Three Hundred Years of Freemasonry in Bath
On 22nd February, renowned speaker, historian and author, Malcolm Toogood from Elizabethan Lodge gave a well-received presentation to the Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution at their premises in Bath.
Covering three hundred years of Freemasonry in Bath, from the early years when they met in rooms above public houses
to the present day at the Bath Masonic Hall, in use since 1865.
The lecture Covered the growth of the Fraternity locally, as well as detailing some of the personalities who formed the Lodges; including nobility from across the South of England, members of the Royal Society and local luminaries, plus the contributions made by local Freemasons to the growth of the city over three centuries.
2024 is the 300th Anniversary of the Consecration of the first Lodge to meet in Bath, and thereby also of the first Lodge to meet in the County of Somerset. Not only that, but The City of Bath Lodge No 28, meeting at the Queen’s Head Hotel, was the very first Lodge to be formed outside of London under the Premier Grand Lodge of England. So, Bath and consequently Somerset, are the first provincial areas in England and Wales to be able to celebrate such an anniversary, which is why Bath Freemasons have organised a series of events throughout the year to mark this important anniversary.
