Consecration
On the 17th February 1868 Worshipful Brother Henry Muggeridge, a Past Master of the Lion and Lamb Lodge No. 227 (now 192), consecrated our Lodge at Licence's Assembly Rooms on the sea front. He performed this ceremony in the presence of the Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master, Viscount Holmesdale, M.P., and installed Brother George Adamson of 199 as the first Master.
At this meeting, members proposed eight gentlemen for initiation and eleven as joining members. Trinity Pilots predominated the group, which also included veterinary surgeons, licensed victuallers, printers, tailors, and grocers. Brother Adamson must have worked very hard. At his first meeting in March, he initiated eight candidates and admitted the eleven joining members. We cannot imagine how he coped, but he did. Incidentally, the Lodge opened at 6.15 pm and closed at 9.45 pm.
We held our meetings at the Royal Hotel in Clarence Place. The minutes rarely mention 'after proceedings', but I suspect that the brethren engaged in some 'calling off', and the
Junior Warden occasionally positioned his column erect. However, here is a brief account of what followed our 1870 Installation:
"The brethren then adjourned (5.30) to a superior banquet, which was replete with every comfort. Our worthy and esteemed host, Brother Past Master Adamson, served it up.
After the brethren had given the usual patriotic and Masonic toasts, they sang a number of excellent songs, and passed the evening with the harmony and decorum peculiar to the craft."
What more could one desire?
In February 1875, the Lodge installed Brother William Albert Smeeth as Master. His promotion had been rapid, but his influence lasted in the Lodge for over half a century. He served as Secretary of the Lodge for 37 years from 1876, and we can still read his minutes without eyestrain.
In September 1886, we moved from the Royal Hotel to the Freemason's Hall, a building the Lodge had recently acquired. The Lodge voted ten shillings per member as our contribution to decorate and furnish our new home. The Master was Worshipful Brother Woldemar Oehme Kennett, who had played a considerable part in acquiring the new building.
Queen Victoria's Jubilee Year saw the birth of the Military Jubilee Lodge on 23rd March 1887. We acted as the sponsoring Lodge and watched with interest as the new Lodge grew rapidly in popularity.
The last decade of the century was for us a period of steady growth in numbers and friendly relationships between Lodges in Dover and in neighbouring towns. To read about the initiation of such stalwarts as David Henry Wilson, Charles James Sellens, Edward Wilfred Barclay and Alexander William Prince thrills us. It also reminds us of the passing years! Those stalwarts quickly reached the chair; Brother Sellens occupied it during 1899-1900. During his mastership, the Masonic Hall Company was formed to take over from the trustees the ownership of the Masonic Hall. Brothers Sellens and Smeeth joined the Board of Directors and the Company leased the building to the Masonic Hall Committee at a rental of £85 per annum. Charles Steven Harris, who so frequently entertained the Lodge with 'The Bells of St. Mary', was Brother Sellens' last initiate.