Knock knock, who’s there? Knock knock - Surely a first, using a Bob Dylan song lyric as a Masonic tag line! However, our Masonic ‘Three Knocks’ have a very different meaning and a much older history, their use dating back to at least the early 18th century. Knock knock - Loud knocks have always been […]

The Mystery of the White Vase To many this simple, albeit odd shaped, white vase is just that, a simple decorative vase but look closer can you reveal its secret? It is there and in plain view but can you see what the vase is showing you? It is amazing what can be discovered if […]

Lt. Colonel Beauchamp background Lt. Colonel Beauchamp (Clayton), after whom the lodge is named, was born in India in 1842. He trained at the Addiscombe Military College in Surrey; and in 1865 as a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers he returned to India to be the District Engineer for Gurruckpore, where he was involved with […]

The Oakley House Auxiliary Hospital Oakley House Auxiliary Hospital opened at Oakley House, Bromley Common in 1915. It was staffed by the Kent 50 Voluntary Aid Detachment, who had previously operated a number of very small hospitals in private homes across the town, these small hospitals were closed on the opening of Oakley Houser. For […]

Speaking of talks article Speaking of talks - In the early days of Speculative Freemasonry the Degree floor workings were much shorter than ours today; instead for much of the meeting the Brethren would sit around a candlelit table taking part in Degree lectures designed to test and expand their Masonic knowledge. Much of the […]

Why Swords in Freemasonry? Swords in Freemasonry - Swords were still being used as weapons in conflicts well into the 20th century; but there is also a long and ongoing history of their symbolic use, not just to represent war and battle but also justice, honour, and power. The New Testament Book of Ephesians 6:17 […]

Slide show Slide show - In today’s world of digital technology, it is not unusual for lectures to be delivered in Lodge Rooms using computer driven PowerPoint slides. Prior to this electric slide projectors were sometimes used, many of us will remember the heckling when a slide was put in upside down but there is […]

The Masonic Del Boy Masonic Del Boy - Although often accused of behaving badly Francis Columbine Daniel was certainly not a bad man; he actively supported many charities, and designed an award winning life-jacket. He was born in 1765 in King’s Lynn, and at 14 was apprenticed to a surgeon and apothecary at Wapping in London’s docklands; where in 1788 […]

1st Degree Charge in action 1st Degree Charge in action - At our Initiations we were charged never to lose sight of the allegiance due to our native land, and to always remember that nature has implanted in our breasts ‘a sacred and indissoluble attachment’ to the country of our ‘birth and infant nurture’. When […]