Lodge History

A Brief History of The Royal Leopold Lodge No 1669

The Royal Leopold Lodge was Consecrated on the 7th April 1877 in the Surrey Masonic Hall, 295 Camberwell New Road, By the Grand Secretary, R. W. Bro J. Harvey, by command of The Most Worshipful Grand Master (His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, K.G.) later King Edward VII.

Royal Leopold Lodge was so named by the express permission of His Royal Highness Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, who was graciously pleased to permit the Founders to elect him Honorary Member of the Lodge at the time of its Consecration. The Warrant of Constitution is dated 20th February, A.L. 5877, A.D. 1877 the place of meeting, the Surrey Masonic Hall, where six regular meetings were held every year. The First Master installed was Bro. G Newington Bridges, and on October 1st 1877, the first Candidate, Mr William Robert Payne, was initiated.

It is believed that a number of the Founders and first members also belonged to the First Surrey Rifles, but there is no evidence that The Royal Leopold Lodge was ever in any sense, a "Military Lodge".

One hundred and fifty Regular Meetings were held in the Surrey Masonic hall. At the March 1902 Meeting, it was moved "that in the opinion of the members of this Lodge, a more central place of meeting was more desirable". A Committee was formed and in due course a petition was sent to The Most Worshipful Grand Master for permission to hold Regular Lodge Meetings at the Criterion Restaurant, Piccadilly Circus, London instead of the Surrey Masonic Hall. On the 15th day of April 1902, the necessary dispensation was granted by the Grand Lodge, and on Monday 6th October 1902, the first Regular Meeting was held at the Criterion. Other than a break of two years during WWII, the Regular Meetings were held at the Criterion until it closed in 1974. Thereafter meetings were held at the Cafe Royal in Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, until 1977 when the venue was changed to The Horse Shoe, Tottenham Court Road, the first meeting being held there on Tuesday, January 25th 1977. The Lodge now meets at Mark Masons Hall, St James, next to St James Palace.

Committee was formed in 1926 to make recommendations to commemorate the Lodges 50th year Jubilee. These included the provision of a Lodge Banner, and a photo of the Lodge members, these where presented on the 7th March 1927.

On the 7th April 1952 a special meeting was held at the Criterion Restaurant (on the day of the 75th Anniversary) at which the Rt. W.Bro. The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Courtoun. Prov. Grand Master of Bedfordshire, the Rt. W.Bro. Sir Sidney White (Grand Secretary) Sir William Savory (Grand Treasurer) and 13 other Grand Lodge Officers attended. W.Bro. Harry Martin was W. Master.

The Lodge Centenary was celebrated in April 1977 with W.Bro. John H Burrows Worshipful Master.

In 2002 The Lodge celebrated it's 125th year and the members were presented with a firing glass at a special dinner to commemorate the occasion WBro Paul Tiffin being the Worshipful Master.

In 2003 Two Lodge members presented the lodge with a new banner as the old one was very much the worse for wear. The banner was donated by W.Bro Stan Nevill and W.Bro Ron Davis and was dedicated by W.Bro. the Rev'd Timothy L'Estrange, Past Assistant Grand Chaplain, at our 644th meeting on the 6th November 2003, at which, we had 22 visitors along with our V G O W.Bro Ken Endres and our excellent organist W.Bro John Gilbert.

In 2010 The lodge voted to reduce the regular meetings from five to four meetings each year. Then in 2018 to further reduce them to two. In 2023 with the lodge becoming a special interest lodge with more members joining, (In Communications), the meetings were increased to three, and with more members coming will go back to four meeting a year.

The meeting on the 11th February 2016 was the 700th meeting of the Royal Leopold Lodge.

In 2019 meetings were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic by UGLE. During this time members kept in touch by holding Zoom meetings. Restrictions started to be lifted late 2020.

During this time Metropolitan Grand Lodge instigated the forming of special interest Lodges, which were formed on existing Lodges. The Royal Leopold was chosen to form one of these Lodges, and as Prince Leopold was a keen supporter of the arts and literature, the Lodge formed a special interest lodge in communications, arts, and literature, and on the 28th April 2022 eight members from the MetGL communications team become joining members of the Lodge and completed the formation of this lodge. The origin for Royal Leopold to become a special interest Lodge was instigated by W.Bro Rod Glyn-Thomas, who was at that time the Lodge visiting officer, having looked at the lodge history found it to be a perfect fit.

Royal Leopold Lodge was so named by the express permission of His Royal Highness Prince Leopold, George Duncan Albert, Duke of Saxony, Prince of Coburg and Gotha, K.G., K.T., P.C., D.C.L. Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master for Oxfordshire, etc. His Royal Highness was also graciously pleased to permit the Founders to elect him Honorary Member of the Lodge, and this was done on the day of the Consecration of the Lodge, 7th April 1877, the anniversary of the birthday of His Royal Highness. He was Provincial Grand Master for Oxfordshire in 1875, and a member of "Original Lodge No.2". Apparently this Lodge was constituted in 1691 but it probably had an earlier origin and had almost certainly been the Operative Lodge most connected with the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral. When Lodges began to cease to be known by their meeting places it became in 1760 the West Indian and American Lodge and ten years later adopted the title of the Lodge of Antiquity, which it still holds. His Royal Highness married H.S.H. Princess Helena of Waldeck in 1882 but unfortunately he did not enjoy his married life for very long, since on 7th April 1884 a minute of condolence was recorded regarding his death on the 28th March 1884.

Origin of The Royal Leopold Lodge 1669 Lodge Genealogy

A Short Biography of Prince Leopold