As with all Lodges, indeed most regularly organised societies, their histories are recorded within their minute books. In the case of Jordan Lodge, our first minute book was stolen, during a burglary in August 1991. I had the very unfortunate privilege of discovering that break-in the next morning, and can assure you that it was a most traumatic experience. The smaller safe, containing the early records, had been taken away. Not only was the whole of the building in a terrible mess, but the main source of the history of the first twenty-seven years of Jordan Lodge, and consequently detailed information regarding our members, was gone and probably lost forever. However, sufficient records of the membership of the Lodge were contained in the HISTORY OF JORDAN LODGE, published in 1922 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary, to enable a start to be made on collating the basic information again, and I felt that it was essential to do this as soon as possible, in case any further records were lost.

The present notes are the results of that work to date, and contain the members lists from the 1922 publication, together with information from the minute books of 1900 onwards; from the Declaration books - the ones the new initiates sign before their first entry into the Temple, and from the monthly signature books which give the dates of the meetings held, together with a fairly accurate list of those attending. I have also referred to the minute books of the Lodge G.P. Committee.

Jordan Lodge was founded in 1872, and the following entry, from the first pages of our first minutes book, shows how the Lodge was brought into existence -

The formation of a second Masonic Lodge in Torquay having suggested itself by circumstances in connection with St. John's Lodge No. 328; Bro. John Chapman introduced the matter to Bro. David Watson, W.M. of St. John's Lodge No. 328, and several of the Officers. After having several conversations with brethren holding important positions in St. John's Lodge, a regular meeting of that Lodge was held on March 18th 1872, to discuss the matter.

To further the idea, Bro. John Chapman, S.D. of St. John's wrote to the brethren seeking support for the new Lodge, and invited those in favour to a meeting on 8th April. Thirteen brethren attended that meeting, agreed to the formation of Jordan Lodge, and elected the first officers, including Bro. Thomas Perry who would be our first Master. A Committee was formed to make the necessary arrangements, and support was sought from St. John's Lodge for the new Lodge, together with the use of the St. John's Temple and Lodge furniture.

As a result, a meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge was held, at the Bath Saloon, Torquay, on 22nd August, 1872, when the Provincial Grand Master, R.W. Bro. the Rev. John Huyshe, M.A., constituted and consecrated Jordan Lodge No. 1402, and installed Bro. Thomas Perry as its first Master. (Bro. Perry had joined St. John's in 1869, from the Lodge of Perseverance No.164, Sidmouth, and was SW at St. John's). The business of the Provincial Grand Lodge was then resumed, and the P.G.M. invested the Provincial Officers for the year, including W.Bro. C.J. Harland, our first I.P.M. and a P.M. of St. John's Lodge, who received the collar of Provincial Junior Grand Deacon. The Worshipful Master then invested his officers, the majority of whom were members of St. John's Lodge. Our first S.W. was John Chapman who was also first Treasurer, J.W. James Murray, the D.C. was William A. Goss, Secretary L.M.F. Sarre, I.P.M. was C.J. Harland a past master of St. John's, I.G. Thomas Morgan, Chaplain J.P. Foster a member of Hauley Lodge No. 797. These eight were also Founders of the Lodge. The first initiate was Charles W. Johns who also became our first Tyler.

Our regular meetings were originally held at the Masonic Hall in Parkhill Road, naturally enough as St. John's Lodge was and is our Mother Lodge. At the beginning the initiation fee was set at seven guineas, and the annual subscription at £1.11.6d, 'this to include a free banquet at the installation meeting (exclusive of wines!). The joining fee was 10/6d.

Although there was a banquet following each Installation Meeting, at a cost of from 5/- to 6/6d as the years progressed, suppers were not a regular part of the meetings of the Lodge at that time. A note occasionally attached to the summonses in the 1930s stated "Supper at Close of Lodge - 3/6d". In the late 1940s it became a regular note stating either "Supper" or "Light Refreshments".

In 1898 the temple in Tor Hill Road, which we now occupy, was completed and dedicated. It was built on land originally owned by our 30th member, William Veitch, who ran the Torbay Horticultural Establishment, which extended from South Street to the other side of the present town hall site. The entrance to the nursery was here, on the site of our Lodge building. So you can well appreciate that Jordan Lodge was built very early in the development of this part of Torquay. On 13th September our first meeting, an Installation, took place in our own temple, and it became our regular meeting place, although we nearly lost the continuity when Tor Hill Road, including the Temple, was bombed and badly damaged on September 4th 1942, and for two months we were privileged to meet again at St. John's Temple, returning home again in November 1942. We also had dispensation from P.G.L. to hold our installation meetings elsewhere for several years in the 1970s and early 80s, at the Trecarn Hotel in Babbacombe, because a larger hall was needed for the numbers attending our annual meetings at that time.


In 1907 the members resolved not to meet in August, and this arrangement was extended, only two years later, to include July, although in 1910 two emergency meetings were held during the recession, to cater for extra ceremonies. A year later the members realised that Summer working was essential, at that time, to the good order of Jordan Lodge, and the Lodge resumed full monthly meetings. The two month summer break was again introduced in 1986, and is still with us today.

Jordan Lodge has now met on 1538 occasions. Our membership to date consists of 7 founder members, 467 Initiates, and 231 joining members, giving a total of 705, in 132 years.

Many of our members have been local civic dignitaries, including several mayors of Torquay, W.Bro. John Taylor, Bro. J.B. Richardson, W.Bro. T.J.R. Taylor, W.Bro. H.W.D. Thomas (who was also the first Master of Sanctuary Lodge No. 5358 at Mortonhampstead in 1932), Bro. D. Rowland Ward, W.Bro. K.R. Bryant, and more recently W.Bro. Denis Damerell, who was the last Mayor of the County Borough of Torbay before it reverted to a municipal borough. There were also several town councillors, Aldermen and J.P.s amongst our membership. Others have been chief officers of the local authority, including Bro. Frederick Samuel Hex who, after serving as Clerk to the Local Board, was the first Town Clerk of Torquay from 1892 until 1921. He was also made a Freeman of the Borough in 1921, as was W.Bro. John Glanfield.

To these names may be added a Borough Engineer, two Water Engineers, a Borough Treasurer, a Parks Superintendent, an Assistant Town Clerk, later Education Secretary; and W.Bro. Ernest Wilton Goss who built up the orchestra and became manager and musical Director at the Pavilion.

The masonic and public records of a few of our greatest early members, W.Bro. John Chapman, W.Bro. John Lane, from whom we obtained the major elements of our fine library, and W.Bro. John Taylor, Mayor of Torquay in 1902-1904, are well-documented in the Golden Jubilee History of the Lodge, published in 1922. However, we should remember that the vaste number of our members have been local business men, builders, doctors, clerks, solicitors, schoolmasters, hoteliers, wine merchants, accountants, grocers, engineers, salesmen, etc., and to relate the individual achievements of each member would take more time than we can spare this evening. However, I would mention one, W.Bro. Arthur Ellis, Master in 1942, and onetime lodge librarian. His claim to fame was authorship of the very important classic "A Historical Survey of Torquay", from whence we obtain a large amount of our information on the town's development, and the involvement of its citizens, and indeed from where I have gleaned some of my information for this paper.

One more member is perhaps is worthy of special mention. W.Bro. Jim Skardon OBE, who joined us from the Earl of Mornington Lodge No. 2000 in London. He was, as many members will know, a top M.I.5 Spycatcher. His extraordinary achievements would have filled many books, but Jim once told me that he would never put on record his full story.


Jordan Lodge has had 128 Masters, three of whom have served for two years. Most of our Masters have eventually progressed to receive Provincial honours, but only seven have gone on to be honoured with a Grand rank; they are W.Bros. John Taylor, John Lane, Ernest Goss, Cyril Nickels, Walter Sydenham, Ernest Hodges, and Bill Bradford.

We also have 46 honorary members. Apart from the P.G.M.s, and other P.G.L. officers, there have been several honorary members either of or having interesting masonic associations with Jordan Lodge.

Among our own members given Honorary status, usually at the end of their active service to the Lodge, are W.Bros. James Murray and John Chapman, both Founder members of the Lodge; and two recently departed members, W.Bros. Sydney Bryant and Walter Sydenham. Another Honorary Member was W.Bro. George Rankin, who, as a member of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement, was instrumental in obtaining, for Jordan Lodge of Instruction, recognition by Emulation Lodge in 1920.

Our Lodge of Instruction was only the twenty-first out of a total which is now at 117, Lodges recognised or affiliated to Emulation Lodge of Improvement. And we are the only Lodge in the Province to have been accorded this honour. Consequently we have a very high standard to live up to! It is also interesting to note that W.Bro. Rankin was invited to act as Installing Master at our annual ceremony in 1924, such was the esteem with which he was respected by Jordan Lodge.

The Honorary list also includes, in recognition of their great masonic literary talents, W.Bros. R.F. Gould and W.J. Hughan. Gould was the Editor of the foremost History of Freemasonry, and Hughan wrote many internationally acclaimed works on the subject. Both attended this Lodge from time to time. W.Bro. Hughan also compiled the John Lane Library Catalogue, and is remembered in the naming of the ground floor members' room.

It was the practice, certainly in the early days, to regularly use the facility of 'Emergency Meeting' to meet the need for extra time for ceremonies. 1899 and 1900 were exceptionally accommodating in this respect. In 1899, apart from the twelve regular meetings there were two emergency meetings, in all initiating 8 new brethren; on January 10th of that year there was an initiation, a raising, and three passings! An emergency meeting on 7th February was for one passing and three raisings. A similar pattern followed in 1900, but in 1903, not a single new member was initiated!

Eventually, in 1917, Grand Lodge instructed that 'not more than two candidates be dealt with on any one eve, except by special dispensation'. Consequently, in 1918, 1919, and 1920, there were a total of 18 emergency meetings to meet the demand, and a total of 29 new initiates entered the Lodge in the space of three years, nearly every meeting being a double ceremony. I wonder whether we could maintain that pace today!

Lodge membership has fluctuated fairly widely over the years, rising from 20 at the end of the first year, to a peak of 145 in 1947, and it is now down to 62. Although as recently as 1987 our membership was still over the 100 mark.

Also in the early days, it was usual for the main events within the lodge, chiefly the annual Installation, to be reported in the local press, giving a full list of all the officers for the year. Memorial services were treated in the same way. In June 1903 an instruction arrived from Grand Lodge curtailing the use of the press for publicity purposes, although items from both Provincial Grand Lodge and the local lodges, including Jordan, were appearing in the press as late as 1935.


Here are a few snippets of interesting information gleaned from the pages of the Lodge minute books and the G.P. Committee minute books -

19.08.1875 - Bro. John Newton elected as Lodge Tyler

08.01.1895 - Bro. John Newton Celebrates 20 years as Tyler

09.01.1905 - Bro. John Newton celebrates 30 years as Tyler

08.11.1909 - approval was given to the building of the kitchen extension, at a cost of £79.5.0

11.04.1910 - It was resolved that the freehold be acquired at a cost of £200.0.0

12.06.1911 - It was considered that portraits of the Past Masters should be displayed in the Lodge - P.M.s would present their own portraits; the W.M., W.Bro. J. Westaway, suggested "So that in a hundred years' time our successors would be able to see what a good looking lot of brethren ruled the Lodge in these times"!

08.02.1915 - Bro. John Newton celebrates 40 years as Tyler. On the same evening, apparently the Initiate, when presented with the charity box at the N.E. Corner, produced a generous handful of diamonds from his pocket (this is confirmed by an article in The Freemason, dated 20th Feb 1915!)

10.09.1922 - The Golden Jubilee of Jordan Lodge was marked with a service of thanksgiving at St. Luke's Church.

12.01.1925 - Bro. John Newton celebrated 50 years as Tyler

13.08.1928 - Bro. John Newton retires as Tyler after 53 years in the office, and Bro. H.Braund is elected to replace him.

30.08.1940 - all members were requested to bring respirators into lodge meetings.

13.04.1942 - There was an air raid during meeting, and members of the Civil Defence Unit left the meeting for the duration of the raid

04.09.1942 - The lodge building, together with the adjoining terrace of houses, was seriously damaged by a bomb during an air raid.

08.05.1944 - Whilst a candidate for initiation was being prepared, the Tyler, Bro. H. Braund, collapsed and died. You can no doubt imagine the shock to the candidate, as well as to everyone else in the Lodge. Naturally enough the ceremony was deferred until a later date. But sadly too, Bro. John Newton had died only a week earlier, at the grand old age of 95.

23.11.1968 - Our daughter Lodge, Petitor, No. 8234, was consecrated. Among its Founders were three members of Jordan Lodge, Bros. W.T. Bradford, B.D. Winsor, and M.R. Hooper, all of whom eventually became Masters of the new Lodge.

And finally, where did all of this information come from. All our record books are of course a part of the library; and consist no only of the minute books, but also the attendance signature books, at one time known as the Tyler's books; the declaration books, the G.P. Committee minute books, the Lodge of Instruction minute books, and so on. But the library is far more than a few record books. Our library was started in the late nineteenth century, soon after the consecration of the Lodge. But it was materially enhanced by the acquisition of the John Lane collection of several hundred masonic volumes, which were so well catalogued by W.Bro. W.J. Hughan. And that was over one hundred years ago.

CONCLUSION

I have made considerable reference to our own published histories, The 1922 Golden Jubilee History of Jordan Lodge, by W.Bro. Stanley Lane, and the 1972 Centenary History by W.Bro. Charles Harris.

W.Bro. Mike Chittenden BA (Open) PPrGSwdBr, Lodge Librarian
Jordan Lodge No. 1402 – 14th July 2004