The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing body of Freemasonry in England, Wales and the Channel Islands. Its headquarters are at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ.
Meetings
UGLE meets in Quarterly Communication on the second Wednesday in March, June, September and December. The Annual Investiture, which is followed by the Grand Festival, is held on the last Wednesday in April.
Administration
The United Grand Lodge of England currently has over a quarter of a million members meeting in over 8,000 Lodges, which are grouped as follows:
Lodges meeting in London (an area generally within a 10-mile radius of Freemasons’ Hall), are administered by the United Grand Lodge of England, which is headed by the Metropolitan Grand Master.
Lodges meeting outside London, and within England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, are grouped into 47 Provinces, whose boundaries often correspond to those of the old Counties, with each headed by a Provincial Grand Master.
Lodges that meet outside England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are grouped into 33 Districts, with each headed by a District Grand Master, five Groups (ie: currently too small to make up a District), with each headed by a Grand Inspector, and 12 Lodges abroad which are directly administered by Freemasons’ Hall.
Publications
The United Grand Lodge of England publishes a Masonic Year Book annually which lists all committees and boards, details for all of its administrative groupings, and all Grand Officers and senior Provincial and District Officers. It also publishes triennially the Directory of Lodges and Chapters, which lists all lodges and their meeting dates and places. Both publications can be purchased from Freemasons’ Hall.
The Book of Constitutions (rule book) has been in the public domain since the first edition was published in 1723 and can also be purchased from Freemasons’ Hall.
Of the 47 Provinces, King Edward VII Lodge comes under the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hampshire & Isle of Wight
This Province was founded in 1869 when the independent Provinces of Hampshire (founded 1767) and Isle of Wight (founded 1772) combined. We therefore trace our history back almost 250 years. The Province consists of 11,500 Brethren each of whom will be a member of one or more of the 253 Lodges in the Province. It can be seen from the List of Towns where Lodges meet that our Lodges cover the entire County.
Each Lodge is an autonomous body run by its members headed by a Worshipful Master supported by various administrative and other officers. Lodge membership varies enormously from, say, 30 to 100 or more; the number of meetings which a Lodge holds each year likewise can vary enormously from two or three to ten or even twelve.
Some Lodges were founded because of a common interest amongst brethren in a particular area or field of activity. And so within the Province we have military Lodges (some for a particular service, others combined services), Old School Lodges, University Lodges, and professional Lodges. Usually these Lodges will accept members from all walks of life, provided they uphold the ideals for which the Lodge was founded originally.
Once a man has been initiated into a Lodge he becomes a member of a worldwide fraternity, he can join Lodges in other areas subject of course to being proposed and seconded and will know that wherever he travels in the world there will be a Masonic presence, Lodges for him to visit and therefore instant friendship and fellowship.
If as a member of the public you would like to know more about our organisation, or wish to consider joining a Lodge within Hampshire (which includes Bournemouth!) and Isle of Wight please contact the
Provincial Grand Secretary
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Link to the United Grand Lodge of England website
Address 85 Winchester Road Chandler’s Ford Eastleigh Hampshire SO53 2GG
Tel: 023 8026 1555