SIR WILLIAM’S NEW LODGE MOTORS INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS
Three years of careful planning finally came to fruition on 7th May with a gathering of car enthusiasts at the consecration of Sir William Morris Lodge No. 10003.
The founders had patiently contained their excitement through two false starts caused by the pandemic, and it was the third time lucky when, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, 110 masons converged from far and wide on the Oxford Transport Museum in Long Hanborough.
The cars, lorries and buses in the museum had been carefully arranged to make space for a pop-up temple, complete with the new lodge’s own artefacts such as a Tesla seat doubling as the Master’s chair. The processions, firstly of the Grand Officers and secondly the Provincial Grand Master and his consecrating team, paraded into the temple between a 1928 Morris and a 1932 Austin which faced into the lodge as silent sentinels at this historic commemoration.
Sir William Morris – also known as Viscount Nuffield – was a mason for nearly 60 years and remained a member of Alfred Lodge No. 340 until his death in 1963, aged 85. It was fitting, then, that Alfred Lodge was the sponsoring lodge at an occasion which perpetuated the name of its departed brother.
“This was an important opportunity to celebrate Morris,” said W.Bro Chris Wagstaff, the driving force behind the new lodge and its Primus Master. “Not only was he an immense and unique figure in motoring history, but he donated the equivalent of an estimated 11 billion pounds in today’s value to charity, and now his name will rightly be commemorated in the annals of Freemasonry.”
The solemn consecration was conducted in time-honoured fashion by R.W.Bro James Hilditch, and then the new WM was installed by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, V.W.Bro Graham Ellis. Following the ceremonies, the brethren adjourned outside to admire many of the museum pieces while the temple was transformed into a dining hall.
The same motoring theme was of course adopted for the festive board, which began with Traffic Light Tart made from red, orange and green peppers, followed by Goodwood Festival of Sausages in Le Mans gravy served with Champ, and then Chevy V8 apple pie. The ice cream that accompanied the dessert came from a farm owned by former F1 world champion Jody Scheckter, and Chris Wagstaff quipped: “One of the fringe benefits of all the organisation was that I got a great selfie with Scheckter when I collected the ice cream from his farm!”
Chris, a self-confessed “car nut”, is confident that Sir William Morris Lodge has a strong future ahead. Six joining members have been added to the two dozen founders, and they carried out an Initiation at their first regular meeting three weeks after the consecration.
He added: “I am a strong believer in ‘special interest’ lodges because they are such an important part of the masonic mix. Lodges increasingly need a way to differentiate themselves, so this is an ideal combination for members to share a love of masonry as well as their passions for cars of all shapes and sizes.”
R.W.Bro. Sir Stuart Hampson, Primus Master of the Bucks Classic Car Lodge No. 9945 stepped in at short notice to respond on behalf of the visitors, Brother David Brodie having felt under the weather and thus had to leave early.
The lodge’s next meeting is on Saturday 3rd September at Cardinal House, where visitors will have the added attraction of a range of vintage vehicles in the car park.
For more information about Sir William Morris, who was described as “the most famous industrialist of his age”, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris,_1st_Viscount_Nuffield
Further amusing insights about the ceremony penned by one of the consecration team follows, a prize for guessing who wrote it!
At last, after a couple of Covid False Starts, the starting flag finally dropped and the wheels of a uniquely assembled ‘Morris Oxford’ finally began to spin. The stands seemed to be packed. Not quite Silverstone, but the next best thing: the Oxford Bus (and, appropriately, Morris motors) Museum at Long Hanborough.
On that unusually sweltering first Saturday in May, ’midst the motoring esoterica of yesteryear, Brethren from far and wide assembled for the event of the year: the consecration of Sir William Morris Lodge, number 10,003. And much of the esoterica was not in the shape of museum exhibits, but rather clever adaptations of motoring artefacts, now ‘re-purposed’ (as they say) for use as temple furniture. And, as a good number of splendid historic vehicles began to gather in the car park, humans, too, began to gather nearby, hoping, possibly, to be mis-identified as their owners…. while another group knowingly inspected the exhibits to be found beyond the splendidly prepared ‘temple’. This was the inaugural and memorable meeting of Oxford’s lodge for ‘petrol heads’
The meeting opened with the entry of a wonderous assembly of some very Grand Officers (one could almost hear the speculation from those not-so-grand as to who had arrived in the splendid Rolls outside). Then the official consecrating team were admitted, the great sliding doors of the museum seeming, for the moment, opening upon some great pageant.
The Provincial Grand Master, the Rt Worshipful James Guy Hilditch welcomed everyone to the meeting and appointed members of his team to their various duties, not the least the Provincial Grand Chaplain, whose duty at the outset was to explain to those present the symbolism of what was to take place. But his first need seemed to be to justify his credibility as a genuine Petrol Head. Listing some of the vehicles that had passed through his hands over the years, for what today seems ludicrously little cash. As a ‘biker’, though, and co-author of a TV series featuring one ‘Vincent Villiers’ and his girlfriend ‘Frances Barnet’ (names over which bikers might salivate), the Chaplain claimed most credibility from the his claim to have ridden nothing but Vincents, selling the last to fund the purchase of his Morgan…. “Am I a petrol head or wot?” he demanded of the stunned audience.
Moving on to the eponymous William Morris, the Chaplain summarized the phenomenal £700 million that Morris had contributed over the years to good causes, not the least the founding of Nuffield College, Oxford. Morris (Lord Nuffield) had retained his membership of the Craft (Oxford’s Alfred Lodge) until his death in 1963.
Finally, getting back to the point of the Oration, the Chaplain likened the symbolic use of corn, wine, oil, salt and incense to a number of motoring accessories. He completed his Oration with his usual signature Limerick:
Whatever your passion may be:
Mercedes, or Ford Model T;
At last, with elation
Morris Lodge Consecration,
Number ten thousand and three
There then followed the actual Consecration, involving members of the new Lodge and a number of perambulations including finally, with incense. There was a slight innovation: the Chaplain, his arm in a sling (some wondered if he had come a cropper on two wheels, perhaps) was accompanied by the Assistant Provincial Grand Master, who assisted in the swinging of the censer – a novel double act.
To wind up the ceremonial, the closing prayer included numerous motoring references.
And finally, as if the Provincial Grand Chaplain had not grand-standed enough, he presented two ‘hoodwinks’ – in reality two pairs of ‘blacked out’ Mk VIII goggles in a presentation box ̶ insisting that the Primus Master, W. Bro. Chris Wagstaff demonstrate their use.
Below is a copy of the ceremony. and beneath that, a full gallery of pictures taken throughout the day. If you happened to be there, and have more photos, please do send them to the editor so that they can be included in the lodge records of the day.
With thanks to Bro. Mark Apcar for many of the photographs.