Dane John Lodge

Welcome to Freemasonry in Canterbury with the Dane John Lodge.

We meet at the Masonic Centre in Canterbury, Kent, UK and are part of the Province of East Kent.

The Lodge was consecrated in 1978,

We are considered to be a very friendly and sociable lodge and give our visitors and guests a very warm welcome.
Particularly at our 'festive board' which is held after our regular meetings, where the members and guests enjoy a meal in a very convivial and amicable atmosphere within the private dining room.

Members of other Lodges wishing to visit will be most welcome and should contact the Secretary in the first instance.

If you are interested in becoming a freemason with the Dane John Lodge you should contact the Secretary on the ‘contact us’ link at bottom of the page. The Secretary will arrange an informal meeting to discuss the procedures to be followed.

How the Lodge was formed

Around 1975 another Canterbury lodge was attracting so many new members that two senior brothers in that lodge became concerned about the time it was taking junior brethren to progress through its various offices.

It was decided the solution would be to form a new lodge. It would be called Dane John Lodge, taking its name from the Dane John Gardens in Canterbury.

The mound situated in the centre of the gardens became the Lodge emblem, a true symbol of historic Canterbury. The new lodge was consecrated in March 1978 at the Westgate Hall, Canterbury, by Lord Cornwallis, who was then the Provincial Grand Master for Kent.

Meetings

Meetings are held at the Canterbury Masonic Centre in St Peter's Street on the second Thursday of :-

January, February, March (Installation Meeting), April, May, October and November.

All regular meetings start at 1830, the installation meeting at 1630.

Lodge of Instruction / Rehearsal is held every Thursday at 1900 when there is no regular meeting.

The temple, shown below was formally opened by the Provincial Grand Master for Kent in July 1880. It has many notable features including suberb carved oak furniture, beamed roof and stained glass windows.

Charitable Donations

As well as giving to Masonic charities for the relief of its members and their families in distressed circumstances, the Masonic Grand Charity disburses millions of pounds to general charities and for charitable purposes such as disaster relief. The Dane John Lodge also is proud to support local and national charities, as illustrated below.

The Dane John Lodge is pleased to donate to Macmillan Cancer Support.

A donation was presented to the Canterbury Branch of Age UK.

The Lodge was delighted to present a £1000 cheque to the Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex. It was received by Fran Vale, Kent Community Fundraiser. The £500 from Dane John Lodge was matched by The Cornwallis East Kent Freemasons’ Charity.

The Chief Officer of Citizens Advice Canterbury District, Simone Field, was delighted to accept a cheque for £500 from the Dane John Lodge No.8810 on behalf of the Macmillan Welfare Benefits Service (East Kent).

A cheque was presented to Demelza Hospice Care for Children and to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Dane John along with four other local Lodges provided 4 specialist trikes and 2 scooters for the St Nicholas School in Canterbury. The pupils have physical disabilities, epilepsy, autism & sensory impairment.

Kent Search and Rescue Dogs were given a donation enabling them to purchase further equipment, to support their work in assisting Police and others searching for missing persons.

After instruction and a demonstration showing resuscitation techniques, a defibrillator was presented by the Dane John Lodge to the Canterbury Masonic Centre.

A donation was made to Combat Stress. This charity delivers dedicated treatment and support to British Armed Forces Veterans who have mental health problems.

If you wish to find out more about the Dane John Lodge please contact the secretary. Tel: +44(0)1227 761223

Or email secretary@dane-john-lodge.org.uk

United Grand Lodge

Province of East Kent

Kent Museum of Freemasonry