1878 – Eight Brethren from Royal Sussex and other Lodges in the area decided to form a new Lodge in Portsmouth which was to be known as Landport Lodge.
Warrant issued by Grand Lodge on 15th August 1878 authorising constitution and consecration of a new Lodge to be known as ‘Landport Lodge’ No. 1776.
Consecration took place on 20th November 1878 at Freemasons Hall, Highbury Street, Old Portsmouth and was conducted by the Provincial Grand Master of the time (W. Bro W.W.B.Beach). There were 101 guests at the meeting.
B.J. Murrell one of the founders was installed as the first Master of the Lodge.
Initially it was agreed to hold 12 meetings per year on the third Thursday of the month.
The first ‘Regular’ meeting of the Lodge took place on Thursday 21st November 1878 at Herbert Street, Portsmouth when 9 candidates for initiation were proposed and 16 brethren were proposed for joining.
As well as the 12 regular meetings, a total of 14 emergency meetings had to be held to deal with the workload as in the first year there was 40 new initiations and 35 new joining members.
Due to outgrowing their current premises in Herbert Street the Lodge was approached by the new Freemasons Hall Company offering accommodation at new Lodge rooms at what is now Guildhall Walk, Portsmouth. The Lodge purchased shares in the new accommodation and thus became one of the Lodges of these premises. The Lodge held its’ first regular meeting at the new premisses in July 1880.
1882 – the Lodge agreed to a petition for a Royal Arch Chapter to be attached to it. Thus, Landport Chapter 1776 was consecrated later in 1882.
1887 – the Master and Wardens attended Grand Lodge for the installation of H.R.H Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) as Grand Master.
1904 – Landport was one of four Lodges that purchased the Masonic Hall building in Guildhall Walk.
1922 – meetings in July and August ceased to be held.
1928 – the Masonic Hall building was extended and Lodge meetings were held the Corner House in Commercia Road until work on the masonic hall was completed in 1929
1939 – At the Outbreak of World War 2 in September Lodge meetings were suspended for one month. Meetings were suspended again in September 1940 – for a further two months and in 1941 only three meetings were held in July, October, and November. This was due to the severe air raids on Portsmouth. The Lodge warrant was taken into safe keeping by the Provincial Secretary but it did receive light damage following one air raid and had to be retouched and repaired.
1942 – Normal meetings resumed and continued after the war ended.1965 – it was agreed to invite ladies to the dinner held after the December meeting to participate in Christmas carols for the first time instead of the traditional masonic dining.
1978 – Worshipful Brother A. C Anderson having been initiated into Landport Lodge in June 1952 became the first subscribing member of the Lodge to receive Grand Lodge Honours. The investiture at Grand Lodge was carried out by the Grand Master HRH the Duke of Kent. W. Bro Anderson continued to be an active mason until his death in January 2023 at the age of 102 years.
October 2001 – the Masonic Hall in Guildhall Walk where the Lodge had met since 1880 closed prior to sale and re-development of the site. This meant that all of the Lodges using it had to re-locate. Initially Landport relocated to the Royal Naval Yacht Club premises in Pembroke Road.
2004 – On the move again this time to the Masonic Hall in Havant, the first time that Landport Lodge had moved outside of the Portsmouth City Boundary. First meeting held on 21st January.
2004 – On 20th October Landport Lodge reduced the number of regular meetings from ten to nine dispensing with the June regular meeting.
2009 – On 10th April 2009 there was a Burglary at the Havant Masonic Hall and Landport along with other Lodges lost many of their valuable artefacts including gold items which dated back to 1896. Whilst an insurance claim of £10,295 was met the items held sentimental value to the Lodge, were part of our history, which made them irreplaceable.
2013 – A former Methodist church at Purbrook having been purchased and reconfigured as a new Masonic Centre became available and Landport Lodge moved to hold their meetings here. We continue to use this venue and have purchased shares which makes our Lodge one of the owners of the building. The first ceremony that Landport carried out at this location was a double initiation in March 2013.
Landport Lodge No. 1776 