The Minutes of the Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge of 11 June 2008 were confirmed. John Hamill, Director of Communications gave a talk on the history of Freemasons’ Hall.

BOARD MEETINGS 2009

The Board of General Purposes will meet on 10 February, 17 March, 12 May, 21 July, 15 September and 10 November.

ATTENDANCE AT LODGES UNDER THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION BY BRETHREN FROM OTHER GRAND LODGES

Only Brethren who are members of lodges under recognised jurisdictions may visit English lodges. They must produce a certificate (i.e. a Grand Lodge certificate or other documentary proof of masonic identity provided by their Grand Lodge).
     They should be prepared to acknowledge that a personal belief in TGAOTU is an essential Landmark in Freemasonry, and should be able to produce evidence of their good standing in their lodges.
     It is the Master’s responsibility to ensure that these requirements are met.
     It is particularly noted that the hazard of admitting a member of an unrecognised constitution arises not only in connection with overseas visitors (or individuals resident in this country who belong to an unrecognised constitution overseas).
     There are lodges of unrecognised constitutions meeting in England, and care must be taken that their members are not admitted to our meetings.

ATTENDANCE AT LODGES OVERSEAS

The continuing growth in overseas travel brings with it an increase in visits by our Brethren to lodges of other jurisdictions, and the Board welcomes this trend.
     From time to time, however, Brethren become involved with masonic bodies which Grand Lodge does not recognise, e.g. in visiting a jurisdiction which, quite legitimately so far as it is concerned, accepts as visitors Brethren from Grand Lodges which are not recognised by the UGLE.
     In this connection, Brethren are reminded that it is part of their duty as members of the English Constitution not to associate masonically with members of unrecognised constitutions, and should such a situation occur, they should tactfully withdraw, even though their visit may have been formally arranged.
     To avoid this danger, and potential embarrassment to hosts, Brethren should not attempt to make any masonic contact overseas without having first checked (preferably in writing) with the Grand Secretary’s office at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ, that there is recognised Freemasonry in the country concerned and, if so, whether there is any particular point which should be watched.
     The Board recommends that the terms of this warning should be repeated verbally in open lodge whenever a Grand Lodge Certificate is presented, and in print once a year in a lodge’s summons.
     Brethren should also be aware of the masonic convention that communications between Grand Lodges be conducted by Grand Secretaries. They should therefore not attempt without permission to make direct contact with the Grand Secretary of another Constitution.
     This does not preclude direct contact on a purely personal level between individual Brethren under different Grand Lodges.

AMALGAMATIONS

The following Lodges have resolved to surrender their Warrants: Finchley Lodge No. 5031 in order to amalgamate with Arkley Lodge No. 7720 (Hertfordshire) and Waldron Lodge No. 6919 in order to amalgamate with Justice Lodge No. 4763 (Cheshire).
     The Board recommendation that the lodges be removed from the register in order to amalgamate was approved.

ERASURE OF LODGES

Fourteen lodges have closed and surrendered their Warrants: Streatham Lodge No. 2729 (London), Thornton Heath Lodge No. 2985 (London), Cordiality Lodge No. 3982 (East Lancashire), Temple Lodge No. 3990 (East Lancashire), Unison Lodge No. 4051 (East Lancashire), Goodwill Lodge No. 4351 (East Lancashire), Welfare Lodge No. 4780 (East Lancashire). Zodiac Lodge No. 5207 (East Lancashire), Querna Corona Lodge No. 5267 (London), Accrington Lodge No. 6587 (East Lancashire), Pro Juventute Lodge No. 6999 (Middlesex), Anselm Lodge No. 7685 (Middlesex), Grand Porchway Lodge No. 8428 (Middlesex), Attenborough Lodge No. 9109 (Nottinghamshire)
     The Board recommendation that they be erased was approved.

RECOGNITION OF A FOREIGN GRAND LODGE

The Regular Grand Lodge of the Kingdom of Morocco The Regular Grand Lodge of the Kingdom of Morocco was formed on 15 June 2000 from three lodges meeting in Morocco under the Grande Loge Nationale Française.
     Having shown that it is a descendant of a duly recognised Grand Lodge and that it conforms to the Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition, the Board, having no reason to believe that it will not maintain a regular path, recommended that it be recognised. This was approved.

CONDITIONAL RECOGNITION OF A FOREIGN GRAND LODGE

Ghana
     The Grand Lodge of Ireland currently has 20 lodges meeting under its Provincial Grand Lodge of Ghana, two of which meet in Togo. The Grand Lodge of Scotland has 28 lodges meeting under its District of Ghana.
     It is the intention of the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland, following consultation with this Grand Lodge, to constitute from their Province and District respectively a Grand Lodge of Ghana, on 7 and 8 December 2008.
     To date none of the 57 lodges under our own District of Ghana has indicated a desire to participate in the formation of this new Grand Lodge, but nevertheless the Board of General Purposes has agreed that an English deputation should accept an invitation to go to Ghana in order to lend support to the Irish and Scottish Grand Lodges.
     By the time this Grand Lodge meets in December, the Grand Lodge of Ghana will have already been constituted. The Board would prefer that the new Grand Lodge be recognised from the moment of its creation, rather than after a delay, even if it is only a matter of days.
     The Board recommendation that recognition of the new Grand Lodge, conditional upon its being constituted, be granted prospectively, was approved.

NEW LODGES

Warrants have been granted to the following new lodges with their dates: 12 March 2008: Blue Lamp Lodge No. 9840, Chepstow, Monmouthshire and 1 May 2008: Gates of Heaven Lodge Sarah and Abraham No. 9842, Lopes Dias Hall, London.

EXPULSIONS FROM THE CRAFT

Six Brethren have been expelled from the Craft.

GRAND LODGE MEETINGS 2009

11 March, 29 April (Annual Investiture), 10 June, 9 September, 9 December.

GRAND CHAPTER MEETINGS

12 November 2008, 30 April 2009, 11 November 2009.

REPORT OF LIBRARY AND MUSEUM TRUST

The Board had received a report from the Library and Museum Charitable Trust for the year ending 31 January 2008. The 2007 summer exhibition Tokens of Unwritten Lives – the Folk and Popular Art of Fraternity was held at Freemasons’ Hall, London from 2 July to 28 September 2007.
     A free exhibition guide was available to visitors. The changing series of exhibitions in the Library and Museum itself included an exhibition about the sheet music collection to mark the completion of its cataloguing and Squaring the Triangle – Freemasonry and Anti-Slavery, an exhibition to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery.
     At the end of the year the exhibition Recognising London, marking the centenary of London Grand Rank, was opened by Russell Race, Deputy Metropolitan Grand Master.

Cataloguing and conservation
     With funding support from Supreme Grand Chapter, work commenced on cataloguing the print and photograph collection. Further funds for this project were also received from the London Grand Rank Association Heritage and Educational Trust (LGRAHET).

Acquisitions
     The LGRAHET also supported the acquisition of an important miniature painting by Henry Spencer of William Wix, Provincial Grand Master of Essex, which was purchased towards the end of the year.
     Donations of regalia, books and artefacts have continued to enable the Library and Museum to expand its collections.

Provision of research resources
     Increasing use is being made of the Library and Museum as a research resource, with 238 new readers registered during the year (2006: 193). The issue of books and documents has continued to increase steadily.
     Many enquiries are dealt with by mail or increasingly electronically. Family history is an increasingly popular hobby and over 2,000 such enquiries were answered during the year.
     In October, the Library and Museum organised a Family History Study Day for family historians to provide guidance on the use of Masonic resources.

Raising awareness of the collections
     Library and Museum staff undertook a programme of lunchtime talks in Spring 2007 which were free and open to all. The response was again positive.
     Members of staff also spoke at lodges around the country and at meetings of family history societies and local and specialist history groups.
     The Library and Museum was awarded a grant of £22,325 by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in March 2007 to develop the Subject Specialist Network on Fraternal and Friendly Societies and Associations.
     During the year, work was completed on visitor surveys and exhibition development. The Library and Museum also received £2,500 in May 2007 from the London Museums Hub to assist with publicity for Museums and Galleries Month.
     The commissioning of exterior signage, funded with part of this grant, has been of significant longer term benefit to the Library and Museum by raising visitor awareness.
     The Library and Museum hosted the Annual Conference of Archives for London in November 2007.

Financial Review
     As at 31 January 2008, the consolidated net assets of the Library and Museum Charitable Trust were £2,819,927 (2007: £2,536,839).
     The Library and Museum’s trading subsidiary, Letchworth’s (Freemasons’ Hall, London) Limited (“Letchworths”), made a Gift Aid contribution to the Library and Museum of £52,000 (2007: £60,000).