The Consecration of Wyke Millennium Lodge No. 9696
November 20th, 1999
Fittingly, the last Lodge consecration of the Millennium on November 20th was a sparkling occasion. It was also carried off with a great deal of style in splendid surroundings. One hundred and thirty five Brethren attended an event which combined great dignity where such was appropriate with a lightness of touch which has become the hallmark of the Provincial Grand Master’s incumbency.
The new Lodge will meet in the comfortable surroundings of the Tickton Grange Country Hotel where the consecration ceremony was carried out in the newly constructed Rose Room by the R.W.Provincial Grand Master who was supported by twenty three “active” officers of Provincial Grand Lodge. Fifteen officers of Grand Lodge also attended. Following the consecration the Deputy Provincial Grand Master installed W.Bro. Kevin Shilcock as the first Master and also gave the address to the Master. The Assistant Provincial Grand Masters addressed the Wardens and Brethren.
By common consent the high point of the consecration ceremony was the oration by the Provincial Grand Chaplain, W.Bro. the Rt.Revd David Galliford. This inspiring and timely message for Freemasonry going into a new Millennium is reproduced below and should be carefully read and acted upon by all Freemasons.
The meal following the consecration attracted one hundred and twenty five members. The figure would have been higher but for the competing attraction of the Technical Lodge 5666 Installation that afternoon, where the much respected W.Bro. Harry Plater was installing his successor having already attended the consecration in the morning.
Following Provincial custom the layout of the meal was upon thirteen round tables with no discernible “top” table, other than that upon which the R.W.Provincial Grand Master and Master Mason members of the new Lodge sat with the newly installed Master. The rest of the Rulers, Past Rulers and Grand Officers were distributed around the room in what proved, once again, a popular arrangement in what it is hoped will become the norm in all Lodges in future.
In his proposition of the R.W.Provincial Grand Master’s toast, Bro. Shilcock mentioned that the aims and objectives of the new Lodge will focus particularly upon service to the local community. He announced that a collection following the ceremony and a raffle held in the evening would be distributed to the local Cubs and Brownies and a shortly to be established “Rainbow” group in Tickton. He also indicated testing times ahead for members of the Lodge used to Humber working, because the Lodge intends to use “Emulation” working.
In his response the R.W.Provincial Grand Master commended both the intention to be part of the local community and the fact of meeting in an Hotel. This, he said, could only be beneficial in projecting Masonry as an organisation devoid of sinister and secretive motivation and which will be seen to be a group of like minded men enjoying themselves in a seemly fashion and doing good in their local community. This must be the aim of all Masons in moving into the new Millennium – to be a more open and sensitive society devoted to destroying the harmful myths propagated in the past fifty years by our detractors.
A splendid consecration Ball held in the evening in the room in which the consecration ceremony was held was attended by nearly one hundred and fifty brethren and partners. A raffle raised both £1,000 and cries of “fixed” when both the PGM and DPGM won prizes. A memorable weekend ended with “Brunch” on Sunday morning at which a group of local cubs and brownies did great work at the buffet before being presented with cheques for £250 each. Good reports on this event and the consecration itself appeared in the Hull Daily Mail. The many members who stayed over the whole weekend dispersed with the feeling that the Province has acquired a new Lodge of real quality.
The first Lodge to be consecrated in the Province in this century, Lord Bolton, was numbered 3263 in 1907. It says a great deal for the virility of Freemasonry in this century that the last to be consecrated bears the number 9696.
Included in the list of Honorary members voted on by the members is Bro. Griff Hatton who was referred to by the Master as having provided much inspiration for the Founders. Credit is due to Brian Baker, the Founder Secretary for the splendid organisational work leading up to the consecration and Dieter Ellwood, the Founder Director of Ceremonies, and, indeed, all of the Founders who could be seen on the Friday night previous to the Consecration in shirt sleeve order manhandling the mass of equipment needed – much of it loaned by courtesy of Constitutional Lodge 294 in Beverley. The support given by a most obliging Hotel staff also augurs well for the future.
This information is sourced from The Provincial Grand Lodge Year Book 2000