Provincial Grand Lodge

Walnut Tree Lodge

Several Brethren who resided in the Tottenham area of north London made a proposition, "That a regular Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted masons be formed and called the Northumberland Lodge to he held in the Province of Hertfordshire, if sanctioned by the Grand Master". At first it appears odd that Brethren residing in Tottenham should decide to meet in Hertfordshire, but some of the Founders, for instance W. Bros A H Bowen and A H Sinyth, were Founders and Past Masters of Halsey Hall Lodge No. 4752. This Lodge had been formed to build a Masonic Home in South East Hertfordshire and Walnut Tree House, in Cheshunt, had been purchased.

Consternation must have reigned when a communication from the Grand Secretary stated that a Warrant had been granted under the name of Walnut Tree and allocated No. 5192. Whether the Lodge was called after Walnut Tree House is not known, but every indication is that it was. The documents relating to the sale of Walnut Tree House at the time of the setting up of the Centre are not available, but thanks to the Lodge of Faith for Duty No. 6833, the Conveyance for the earlier sale of the House has been donated to Walnut Tree Lodge. The details of that transaction are as follows:

On 29th November 1894, for the sum of £3000, Mr. Richard Cobley of Butts Cross Farm, Waltham Cross, purchased from a Mr. John Betts, a butcher of Knightsbridge, "all that messuage or tenements with the Lodge and buildings, yards, gardens, meadows, lands and appurtenances called or known by the name of 'Walnut Tree House`. The property of two and a half acres with a frontage of 250 feet was eventually acquired for £3150 in 1929. The building first opened for Masonic purposes on 4th September 1930.

Lodge News

WALNUT TREE LODGE 10TH ANNIVERSARY QUIZ NIGHT

Friday 1st April saw the Walnut Tree Lodge 10th Anniversary Quiz Night and sadly the last under this title. The prize has always been for THE JOHN COLES TROPHY as sadly W. Bro John died on the day of the first quiz night, so in his memory we dedicated the future quiz evenings in his name and have been playing for this trophy ever since.

The sold-out event saw 150 contestants gathered in the Halsey Centre for the quiz which was again won by The Tytherleigh Team, the 2003 winners. As this was the last JOHN COLES TROPHY night, the winners were awarded special Walnut Tree plaques, leaving the trophy still on display. This was intentional as we planned a surprise presentation of the trophy to John’s son W. Bro Tim, Secretary of Walnut Tree. This was done for two reasons, 1. as a memento of the event and 2. Tim would never, ever have won it on brainpower!

The by-product of these evenings has always been charity and I am pleased to report that after this evening, we have raised some £10,000, all of which has been donated to Hertfordshire charities including Prince Michael Of Kent Court, Isabel Hospice and small local charities that would otherwise be overlooked.

This is a true value-for-money evening with beef bourguignon, rice and french Bread, waitress service, bumper raffle, surprise gifts and all for £10 per head.

These nights do not run themselves so special mention must be made to Peter Headington, Charity Steward of Walnut Tree Lodge who acts as or Master of Ceremonies, Nick Burns, the I.P.M as our Adjudicator, Sally and Charlotte Dare, wife and daughter of the 'Provincial Grand Quizmaster', as our Chief Markers. All of whom have worked unstintingly for the past 10 years of the quiz.

STOP PRESS: With all the requests since this great night to carry on, we may well surface again but in a different format. Watch this space.

GAVIN W DARE