There has at all times existed in the Dramatic Profession a great spirit of charity and the Profession has always done everything in its power to look after its weaker members.

Shortly prior to the year 1860 some of the leading members of the Dramatic Profession conceived the idea of forming a Charity with the object of providing a Retreat for Aged Actors, the foundation of Schools for the education of actors' children, and the building of a Library.

With this object in view a certain Richard Churchill presented a piece of land at Maybury near Woking in the County of Surrey. Certain funds having been subscribed, the foundation stone of the " Royal Dramatic College " was laid on the 1st of June, 1860, by the Prince Consort.

On the 23rd of April, 1865, one T. P. Cooke left by will £2,000 to the College.

The College was opened formally on the 5th of June, 1865, by the Prince of Wales — afterwards to become King Edward VII, and the ceremony took place in the Central Hall of the College.

Benjamin Webster made the principal speech on this occasion. He was himself an Actor and Actor-Manager. He was born in 1797 and died in 1882, and acted as President of the College from 1862 to 1877. In his opening speech he mentioned that the College had been formed with three objects, namely: (i) the provision of a Retreat for aged actors; (2) the foundation of Schools for the education of actors' children; and (3) the building of a Central Hall for the purpose of a Library, etc.

On the 13th of June, 1865, the Prince of Wales sent a donation of £50 to the College.

The College was supported by Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort did all he could to help it.

The Charity became regulated under a scheme of the Charity Commissioners on the 29th of March, 1878, and the College buildings were sold.

The clear yearly income of the Charity is now applied in pensions to poor deserving members of the Dramatic Profession and Mr. Cyril Maude is the Trustee.

The Fund now consists of £4,215 18s. 2d. Consolidated Stock and the Trust is administered in conjunction with two other minor Trusts.

It may be of interest to mention that the building has been transformed into the Oriental Institute for Indians visiting England.

We are indebted to Worshipful Brother A. I'Ons and Worshipful Brother Charles Goodwin for the photographs from which our own medal is taken.

The Maybury Lodge was formed in direct connection with the College and with the sponsorship of the Lodge of Amity No. 171.

Our Lodge was Consecrated at the Freemasons Tavern, Great Queen Street, on Wednesday, 29th July, 1863. Worshipful Brother S. B. Wilson, assisted by Worshipful Brother Binckes as Chaplain and Orator, performed the ceremony. The original number of our Lodge was No. 1271.

At the opening of the Lodge Worshipful Brother S. B. Wilson assumed the Chair as Worshipful Master, Worshipful Brother Patten that of Senior Warden, and Worshipful Brother A. Duff Filer that of Junior Warden.

After Consecration a Board of Installed Masters was formed, and Worshipful Brother Benjamin Webster, P.G.J.W. and P.G.Stwd., Past Master of Lodge 183 (Bedford), was Installed as our first Worshipful Master.

He then appointed and invested his Officers as follows:

Worshipful Brother Richard Churchill, Senior Warden.
Worshipful Brother George Penny (W.M. Lodge 200 Amity), Junior Warden.
Worshipful Brother John Reddish (P.M. Lodge 183 Bedford), Treasurer.
Worshipful Brother Thomas John Jerwood, P.G.S. (P.M. Lodge 183 Bedford), Secretary.
Brother David Bolton Raw, Senior Deacon.
Brother Thomas Williams, Junior Deacon.
Brother Edward Canton (M.D.), Inner Guard.

Collars were reserved for Worshipful Brother Rev. Edward Moore, Past Grand Chaplain, as Chaplain, and Brother Thomas Bacon of Lodge 108 (Regularity) as Steward.

The members present were:

Worshipful Brother A. J. Duff Filer, P.M. 275 (Ionic) and 955 (Canonbury)
Worshipful Brother G. Borlase Childs, P.M. 113 (Burlington).
Worshipful Brother J. Lavender, P.M. 183 (Bedford).
Worshipful Brother H. Mahomed, P.M. 183 (Bedford).
Brother J. Smith, 578 (Hertford).

The Visitors were;

Worshipful Brother S. B. Wilson, Past Grand Deacon.
Worshipful Brother Patten, Past Grand Deacon.
Worshipful Brother F. Binckes, P.M. 10 (Westminster and Keystone).
Worshipful Brother W. Watson, P.G.S.
Brother Matthew Cooke, Secretary 23 (Globe).

There does not appear to be a copy of the original Bye-laws extant, but it is of great interest to note that among other Rules it was provided that the Lodge should give Five Guineas annually to the boy and girl who gain the silver medal in each of the respective Masonic Schools, for the purpose of being applied by the children's friends to find them what they most needed after leaving these Institutions.

It is reported that on the Lodge being closed the Brethren took dinner at the Freemasons Tavern and that "it was one of the best ever supplied".

It is to be regretted that as the years have passed the grant of Five Guineas has been discontinued and has not as yet been restored.

The principal toasts at the first dinner were:—

1. The Queen and the Craft.
2. The Most Worshipful Grand Master the Earl of Zetland.

The places of meeting of the Maybury have been as follows:—

1863 to 1865 Freemasons Tavern, Great Queen Street.
1865 to 1876 Freemasons Hall.
1876 to 1908 Inns of Court Hotel.
1908 to 1914 The Criterion.
1914 to 1918 Incorporated Society of Musicians, Berners Street.
1918 to 1933 Freemasons Hall.
1933 to date (1963) The new Masonic Temple.

The earliest copy of the Bye-laws we have is dated 1887 and does not present any points of interest to mention apart from the fact that therein it was provided that " The Stewards shall, subject to the approval of the W.M., provide for refreshments on Lodge Nights and regulate the expenditure in respect thereof".

From 1863 to 1900 the Lodge appears to have carried on a normal—if uneventful—existence, although during that period it numbered many members of interest, brief particulars of whom are given later.

During this period the Lodge sponsored two new lodges, The Lodge of Progress No. 1768 in 1878 and The Empire Lodge No. 2018 in 1885, both of which it is pleasing to know are flourishing.

From this time for a few years the Lodge appears to have grown weaker and weaker, until by 1904 the number of the members had fallen so low that the question of surrendering the Charter had to be considered. It is believed there were only eight members.

In that year, however, Worshipful Brother Hugo Thomas Chadfield — then a Master Mason — became interested in the Lodge through his association with the musical world, and he offered to become a joining member, and held out hopes of being able to introduce new life into the Lodge.

At that date Allen Gill was the Master and he agreed to put Chadfield forward.

The next difficulty was to get together enough members to form a Lodge, but after some considerable difficulty this was effected and the Lodge met and elected H. T. Chadfield.

It is interesting to note that only five members attended this meeting, and in addition to Allen Gill, Dr. Woods and J. T. F. Matthews were present.

Immediately after his election H. T. Chadfield was appointed to the three offices of Inner Guard, Senior Steward and Junior Steward at the same time.

True to his word, H. T. Chadfield at once proposed three candidates for Initiation, viz.' G. C. Audsley, David Mitchell and his brother Dr. G. H. Mitchell. I believe he also proposed one of the brightest characters in the Maybury annals of Freemasonry, viz.' Algernon I'Ons, to whom the Lodge owes so great and lasting a debt of gratitude.

In 1909 the total number of members was only twenty.

At this time the Secretary was E. G. Van Tromp. W.Bro. H. T. Chadfield went to him personally on various occasions with regard to the earlier Minute Books, but without success. Further than this no information could be obtained about the Lodge funds, except that they had disappeared.

Van Tromp was very popular except in one respect and that was that after every dinner he insisted on singing one old song, and as he could not sing it was rather painful to the members.

In those days the Lodge met at the old Inns of Court Hotel — Lincoln's Inn Fields — possibly because they had a perfect head waiter, wonderful cooking and a very fine wine cellar.

W.Bro. H. T. Chadfield has supplied the following commentary on our meetings at that date:—

" We used to hold our meetings in a bedroom at the Inns of Court Hotel and I well remember an occasion when the Jury, in some case of High Treason — was locked up in an adjoining room and they sent a request that we should open our door so that they could listen to our music. There was Hall, who played the bassoon, and as someone said, ' Thank God, there was no smell to it! Harry Dearth, Audsley, who played the dismal flute, and Maxwell, who couldn't sing any song which Allen Gill had not coached him for. As for me, I was always asked not to sing. I only did it once."

In passing, it should be mentioned that Hugh Cecil Lea - who was Member of Parliament for St. Pancras — was a particularly shining light in the Lodge in those days. It is believed that he was the editor of some paper connected with the wine trade. Incidentally he chose the wine, and no one could do so better. Hugh Cecil Lea always used to protest against the members taking whisky after their wine; as he said, " For God's sake. Gentlemen, don't mix the Malt with the Vine ". He could never remember anything for any length of time. He could not remember anything connected with his initiation, nor could he ever remember the ritual. He was quite good until he got to a meeting and then his memory failed him. He will ever be remembered by his Immediate Past Master to whom, in the middle of a ceremony he whispered: " It's no ------ good, you'll have to say it for me." He was a very lovable man and a great favourite. Lea, strangely enough, in spite of his great sense of humour, had a somewhat depressed appearance which resulted in Punch publishing a verse with reference to him headed " Lachry-mose-Lea ". It is on record that he once invited the members of the Lodge to the House of Commons to hear him speak and incidentally to dine with him there. We are credibly informed that his speech consisted of about three sentences but the dinner was " very festive ".

After the Inns of Court Hotel closed, the Lodge met at the Criterion. This would be about 1908. Everyone was asked to be as economical as possible, and the Secretary suggested the substitution of red and white wine for champagne. The result was that the Criterion said the Lodge was no longer a paying proposition and it was asked not to come.

From that time onward the Lodge met at the offices of the Incorporated Society of Musicians in Berners Street, and the subscription was reduced to a sum just sufficient to pay Grand Lodge dues and other expenses.

It was at one of the meetings at Berners Street that an incident occurred worthy of note. In the middle of the meeting there was a terrific explosion which shook the whole building, and it appeared that a German bomb must have dropped near by. Cummings, however, who was Inner Guard, rose to the occasion and instantly stood to order and said: " Worshipful Master, there is a report." This happy remark restored the atmosphere somewhat, but the Tyler was found to be nearly prostrate with fear.

The explosion in question was the great Silvertown Explosion.

In those days the members provided their own entertainment, which at times was crude, but none the less very happy.

It may be mentioned in passing that the introduction of women entertainers, with what has been described as " their cabaret performances ", has cost the Lodge more than one member.

It may be of interest that in those days, it was one of the traditions that " the bigger the bottle, the better the wine ". The wine was always served in magnums, and the Lodge was the proud possessor of special glasses holding one quart each. Two members shared a magnum, but it is on record that they did not always stop there.

We still have some of the old firing glasses which were, by the way, recovered from the old Lodge Box by Worshipful Brother Chadfield, together with the remainder of the old silver. Square, etc.

It is interesting to note that this Lodge was founded by and for Actors as a professional Lodge. The Lodge has, through out its history, always maintained its professional character, as the following figures show.

The total number of members from 1863 to 1935 has been 191. These may be divided as follows:—

Lawyers 19 Army 7
Doctors and Surgeons 18 Wine Merchants 5
Musicians 12 Architects 5
Merchants 12 Authors 4
Insurance 10 Accountants 3
Comedians 10

The remainder of the members are either not described or are single examples of many trades and vocations.

During the month of July 1863 it is worth recording that England was at peace with the world, reigned over by Queen Victoria. Her Majesty was undoubtedly feeling the loss of her Prince Consort who had passed away the previous year.

Events throughout the world included: the Mexican Campaign; France wished to recognise the independence of the Southern States of the U.S.A.; General Lee was winning the American Civil War.

At home here, we were suffering from a cotton famine in the Midlands. The opening of the Crystal Palace Exhibition. Temperatures were extremely low, possibly to suit the Empress of Prussia who was on a visit to this country at the time.

Viscount Palmerston was the Queen's First Minister. Disraeli and Gladstone were quite to the fore. Income tax was 9d in the pound. Downing Street became the official residence of the Prime Minister. South Kensington Museum had been recently opened.

On a sartorial note drainpipe trousers were extremely fashionable just as they are today, so it would seem that a complete cycle has been turned.

We continue with a few notes on the progress of the Maybury Lodge from the brief notes and history of its members duly concluded in 1936 produced to mark its 75 years of existence.

The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 brought many problems indeed to Lodges in general and in particular to Maybury.

Many active members had of course to forgo the pleasure of Lodge nights and became extremely active elsewhere. However, the Lodge did carry on in spite of many hazards and, let's face it, dangerous journeys during those days were undertaken by the Members in order to be present at the meetings.

The following extract from the October 1946 Minutes is indeed worth recording:—

Extract from the October 1946 minutes of
THE MAYBURY LODGE No. 969

" The W.M. proposed and W. B. Rennell seconded that the Lodge should express its appreciation of all those members who had kept the Lodge going during the war. While many of the Brethren had perforce been scattered, the few who had remained within call had given the Lodge outstanding support. As an instance of the loyalty to which he was referring the W.M. pointed out that W.B.s Addiscott, Lake, S. Crosse and Newton had attended every Maybury Lodge meeting throughout the entire period of the war. Both he and W. B. Rennell felt that such devotion was worthy of record in the minutes of the Lodge. The proposal was carried unanimously."

Certified that the above is a true copy from the minutes of the Maybury Lodge No. 969.

(Signed) George M. Denton-Mayor. W.M. Oct. 1946.

Indeed the Lodge owes a great debt of gratitude to the following brethren.

Stanley Howard Crosse, a member for over forty years and Treasurer for thirty of them. Appointed P.A.G.D.C. in 1958, holder of London Grand Rank, an active member of Royal Arch Masonry, a founder member of the Maybury Chapter and its first M.E.Z, Former Mayor and Alderman of Paddington Borough Council are some of the activities which reveal his sterling work both for the Craft and his fellow men.

Edward C. Crosse, a brother of Stanley, a member for thirty years and for time within memory our organist, a holder of London Grand Rank and likewise a founder member of Maybury Chapter and its first H. The record of these two brothers in attendance and service to the Lodge in all its activities are outstanding and an example to all.

Arthur Newton, who in his own quiet but inimitable way has given sterling service to the Lodge as a wartime stalwart, secretary and subsequently almoner, his recent absence from Lodge for age and health reasons has been deeply deplored as has the cessation of his fine cigars generously presented on Installation nights. His election as an Honorary member in 1963 is a well deserved award.

Bros. Ralfs, Lake, William Addiscott are other to whom all members owe a great deal for their interest and support, the last named being responsible for the production of the history of the Lodge in 1937 on which this revision is based for the purposes of the Centenary.

After the War the Lodge was able to resume more normal proceedings and new members were soon to be found and have continued to join so that the present number of fifty-one has made a compact, friendly and, we hope, an efficient Lodge.

To assist the performance of ceremonies the Maybury Club was started in 1947 and this was eventually the foundation of the Maybury Lodge of Instruction in 1952 which meets at the Marquis of Granby, Cambridge Circus, and has greatly contributed to the efficiency of Lodge working. From the same Club grew the Maybury Ladies' Festival, a very popular occasion in the year. Recently an annual Lodge cocktail party for members and their families has been inaugurated and attains to a similar degree of popularity.

As a culmination of our activities in the first hundred years, 1962 saw the consecration of the Maybury Chapter by eight members of the Lodge with the assistance of four well wishers. Further notes on this appear later.

We feel, therefore, that we can hardly be accused of presumption or pomposity if we assert that the Lodge in its one hundreth year is a lusty child (and parent) and from the kind remarks of guests and friends at our meetings we can feel that our behaviour and efforts are not in vain and that we do what is expected of us. Long may this continue.

An interesting and unusual feature of the Lodge is the use of firing glasses at our banquets. The earliest of these are dated 1863 and in 1960 it was decided to increase the number of glasses, which was effected by all pastmasters presenting further glasses engraved with the year of their office as such. W.Bro. Tony Branson was instrumental in arranging this.

In April, 1922, the Lodge undertook to become a Hall Stone Lodge, and £299 has been paid to Grand Lodge in this respect.

Prior to the year 1903 the Maybury's Past Master's Jewel was a very much more expensive and considerably more beautiful Jewel than the present one. It was made in 18-ct. gold.

In 1904 this was given up and the present Jewel was introduced.

The old Jewel may be seen in the Grand Lodge Museum, to which the relatives of Allen Gill presented his 1903 P.M. Jewel.

The Library and Museum also hold an old manuscript volume of Masonic Ritual in various degrees and in various languages, and an engraved Masonic bowl, both presented by W.Bro. W. Addiscott.

The Masonic Charities have not been forgotten by the Maybury Lodge, and a record of what has been done for the three Institutions and the Hospital may be of interest.