It truly was a Saturday night special for the brethren and visitors of Old Huttonian Lodge No 7614 to see John Lucas installed as WM. This very distinguished and special school lodge, part of the Chorley and Leyland Group, always attracts great numbers to its meetings, to enjoy ceremonies in the school hall and excellent festive boards in the school dining room.
The first Saturday in September is the installation meeting and this year saw 50 brethren in attendance. The brethren are mainly from local lodges but over recent years new members from the Fylde Coast have been drawn to this legendary school lodge, bringing with them different examples of high-quality ritual which integrates well with the traditional Old Huttonian way of doing things.
WM Trevor Partington had been working hard on the ritual which was very evident as he strode valiantly through the normal lodge business, which included him welcoming James Woods as a joining member. At the appropriate moment, assistant director of ceremonies David Robinson retired from the lodge and upon his return announced that Mark Humphrey, representative of the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews, requested admission. Mark processed into the lodge room accompanied by grand officers Paul Renton and Ben Gorry, along with Chorley and Leyland Group Chairman David Bishop. Mark was welcomed to Old Huttonian Lodge by the WM Trevor.
A superb ceremony of installation was undertaken following the presentation of John Lucas by lodge stalwart Jeff Lucas with John Medcalf serving as installing senior warden, Jeff Lucas as installing junior warden and David Walker as installing inner guard. The working tools were ably delivered by Steven Miller presenting the third degree tools, David Singleton presenting the second degree tools and Dan Turner presenting the first degree tools. The address to the deacons was given by John Topping, the address to the wardens was given by David Johnson, the address to the WM was given by Michael Pinckard and the address to the brethren was delivered by Mark Humphrey.
The brethren made their way to the school dining room for a delightful two-course meal created and served by Lee Munro and his team from Masonic Event Catering of The Palace, St Annes-on-Sea. The first course was a smoked salmon, dill and cream cheese crostini starter followed by roast duck leg on a bed of mashed potato and roasted root vegetables. The infamous Old Huttonian cheese board rounded off the meal with all unused portions of cheese bagged up and made into raffle prizes with the accompanying bags of cheese biscuits.
Following the wine-takings, the newly appointed director of ceremonies, David Robinson, supported by the newly appointed assistant director of ceremonies, David Jenkinson, managed the festive board business in an exemplary manner.
The immediate past master, Trevor Partington, spoke highly of John Lucas’s ability and skills and remarked that the lodge was in very safe hands. Immediately after the proposition of the toast, local group member Andy Anderson gave a rousing rendition of the Masters Song, which was met with great applause. John Lucas responded in due form and assured all brethren that he would be doing his very best to ensure the continued traditions of Old Huttonian Lodge and that he was looking forward to the pending double initiation ceremony, which will be the lodge’s first initiation ceremony in nineteen years. He spoke of the next two meetings in October and November 2026, both of which will be celebrations of 50 years in Freemasonry for Bill Pearce and Ian Heyes respectively.
Pictured left, Trevor Partington (right) proposes the toast to WM John Lucas. Pictured centre, John Lucas (standing) responds to the toast to his health. Pictured right, Ian Heyes with the cheese and biscuits raffle prize.
In his response to the toast to Provincial officers, Mark Humphrey focused upon the membership challenge and community engagement. He reminded brethren to complete any applications for membership and to continue getting all registration forms back to the Provincial office as soon as possible and to get logged on to Portal. Mark detailed all the important dates of Provincial Grand Lodge meetings for the rest of this calendar year and throughout 2027, which included the Provincial Ball in March 2027.
The raffle followed and the bottles were speedily distributed as brethren came forward to collect their choice of prize. The cheese prizes are always seen as the highlight of the raffle.
The WM called upon the newly appointed tyler, John Topping, to deliver the tyler’s toast, to which John performed with great feeling and aplomb. The final word was in the hands of the WM, who wished everyone a safe journey home.