This is a brief overview of the history of Ongar Lodge No. 4785

The Early Years (1925 - 1939)

Ongar Lodge was conceived on 11th December 1924 during a meeting with Brethren from Various Lodges around Essex and London at Budworth Hall, in the Village of Chipping Ongar, to accommodate local aspirants who were facing difficulties joining Freemasonry for various reasons, like travel issues and long waiting lists in established Lodges in the local area. Despite poor weather limiting attendance, those brethren present discussed the general principle of founding the Lodge and agreed to hold any future Lodge meetings at Budworth Hall along with the appointment of potential principal officers. It was then agreed to hold a further meeting at Budworth Hall on 15th January 2025 where it was hoped more people could attend 

At this meeting on 15th the name "Ongar Lodge" was agreed upon and the fees set to ensure financial stability. Furniture, including three principal chairs, which are still in use today at Harlow Masonic Hall, were agreed to be purchased, W Bro Frederick M Noble offered to donate Three pedestals for the Master and Wardens, which are also still used in the Temple at Harlow Masonic Hall and the Lodge's badge was designed to feature a castle referencing the old historic Castle just off Ongar High Street, that was built in c1806 and eventually demolished approx. 500 years ago

The petition to form the Lodge was completed in June 1925 and forwarded to the Provincial Grand Secretary and It was resolved that the Lodge meet on the first Saturday in the months of September, November, February and April.

The Grand Master, HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, granted the Warrant of Constitution on 2nd September 1925, formally establishing Ongar Lodge No. 4785.

The Lodge was consecrated on 14th October 1925 at Loughton Masonic Hall by the Provincial Grand Master of Essex, The Right Hon. Lord Lambourne, assisted by ten Worshipful Brethren. Ongar Lodge was the 101st Lodge to be consecrated in the Province of Essex and the 51st to be Consecrated by Lord Lamborne himself.

The first Worshipful Master to be Installed at the consecration was W Bro Frederick Miller Noble, a founding member and Past Master of Earl of Warwick Lodge No.2504. 

The ceremony included the installation of officers, proposal of candidates for Initiation, and a vote to make the founders honorary members. 

There were present 18 members and 34 Visitors along with the 10 consecrating officers, but by November 1926, membership had grown to 28, eventually peaking at 63 in 1956 with an average attendance of 40 members and 30 visitors per meeting. 

After the consecration, The Freemasons Chronicle reported that “They had an excellent banquet, where the tables were a picture of beauty and adorned with choice floral decorations, while the fayre provided, gave unbound satisfaction to all’

Lord Lambourne remarked after the Lodge was closed that he was sure Ongar Lodge would be a power for good and advised not to let the Lodge grow too big, as there was always to be found the true spirit of Freemasonry in a small Lodge.

In the first fifteen years the Lodge carried out numerous multiple ceremonies as is proved by the rise in membership numbers during that time, similarly due to the thriving nature of the Lodge, and the practical convenience of meeting at Budworth Hall, it also attracted a good number of joining members and visitors.

The War Years (1939 - 1945)

With the outbreak of World War II on 3rd September 1939, Grand Lodge initially suspended all Masonic meetings, but this order was lifted a month later with relaxed rules. 

Ongar Lodge continued meetings at Budworth Hall until April 1940, when the hall was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence for the war effort to billet troops and shelter evacuees. 

No meetings were recorded in the minutes from April 1940 to April 1941, so we assume no meetings took place

Meetings resumed in April 1941 but were held at the Kings Head public house, in the middle of Ongar High Street, where they remained until November 1945.

From November they were held at the London County Council Residential School, at the top of Ongar High Street, before returning to Budworth Hall in 1946. 

Despite disruptions of the War, the Lodge conducted multiple ceremonies and maintained its growth, with seven initiations, six passings, six raisings and six joining members during the war years. 

In 1942 W Bro Alfred Arthur Warner Simmonds who served as Director of Ceremonies for 15 of the 17 years since the Lodge’s foundation was promoted by the Grand Master to Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies and in 1943 He was appointed as Provincial Grand Secretary of Essex. In the same year W Bro Albert Warriner was also appointed as the Assistant Provincial Grand Secretary of Essex.

The Lodge also made accommodations this year for members on active service by granting them honorary memberships during the war.

In April 1945 our Founding father W Bro Frederick M Noble passed to the GL above, and subscriptions were restored to pre-war levels 

Post War Years (1946 - 1970)

After World War II, Ongar Lodge resumed full operations, holding its 100th meeting in 1947 and continuing to perform multiple ceremonies per meeting. 

Also in 1947 W Bro Alfred A W Simmons retired as Provincial Grand Secretary, and he was succeeded by W Bro Albert Warriner. 

18th April 1953 it was agreed that future Lodge meetings should take place on the 3rd Friday in October, March, April, May and September, commencing from the next meeting in September.

Subscription fees gradually increased over the years, reflecting inflation and operational costs, and donations and gifts, such as officers’ collars, were made to the Lodge. 

At the 150th Lodge meeting in October 1958 there were 47 members and 46 Visitors in attendance, one of which was Bro David Davies of The Hudson Lodge No.71 of America, who addressed the brethren and distributed certain gifts from his American brethren as a token of goodwill and friendship and W Bro Albert Warriner announced his retirement as Provincial Grand Secretary 

At the Installation of W Bro John Thomas Wright in 1961, 47 members and 60 Visitors representing 42 different Lodges were in attendance, and at this meeting the Lodge supported the Petition for a new Lodge to be known as the Stondon Massey Lodge.

In June 1967 our Worshipful Master, W Bro Donald Ernest Foley, attended the especial meeting held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, for the celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the foundation of the Grand Lodge of England along with the Investiture of the new Grand Master, HRH Prince Edward the Duke of Kent. 

Membership and visitor numbers remained strong through this period and various members received promotions and honours from UGLE & PGL 

Post War Years (1970 – 2020)

In the early days of Freemasonry, Lodge’s held their meetings in a variety of venues such as public houses, working men’s clubs, village halls, church halls, community halls etc. and Ongar Lodge was no different, meeting after it’s consecration for many years at Budworth Hall, a community building with several large rooms. 

In 1970, Ongar Lodge collaborated with five other local lodges, namely Harlow Lodge No. 2734, Stondon Massey Lodge No. 7881, Harlowbury Lodge No. 7795, Latton Priory Lodge No. 8402 and North Weald Bassett Lodge No. 8403, to find alternative premises to hold their meetings. They eventually found an old school building in Harlow, and arranged finance to purchase, extend and refurbish it to convert it into a dedicated Masonic meeting hall, which was officially opened in 1972 by the Deputy PGM, Frederick Leistikow, to be known as Harlow Masonic Hall. 

Ongar Lodge became a shareholder and held its first meeting there in September 1972 and at the October meeting 82 Brethren were in attendance to witness the Installation of Bro Ronald Arthur Thomas Kemp.

In 1975 The Lodge celebrated its 50th Anniversary, W Bro Bob Shepherd was promoted to Provincial Junior Grand Deacon, and W Bro Edward Green was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of Harlow Masonic Hall Ltd. 

In 1980 the Lodge loaned The Provincial Grand Lodge of Essex the sum of £100.00 towards the fund for them to purchase new office premises and in April 1981 it was voted on to turn this loan into a permanent gift.

In March 1982 the Almoner reported that the Lodge now had 22 widows on the Christmas list. 

In April 1983 W Bro JohnThomas Wright was elected as a Director of Harlow Masonic Hall Ltd, replacing W Bro E Green who had passed to the Grand Lodge above 

In 1984 a further extension was added to Harlow Masonic Hall and was named ‘The Shepherd Room’ in recognition of W Bro Bob Shepherd, who was a member of Ongar Lodge and who built the extension. This was officially opened by W Bro F Leistikow, who was Now The Provincial Grand Master. 

W Bro Bob lived in the village of Stondon Massey and was a founding member of our daughter Lodge, Stondon Massey Lodge No.7881.

Ongar Lodge held its 300th meeting in October 1988 where W Bro Geoffrey D Tomkins was Installed as Worshipful Master. 

In 1990 it was reported at the March meeting that W Bro Geoffrey William Lee, who was a Police Sergeant based at Ongar Police Station, had received the British Empire Medal for his courage and bravery in tackling an armed robber. The APGM, W Bro Peter Neivens who was present at the meeting stated that “it was the correct thing to do to enter it in the minutes, so it recorded the posterity”. 

In 1992 W Bro John T Wright resigned as Director of Harlow Masonic Hall and was replaced by W Bro Bob Shepherd, and it was proposed to reduce meetings from 5 to 4 due to rising costs, but after a lively debate among members it was agreed to keep the 5 meetings per year and raise the subscriptions to £105.

Over the next few years the Lodge continued its active participation in charitable activities, including significant fundraising by the Charity Steward, W Bro Geoff Lee for various causes such as the Essex 2000 Festival and the Ongar War Memorial Hospital.

At the meeting in April 1997, leaflets were distributed to all present from Grand Lodge Re: The Parliamentary Home Affairs Committee, which carried out an 18 month Investigation into Freemasonry, The Police and the Judiciary - and whether or not serving Police Officers etc should declare their Masonic membership for which the final Report was issued a month earlier in which they concluded “We have given careful consideration to the submissions, and note that many of them are devoid of real evidence, or are anecdotal or circumstantial” – so basically, there was nothing to declare and life carried on as normal, but I’m sure your all aware that the issues with declaring membership in the Police Service, particularly the Metropolitan Police, has again risen it’s ugly head in the last few months.

At the meeting in September 1998, W Bro J Alan Wright, who was also the Secretary of the Provincial Media Committee, delivered a very thought-provoking talk, pointing out, among other things, that until 1939 masonry had been regularly featured in the press, giving notice of meetings and naming office holders etc. but the situation in Europe, i.e. - World War II - put an end to this practice, but the overall thinking of Grand Lodge now was that we should be more open and not be reticent about masonry, this of course did not mean disclosing any of the secrets of the ritual.

In the year 2000, the Charity Steward reported he had transferred £17,000 to the PGL 2000 Festival on behalf of the Brethren, for which he stated surpassed the amount required for the PGM Gold Award.

At the 75th Anniversary meeting held on 21st September 2001 a demonstration of a consecration ceremony was performed by a Grand Lodge team as per the ceremony that took place on 14th October 1925 with W Bro J Alan Wright as the Consecrating Officer, in 2003 he donated and presented a New Lodge Banner, and gave an explanation of its history.

Also in 2001 W Bro Bob Shepherd resigned as Director of Harlow Masonic Hall and he was replaced by W Bro J Alan Wright.

In April 2004, due to more rising costs and falling membership, meetings were reduced from 5 to 4 per year, and during this year two members, W Bro Jack Gemmill and W Bro Bob Myson were presented with Certificates for 50 years’ service to Freemasonry.

The Lodge had been facing difficult challenges over the last few years with declining membership, and considered amalgamation with another Lodge, which for whatever reason never materialised, so was going to hand in its Warrant, but it was revitalised through active recruitment efforts when W Bro Stephen Baker, who had been a regular visitor for the last ten years offered to join in 2005 and brought in many Joining members and Candidates for Initiation. Steve was elected as Worshipful Master in 2006 and again in 2007.

In 2007 the Lodge mourned the passing to the Grand Lodge above of W Bro Don Foley and W Bro Jack Gemmill.

In October 2009 W Bro J Alan Wright resigned as Director of Harlow Masonic Hall with W Bro Steve Baker replacing him.

In 2010, Ritual practices were updated, including a shift to Taylors workings as the then Preceptor, W Bro Steve Baker, along with all the Joining members practised those workings in their mother Lodges. 

The Lodge continued to demonstrate strong charity engagement, raising substantial funds for both Masonic and non-Masonic charities and it Raised £17,500 for the PGL 2011 Festival, receiving Double Grand Patron award, for which the APGM, W Bro John Davies informed the members that they were one of only 20 out of 333 Lodges in the Province to achieve such an award.

They also raised money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, Multiple Sclerosis, and many others, led by our Charity Steward, W Bro Geoff Lee, who at the age of 69 competed in the London Marathon and The Great North Run, and over the following years, Geoff continued his quests cycling from London to Paris on two occasions and cycling the North Coast 500, which is a 500 mile route around Scotland,  and this was accompanied by other members either joining him in his cycling quests or taking part in other events like Motor Rally’s, Golf Days, Clay Shoots, charity runs etc etc. Not forgetting of course our very successful Ladies Nights

In 2014 W Bro Bob Myson received another Certificate, this time commemorating 60 years in Freemasonry.

In March 2019 W Bro John Davies, attended his last Ongar Lodge meeting as its APGM, as he was standing down from the role after eleven years, and at this meeting he presented W Bro Douglas George Nicholls with a 50-year Certificate to mark the long and distinguished service to Freemasonry, and to Ongar Lodge in particular.

 W Bro Doug passed to the Grand Lodge above a year later on 7th February 2020 aged 94.   

Post War Years (2020 – 2025)

In early 2020 the global Coronavirus Pandemic hit the world and on 17th March 2020, The Grand Master suspended all Lodge meetings until further notice. On the same day, W Bro Douglas Nicholls funeral took place at Chelmsford Crematorium, attended by many Lodge members.

In May 2020, W Bro Steve Baker was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Harlow Masonic Hall when   W Bro Les Pascoe resigned due to the pandemic and personal health issues.

The suspension was lifted by Grand Lodge with certain restrictions in July, and Ongar Lodge resumed meetings in September, although there were further disruptions to come.

During the suspension, members continued to raise funds for our charities through outdoor activities where the government permitted, increasing donations made to Great Ormond Street Hospital to just over £50,000 in the last four years, this was on top of donating further monies to other various local Charities. 

Over the next four years The Lodge experienced the loss of members including that of our Chaplain W Bro Doug Nicholls, our Treasurer, W Bro Paul Berry in 2021 and our Secretary W Bro Christopher Kennedy in 2022, Chris was only 51 years old and died within months of being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

In view of the above the Lodge made even more effort by raising £10,000 for the St Clares Hospice, who looked after W Bro Chris during the final couple of months of his life, whilst also donating worthily to Dementia UK, in remembrance of W Bro Paul Berry.

This brought the total the Lodge has given to, Non-Masonic Charities alone, over the last ten years, close to £100K.

Like many Lodges throughout the UK, the Lodge numbers were dwindling, but our recruitment efforts since the pandemic has resulted in ten initiations and four joining members since 2021 with two potential Candidates in the pipeline at present, which hopefully bodes well for the future.

Honours

Many members of Ongar Lodge have received honours from Provincial Grand Lodge, but as far as our research can tell only Eight brethren have been awarded Grand Rank, some holding very distinguished offices in both The Provincial Grand Lodge and The United Grand Lodge of England 

Lodge of Instruction

The Lodge of Instruction has been a vital part of Ongar Lodge’s operations, continuing when & wherever possible, even during difficult periods such as World War II and the Covid Pandemic 

Treasurers

From the first Treasurer Bro G H Ashurst to the current Treasurer W Bro Roy Woodard, the role has been held by members who also served as Worshipful Masters and received various Provincial honours.

Secretaries

From George V to Elizabeth II, the Ongar Lodge has existed through the reign of five Monarchs, and the present members owe a great debt of gratitude to the Secretaries who have laboured to record the activities of this Lodge and the bringing together of so many of the valued memories in its history. 

Starting with Bro John H Tilson in 1925, notable Secretaries include W Bro Frederick M Noble, our first WM  who held the office for 10 years and W Bro Ronald Marshall, also our first SW who held the office for next  12 years, followed by W Bro Jack Gemmill, who served for 11 years and was made an APGM, W Bro Stephen Baker, who held the office for 12 years, and the current Secretary W Bro George Baker. The role has been central to the Lodge’s administration and continuity 

Directors of Ceremonies

The first Director of Ceremonies was W Bro Alfred A W Simmonds, who served for 15 years and was promoted to Grand rank and then served as Provincial Grand Secretary of Essex. The role has been held by distinguished members including W Bro Percy Brett for 19 years, David Stanley 10 years, Bernard Shuttleworth 15 years, W Bro J Alan Wright 8 years, and now W Bro Stephen C Baker, who also serves as Preceptor of Lodge of Instruction, The Lodge Royal Arch Representative, The Assistant Secretary and Chairman of Harlow Masonic Hall.

Almoners

The Almoners role, which is responsible for member welfare, has been held by several members including founding officers and is currently held W Bro Lord Christopher Brown, who became Almoner in 2022 and also served as Worshipful Master in 2024.

Charity Stewards

The Charity Stewards office was Introduced as a collared office in 1976, and the Charity Steward role has been crucial in fundraising efforts, with W Bro Geoffrey Lee, going above and beyond and serving as the Charity Steward for 35 years, raising substantial funds for both Masonic and non-Masonic charities 

For the Lodge to survive 100 years is a privilege earned by the care of the principles.

This comprehensive history of Ongar Lodge No.4785 reflects its foundation, growth, challenges, leadership, charitable contributions and resilience over a Century, demonstrating a strong commitment to Freemasonry and to the community.