FREEMASONRY IN CHESTER-LE-STREET  – A HISTORY

The exact date that Freemasonry reached the North East of England cannot be accurately pinpointed, but one of the earliest Lodges known to be in existence in the region is Lodge of Industry, which has the number 48 on the roll of the United Grand Lodge of England and which now meets in Gateshead. The Lodge history can be traced back to 1735 when it was a lodge of operative (i.e. working) Masons.

There is also strong evidence that either this Lodge and /or other Lodges existed in the north east several years prior to this date.
Freemasonry slowly spread across the North East at that time, with the first known lodge in Durham being the Marquis of Granby Lodge, which was established in 1738. Following enrolment with United Grand Lodge in 1763, it was given the number 124 and is the oldest lodge to meet in Durham City. Freemasonry in Sunderland (Phoenix Lodge No 94) was established in 1755, and, while Newcastle-upon-Tyne Lodge had been established some years earlier, in 1813 it joined with another local lodge and was given the number 24 on the roll of United Grand Lodge.

However the first Lodge known to be formed in Chester-le-Street, a town with a population at the time of just over 2,000, was Lambton Lodge (No 375) which was consecrated in the Lambton Arms at 11am on 18th April 1824. John George Lambton, who was to become the First Earl of Durham, was its First Worshipful Master.
John George Lambton was also known as “Radical Jack” due to his support for a number of Whig causes – of which political party he was an active member. He also became known as “Jog along Jack” in reference to his response when asked “What was an adequate income for an Englishman?” –he replied “that a man might jog along comfortably on £40,000 per year” (equivalent to about four million pounds a year at today’s prices !).

John George Lambton was a very influential character in everything he involved himself with and, as a Freemason, was appointed as the Provincial Grand Master of Durham and Northumberland in 1818. He was also the first Governor of, what was then, The Province of Canada. After his death in 1840 it was decided to perpetuate his memory by building Penshaw Monument. The foundation stone, for this half size replica of the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, was laid with full masonic ceremony in 1844 by the country’s leading Freemason at the time – The Grand Master, The Earl of Zetland, in a ceremony reportedly attended by thirty thousand spectators. In 1901 Lambton Lodge relocated from Chester-le-Street to Durham, where it still flourishes to this day.
The second Lodge to be opened in Chester-le-Street was Wear Lodge, which was consecrated in 1835 and also met at the Lambton Arms. However, for unknown reasons, Wear Lodge was closed in 1862.

By 1869 however there was again a demand for a second masonic lodge in the town. As a result, The Earl of Durham Lodge was formed in 1869, and on the 13th April 1870 held its first meeting in the new hall – the building adjoining the Lambton Arms which can be seen to the right of the frontage. It had probably been used as a Masonic Hall by the defunct Wear Lodge because in the discussions leading to its refurbishment is referred to as the “old” Masonic Hall. Twenty members attended the meeting, along with six visitors from other lodges. In those days it was not unusual for the business part of the meeting to last for anything up to four hours – compared to no more than an hour and a half in modern times. Refreshment following the meeting was also a serious business, and having ten courses, with alternative choices for the majority of them, was not unusual, along with the complete gamut of wines to assist the digestion.

In 1885 the Earl of Durham’s initiation fee was 5 guineas (£5.25), which was the minimum allowed in England by the United Grand Lodge of England, in a society where 60% of the population earned 25 shillings (£1.25) per week or less. This helps to explain that, in those days, Freemasonry was limited to the middle class with the trades and professions of the lodge members including colliery engineer, farmer, butcher, surgeon, land agent, innkeeper etc.

The Earl of Durham Lodge continues to meet in Chester-le-Street to this day and, after Lambton Lodge moved in 1901 it was, until 1923 the sole Masonic Lodge in a town whose population had now grown to 12,000. Being the only Masonic Lodge meant that it had many members of “status” in the town and the local newspapers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century contain many references to its annual Installation meeting and the appointment of officers within the Lodge. By 1923 the demand to become a member of a Freemason’s lodge in the town was so high that another lodge – Cestria Lodge No 4493 – was consecrated. This expansion in Freemasonry, throughout the country as well as in Chester-le-Street, was to see 5 more lodges consecrated in the town, so that in 2023 the roll of Chester-le-Street lodges, with their usual meeting days, reads as follows:-

EARL OF DURHAM LODGE No 1274 consecrated 1869 Meets 1st Friday of the month

CESTRIA LODGE No 4493 consecrated 1923 Meets 4th Wednesday of the month

LUMLEY LODGE No 5807 Consecrated 1939 Meets 3rd Wednesday of the month

EARDULPH LODGE No 6645 Consecrated 1948 Meets 2nd Friday of the month

FINCHALE PRIORY LODGE No 7059 Consecrated 1950 Meets 2nd Wednesday of the month

LODGE OF PROGRESS No 8259 Consecrated 1969 Meets 3rd Friday of the month

SPIRIT OF RUGBY LODGE No 9910 Consecrated 2015 Meets 4th Friday in January/May/August/November

GAMBRINUS LODGE No 10054 Consecrated 2024 Meets 4th Saturday in January/April/July/October

ANGLERS LODGE No 10052 Consecrated 2024 Meets 1st Wednesday in February/April

 

Spirit of Rugby Lodge was consecrated in 2015 to satisfy the demand amongst freemasons in the area who are keen freemasons and keen rugby players and/or supporters. Their lodge meetings reflect their enthusiasm for both rugby and freemasonry. The Anglers lodge was formed of the back of the Masonic fishing charity within the Durham province and Gambrinus Lodge is all about real ale and a passion for drinking beer , both Anglers and Gambrinus are the newest lodges to form in 2024.

Freemasonry probably reached the peak of it’s popularity, in Chester-le-Street and the rest of the country, in the mid 1970’s when its total membership in the town reached about 700. Since then numbers have fallen somewhat, but there are still nearly 400 members of the lodges in Chester-le-Street, who meet once a month to enjoy their freemasonry and each others company.