The Royal Kent Lodge of Antiquity No. 20 was established in 1723.
In 1781 the lodge was named the Kentish Lodge of Antiquity, but in 1819 was renamed the Royal Kent Lodge of Antiquity reportedly following a visit from the Prince Regent.
The Lodge first met In 1723 at the Anchor Tavern, Dutchy Lane, The Strand, London, this is why there is an Anchor on our Lodge emblem and not a link to Chatham Dockyard as is widely speculated. The Invicta rampant horse is the emblem of Kent. In the early days of Freemasonry it was common for the Lodges to meet in Taverns or the new trend, coffee houses. In 1748 the lodge moved to the Queen's Head, Red Cat Lane, Chatham, Kent, over the centuries they moved around various venues in Chatham including a long stint at the Sun Tavern, until it was destroyed by the 3rd Great Fire of Chatham on 3rd March, 1820 in which most of our records were destroyed. The fire started at Mr Hill's bakers, 69 high street about 2:00am and quickly spread destroying 38 properties but with no loss of life. The first fire occurred in 1779, then the 2nd in 1800. We now meet at the Masonic Hall in Manor Road, Chatham, Kent.
History of all meeting places in date order.
Anchor, Dutchy Lane, Strand, London 1723
Fountain, in the Strand, London 1731
Bedford Arms, Covent Garden, London 1733
Two BlackPosts, Maiden La., Cov. Garden, London 1736
Sun Theatre, Clare Market Coffee House, London 1737
Theatre Coffee House, Bridges Street, London 1738
Bury's Coffee House, Bridges Street, London 1738
Cock & Lion Tavern, St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill, London 1740
Blossom's Inn, Lawrence Lane, Cheapside, London 1741
Boar's Head, Garter & Crown, Finch La., London 1744
Blossom's Inn, Lawrence Lane, Cheapside, London 1744
Queen's Head, Red Cat La., Chatham, Kent 1748
Bunch of Grapes, Chatham, Kent 1751
Globe Tavern, Globe Lane, Chatham, Kent 1763
Mitre Tavern, Globe Lane, Chatham, Kent 1767
Post Office, High Street, Chatham, Kent 1770
Sun Tavern, High Street, Chatham, Kent 1790
Mitre Tavern, Globe Lane, Chatham, Kent 1820
Sun Tavern, High Street, Chatham, Kent 1822
Sun Hotel, High Street, Chatham, Kent 1879
The Masonic Hall, Manor Road, Chatham 1904
The building was erected in 1904 and was designed by the celebrated architect G.E. Bond who also designed some of Chathams most famous landmarks including The Theatre Royal which is now sadly the worse for wear and The Town Hall. It was built solely for the purposes of Freemasonry but today is used by many different organisations and also weddings Banquets, birthdays and other celebrations.
Laying the foundation stone The Lodge room The building today
Stained glass window in Lodge room Close up of the Masters Chair Lodge 20 Banner
Our aims
The Lodge is dedicated to raising funds every year in support of charity and has its own charity, registered with the Charity Commission, as 'The Royal Kent Lodge of Antiquity Benevolent Fund', Reg No. 282613. Recently we have supported many local charities including:- Kent Air Ambulance, The St. John Ambulance, Demelza House Hospice, The Wisdom Hospice, The Oliver Fisher Baby Unit, The National Ataxia Foundation and many more.
We are currently supporting the 2014 charity Festival, where the Province of East Kent, of which we are a part, have pledged to donate £3 Million pounds to the Grand Charity which in turn supports all types of charities country wide. During the last charity festival which ended in 2004 the Province raised over £5 Million.
The Royal Kent Lodge of Antiquity No. 20
Secretary:- John D Knight
Website www.lodge20.co.uk email enquiries@lodge20.co.uk
Meeting Dates Fourth Wednesday, September to November, January to May, third Wednesday in December
Installation March
No. of Members 48
Ritual Royal Kent Lodge of Antiquity
LoI Meeting Dates Mondays, September to May
To visit the East Kent Masonic Library & Museum click on link below
http://www.eastkentfreemasons.org/library/introduction.shtml
Photo Gallery
Chatham Town Hall Theatre Royal Early 1900's Theatre Royal today
