Essex Enthroned Commanders & Essex Installed Mark Masters No. 1044.
Saxon Hall
Thursday 14 September 2023

Both the Enthroned Commanders Royal Ark Mariner and the Installed Masters Mark Lodge share a significant record. They are both the largest Installed Lodges in the English Constitution in their respective Orders. Their membership currently stands at 262 for the Mark Lodge and 191 for the Mariner Lodge. These impressive numbers make for vibrant, important and dynamic meetings.
So, the meeting for the Mariner Degree saw the Installation of W.Bro. John Waters, RAMGR, as its Commander. John was Elevated into the The Brentwood Lodge of Royal Ark Mariner, No. 377 in 1999, 24yrs ago, was Enthroned as Commander in 2004 and then subsequently appointed to ProvRamGR in 2009 and RAMGR in 2015. John has been a loyal, constant and competent supporter of RAM and Mark Masonry ever since his admittance and thoroughly deserving of the appointment as Commander of EEC.
W.Bro. Rob Neal carried out the Ceremony of Installation in a faultless manner and the Address to the Commander was outstanding. Once John Waters had been Installed, and his officers were appointed and invested, he went onto thank everyone and looked forward to being the Commander of such a prestigious Lodge.
So, the meeting for the Mariner Degree saw the Installation of W.Bro. John Waters, RAMGR, as its Commander. John was Elevated into the The Brentwood Lodge of Royal Ark Mariner, No. 377 in 1999, 24yrs ago, was Enthroned as Commander in 2004 and then subsequently appointed to ProvRamGR in 2009 and RAMGR in 2015. John has been a loyal, constant and competent supporter of RAM and Mark Masonry ever since his admittance and thoroughly deserving of the appointment as Commander of EEC.
W.Bro. Rob Neal carried out the Ceremony of Installation in a faultless manner and the Address to the Commander was outstanding. Once John Waters had been Installed, and his officers were appointed and invested, he went onto thank everyone and looked forward to being the Commander of such a prestigious Lodge.

Once the normal business of the Lodge was completed, it was closed, and the transformation of the temple took place very quickly to prepare it for the Installed Master’s Lodge. The Lodge was opened by the Master, W.Bro. Sidney Philpin. There was a report, and the Assistant Grand Master, R.W.Bro. Prof. Denovan K. Wilson was welcomed into the Lodge and saluted.
With the pleasantries completed and the first work done, the Lodge was treated to the Lecture on the Degree of Mark Master Mason by W.Bro. Vince Bull. This was delivered in a faultless, word perfect and dignified manner, and was received with the deepest congratulations from all present.
The Lodge then received reports from its Almoner and Charity Steward. After the Charity Steward had completed his report, W.Bro. Chris Hicks, who doubles as Essex Craft Provincial Charity Steward as well, presented the Prov.G.M with a cheque for £10,000 from Essex Craft towards our MBF Festival 2030.
The Prov.G.M thanked Chris on behalf of the Province and asked him to extend his appreciation of the donation to R.W.Bro. Paul Tarrant, Prov.G.M of Essex Craft.
The Assistant Grand Master then went onto address the Brethren and explained how a donation had been made that day to the troubles in Libya. He also thanked Chris Hicks for the donation saying that it was nice to see the Craft and Mark Degree working in harmony to support charity. On that note, the Asst.G.M. then went on to congratulate W.Bro. David Lambert on reaching Diamond Patron status in the MBF and to present him with his collarette.
With the pleasantries completed and the first work done, the Lodge was treated to the Lecture on the Degree of Mark Master Mason by W.Bro. Vince Bull. This was delivered in a faultless, word perfect and dignified manner, and was received with the deepest congratulations from all present.
The Lodge then received reports from its Almoner and Charity Steward. After the Charity Steward had completed his report, W.Bro. Chris Hicks, who doubles as Essex Craft Provincial Charity Steward as well, presented the Prov.G.M with a cheque for £10,000 from Essex Craft towards our MBF Festival 2030.
The Prov.G.M thanked Chris on behalf of the Province and asked him to extend his appreciation of the donation to R.W.Bro. Paul Tarrant, Prov.G.M of Essex Craft.
The Assistant Grand Master then went onto address the Brethren and explained how a donation had been made that day to the troubles in Libya. He also thanked Chris Hicks for the donation saying that it was nice to see the Craft and Mark Degree working in harmony to support charity. On that note, the Asst.G.M. then went on to congratulate W.Bro. David Lambert on reaching Diamond Patron status in the MBF and to present him with his collarette.
Once the meeting closed the Brethren retired to the bar for a short while before sitting down to the Festive Board.
Our Provincial Grand Master proposed the toast to the Assistant Grand Master and presented him with some keepsakes to remind him of his visit. These took the form of a “I love Essex” baseball hat, a vest as it gets cold in the AsstGM home county of Durham, and a mug explaining some of the slang used in and around Essex.
In his response, the AsstGM thanked our Prov.G.M for his gifts but informed him that he would be unable to wear the vest as at it had taken his daughters 30 years to get him to stop wearing them. Not to be out done by the Essex slang, he then explained some Durham slang.
Our Provincial Grand Master proposed the toast to the Assistant Grand Master and presented him with some keepsakes to remind him of his visit. These took the form of a “I love Essex” baseball hat, a vest as it gets cold in the AsstGM home county of Durham, and a mug explaining some of the slang used in and around Essex.
In his response, the AsstGM thanked our Prov.G.M for his gifts but informed him that he would be unable to wear the vest as at it had taken his daughters 30 years to get him to stop wearing them. Not to be out done by the Essex slang, he then explained some Durham slang.
Posted on 16/09/23