Nearly 100 brethren arrived at Preston Masonic Hall for the installation of master elect Kieran Taylor-Bradshaw into the chair of Carnarvon Lodge No 2376, in the Province of West Lancashire. With regalia and smiles at the ready, photos were taken to mark the special occasion that each master Mason works hard towards on his journey into the chair of King Solomon.
The lodge was tiled and soon opened into the third degree to welcome Assistant Provincial Grand Master Malcolm Bell, who was warmly welcomed by the lodge master Adam Dennett before introducing David Thomas, Assistant Provincial Grand Master, as the evenings principal guest. Also in attendance was Michael Tax, Andrew Whittle, Mark Humphrey, group chairman David Bishop. Also present, were grand officers; John Lee, Ryan Modlin, Barry Fitzgerald, Stewart Cranage, Dan Crossley and Peter Caunce.
And to complete the line up, acting officers present were; Neil Ward ProvGMO, Peter Littlehales ProvDGDC, Gordon MacLellan ProvGSwdB, Henry Noblett ProvAGPurs, Paul Brunskill ProvGCO, Andy McClements ProvGChStwd, Allister Horn ProvGJD and ProvGStwd’s Ryan Mangnall, Nigel Monks and Wayne Haslam.
With so many brethren present, Carnarvon Lodge’s members delivered a fantastic display of ritual, with only a few early nerves creeping through from the master elect as the lodge was opened. Kieran soon found himself sat in the master’s chair, after being presented by Barry Scowcroft and installed in a phenomenal display of ritual from Adam Dennett. Once in the chair, Carnarvon Lodge’s newly installed master seemed elated and relaxed very quickly into the master’s chair as master Masons, fellow crafts and entered apprentices came back into the room after each closing.
Carnarvon Lodge has worked hard to create an active and engaging lodge that has attracted and brought in many new and young Masons. The working tools therefore were delivered by three light blue brethren, with Michael Kipping delivering the third degree working tools, Stuart McGrath delivering the second degree tools and Dan Heath delivering first degree tools. Each delivering composed and word-perfect presentations.
It was then time for Kieran to invest and install his new officers for the ensuing year. Following Graham Roberts’s investiture ritual to the new SW, Kieran fully appointed and installed all his other officers with great poise and delivery.
The address to the master was fantastically given by Ryan Mangnall, followed by the wardens’ address by Kevin Byrne, who also presented the ritual extremely well. David then took to the floor to deliver a word perfect and expertly timed address to the brethren of Carnarvon Lodge, before bringing greetings on behalf of the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews.
Carnarvon Lodge’s newly installed master then welcomed Adam Dennett to hand over the charity donations made by the lodge during his year as master. Taken aback by the amount, David announced the contents of the envelope with those present, sharing a grand total of £12,850 with 238 hours of volunteered service to local charities and including £2,176 raised by Adam’s Sky Dive. Donations were raised for several charities including Rosemere Cancer Foundation, St Catherine’s Hospice, Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, Pumping Marvelous, Inspire Youth Zone Chorley, Baby Beat, Grasshoppers Rugby Women’s section, Chorley and Leyland Foodbank and the West Lancashire Masonic Freemasons Charity. David thanked and praised the brethren of the lodge for their very generous donations.
Before closing the lodge, greetings were given by Malcolm Bell, Jeff Lucas and Sean Taylor the master of Euxton Lodge No 7192. Each of the greeting’s spoke of the brilliant ritual on display from the lodge, with a special mention for Adam Dennett for his outstanding ritual during the installation.
At the festive board, it was fantastic to see so many brethren, all enjoying good food and each other’s company. Toasts were made, with David giving his reply and shared an updated from the Provincial Grand Master, as well as his best wishes to Kieran and Carnarvon Lodge’s members. IPM Adam Dennett gave a toast to the new master which left him tearful and thanked the brethren of the lodge for all their efforts and hard work. Kieran’s reply to the toast to his health was equally thankful to the lodge, with gifts presented to many members and including Peter Littlehales for his hard work as Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies. Flowers were then presented to David Thomas and David Bishop, and he also shared some stats on the attendee’s, with 11 of the 15 groups in the West Lancashire Province and 19 of the 28 lodges in the Chorley and Leyland group represented.
It was mentioned a few times about the visiting that Kieran has done over the past years, and from the numbers present for his installation, it shows that he has made many great friends along the way, and he was also delighted to welcome members of his mother lodge, Cuerden Lodge No 6018 to Carnarvon for his installation. The master’s song was sung by Brian Flynn and Dougie Little had been delighting everyone in and out of the lodge with his musical prowess. The visitor’s reply was given by John Lee, who spoke of the phoenix style growth of the lodge over the last few years which had involved a lot of hard work from all members; experienced and new.
A fantastic night was had by all and the evening ended in good time for brethren to travel home with their hearts and bellies full. If you would like to visit Carnarvon Lodge, please check out their new website https://carnarvonlodge2376.co.uk/ or email hello@carnarvon2376.co.uk to receive a summons.