Freemasonry in Scarborough
There is anecdotal evidence of freemasonry being practised in the town of Scarborough from about 1690, but there is definite evidence from 1705 onwards.
In the Beginning
There had been several Masonic Lodges meeting in Scarborough since those early days, such as the Scarsborg Lodge and the Turks Head Lodge. These no longer exist but unfortunately very little of their history is known as records were not generally kept in those times.
The first Grand Lodge in the World was founded in 1717 by the coming together of four Lodges in London, meeting at the Goose and Gridiron Tavern. This was known as the Premier Grand Lodge.
However, in 1751 several other Lodges came together to form a rival Grand Lodge. They named themselves the ‘Ancients’ and confusingly called the first Grand Lodge the ‘Moderns’.
The two Grand Lodges did not see eye to eye, and neither accepted the other to be ‘regular’. However, after 63 years of conflict, they buried the hatchet and in 1813 they joined together to form the ‘United Grand Lodge of England’ (which also included Wales). Generally speaking, this union standardised ritual and practices across England and Wales and it is under this United Grand Lodge that we still meet today.
Ireland and Scotland have their own Grand Lodges formed in 1725 and 1736 respectively.
Scarborough Freemasons
The Old Globe Lodge was founded in Scarborough in 1788, meeting at the Old Globe Inn in Globe Street. At the time, this tavern was the principal hotel in the town and was well renowned throughout the north of England. However, over several years the town underwent a period of change. The centre of the town moved westwards, and the area of Old Globe Street became very run down. The Old Globe Inn had lost its reputation and it was considered by some to be an unsuitable location for masonic Lodge meetings. Consequently, several members broke away from the Old Globe Lodge to form the Denison Lodge No. 1248, which initially met at the newly built Grand Hotel.
Freemasonry was very popular at the time and it was suggested that a new Lodge be formed in 1878, which became the Leopold Lodge no. 1760. It was named after Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, who was the youngest son of Queen Victoria and an avid Freemason at the time. Leopold Lodge also initially met at the Old Globe Inn but, as it was no longer considered suitable, the Lodge rented accommodation at the Londesborough Rooms in Westborough along with Old Globe Lodge.
However, it was thought better that they should own their own premises, so the three Lodges, Old Globe, Denison and Leopold, came together to purchase the former Gentlemen’s Club at 14 St. Nicholas Cliff which is still in use today as the Masonic Hall. The building was consecrated as a Masonic Hall in 1884. The initial purchase also included the premises next door. However, these were later sold and are now in use as a hotel.
Two More Lodges
In 1895 a new temperance Lodge, St Nicholas Lodge No. 2586, was formed which also met at the new premises.
Due to the continued decline in that part of the town, Globe Street and the surrounding area was demolished in the 1930’s as part of slum clearance so, sadly, no longer exists.
Another Lodge, Scarbrough Lodge was formed in 1952. It might be thought that the Lodge was named after the town and that a spelling mistake exists in the name. This is not the case,however. The Lodge was not named after the town but after Lawrence Roger, the 11th Earl of Scarbrough, who was the Grand Master of the Order at that time!
In the 1950’s Scarborough was a very busy seaside resort and holiday town. The members of the Lodge mainly consisted of hoteliers and boarding house proprietors and of course their busy season was in the summer when they were unable to leave their businesses to attend Lodge meetings. Therefore, the Lodge only had nine meetings per year and did not meet in June, July and August which was peak season for them. Although the demographic and occupations of the membership have now changed, Scarbrough Lodge still maintains this practice today!
All five Lodges still exist and meet in the same building that has held Masonic meetings continuously since 1884! Old Globe, Leopold and St. Nicholas Lodges meet twelve times per year. A few years ago, Denison Lodge changed from monthly meetings to being a ‘Daylight’ Lodge, meeting four times per year on a Saturday lunchtime.
There are several other orders of Freemasonry which meet in the same building, such as the Royal Arch, Knights Templar and Mark Degrees but these are accessible only once someone has become a mason by joining a ‘Craft’ Lodge.
Other Masonic Lodges in Scarborough
St Nicholas Lodge 2586
Scarbrough Lodge 7147
Old Globe Lodge 200
Denison Lodge 1248
