The Province Of Hertfordshire.

brethren , of whom one was the relic of the former wreck , must have had Horace ' s robitr el aes triplex circa pectus to embark in this perilous Masonic ocean . They had cast off the old name , perhaps as one of bad omen , and invoked the fortune under the aegis of a Halsey . A week after his installation as Provincial Grand Master he consecrated the Halsey

Lodge , No . 1479 , in the Town Hall of St . Albans , and so laid the foundation of a lodge , which has reversed the ban under which the site lay , and given mystic birth to a number of Masons distinguished by their excellence in Craft work , their knowledge of the noble art , and their zeal in the cause of

Charity . On the occasion of Provincial Grand Lodge meeting there in 188 3 , the public service in the Cathedral was marked by the formal unveiling and delivery to the Cathedral authorities of the handsomely carved marble pulpit presented by the Freemasons of England to the old Abbey Church .

HEEKHAMl'STKAn LODGE , No . 501 , MEETING AT THE MASONIC HALL , KING'S ARMS HOTEL .

In 1876 the Cranbourne Lodge , No . 1580 , was consecrated by Bro . Wilson-Iles , the Provincial Grand Secretary , at the Red Lion , Hatfield , the name being taken from one of the titles of the Marquis of Salisbury . This was a settlement from without , there being only two Hertfordshire Masons

among its founders . Hemel Hempstead , situated between Watford and Berkhampstead , was the next place to embrace the Masonic faith and practice , and King Henry VIII . Lodge was founded mainly by members of the Berkhampstead

Lodge . It has been well said that " happy is the country which has no history , " and this is equally true of Masonic lodges . They pursue the even tenor of their way without attracting too much attention from their neighbours , with whom they

live in peace and harmony ; they quietly and unostentatiously perform their Masonic duties , not forgetting the cause of Charity , and they act in a missionary spirit towards the unenlightened world around which they are placed . Their minutes are records of initiations and other like details , but the brethren are untouched by the storm and stress of un-Masonic feud or Masonic ambition , and so they foregather

and pass away almost unknown and without interest to the general body , though dear to their immediate surroundings . This is in the main the general character of the remaining lodges with whom we have now to do . Forty-seven years after the founding of the Watford Lodge an essay was made to increase in that town the

facilities for acquiring a knowledge of the mystic art for those who were unable to gain admission to the somewhat close corporation of the senior lodge . The Earl of Clarendon Lodge was launched on a successful career by Bro . Wilson-Iles , the Deputy Provincial

Grand Master , who was its first Master and chiefly instrumental in its formation . The senior initiate was Bro . James Rogers , a son and grandson of two Past Masters of the Watford Lodge , who had both held the position of Provincial Grand Treasurer for many years . The

Worshipful Master died during his year of office , a victim to duty in the practice of his profession , in a vain attempt to save the life of a child dying of diptheria . His name is perpetuated in the province by the consecration of a lodge called after him . The warrant was granted on 22 nd May , 188 4 and the lodge was established at Waltham

, Cross , the members being principally members of the same profession as the brother after whom they named their lodge . In 1885 the lodge was moved to Rickmansworth , and is now housed in the Victoria Hotel . Of the four senior lodges three had already sent out new

swarms to settle in unoccupied country . The Cecil Lodge in 1885 proceeded to follow the example of the elder sisters . Seven members with five others obtained a warrant , dated 31 st January , to found a lodge at the Assembly Rooms , Stevenage , under the title of the Dacre Lodge , No . 2086 .

Since the ill-starred attempt to found the Lodge of Friendship , Bishop ' s Stortford had been content with one lodge . A warrant was granted in January , 1886 , to fourteen members of the Stortford Lodge and ten others to found a lodge at the George Hotel , Bishop ' s Stortford , to be called the St . Michael ' s Lodge , No . 2136 .