Our History
Greville Lodge No. 4773
Who are we?
Founded in 1925
We meet in warwick
Meetings of the Lodge take place on the third Thursday of the month from September through until April with the exception of December.
These meetings normally start at 6.15pm but this can vary dependent on the content of the meeting. Following the Lodge meeting we all dine together at what we call the Festive Board.
We also hold Lodge of Instruction meetings on nine Friday evenings during the year where we learn and practice ritual for our masonic ceremonies.
Social Events
Our Members
How we describe our Lodge
● Warm and friendly welcome to new members joining the Lodge.
● All members are treated with respect and treated equally regardless of background.
● A feeling that there is always someone there to support you.
● Almost 100 years of history and tradition.
● A good combination of humour combined with a high standard of Masonic ritual.
● Strong charitable ethos in terms of giving and support.
● Lodge successful in recruitment and retention of members.
New members welcome
Commitment
THE HISTORY OF GREVILLE WORKING
By W Bro. S J Drabwell PProvJGW 2011
The particular form of ritual practised in Greville Lodge is known as Greville Working, based on Emulation, but with quite a few differences. For many years, from the 1960s onwards, its origins were not known. I was a Preceptor for 14 years in the 1980s and 90s and I did not know where it came from – nor did any of my contemporaries. It was always accepted without question.
Greville Working was never written down, but passed by word of mouth through the generations. In those days, a thorough knowledge of the ritual was expected in every candidate for the Master’s Chair. Ritual books were not opened, or even visible in the Lodge of Instruction or rehearsals. Brethren were expected to learn their work before they came. In consequence, the Past Masters, and especially the Preceptors were steeped in the ritual and variations were not contemplated.
Nowadays a different, and more relaxed approach is adopted and brethren sometimes query Greville Working and ask why we do things in this way.
This prompted me, as one of our Senior Past Masters, to investigate the origins of our working and to ascertain whether it has always taken this form or has suffered alteration over the years.
The form of ritual to be practised in a lodge is usually determined by the founders and it is there that I started my investigations.
Greville Lodge was founded in 1925, sponsored by Shakespeare Lodge No. 284. However, only three of our nineteen founder members were from Shakespeare Lodge. Eight were from the Lodge of Unity, No. 567 and four from Guy’s Lodge No. 395 who met in Leamington.
These are all very old Lodges, Shakespeare was founded in 1792 and Guy’s in 1829. It was Guy’s Lodge that sponsored Unity in 1849.
When the United Grand Lodge of England was formed in 1813 as a union of the “Ancients” and the “Moderns”, there was no standard form of ritual. Grand Lodge settled the ceremonies in 1816 but took the view that no attempt should be made to commit the ritual to writing. It was some 60 years later that ritual books began to appear and those were in abbreviated form.
Our three founding Lodges were all well established by then and would have developed their ritual – which would, no doubt, have been as close as possible to that approved by UGLE. The Lodge of Unity based their ritual on that used in Guy’s so that twelve of our nineteen founder members used the same ritual.
The first six Masters of Greville Lodge were members of Unity, as was the first secretary, W Bro Measures, who held that office until his death in 1943.
It has now been established that Greville Working was passed to us from Unity and originated in Guy’s Lodge. It has been in its present form, practically unaltered since the start in 1925 and had been in use for almost 100 years before that time.
This exciting discovery has prompted the Lodge Committee to form a sub-committee with the purpose of setting down Greville Working so that it will be preserved for posterity.
In 2010 the Worshipful Master, W.Bro. Paul Hollis, formed a sub-committee comprising the following brethren: W.Bro. Stan Drabwell, P.Prov.J.G.W., W. Bro. David Butcher, Prov. A.G.D.C., W.Bro. John Watson, P.Prov J.G.W., W.Bro. Alex Sutton, P.Prov. G.Supt.Wks. The lodge is indebted to the members of the sub-committee, for the time they have spent in checking and agreeing the ritual. Particularly to W Bro Brough Skingley, P.Prov.G.Swd.B. (Bucks), for his dedication in setting down the whole of this document.
