1942–2017 · Kings Heath
75 Years Young: 1942–2017
Frankley Beeches Lodge 5846 was consecrated on 30 April 1942 at the Masonic Hall in Kings Heath, Birmingham, while the city was still being bombed. This is the public outline of that story: how the lodge got its name, which lodge sponsored it, and how it has kept meeting, and giving, ever since. It follows the lodge’s own anniversary history, 75 years young.
One can only admire the courage and determination of those Founders, who despite the blackout and constant bombing of Birmingham, saw fit to start a Masonic Lodge.
From the Foreword to the 75th anniversary booklet
1940–1943
Founded in the Blitz
Birmingham was bombed from 9 August 1940 until 23 April 1943. The lodge’s anniversary history records that 1,852 tons of bombs fell on the city and the country round it, and that Birmingham was the third most heavily bombed city in the United Kingdom, after London and Liverpool.
It is hard, from a quieter time, to picture a group of Freemasons from Halesowen choosing that moment to found a lodge, and then doing the slow work of getting it warranted. They did it anyway.
The name
How Frankley Beeches was chosen
The founders first thought of calling the lodge Millfield, after a school in Edgbaston. The Province of Worcestershire pointed out that Edgbaston is in the neighbouring Province of Warwickshire, so the name would not do. The Province suggested Frankley Beeches instead.
Frankley Beeches is a clump of beech trees. The anniversary history says they once belonged to the Cadbury family and are now in the care of the National Trust. The lodge banner draws the trees with St Leonard’s church in front of them. The history notes, with some affection, that the church does not actually stand in that view. The picture is the lodge’s own, and it has been kept.
30 April 1942
Consecration at Kings Heath
The lodge was consecrated on Thursday 30 April 1942, at 2.30pm, at the Masonic Hall on Alcester Road South, Kings Heath. That hall is Ashlar House, and the lodge still meets there.
The consecrating officer was General Sir Francis J. Davies, Deputy Grand Master and Provincial Grand Master of Worcestershire, with the Deputy and Assistant Provincial Grand Masters and other Provincial officers. W. Bro. A. W. Turley was the first Master. The Senior Warden, E. S. West, gave the lodge its banner.
Lodge of St George No. 5691
The Mother Lodge
Most of the founders already belonged to Halas Abbey Lodge No. 5407, in Halesowen. Halas Abbey was not, though, the lodge that sponsored the petition. The founders were delighted when the Lodge of St George No. 5691 agreed to become the Mother Lodge.
The anniversary history is plain about that. St George, formed in 1937, is the Mother Lodge, and the friendship has lasted. St George now meets by day, so the old habit of visiting one another is less regular than it once was. The bond is still there. At the golden jubilee the Mother Lodge gave a claret jug, which is still brought out when the lodge marks an installation.
The records
A minute book, lost and found
At the golden jubilee in 1992 the lodge had to report that its first minute book was missing. Later, while Moseley Masonic Hall was being altered to make room for more lodges, builders working in the loft came across old records of several lodges. Among them was the book that had been given up for lost.
It is now kept with the lodge’s other records at Provincial Grand Lodge in Bromsgrove.
1942–1943
First meetings, and the first charity box
The war shaped the calendar. An emergency meeting was held on Friday 22 May 1942, and the first six regular meetings were fixed for the first Monday in June, July, September and October 1942, and in March and April 1943.
The first of those meetings, on Monday 1 June 1942, opened the charity box and found £6 7s 6d. The anniversary history reckons that at a little over £300 in modern money. Collections in those years were often between £3 and £5.
On 5 April 1943 a member serving in the Middle East sent home two lemons. Lemons had not been seen since the war began. They were auctioned at dinner for £14 14s, about £600 in the history’s estimate, and the money went to the Worcestershire Masonic War Relief Fund.
The lodge grew quickly, and the men came from every kind of work: a hotel manager, an architect, an optician, a company director, a machine-shop superintendent, a works manager. The anniversary history says that mix is still the lodge’s pattern.
In September 1942 the lodge took a £10 share in the Moseley Masonic Hall Company. The following April it agreed that a man joining by initiation would be asked for £5 towards the hall company’s debenture fund, and a joining brother who was not already a member of a Kings Heath lodge would be asked for £3.
Dates
From 1942 to the 75th, and on
- 1942
Consecrated at Kings Heath
Thursday 30 April, at 2.30pm, at the Masonic Hall on Alcester Road South.
- 1942
The charity box
Monday 1 June, the first regular meeting. The box held £6 7s 6d.
- 1943
Two lemons
Auctioned at dinner on 5 April for £14 14s, for the Worcestershire Masonic War Relief Fund.
- 1948
A board for the hall
In November a Past Masters board was given for the reception hall at Kings Heath.
- 1957
Lodge of Instruction
The first Lodge of Instruction festival was held, with A. W. Turley invited to preside. The last was in 2005.
- 1992
Fifty years
Tuesday 5 May. Thirty-four members and 103 visitors. By then the lodge had two daughter lodges.
- 2001
Fun for Kids
A free day at the fair for disadvantaged children, under Freemasonry in the Community. About 200 children came the first year. Sixteen years on, more than 500 were coming.
- 2016
A welcome for Futurity
Futurity Lodge No. 6455 closed in January. Five of its members joined Frankley Beeches.
- 2017
Seventy-five years young
The lodge marked 75 years at Ashlar House, with brethren and guests from the Province, and presented £4,000 towards the Worcestershire Festival 2022.
- 2042
The centenary
The anniversary history already looks forward to it. The lodge would like new members to be there.
Giving
A charity record
The cover of the 75th history lists the lodge’s honours from the great Masonic charities. Frankley Beeches is a Patron Lodge of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys, of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls, and of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, and a Double Grand Patron Lodge of the Royal Masonic Hospital. In 2011 it became a Vice Patron of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys and Girls.
It has also finished second in the Province for a Festival appeal. In 2017, at the anniversary itself, the lodge presented £4,000 towards the Province of Worcestershire’s 2022 Festival. The photograph is on the charity page, with the wider story of the lodge’s giving.
Two daughter lodges grew from Frankley Beeches: Frankley St George No. 8212, and Trinity, now Trinity Blakesley, No. 8586.
2017
The anniversary at Ashlar House
Brethren and distinguished guests from the Province gathered under the lodge banner. The anniversary gallery has more from the day.
The next twenty-five years
The 75th history ends by looking towards 2042. The lodge is still in Kings Heath, still open to men who want to know what membership is like. You do not need to know a member already. Complete the contact form and we will get in touch.
Come and see whether it suits you
An informal conversation, usually over coffee. There is no obligation, and you do not need to know a member already.