Royal Cumberland Lodge – 294 Years of Tradition

The Royal Cumberland Lodge has welcomed its newest member, as newly made Brother Peter was initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry by Worshipful Master Bob, ably assisted by Brothers Ross, Peter and Vincent, along with contributions from other members of the lodge.

Peter, a self-employed physiotherapist, from Peasdown St. John, who has an interest in history and tradition, was attracted to The Craft not only by its encouragement of high moral standards and ethics, but also by the fraternity and comradery it provides to its members.

Freemasonry is all about probity, fraternity and tradition, and Royal Cumberland, being one of the oldest lodges in the country, is certainly steeped in tradition and history. Therefore, the lodge was a perfect “fit” for Brother Peter.

With only six years until the Lodge celebrates its tercentenary, there is every chance that Brother Peter’s name will be added to the Past Masters Board by then.

Following the formality of the ritual, there was a lively Festive Board, at which Peter proved himself a master of the “trial by heads and tails”, in which he won a bottle of premium dark rum. 

The game raised over £120 for Norwell View Farm, Norton St. Philip, which provides residential support for those with PTSD, and is entirely self-funding.

As an aside, a last-minute visitor, who had heard about Royal Cumberland on the Old Theatre Royal guided tour that morning, observed, “one of the joys of visiting is that you get to see the subtle differences lodges adopt when approaching the ‘standard’ ritual, but Royal Cumberland’s workings were something else! It was fascinating to see such a unique ritual”.

He was later informed that, if he liked Royal Cumberland’s Craft workings, he should visit Royal Cumberland Royal Arch Chapter, which has its own, unique workings, lending variety to the body of Somerset’s Royal Arch.