About Falcon Lodge


The beginning of interest in forming a Masonic Lodge in Thirsk started, it appears, with the sending out of a circular to known Masons in the area on February 9th 1871 inviting them to attend a meeting at the Golden Fleece Hotel to “consider the propriety of forming a Masonic Lodge in Thirsk.”

Many informal meetings were held over the next few months and in early 1872 (the exact date is not known) nine local Masons petitioned the Grand Master, the Marquis of Ripon, for permission to form a Lodge to be named “The Falcon” in Thirsk. The falcon was the crest of the Bell family who were Lords of the Manor in Thirsk.

The Lodge Banner, which is in gold thread on a light to dark grey background, depicts a falcon poised on a bell and various Masonic emblems. It was presented to the lodge in 1921 by the Worshipful Master J. E. Hathaway and the Senior Warden T. W. Wright.

Worshipful Brother George Ayre P.P.J.G.D. was Master of the Lodge in 1878.

The petition was granted on July 27th 1872 and the first meeting of the Lodge took place on October 17th 1872 at 50 Kirkgate.

At the Lodge meeting held on March 26th 1873 a proposal was made to build a new Masonic Hall on a site to be purchased as the premises in Kirkgate had been found “inadequate.”

Frederick Bell offered a plot of land in the Castle Garth which, according to old drawings, formed part of the moat of Thirsk Castle, with frontage onto Picks Lane.

The foundation stone of the new building (the present Masonic Hall) was laid on September 4th 1873. A special dispensation was granted for a procession and to wear Masonic clothing. The route of the procession was by way of the Lodge Room in Kirkgate, the Market Place, Castlegate, Westgate, Newsham Road and Picks Lane.

The builder, Mr. Jackson, provided a mallet for use during the laying of the stone and the Treasurer deposited a sovereign on the stone “for the refreshment of the workmen.”

The following were placed in a glass container under the stone:

  • a florin
  • a shilling
  • a sixpence
  • a three-penny piece
  • copies of the Ripon, Richmond and Thirsk Times
  • the Northern Echo
  • the York Herald
  • the Yorkshire Gazette
  • the Leeds Mercury
  • the Yorkshire Post

The new Masonic Hall was dedicated on November 11th 1874. The final payment of the mortgage and interest on the building ground was made in 1892.

In 1928 an extension was built onto the Lodge to accommodate a kitchen, bar and cloakroom on the ground floor and staircase and robing room on the first floor at a cost of £345. Electric heating was installed in 1957.