Consecrated February 7^th 1786

 1786----PRESENT (AND STILL GOING STRONG).

To all of you who have taken the time to visit our website, “thanks”. I shall only try and give a short account of Domatic Lodge’s history as there is a far more informed version in our own history books.

Firstly the name Domatic. Many explanations have been put forth as to what the word means but as far as this lodge is concerned it quite simply means practical, so when applied to a brother it meant Practical Stonemason.

Therein is the origin of our lodge. It was a Practical, or more correctly an Operative Lodge, as initially all its Brethren came from mostly the building trade. The preparatory work for Domatic was started by W.Bro Fenwick  and W.Bro Sinclair of Middlesex Lodge No’ 143 and Kent Lodge No’ 15 respectively, our “Mothers!”.

The lodge was consecrated on 7th February 1786 as Lodge number 234 in the minutes of the “Antient or Atholl Grand Lodge”, at the “Sign of the Ship” Inn which overlooked Lincoln Inn Fields, Holborn, London. This public house is still there, now as “The Ship Tavern” in Gate Street, Holborn, just around the corner from Grand Lodge. There is a plaque fixed to wall stating a Lodge was consecrated there in 1786 by the Earl of Antrim with the number 234. It was not until 1863 that you first see our present number 177. Anybody who has ever visited the “Ship” will realise by its size that as the Lodge numbers quite quickly increased that it was not possible to remain there and they moved twice within the next few months until they came to the “Sign of the Sun” also in Gate Street.

Due to pressure to accept what we now call speculative masons the lodge applied for a second warrant which was granted in December 1789. Holding two warrants at the same time is still an event unique to English Freemasonry. It became unworkable though holding the two warrants and in 1796 the second was sold off for £1, and hence started a new Lodge, “The Lion and Lamb”, who, like us, are still doing well today.

I should just like to add here that we still have the original minute books which are presently held at Grand Lodge, which considering some that we seem to have lost on the way, appears to be a major achievement! Also at Grand Lodge are some of the original Collar Jewels, which can be viewed on another page by clicking on the link on the left hand side of the page.

The lodge has met at many venues during its life, one of the more well known probably being the “Hercules Pillars” in Great Queen Street. The Lodge moved there in 1813, the same year as the Act of Union between the Antients (Ancients) and the Moderns. Whilst at this location it’s an amazing fact that although the difference that had occurred before between the Antients and the Moderns, Domatic gave a voluntary contribution to purchasing of the two original buildings forming Freemasons hall! Combining this with the fact that we were involved with the purchase of the London Masonic Centre at Clerkenwell Green, London,  we have another unique situation for a Lodge. Considering these two buildings, in different circumstances I suppose we would be looking at quite a healthy return on our money by now !

A small sample of informative of bits drawn from our history of more than 226 years.

The original Initiation fees were 2 Guineas which would equate to £260.00 in 2010 and the subs were 2 pence per meeting. By 1837 the Initiation fees were 4½ Guineas and the subs 1s 6d.

In 1845 while meeting at the Falcon in Fetter Lane, for twenty four members and fifteen visitors the house bill was £6 18s 0d. which equates to £560.00 in 2010

In November 1883 the Lodge received a telegram from the Grand Master the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward V11 in response to birthday greetings from the Lodge.

In February 1886 the Centenary meeting was held at the “Criterion Restaurant”, Regent Circus where there were 99 members and a total attendance of 207 Brethren.

Out of nineteen different meeting places, the longest the Lodge has remained at any one venue was 75 years at “Anderton’s Hotel”, Fleet Street, between 1864 and 1939. Many years more than some Lodges even last !

We now meet at the Central London Masonic Centre, Clerkenwell Green, London. in which we are a Founder shareholder the Centre is owned and run by Freemasons for the good of Freemasons in general, to see the details of this centre click on the following link. clmcltd.co.uk. In January 2013 we will be meeting at the new premises being constructed in Central Street Islington which we are all looking forward to.

After the Second World War finished in 1945 the membership of the lodge rose to 85 full members and 55 country members.

At meeting in 1947, having started at 2.30 they raised 2 candidates, passed 2 more, initiated 5, presented 5 certificates and were still dining by 6.30! Something to try next year, maybe!

Domatic Lodge has had 251 Masters to the present time.

In 1986 our Bi-centenary year, the Master of the Lodge for that year was W.Bro Len Grimaldi, the last time we had a Grand Officer of the Lodge. The meeting was held at the “Café Royal” and approximately 250 brethren were in attendance.

To date Domatic Lodge has in a family tree basis been responsible for the creation of over 70 Lodges.

Domatic Lodge remains one of only approximately 130 “Atholl or Antient Lodges” still in existence.     

Well as I said this is just a short history of Domatic Lodge and I should like to say that I was responsible for most of the information therein, but I have to say that distinction falls to the late W.Bro Freddie Knights a fifty year long member of the Lodge of which there has been a few. Indeed we have one at the moment, but he wouldn’t thank me for mentioning his name !

W.Bro Fred was also part of the only occasion when three generations of a family have all been Masters of the Lodge. His father Arthur, himself and his son Douglas.

 Finally I would like to finish by saying two things. Firstly at a March meeting in 1996 I was one of a total of eleven Brethren in the temple at the Abercorn Rooms, the Great Eastern Hotel. We then went on to sit eight at the festive board, two of them were guests and one was a visiting Grand Officer ! There was no need for formality, we just sat round a table and chatted. Things had got that bad with the number of members, that I remember discussing with W.Bro Jeff Harvey, at that meeting, whether we should “throw our warrant in”.   THANK GOD WE DIDN’T.  We now have over 36 members and our numbers are increasing nicely. We have 30 plus at regular meetings and double that at Installations.

And secondly many years ago there was tell of a brother who came on horseback from Bournemouth to a meeting taking two days just to get there. So please May I never hear how difficult it is to get to meetings nowadays! 

W.Bro. Terry (Papa) Stacey L.G.R.

If you wish to purchase a book on the History of Domatic Lodge, or enquire on membership of this Ancient Lodge, please contact the Treasurer or Secretary by clicking  on one of the links  opposite.

The Lodge is also honoured in having at least three books published by very well known authors, they are,  History of the " Domatic Lodge," No. 177. London, 1786 to 1886, written for the Centenary Festival, 12 February, 1886, by George Blizard Abbott, London.  A Brief history of the Domatic Lodge no. 177 1786-1936 by Bro. L. R. E. Jennings (a member of the Lodge), and Freemasonry in London from 1785 seen through the Ancients Domatic Lodge No. 177 and its associates, by Roy A. Wells.