The Formation of the Lodge
A meeting of 30 Masonic brethren interested in starting a new Lodge was held at the Meadows Hotel, Maghull on Thursday 19th March 1964.
The meeting was chaired by W. Bro. E.J. Waugh PPrGD, who in his opening remarks thanked everyone for attending and for the wonderful support shown and that it had given him added determination to proceed with his idea of forming a new Lodge to cater for Masonic activities in the ever expanding Maghull and Aughton areas. All 30 brethren were asked to fill in a questioner signifying their willingness, or otherwise, to become a founder member of this new venture and W. Bro. Waugh stated that he would pass the list of names to the Group Chairman W. Bro. T. Caunce PAGDC for vetting. The conditions demanded by Grand Lodge, regarding the forming of a new Lodge were communicated to the brethren and it was agreed that these could be fulfilled. This concluded the first meeting.
The next meeting was held at the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Ormskirk, for the purpose of meeting the Group Chairman, on 6th April 1964, there were 32 brethren present. After an introduction to all members present W. Bro. T. Caunce PAGDC, Chairman of the Ormskirk Group of Lodges took the chair and opened the meeting with an explanation of the obligations and responsibilities in connection with forming a new Lodge. He then asked for nominations for a Master Designate and a unanimous decision and choice was W. Bro. E. J. Waugh PPrGD. W. Bro. Caunce congratulated the Master Designate and then retired from the meeting. W. Bro. E. J. Waugh then occupied the chair and the following resolutions and elections took place.
The officers for appointment at the Consecration Ceremony were selected. W. Bro. E. Grieves was elected Tyler and it was also agreed that the Senior and Junior Deacons would move directly to the Senior and Junior Wardens positions at the first Installation after the Consecration of the Lodge.
It was agreed that the Emulation ( Nigerian ) Ritual would be adopted , with slight variations, which would be discussed at future meetings. The following names were suggested for the Lodge and were to be sent to the Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master Bro. L. E. Rutherford for his selection and approval, (a) St. Andrews Lodge, (b) Progress Lodge, (c) Northway Lodge.
The Founders fees were set at 25 Guineas and this was to include a charity donation to be made at the Consecration plus a Founders Jewel. The annual subscription was to be 6 Guineas per year for 8 meetings from September to May with the exception of December, the Joining fee was to be 12 Guineas and the Initiation fee 30 Guineas. This concluded the meeting.
Further meetings were held on the 19th May and 23rd June 1964 at which it was decided to change the annual fees to 7 Guineas per year and that there should be 7 meetings from September to April with the exception of December. The Bye-Laws of the Lodge were discussed and left in the hands of the Master Designate and a small committee. The name of the Lodge again came up for discussion and it was reported that the names submitted to Provincial Grand Lodge had not been received too favourably as there were already Lodges in the Province with these names. Eventually it was agreed that the name “Aughton Lodge” should be submitted for approval.
Meetings
The first meeting of the Lodge was held 6 days after the Consecration Ceremony, on Thursday 21st January 1965 at the Wheat Sheaf Hotel, Burscough Street, Ormskirk and they continued there until the Lodge moved to the New Masonic Hall, Park Road, Ormskirk in January 1966 where our meetings have continued until the present day on the third Thursday of each month from September to April.
On the 19th September 1974 at our Sixty Eighth Regular Meeting it was proposed by W. Bro. D. Barron and seconded by W. Bro. Norman Roberts that the Lodge should hold a meeting each year in December. This proposition was passed and the first December meeting was held on the 19th December 1974.
At the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Regular Meeting on the 16th January 1997, W. Bro. R. P. Loughlin, PrGStwd and W. Bro. D. E. Westby, PPrSGD presented to the Lodge a New Perfect Ashlar with the name of the Lodge enscribed on it.
The Lodge Name, Emblem and Banner.
The Lodge name Aughton was given so that the Lodge could serve Masons and Masonry in the Maghull, Aughton and West Lancashire areas and in our membership we are well represented in these parts. The Lodge Emblem featured in all Lodge publications is the Old Aughton Church of St. Michaels, this is contained within concentric circles enclosing the Lodge Name and number.
The Banner is made up of the Lodge Emblem in the centre, surmounted by the letter “G” and the All Seeing Eye and is between two columns , below the Emblem is a pedestal with the Volume of the Sacred Law, on which are the Square and Compasses. The two columns, one supporting the Terrestrial Globe and the other the Celestial Globe, representing Masonry universal, stands on plinths on which are the Level, demonstrating that we are all sprung from the same stock, are partakers of the same nature and sharers of the same hope and the Plumb Rule which like Jacob’s Ladder forms a line of union between Heaven and Earth.
Between the plinths is a wall bearing the date of the Consecration of the Lodge, around the two columns are scrolls bearing the names of all the Founders of the Lodge.
Lodge Banner Dedication
The Dedication Ceremony for the Lodge Banner was held on Thursday 19th November 1987. The ceremony was conducted by W. Bro. Walter Beaver P.S.G.D., A.Pr.G.M., The Banner Bearer was W. Bro. Harry Boscow, P.Pr.D.G.Supt.Wks. of St. Oswald Lodge 5170 who along with his wife had crafted the Banner which was presented to the Lodge by the Class of Instruction.
At the completion of the ceremony W. Bro. Walter Beaver remained in the chair and asked for W. Bro. John Tyrer P.Pr.J.G.W. to be placed before him by the Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies. He then invested him as P.Pr.S.G.W., in his 95th year, and with acclaim from the Brethren.
THE ORATION DELIVERED AT THE CONSECRATION MEETING OF AUGHTON LODGE 7996
The following is the oration given on the 15th January 1965 by the Provincial Grand Chaplain, the Reverend Gordon L. Wheeler
Behold how good and joyful a thing it is brethren to dwell together in unity”. The crest of this new Lodge includes the design of Old Aughton Church. One of the Church’s possessions is a fragment of a pre- conquest cross with runic devices interpreted by some as a symbol of unity. So let unity be our theme, Masonry stands for unity.
For across all the man made vertical divisions and barriers in this world it draws one single horizontal line. Below that line are men of no faith who owe no allegiance to God or to his Laws, men who live for self or for some God denying cause, above that line Masonry unites men of faith, whatever their religious or political allegiance. Men who put God and his laws before self, who are motivated by brotherly love, relief and truth. Masonry means to men of faith. “ In essentials unity is none essentials liberty, in all things charity”. But Masonry itself is not a religion, it is a system of morality and a Brotherhood of men of faith, in unity of spirit, in bond of peace and in righteousness of life.
To this unity we are all meant to bring the full measure of our religion, the wealth of our spiritual experience and conviction, and so to enrich it to make it a positive and realistic unity. Not to do so is to take from it more than we put into it and to veil the unity with illusion, and so to project a blurred image of the world. Neither is Masonry an ivory tower of escapism nor a retreat from hard realities. Nor is it a mere social or philanthropic institution with a tincture of religious flavour, written into its constitution, it is a dynamic ideology, with a highly relevant place and mission in the world. Men below the Masonry line, men of no faith, are being systematically united under a very different militant and atheistic ideology, hell bent on world domination.
In opposition are men of faith , but because of the vertical divisions of political and religious segregation are in a state of disunity. Here is the Achilles heel, which Masonry seeks to protect with its essential unity, for united we stand, divided we fall. So to members of this new Lodge one special word. Despite all your varieties of personality, persuasion and profession, may peace and unity be the keynotes of this Lodge, so that you may be in accord with the harmony of Masonry and so that your bond of union may strengthen the different Lodges through the World. “Brethren how good and joyful ( and highly relevant ) a thing it is to dwell together in UNITY.
W. Bro. Norman Roberts P.A.G.D.C.
The history of Aughton Lodge would never be complete without a few words of thanks to W. Bro. Norman Roberts P.A.G.D.C., ( otherwise known as the silver fox and the father of the Lodge ), for his dedication, and the guidance and assistance that he gave to Aughton Lodge and its members from the time that the Lodge was Consecrated.
Norman was a Founder Member at the Consecration of the Lodge in 1965 but made rapid promotion from being a Steward at that time to becoming its Worshipful Master on the 21st September 1967. It was obvious that he was a good ritualist because after a year as Immediate Past Master he was appointed Director of Ceremonies of the Lodge a position he held until 1985, he then took over as Secretary of the Lodge for the following 14years.
W. Bro. Norman only missed two Lodge meetings between 1965 and 2003. They were the Installation Ceremony in 1997 and the following meeting. The reason was that on the day of the Installation he had his left leg amputated due to an old war wound, (or so he kept telling us), but he rang from his hospital bed at 8-00 p.m. on the night to see that everything had gone to plan.
He was a great believer in the Class of Instruction and was always telling the brethren that the only place to learn the work correctly was at the class meetings on a Thursday night. He was the Preceptor of the Lodge from 1969 until 2003 and the classes in those days were regularly attended by twenty to twenty five brethren.
Unfortunately W. Bro. Norman Roberts P.A.G.D.C. died on 15th December 2003 and he has been sorely missed.