Ickenham Lodge is a Lodge under the jurisdiction of the United and Honorable Fraternity of Ancient and Accepted Masons of England in the guise of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE). It is numbered 5770 in the Register of the Grand Lodge of England.
Contents
In terms of Masonic genealogy, the roots of Ickenham Lodge go back to Shakespeare Lodge (Warwickshire) No. 284, which was Consecrated in 1792. Ickenham 5770 is the fifth daughter lodge in direct line of succession from Shakespeare 284 (q.v. Masonic Genealogy Chart). After sponsoring Ickenham St Giles Lodge in 1944, Ickenham 5770 sponsored the formation of Field End Lodge 6924 on 10 September 1949, which, in turn, sponsored the formation of Haste Hill Lodge 7592 (1958). Again, in turn, the latter Lodge sponsored Copse Wood Lodge 8000 (1964). Field End Lodge then sponsored another daughter Lodge (a great-granddaughter Lodge), the Lodge of Sincere Friendship 8548 (1973). These five Lodges have been dubbed the “Cinque Lodges of Middlesex”, with the aim of a greater degree of association between them. At one time an annual golf tournament took place between members of the Cinque Lodges. Ickenham Lodge also sponsored the formation of Ickenham St Giles 6028 in February 1944, which then onwardly sponsored the Hundred of Elthorne Lodge 7596 in 1958. In 2013 Haste Hill Lodge was erased, bringing an end to the "Cinque Lodges".
Founding
The Founders of the Lodge were from the Ickenham area, having taken up residence there just after the First World War, when the district became a dormitory town on the periphery of Greater London. A number of them sang in the choir and worshipped in the beautiful 14th Century Ickenham St Giles Church, but their acquaintance with each other was mainly brought about by their daily journey to London. Discussion of common interests whilst traveling on the Metropolitan Line soon led to the formation of the Ickenham Lodge of Instruction (hereafter referred to as the Lodge of Rehearsal = LOR) under the leadership of the late WBro Swabey, acting as Preceptor, the late WBro W Crabb, as Secretary and Treasurer, and ten other brethren. Their meetings were held in the winter in the comparative seclusion of the Ickenham Cricket Club pavilion. There was little or no heating and the only means of access was across the flooded pitch and outfield. Street lighting was not provided in those days and the journey from home to the LOR was made in complete darkness. Due decorum was observed at the meetings, if unconstitutionally held, which terminated in the social atmosphere of the club bar, equipped with fruit machines and other indoor sports equipment. In these surroundings the LOR progressed, until the activities came to the notice of the Executive of the Province, when the LOR officers were kindly, if firmly, asked to associate themselves formally with a properly constituted lodge To this end enquiries were made, as a result of which Ruislip Lodge No 4301 gladly accepted the LOR as their “No 2”, no doubt to the relief of the Province. The LOR progressed over the years, witnessing brethren passing through the Chair of their respective lodges and welcoming other brethren new to the village. In 1938 some members considered the time had arrived when they could embark on the ambition to found a lodge in Ickenham. Most notable among the founders was Edwin Flavell, a brigadier who fought in both World Wars and was a commander under Field Marshal Montgomery. From 1967 to 1985 he was Provincial Grand Master of Berkshire. The minutes of a meeting held in the “Coach and Horses”, Ickenham, by the intending Founders on 14 July 1938 record:
WBro F J Hilburn was elected Chairman of the Founders and Bro W Crabb as Secretary, that the intended Lodge be named Ickenham Lodge to meet at Freemasons’ Hall, Uxbridge on Saturday in the months of February, April, October, November.
Consecration
Consecration and First Meeting The Warrant of the Lodge was granted by Grand Lodge on 7 December 1938 and the Consecration took place at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London at 5.30 pm on Monday 27 February 1939. The Consecrating Officer was the RWBro A Burnett-Brown PGW, Provincial Grand Master, assisted by WBro J Howell Evans PGD Deputy Provincial Grand Master, WBro J Herbert Banks DL PGD APGM and eight other Provincial Grand Officers; the seventeen Founders were all present together with seventy-two Visitors. The total of one hundred brethren present makes this occasion the largest meeting in the history of the Lodge to date.The Consecrating Officers were subsequently made Honorary Members of the Lodge. The first Master of the Lodge, WBro William H Johnson, was installed by WBro J Howell Evans and of the fifteen officers he appointed and invested at the Consecration, no fewer than eleven went on to occupy the Chair of King Solomon in Ickenham 5770. A committee was elected to frame the By-Laws of the Lodge and the remainder of the business was taken up with the reading of four applications for Initiation and five for Joining. The Charity Box raised £5.15.6d (around £300 in “real terms” 2004). Of the four Joining Members, only Bro J E Aspinall succeeded to the Chair (1950). The then Bro F C Collins was the first Initiate (30 March 1940) to become Master(1953). The First Master, WBro W H Johnson, did not obtain Provincial Honours and the records note that he resigned in 1952. The First Regular Meeting of the Lodge was held at The Masonic Hall, New Windsor Street, Uxbridge on Saturday 6 May 1939, with fourteen Officers together with five other Members and twelve Visiting Brethren present; a total of thirty-one. It is interesting to note that this meeting was held by Dispensation, as the original date was inconvenient. Two candidates were Initiated, Mr J A E Dill (hire purchase credit manager) and Mr J A Hoare (company director). The By-Laws were voted through with the addition that the Masters of Royal Union, Draytonian and Ruislip (our Sponsoring Lodge) be made Honorary Members. Although not a member of the Lodge, WBro W Swabey, Preceptor of the Ickenham Lodge of Rehearsal, presented the first Volume of the Sacred Law for Ickenham and was then unanimously elected an Honorary Member. The records show that Bro Swabey lived in Palmers Green and died in March 1941.
(Hawley, John G: "65 Years On. The History of Ickenham Lodge No. 5770 " 2004 and minor updates. Copy held at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London and the Local Studies section in the Uxbridge Reference Library).