Members of and visitors to Phoenix Lodge No 1730 were most honoured to receive Assistant Provincial Grand Master Stuart Boyd, representing the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews, as their principal guest at the sad occasion of their lodge closure.
Stuart, together with grand officers, Gareth Jones and lodge member Brian Hayes, Trafford Group Chairman Patrick Walsh, vice chairman Eddie Wilkinson and group secretary Colin Latimer, together with other group and Provincial grand officers gathered to witness the ceremony of surrendering the lodge warrant.
The most senior member, Brian Hayes, took the master’s chair for the final occasion and duly opened the lodge, conducting the remaining business as per the summons, then Stuart entered the lodge accompanied by the grand and acting Provincial grand officers. Brian welcomed Stuart and reluctantly offered him the gavel, which he accepted. Stuart then sat and led those watching through a brief history of the lodge. The aptly named Phoenix Lodge emerged from the amalgamation of Westbourne Lodge No 7257, Great Stone Lodge No 6737, Talbot Lodge No 2231 and Urmston Lodge No 1730 on 14 March 2007.
Phoenix Lodge took its number and began its life as Urmston Lodge, meeting at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Urmston, with a warrant of constitution on 8 November 1877 and was consecrated on 16 January 1878. This was the mid-Victorian era when much was happening. Queen Victoria herself was proclaimed Empress of India, the first test cricket match had been played between England and Australia and for the only time in history, the boat race between the Cambridge University and Oxford University Boat Clubs was declared a ‘dead heat’.
Closer to Urmston, in September 1877 the new Manchester Town Hall, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, was officially opened. Also, remaining close to the current location, the consecration of the lodge in 1878 shared its important year with the playing of the first recorded floodlit rugby match which was in Salford. Keeping with the sporting theme, formed as part of the fledgling English Football Association, were the football clubs of Everton FC in their name as St Domingo and Newton Heath Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Football Club, the team that in time would become Manchester United.
Pheonix Lodge first met at the Lord Nelson Hotel at Urmston. This is a grand, three-storey building, located on Stretford Road, Urmston and had been originally built by George Royle in 1805, to honour the death of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. It was rebuilt in 1877 by George Royle’s grandson, Thomas, the Royle family being one of several prominent families in the Urmston area, and after its rebuilding in 1877, the Lord Nelson was described in the Eccles Advertiser in 1887 as: “Having all the modern notions of capacity, elevation, variety and luxury. There are suites of rooms, billiard and general rooms, all approached by a staircase large and open enough for a bazaar.’
The hotel was a popular stopping place for travellers and was well-known for selling hot cross buns at Easter time. Several local groups met there, and in addition to this lodge and other lodges, these groups included; The Friendly Men’s Society and the Urmston and District Wheelers, later known as the Urmston Social Cycle Club.
In 1894, the lodge moved to the Victoria Hotel located on the corner of Station Road and Higher Road in Urmston. The hotel was designed and built by James Reilly who had done the same for the Pomona Palace. This is the island local, just down the canal which was, during the industrial revolution, home to the botanical gardens and the Royal Pomona Palace, a structure which was bigger than the Albert Hall. The Victoria Hotel stood at the junction of Station Road and Higher Road from 1872 until 1966 when it was demolished to make way for the current, aptly named Victoria Parade.
As previously stated, Phoenix Lodge came together by amalgamation in 2007 and these lodges all brought their great histories with them and together as Phoenix Lodge they continued to hold their lodge meetings and social events expressing their ritual, fellowship and charitable works with great warmth and humour.
This included charitable initiatives such as having a regular almoner’s draw to support giving widows Christmas gifts and most recently, donating £3,644 to the recent 2021 Festival. In many meeting places, before or after amalgamation, in ritual, song and action, the brethren past and present of Pheonix Lodge have been a credit to Freemasonry, this group and the communities in which we live.
Through service and charitable giving they have enriched the lives of countless individuals and on the behalf of the recipients of their charitable work, we thank all those from the lodge both present at this meeting and those who have come before us.
With these memories let us continue to celebrate Phoenix Lodge’s long and proud history and recall with affection and gratitude those brethren who have played their part in establishing it and fostering its development over the past 146 years.
Following the historic references, Stuart once more handed the gavel back to Brian who went through the painful task of handing the lodge warrant to Stuart for onward dispatch to UGLE for posterity and closed the lodge for the final time!
During the festive board, Stuart gave the response to his toast, offering his own commiseration but also, congratulations to the lodge members, saying that although he was sad at the loss of an old established lodge, he was at least happy that all the lodge members had found alternative lodges to carry on their Freemasonry in, and hoped that they would continue to enjoy their Masonry, but never forget their roots in Phoenix Lodge.
In closing, Brian stood and with some emotion wished all those present good health and successful further careers in Masonry and happy memories of the lodge. Finally, after a fine meal in a relaxed but solemn atmosphere, the evening drew to a close in peace and harmony.