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On Friday 22 April at the St. Giles Masonic centre in Colchester, the Constantine Lodge of Mark Masters No. 145 celebrated its 150th anniversary and continued working as a Lodge. The Constantine Mark Lodge was Consecrated on Wednesday 17 April 1872 at the Three Cups Hotel in Colchester and is the oldest Lodge in the Mark Province of Essex.
Constantine is the sponsoring Lodge of the Essex Province, itself Constituted in 1899. The Lodge is also the sponsor for the Essex Installed Mark Masters Lodge No. 1044 and sits at the head of a family of 12 Lodges in Essex from Dunmow No. 527 as the first Lodge to be Consecrated into the Essex Province and Southern Star No. 2026 as the newest addition and 50th Mark Lodge in Essex.
The Consecration of Constantine took place 16 years after Mark Grand Lodge was itself Constituted with the Albert Victor Mark Lodge No. 70, the oldest in East Anglia being the sponsoring Lodge. The Primus Master and then-Secretary of the Albert Victor Mark in 1872, WBro Charles Thomas Townsend, PSGD, was the Consecrating Officer. The 2nd Master of Albert Victor, WBro the Rev. Robert N. Sanderson was the Primus Master of Constantine and would have a busy day ahead of him.
Constantine is the sponsoring Lodge of the Essex Province, itself Constituted in 1899. The Lodge is also the sponsor for the Essex Installed Mark Masters Lodge No. 1044 and sits at the head of a family of 12 Lodges in Essex from Dunmow No. 527 as the first Lodge to be Consecrated into the Essex Province and Southern Star No. 2026 as the newest addition and 50th Mark Lodge in Essex.
The Consecration of Constantine took place 16 years after Mark Grand Lodge was itself Constituted with the Albert Victor Mark Lodge No. 70, the oldest in East Anglia being the sponsoring Lodge. The Primus Master and then-Secretary of the Albert Victor Mark in 1872, WBro Charles Thomas Townsend, PSGD, was the Consecrating Officer. The 2nd Master of Albert Victor, WBro the Rev. Robert N. Sanderson was the Primus Master of Constantine and would have a busy day ahead of him.
With the Consecration done, the Master and his officers turned their attention to the Advancement of 12 Brethren which was duly completed. One of the Brethren Advanced was Thomas Ralling, who would go on to have a huge impact on Freemasonry in Essex. He would become the Secretary of Constantine Mark the following year, in 1873, and remain in post until his death in 1924 except for the years 1880 and 1881 when the Master. He would be the very first Provincial Grand Secretary for the Mark Province of Essex in 1899, remaining in that post until his death in 1924.
Over the following 7 years, Constantine Advanced 30 Brethren, and in 1883, the Lodge became a Founder of the Province of East Anglia.
Over the following 7 years, Constantine Advanced 30 Brethren, and in 1883, the Lodge became a Founder of the Province of East Anglia.
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For today’s celebration, the Constantine Lodge was opened and its regular business was undertaken. The details of 2 joining members were read out, were balloted for, and supported so that the Lodge would grow again, following their recent Advancement.
The Lodge was Called off so that the Provincial Grand Master, RWBro Terence D. Sheern and his Provincial team could assemble and enter the Lodge. The ProvGM took the Chair for a short time to introduce his team which included the Deputy PGM, WBro John Finlay and an Assistant PGM, WBro Richard Goodwin. The Chair was returned to the Master and the celebration of the Lodges' 150th year began. |
The current Secretary, WBro Sid Philpin then gave a brief history of the Lodge, recounting the early years and giving those assembled a few facts and figures to set the scene before moving into the lives of a few of the Brethren that have had a lasting impact on the Lodge. This included Thomas Ralling and 3 other Brethren, all of which had a different story to tell and a few details of their lives and contribution to the Lodge were given. There was intrigue and murder in the shadows of the Lodges' past but also a great contribution to the local community and the Mark Province in particular.
Constantine is the foundation on which the Province has grown from the 2 Essex Mark Lodges that formed part of the Province of East Anglia in 1883 to the 7 that would support the Constitution of the Province of Essex in 1899. Today, Constantine is the sponsor to the 1st and last Mark Lodges Consecrated in the Essex Province, and in celebration, almost every Lodge in the Province had a representative in attendance to support the members of Constantine and the 1st Lodge in the Province to reach this milestone.
Constantine is the foundation on which the Province has grown from the 2 Essex Mark Lodges that formed part of the Province of East Anglia in 1883 to the 7 that would support the Constitution of the Province of Essex in 1899. Today, Constantine is the sponsor to the 1st and last Mark Lodges Consecrated in the Essex Province, and in celebration, almost every Lodge in the Province had a representative in attendance to support the members of Constantine and the 1st Lodge in the Province to reach this milestone.
70 Brethren remained to dine and were gifted a history of the Constantine Lodge booklet and a Mark Token to mark the occasion. The Prov. GM stood at the festive board and relayed some sadness about the sudden passing of the Assistant Grand Master, who was due to attend the celebration as the official visitor of Grand Lodge and who was looking forward to the event.
The evening ended with a few final words from the Master who thanked the Constantine team for organising the event and those in attendance to support them in their anniversary year, with an eye to the next 150 years.
The evening ended with a few final words from the Master who thanked the Constantine team for organising the event and those in attendance to support them in their anniversary year, with an eye to the next 150 years.
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Posted 27 April 2022
