HASTINGS Lodge
NUMBER 8695
The history
Hasting Lodge was formed in 1976 by mainly the following W. Bro’s. Lawrence F. Insley and David R.L. Hall with the help of Henry J.B. Knowles and Arthur Crane.
It was agreed from the onset that singing in the Lodge would not be tolerated except for the Opening and Closing Odes; this tradition has remained up to the present day.
The first Secretary was W. Bro. Alfred I. Shields, and the Director of Ceremonies was W. Bro. Sydney Walker.
The rent for the use of the Lodge Rooms at the Town Hall had increased substantially and at that time two adjacent buildings on Lower Church Street came on the market. W. Bro David R.L. Hall saw the possibility of converting what had originally been a Blue and Green Coat School into a Lodge Room, and what was once the Lyric Cinema into a dining facility. He bought the two buildings.
Work on the renovation of the old schoolroom and the conversion to a Masonic Hall began in 1980 when groups of “operative” masons worked, regularly aided by some expert help.
The Lodge Room was completed and consecrated by the Provincial Grand Master R.W. Gayton Taylor in November 1981.
Work then started on the Lyric Rooms with W. Bro. Len Hill becoming the unofficial foreman with many Hastings and Ferrers & Ivanhoe members spending a lot of weekends helping to transform the building.
The opening dinner in the Dining Room was held in October 1984 with the principal guest being the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, W. Bro. Tom Stops. It was during this meal it was noticed that dust was descending from the ceiling.
It was decided to clear and clean the space above the Dining Room in early 1985, which raised concerns by the residents and Ashby Council. After several covers were installed, the work continued for a few weeks until the roof space was clean and suitable for dining to take place below.
The Lyric Project exceeded the original estimate by 360% so many fundraising activities were arranged such as whist drives, fashion shows, buffet suppers, and the annual Fork Luncheon held at W. Bro. David Hall’s house and garden in Packington.
The debt was paid off and in March 1993 a Celebration Dinner was held in the Lyric Rooms.
Meet 7 times per year
Start at 6.00 until 10.15pm
Location: Lyric Rooms
The Hastings Lodge meets seven times a year on the third Thursday of each month except in March when we meet on the fourth Thursday. There is no meeting in the months of May, June, July, August and September, which is our summer break.
Our meetings now start at 6.00pm usually finishing about 8.00pm when we retire to the Lyric Rooms for our Festive Board meal. We aim to finish the evening by 10.15pm at the latest.
We hold rehearsals for our ceremonies on the Monday evening before each Lodge meeting.
It is not all about Lodge meetings as Hastings Lodge hold a number of social events during the year from Ladies Nights and other events where we join the Ferrers & Ivanhoe Lodge.
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