Bro Geoffrey Francis Fisher – Archbishop of Canterbury
Bro. Geoffrey Francis Fisher was the 99th Archbishop of Canterbury (1945–1961) and was the archbishop who crowned Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. He also served as an active member of Old Reptonian Lodge No. 3725.
A common misconception is that Freemasonry is a religion. In truth, Freemasonry is not a religion, nor is it a substitute for one. It has no dogma, no theology, and offers no path to salvation. Instead, Freemasonry is a universal fraternity built on morality, brotherly love, and truth. Because it leaves religious worship entirely to the individual’s conscience, it does not divide people by creed. Instead, it unites men of all peaceful faiths—Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and beyond—under one shared foundation: a belief in a Supreme Being. It does not replace a person’s faith; it encourages them to stand together as brothers.
What many brethren in Somerset would be surprised to discover that Bro Fisher is buried within the Province of Somerset.
Fisher was made a life peer, with the title of Baron Fisher of Lambeth, of Lambeth in the County of London.[41] He and his wife settled at Trent rectory, near Sherborne, which today is in in Dorset but was historically in Somerset where he served as an honorary assistant priest and he was described as a warm-hearted country parson, getting to know everyone in the village and playing chess with some of the boys”.
Geoffrey Fisher died on 15 September 1972 and was buried in the churchyard at Trent on 20 September. During his time at Trent he was advised that there was a tomb underneath the Cross in the Churchyard in which no one was buried and he choose this place for his own burial.
