington, by W.Bro David Joyce, PAGDC