Organisation
In England & Wales Freemasonry has a three tier organisation the
foundations of which rest on the individual Mason.
Masons meet together in Lodges, normally consisting of between
20 and 50 members although some are much larger. Lodges themselves
are grouped together geographically into Provincial Grand lodges,
the provincial groupings corresponding roughly to the county boundaries
as they existed in the late 18th or early 19th century. Finally,
the provinces come together under the auspices of Grand Lodge.
Lodges
A group of Masons meeting together is called a Lodge. This name
is supposed to originate from the time when operative stonemasons lived
on-site at large building projects, when their accommodation was known
as a lodge. Lodges are the basic "unit" of Masonry and generally meet
once a month over the October to April period. The lodge is presided
over by a Master, assisted by his Wardens and officers - in effect the
committee who schedule the work. A Lodge meeting is much like a meeting
of any other association, in that it considers the formal business, such
as the minutes of the previous meeting, dealing with propositions for
membership, the accounts of general and charitable funds, subscriptions,
donations, etc. However, it is within the Lodge that the ceremonies of
admitting new Masons and teaching them Freemasonry's moral message takes
place. Contrary to popular belief, these ceremonies are not secret,
anyone who is interested can pick up one of many books describing them
at their local library. But reading the ceremonies does not give the full
picture, it is only by experiencing them that their full value can be
derived.
The room in which a Lodge meets is called a Temple. This is not
intended to imply that a lodge meeting is in any way a religious gathering,
it is not. Rather, the name reflects the symbolic association which
Masonry makes with the building of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
In practice Lodges meet either in buildings specially constructed for the
purpose or in rooms rented or set aside in pubs or clubs.
Provincial Grand Lodges
These are Lodges in the same form as ordinary lodges in that they
have precisely the same officers and meet in the same way. However,
they act as the umbrella group coordinating the efforts of individual
lodges at, broadly speaking, county level in order to provide for
charitable institutions over a wider area.
The Heart of England Lodge is part of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire.
Grand Lodge
Grand Lodge is the umbrella for the Provincial Grand Lodges,
coordinating at a national level.
The Heart of England Lodge operates under the jurisdiction of The United Grand Lodge of England.