21 April 2026 marks the final meeting of Richmond Lodge 1011, one of the most historic and well respected lodges we have in the Eastern Area.
In the words of the Worshipful Master, WBro Phil Howarth ProvSGD.
Brethren, friends, and honoured guests,
Today we mark the closing of Richmond Lodge No. 1011, not in sorrow alone, but in reflection, gratitude, and quiet pride.
Since our consecration in 1864, Richmond Lodge has stood for over 162 years as a place of fellowship, learning, charity, and brotherhood. From our earliest meetings by gaslight in Salford, through many homes and many generations, this Lodge has adapted, endured, and served its members and its community with distinction.
Hundreds of men have passed through this Lodge, each leaving something of himself behind: time freely given, ritual carefully learned, charity quietly offered, and friendships that have often lasted a lifetime. The furniture we cherish, the names recorded in our minute books, and the traditions we have upheld are not mere history; they are evidence of lives well lived in service to Masonic principles.
Like Salford itself, Richmond Lodge has changed with the times. We moved, we adapted, we cooperated with our daughter lodges when circumstances demanded it—and we did so with dignity and good sense. That spirit of cooperation and forward thinking has always been one of Richmond’s great strengths.
The decision to close a Lodge is never easy. But closure does not mean failure, nor does it erase what has been achieved. A Lodge is not bricks, banners, or even meetings—it is the impact it has on its members. By that measure, Richmond Lodge has succeeded beyond measure.
Though this Lodge now closes, what it stood for does not end. Its legacy lives on in the brethren who will carry its values into other Lodges, other roles, and other walks of life, just as those before us did.
Let us therefore close Richmond Lodge No. 1011 with our heads held high, grateful for the past, respectful of the present, and confident that what we have built here will continue, just not within these walls.
Before we close, it is right that we speak of one final symbol of our continuity.
Our Master’s Chain, fashioned in sterling silver, was presented in 1908 to the Worshipful Master on behalf of all the brethren by the Senior Past Master present, Worshipful Brother H. C. Mills. For well over a century it has rested on the shoulders of those entrusted with the care of this Lodge.
Later this year, as we formally join together, that Chain will be presented to the brethren of Probity and Freedom Lodge No. 367. not as a relic, but as a living symbol of trust, continuity, and shared Masonic purpose.
In doing so, we ensure that Richmond Lodge does not simply close, but contributes deliberately and honourably to the future.
“We close this Lodge with respect for its past, and confidence that its spirit will walk with us into the future as our brethren continue a new chapter at Probity and Freedom 367.”
