Portcullis   Lodge No 6672

A Short   History 

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Portcullis Lodge No. 6672 was consecrated on 14th. September 1948. It was the first daughter Lodge of St. Hilda No.1887 and most of the 20 founders were members of St. Hilda. The new Lodge was needed to help Berkshire Masonry keep up with the increase in membership which followed the end of World War II. The days of austerity were passing and men were seeking opportunities to continue the camaraderie they had found in the Services.

Within the province of Berkshire, new Lodges were consecrated at over one per year for the first 30 years after the War, an unprecedented rate unlikely to be seen again. Most of these new Masons were professional men aged between 30 and 40.

The Consecration Meeting was held at 3.30pm on Tuesday, 14th. September 1948. From the reminiscences of the few remaining Brethren, it is clear that the occasion constituted "a very bright light in an otherwise gloomy and dull, post-war world".

The Consecrating Officer was RWBro. C.R.I.Nicholl, the Provincial Grand Master of Berkshire and the first Master was WBro. P.C.A. Slade, a Past Master of St Hilda Lodge (as were all Masters of Portcullis up to 1954). Included in those first minutes are references to the forthcoming gifts of Pedestals and Candlesticks etc. from Jerusalem Lodge No. 197 and the proposing and seconding of the first Initiate, Mr. Douglas Hatt, a Solicitor. The Lodge is named after the emblem of the Town of Wallingford.

Portcullis began its working with a first regular meeting on Tuesday 9th. November 1948, beginning the pattern of meeting on the second Tuesday in September and November through to April which has continued unchanged. In the 50 odd years since, there has been only one occasion when the Lodge has needed to invoke the provision "emergencies excepted, of which every Brother will receive due notice", when the Master Elect for 1950/51, James Chambers, stood down for a year because of ill-health necessitating a meeting in August to elect a replacement. There were two other items of note at that meeting: the Lodge received a gift of a Tyler’s sword from WBro. Henry Alcock of St. Hilda and the decision was taken that the Master of St Hilda Lodge and his successors would be permanent guests of Portcullis Lodge during their year in office.

During the remainder of its first year, Portcullis clearly fulfilled its purpose of bringing into Masonry some of the many who wished to join. As well as passing and raising Bro. Douglas Hatt, two other Masons completed their three degrees. At the March meeting, three Candidates for the following year were proposed, including Mr John Herbert Wyndham Wilder, an Engineer and a Lewis.

Looking back over the last 50 years of Portcullis, certain key figures and influences are evident. Lt. Col. R.H. Ingham Clark's importance in the early years of the Lodge cannot be overstated: he was one of the main movers in the formation of the Lodge and his relationship with Jerusalem Lodge No. 197, of which he was a Past Master, led to several further gifts including a gavel and maul from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, which he presented in 1949. He was the first Director of Ceremonies in Portcullis Lodge and went on to become Provincial Grand Master of Berkshire. He continued to be a major influence in Portcullis Lodge until his death in 1970.

The brethren who proposed and seconded Douglas Hatt in 1948 could hardly have foreseen the part he would play in their new Lodge. Progressing quickly through the offices he became the first Initiate to gain the Master’s chair in 1955. He subsequently succeeded one of the Founders, WBro. C. Atwell as Secretary in 1965, an office he held until 1983. He has continued to support and guide the Lodge in many ways since then, not the least as a reliable "substitute" for absent brethren at various Lodge meetings.

The Lodge can lay claim to two of the six Provincial Grand Masters of the period, since in addition to RWBro.  R.H. Ingham Clark, the fourth initiate Bro.Tim Wilder, went on to become Worshipful Master in 1957, Director of Ceremonies from 1960 until 1968 and became Provincial Grand Master in 1985 until 1994. The wise counsel and support of RWBro. Tim Wilder throughout his years in office and since his retirement as PGM, has influenced and helped shape Portcullis Lodge and Wallingford Masonry in general.

Dr. Charles Wilkinson was initiated in 1953 and became Master of the Lodge in 1963. In 1985 he was promoted to PJGD and went on to become Provincial Grand Master of Berkshire and Oxfordshire in the Mark Degree, a position he held from 1980 to 1987. In addition to these Provincial Grand Masters we were fortunate in having Peter Goldsworthy as an initiate in 1964, who became Master in 1978. He was our Director of Ceremonies from 1983 to 1990, promoted to PAGDC in 1992 and was Provincial DC from 1994 until his untimely death in 1995.

The Lodge has produced these three Grand Officers and a fair complement of acting Provincial Officers. Given the changes to both the economic climate and the fortunes of Freemasonry generally since 1948, we have been fortunate in having a steady number of candidates during this period. In the course of 385 meetings, 124 candidates have been initiated; 38 of its Masters were Portcullis initiates and only our 1997 Master, WBro. Keith Foster, has occupied the Chair twice.

 

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