Freemasonry in Suffolk - Misplaced Pages

Freemasonry
Part of a series on

Overview Grand Lodge Masonic lodge Masonic lodge officers Grand Master Prince Hall Freemasonry Regular Masonic jurisdiction Anglo-American Freemasonry Continental Freemasonry
History History of Freemasonry Liberté chérie Masonic manuscripts
Masonic bodies Masonic Masonic bodies York Rite Order of Mark Master Masons Holy Royal Arch Royal Arch Masonry Cryptic Masonry Knights Templar Red Cross of Constantine Scottish Rite Knight Kadosh Societas Rosicruciana Order of Royal and Select Masters Grand College of Rites Swedish Rite Order of Saint Thomas of Acon Royal Order of Scotland Order of Knight Masons Research Lodge Corks Side degrees The Shrine Royal Order of Jesters Tall Cedars of Lebanon The Grotto Masonic groups for women Women and Freemasonry Order of the Amaranth Order of the Eastern Star Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star Co-Freemasonry Masonic youth organizations DeMolay A.J.E.F. Job's Daughters International Order of the Rainbow for Girls
Views on Masonry Anti-Masonry Anti-Masonic Party Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition Masonic conspiracy theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxil hoax
People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston Thomas Smith Webb Albert Mackey Albert Pike John the Evangelist John the Baptist William Schaw Elizabeth Aldworth List of Freemasons Lodge Mother Kilwinning Freemasons' Hall, London Mark Masons' Hall, London House of the Temple Solomon's Temple Detroit Masonic Temple List of Masonic buildings
Related Masonic ritual and symbolism Great Architect of the Universe Square and Compasses Pigpen cipher Eye of Providence Hiram Abiff Chamber of Reflection List of Masonic Abbreviations Sprig of Acacia Masonic Landmarks Pike's Morals and Dogma Propaganda Due Dermott's Ahiman Rezon Volume of Sacred Law
By country Barbados Belgium Canada China Croatia Denmark France Finland Germany Iceland India Indonesia Israel Italy Japan Lebanon Luxembourg Malaysia Malta Mexico North Macedonia Philippines Portugal Romania Russia Scotland South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Thailand Turkey Ukraine Venezuela United States
v t e

Freemasonry in Suffolk dates back to 1772 when the Suffolk "Province" was founded. In 2008 the then Provincial Grand Master of Suffolk, Barry ross, claimed they had 3,000 members organised in 66 lodges. They operate out of 21 centres. As of 2024 there are now 69 lodges in Suffolk. The Freemasons' Hall was built in Soane Street, Ipswich in 1897. It is a grade II listed building run by the Ipswich Masonic Hall Trust.

In accordance with the Suffolk Code, councillors in Suffolk are asked to declare whether they are a Freemason.

History

Ipswich Royal Ark Masons

There are claims that Royal Ark Masons started in Ipswich in 1772, but the documentary evidence only goes back as far as 1789, when Ebenezer "Noah" Sibley and a Mr Wood arrived in Ipswich. The group is sometimes described as "irregular" or "quasi-masonic", as it was formed in order to have a political impact.

United Grand Lodge of England

In 1886 Robert Adair, 1st Baron Waveney was the United Grand Lodge of England Provincial Grand Master of Suffolk until his death on 15 February. There were over 800 freemasons in Suffolk distributed in 22 craft lodges:

Lodge No.	Lodge name	Location	Membership	Notes
71	Unity	Lowestoft	72
81	Doric	Woodbridge	50
114	British Union	Ipswich	47
225	St. Luke	Ipswich	93	Some material archived at the Suffolk Record Office, Ipswich
305	Apollo	Beccles	20
332	Virtue and Silence	Hadleigh	27	Founded in 1811 at the Shoulder of Mutton. When the tenant of the pub died the lodge moved to the White Lion around 1824/5.
376	Perfect Friendship	Ipswich	68
388	Prudence	Halesworth	34
516	Phoenix	Stowmarket	41
555	Fidelity	Framlingham	35
929	Waveney	Bungay	30
936	Adair	Aldeburgh	22
959	Prince of Wales	Ipswich	*
1008	Royal St. Edmund	Bury St. Edmunds	49
1224	Stour Valley	Sudbury	61
1452	St. Margaret	Lowestoft	25
1592	Abbey	Bury St. Edmunds	31
1631	St. Andrew	Gorleston	30
1663	Hertismere	Eye	23
1823	Royal Clarence	Clare	*
1983	Martyn	Southwold	25
9194	Court Knoll	Boxford	39	* = No returns

→

Masonic buildings in Suffolk

Location	Building name	Notes
Chequer Square, Bury St Edmunds	Masonic Hall	Six masonic lodges meet at this hall situated in Chequer Square, at the junction of Churchgate Street and Angel Hill.This is a Grade II listed building, formerly the Six Bells Inn.
Soane Street, Ipswich	Ipswich Masonic Hall	Located at far end of photograph. This is a Grade II listed building.
North Street, Sudbury	Masonic Hall

References

^ Marston, James (2008). "Inside the Masons - dispelling the myths". Ipswich Star. No. 27 August 2008. Ipswich Star.
Bristow, Tom (2017). "Should councillors have to tell us if they are Masons?". No. 17 November 2017. Eastern Daily Press.
Sommers, Susan Mitchell (2002). Parliamentary Politics of a County and Its Town: General Elections in Suffolk and Ipswich in the Eighteenth Century. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275975135.
"Freemasonry in Suffolk" (PDF). The Freemason's Chronicle. XXIII (57, Saturday 10 April 1886): 225–226. 1886.
Archives, The National. "Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England: St Luke's Lodge 225, Ipswich". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. The National Archive. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
Turner, Steve. "124 AND 126, HIGH STREET, Hadleigh - 1194322". historicengland.org.uk. Historic England. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
"Masonic Hall, Bury St Edmunds". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. BritishListedBuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
"Freemasons Hall, Ipswich, Suffolk". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. BritishListedBuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2019.

Categories: