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Saint Vincent Lodge No. 1404 in the Province of Bristol |
| BRISTOL UNIVERSITY FREEMASONRY | |
| THE UNIVERSITY
OF BRISTOL AND FREEMASONRY 'In February 1873, four months after the consecration of The St. Vincent Lodge, at a meeting of the Council of the Medical School, it was suggested that a College of Science should be established in Bristol, of which the Medical School would form a Department … On Tuesday 10th October 1876, four years after the consecration of The St. Vincent Lodge, University College Bristol, opened its doors in a modest house in Park Row' Since this time, The St. Vincent Lodge has always had close links, firstly with University College, and subsequently with the University of Bristol. The St. Vincent Lodge (No.1404) was constituted by Warrant of the Grand Lodge of England on 13th June 1872 and consecrated on 24th October 1872 by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, William Augustus Frederick Powell, who installed Bro JR Bramble (subsequently Provincial Grand Master in 1906) as the first Worshipful Master. The petition for the Lodge's formation was recommended by the Beaufort Lodge (No. 103). From its outset the Lodge was closely connected with the ethos of Universities. Its By-law No. 6 stated that: 'Candidates for admission to this lodge must be members of the University of Oxford, or of Cambridge; of the learned professions, Church, Law, or Physic; of the Public Schools; or Gentlemen holding her Majesty's Commission. Candidates not possessing any of the above qualifications may be proposed as members, provided the unanimous consent (to be ascertained by ballot) of the officers of the lodge present at a meeting to be held immediately previous to the Lodge at which the proposition is to be made, shall have been given.' In 1971 the Provincial Grand Master (Francis John Hector, a Clinical Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology) summoned the Worshipful Master (Dr Brian William Hill, a Senior General Practitioner) and demanded that the Lodge change its By-laws so that it no longer operated such restrictive entry requirements, which he felt were contrary to the spirit of Masonry. The founders of St. Vincent included: John Collins (Worshipful Master in 1873-4), who had been initiated in Isaac Newton Lodge; and John L Matthews, who was a member of Apollo Lodge. The College's first Professor of Midwifery, Walter Carless Swayne, was a member of The St. Vincent Lodge. Between the 1890s and the time of his death in 1925, he proposed into the Lodge seventeen men, who were either members of the College staff or who had studied at the Medical School. One of these, Dr. James Taylor, Special Lecturer in Radiotherapy, subsequently proposed Professor Morris William Travers FRS, Professor of Chemistry. It was Professor Travers who led the campaign to procure the Royal Charter in 1909, and is widely regarded as one of the fathers of the University of Bristol. One of the most important links between The St.Vincent Lodge and the University was Sir Isambard Owen, the second Vice Chancellor of the University, who was appointed a few months after the University gained its Charter and designed the University's academic dress, selecting the University red from the colour of a band of limestone in the Avon gorge, close to the St. Vincent rock. He was initiated in The St. Vincent Lodge in 1910 and served as Worshipful Master in 1919-20. There is a story told of his late arrival to a St. Vincent meeting when he had been delayed at a University committee. The ceremony had begun and the Tyler announced that: 'the great architect of the University stood outside the Lodge and demanded admission'1 A carving on the stonework on the ground floor of the Wills Memorial Building shows a number of masonic symbols and whilst some commentators believe that the carving may relate to the teaching of geometry at the University, others think that it was the architect, Sir George Oatley's covert tribute to the part that individual masons played in purchasing the site of the Wills Memorial Building and helping to obtain the Charter. This carving is adjacent to two others representing Physics and Chemistry. The professors of both disciplines at this time were also members of The St. Vincent Lodge. Professor Arthur Mannering Tyndall FRS, of Physics, presided over the erection of the HH Wills Physics Laboratory in the 1920s and numbered amongst his staff and students three Nobel prize winners. The faces of at least two members of the Lodge are to be found amongst the carvings on the tower of the Wills Memorial Building, Professor Francis Francis of Chemistry and Sir Isambard Owen, who was Brunel's godson. The Lodge membership has in the past included two acting Vice Chancellors, a number of Pro-Vice Chancellors and Deans, a number of Chairmen of Convocation, the first Professors of Law and Geography, Wardens of Halls of Residence, University Librarians and numerous other members of staff as well as graduates and former students. 'In many ways, it can be said that The St. Vincent fulfilled the role of the University lodge between 1903 and the early 1950s. A significant number of senior members of the University were members of the Lodge, and members of staff who were attracted to Freemasonry were more likely to be brought into The St. Vincent than any other lodge in Bristol … there was a sharp decline in the number of freemasons within the University between 1940 and 1976'1. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s whilst the number of masons in the rapidly expanding University declined, the association between the Lodge and the medical faculty remained strong. The St. Vincent Lodge at present still includes several members who have connections with Departments of both the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, either as members of staff, graduates or undergraduates. The Lodge is an active participant in the Assistant Grand Master's University Lodges' Scheme and the Federation(?)/ Association of University Lodges, but is proud to initiate members and accepts joining members from many other walks of life. For further information see: Crossley Evans MJ The University of Bristol and Freemasonry 1876-1976, with Particular Reference to Lodge No. 1404. (Revised 2nd Edition - 1999) Available from the Bristol Masonic Society - Transactions Editor - price £5.00 |
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