A Lodge Built for an Empire
Empire Lodge No. 2108 — consecrated 24 November 1885
A Lodge Built for an Empire
The Foundation, 1885
Empire Lodge No. 2108 was warranted on 13 August 1885 and consecrated on 24 November 1885, in London, at the height of the Victorian imperial period. It was consecrated by Very Worshipful Brother Colonel Shadwell H. Clerke, the then Grand Secretary, before the ten Joining Members and the Founders.
Empire Lodge traces its constitutional lineage through verified UGLE genealogical records (Chart 171, compiled 2018). The chain runs from the Lodge of Amity No. 171 — warranted in 1784 — through Maybury Lodge No. 969 (warranted 1863) and Lodge of Progress No. 1768 (warranted 1878), to Empire Lodge itself. The Lodge’s effective lineage therefore extends back over 240 years, placing it within one of the older established lines of London Freemasonry.
The Lodge grew directly from the Empire Club, a social venture established to provide facilities for intercourse between Colonials visiting Great Britain and those resident at home. When the Club ultimately failed, the Lodge survived and carried its spirit intact.
"Calculated to draw colonists into closer connection and sympathy with home matters."
— The Earl of Carnarvon, Pro Grand Master, 1885
The Founding Purpose
The avowed purpose was to strengthen the bonds uniting the Dominions with the Mother Country — bringing Brethren from Overseas into close relationship with Freemasonry in the Metropolis of the Empire. Hardly a regular meeting took place without distinguished visitors from the Dominions beyond the Seas.
The Lodge met initially at the Royal Adelaide Gallery, King William Street, Strand. After each meeting, Members adjourned to the old Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, where two boxes had been reserved. Empire Lodge combined Masonic purpose with genuine hospitality, and the two were never wholly separate.
Founders of Distinction
Among the Founders were figures of considerable weight. Sir Francis Philip Cunliffe-Owen K.C.M.G. served as first Worshipful Master. Sir William N. W. Hewitt K.C.B. — whose Victoria Cross, awarded in 1854, was not initially recorded beside his name — was personally decorated by Queen Victoria at the Hyde Park Review of June 1857.
Lennox Browne, the Lodge's first Secretary, presented to the Grand Lodge of England the salt dish still used at the consecration of every London Lodge to this day, bearing the inscription: "Presented to the Grand Lodge of England by Bro. Lennox Browne, F.R.C.S., First Secretary of Empire Lodge No. 2108, Nov. 24th 1885."
Hall Stone Lodge
Empire Lodge is among the Hall Stone Lodges — those which contributed to the Masonic Million Memorial Fund and whose number is permanently recorded on the great marble plaque at Freemasons' Hall. The Masonic War Medal 1914–1918, worn by the Worshipful Master during his year in office, is a direct connection to that sacrifice.
Lord Baillieu — Three Times Master
The Right Honourable Lord Baillieu KBE CMG served as Worshipful Master of Empire Lodge three times — in 1941, 1952, and 1960 — a distinction held by very few. He presided at the 75th Anniversary Meeting in 1960, attended by the Grand Master and 39 Grand Officers, with letters of congratulation from 10 Dominion Grand Lodges and 27 District Grand Lodges across the Commonwealth. In 1961, Lord Baillieu and his two sons presented to the Lodge a silver loving cup — a gift that combined generosity with a profound understanding of what the Lodge meant. He died in 1967 after more than thirty years of service. His son, the Hon. Edward Latham Baillieu, served as Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1982 to 1989.
The Founder's Jewel
Algernon Barnett was the last surviving Founding Member of Empire Lodge. He died in 1955 after seventy years of continuous membership — a span that encompassed the reigns of four monarchs and two world wars. His Founder’s Jewel — struck in 1885, bearing the Lodge arms with crown, swords, anchor, and sailing ship, and the motto Coelum non Regem — passed into the custody of the Lodge at his death. It has been worn by every Worshipful Master at every Installation since: an unbroken physical link between the Lodge of 1885 and the Lodge of today.
Daughter Lodges
Empire Lodge gave constitutional descent to four London lodges, each warranted from its number. Three remain active today.
| LODGE | WARRANTED | CONSECRATED | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampstead Lodge No. 2408 | 8 July 1891 | 27 October 1891 | Active |
| Iris Lodge No. 2545 | 5 January 1895 | 25 February 1895 | Active |
| Loyal Heath Lodge No. 4716 | 4 February 1925 | 14 May 1925 | Active |
| White Stone Lodge No. 7098 | 6 June 1951 | 3 September 1951 | Erased |
The Black Book
During the Second World War, Nazi intelligence compiled the Sonderfahndungsliste G.B. — identifying institutions to be suppressed in the event of a German invasion. Empire Lodge was explicitly listed among those associated with Royal Family connections and establishment influence.
Empire Lodge was sufficiently important to be noticed by those who wished to destroy the structures of British life.
Beyond the Lodge
Empire Lodge did not merely attract distinguished men. It attracted men who shaped institutions. The roll of corporate, diplomatic, military, and civic connections that passed through its membership reflects the breadth of the British establishment at its most active.
Rio Tinto Zinc — The Hon. E.L. Baillieu served as Director of one of the world's largest mining companies.
ANZ Banking Group — Baillieu held a directorship of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.
National Mutual Life Assurance of Australasia — Baillieu served as Chairman of the London branch.
London Stock Exchange — Baillieu was a Member of the Exchange throughout his professional career.
City of London Livery Companies — Cart de Lafontaine was a member of eleven Livery Companies and served as Master of seven.
Sheriff of the City of London — Cart de Lafontaine served as Sheriff in 1914.
Commonwealth Lodges' Association (CLA) — Empire Lodge is a member of the Commonwealth Lodges' Association, formed in 1972 to link UGLE Lodges with a connection to the Commonwealth, promoting inter-lodge visitation and charitable work.
Imperial Japanese Embassy, London — Viscount Hayashi served as Minister and Ambassador to the Court of St James's. He was Worshipful Master of Empire Lodge when the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904.
State of Johore — H.H. The Sultan of Johore, sovereign ruler, was initiated in 1906 — among the first Malay rulers received into English Freemasonry.
City of London Corporation — Sir Maurice Jenks served as Lord Mayor of London 1931–32, holding the Mastership of Empire Lodge simultaneously. His Installation was held at the Mansion House by dispensation.
South Kensington Museum — Sir Francis Philip Cunliffe-Owen, the Lodge's first Worshipful Master, served as Director. He organised the Indian and Colonial Exhibition of 1886, attended by Empire Lodge's royal patrons.
The Parachute Regiment — Major-General Beckett commanded the 2nd Battalion 1958–60 and held honorary membership of Parachute Regiment Lodge No. 9315.
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst & Staff College Camberley — Beckett served on the instructing staff of both institutions, shaping a generation of British Army officers.
Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution — James Arthur Terry, P.M. of Empire Lodge, served as Chairman of the RMBI for over twenty-eight years.
Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 — Cart de Lafontaine served as Worshipful Master in 1929 of the premier lodge of Masonic research, and delivered the Prestonian Lecture in 1930 at the Royal Albert Hall.
Royal Society of Literature — Cart de Lafontaine was elected a Fellow. He was also a Governor of the Foundling Hospital and Director of the French Hospital at Victoria Park.
A Lodge That Reached the World
In 1928, the Lodge Secretary Walter Hobbs personally travelled 65,000 miles around the world to deliver invitations to visit Empire Lodge. The journey — spanning every continent touched by the Empire and the Commonwealth — stands as the most vivid expression of the Lodge’s founding purpose: to be the Masonic home of the world in London. No other lodge in the English constitution has sent its Secretary on such a mission.
These connections were not incidental. Empire Lodge was founded precisely to be a meeting point for men of the Empire — in commerce, in diplomacy, in arms, and in public life. The corporate and civic associations of its members reflect a Lodge that sat at the centre of British institutional life for over a century — and many more besides.
That tradition continues today. Empire Lodge is a genuinely diverse Lodge whose members are drawn from professional life, with strong connections to the City of London and the Livery Companies that have anchored civic and commercial life in the capital for centuries. Empire Lodge is a member of the Commonwealth Lodges' Association — formed in 1972 to link UGLE Lodges with a Commonwealth connection, promoting inter-lodge visitation and charitable work.
The Lodge that welcomed Colonial Premiers, Ambassadors, and a Sultan in its early years welcomes Brethren from all walks of life today — whatever their profession, wherever they are from.
The Empire the Lodge was founded to serve became the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth became an interconnected world in which London remains, stubbornly and brilliantly, at its centre. Across 140 years and the reigns of six monarchs — Victoria, Edward VII, George V, George VI, Elizabeth II, and now Charles III — Empire Lodge has continued to meet, work, and endure. Empire Lodge reflects that. Its membership today is drawn from across the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth — different in background and tradition, united in the craft. The Lodge works Emulation ritual and is now building toward its 150th anniversary in 2035, guided by a structured ten-year plan focused on officer succession, sustainable membership, and continued ritual excellence.
In the DNA of Empire Lodge
From its very first year, Empire Lodge has understood that Freemasonry's purpose extends beyond the lodge room. Charity and service to others are not obligations — they are convictions, carried by its members into their communities and their professions.
THE HISTORICAL RECORD
Empire Lodge's record of charitable commitment begins with its foundation. The Masonic Million Memorial Fund — which rebuilt Freemasons' Hall as a permanent memorial to the 3,000 Freemasons who died in the Great War — counted Empire Lodge among its Hall Stone contributors. That plaque at Great Queen Street is a permanent record of what the Lodge gave.
James Arthur Terry, Past Master of Empire Lodge, served as Chairman of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for over twenty-eight years — one of the longest tenures in that institution's history. The RMBI provides residential and nursing care to Freemasons and non-Freemasons alike across England and Wales.
At the 1985 Centenary, members donated £20,000 to establish the Empire Lodge Travelling Fellowship — supporting Masonic education and connection across the world.
THE LODGE TODAY
That spirit continues. Brethren of Empire Lodge actively support charitable causes and serve their communities — through time, through professional expertise, and through giving. Empire Lodge supports the London Freemasons' Charity, which awards grants to charities serving London communities, through its members' giving and fundraising.
The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) — one of the country's largest charities, providing around £20 million in support each year — is supported by Empire Lodge through its members' giving. The MCF funds hospices, medical research, early years support, dementia care, and disaster relief worldwide.
The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution continues to be supported — Empire Lodge's connection to that institution spans the Lodge's entire history, from its earliest members to the present day.
BEYOND THE CHEQUE
The brethren of Empire Lodge give more than money. Members bring their professional expertise to bear in service — advising charities, sitting on boards, and giving their time to causes that matter. The Lodge's connections to the City of London and the Livery Companies extend that reach further still.