Ockenden Lodge (No.1465) has a proud and storied history, tracing its origins to the late 19th century.
The Lodge was founded in Cuckfield, West Sussex in 1874 by Sir Walter Wyndham Burrell, 5th Baronet, a barrister and sometime Conservative politician.
He was joined by a group of other Founders, including Thomas Sprey Byass, Walter Sergison, the Reverend R G Mead (Rector of Balcombe), Major George Meek, and Charles Raymond Burrell. Lord Arthur Hill joined a year later.
The first meeting of the Lodge was at The Talbot Hotel, which remains open to this day as The Talbot Inn. However, the Lodge took its name from the nearby Ockenden House – now Ockenden Manor Hotel – which the Burrell family owned at the time.
The Clarkes of Borde Hill and the Pickwell Estate also became members of the Lodge; at one time, eight members of this prominent family were in the Lodge. By the 1880s, Ockenden could also boast three sitting MPs.
Since these early days, the Lodge has remained a steadfast beacon of Freemasonry. Throughout the subsequent decades, Ockenden has played a pivotal role in maintaining masonic traditions, contributing to charitable endeavours, and upholding the three core principles of Freemasonry – brotherly love (or fellowship), relief (or charitable work) and truth (integrity).
In 2024 we celebrated our 150th anniversary with a special ceremony to dedicate our beautiful Volume of the Sacred Law. The meeting, held at the masonic centre in Horsham, was followed by a traditional festive board when some 60 members of craft masonry dined together. Presentations were made to local and masonic charities including St Catherine’s Hospice, Reedham Children’s Trust, St Peter and St James Hospice and the Masonic Trout and Salmon Fishing Charity (MTSFC) which offers interactive fishing and countryside experiences to children and young adults with special needs.
The meeting also marked the retirement of our long-serving Secretary, WB Richard Greig who, after 17 years of loyal service, accepted our invitation to become an Honorary Member of the Lodge – a rare privilege which recognises his outstanding contribution to Ockenden Lodge in particular and freemasonry in general.
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The Worshipful Master’s gauntlets and gavel
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