About
the Lodge
Province of Hampshire & Isle of Wight, South West Area.
Who we are
St Michael's Lodge was founded in 1911 and has met in Bournemouth ever since. We are a lodge of Freemasons working under the United Grand Lodge of England – the governing body for Freemasonry across England and Wales and much of the world beyond.
Our number, 3521, was given to us when the lodge was consecrated, and we have carried it for more than a hundred years. A lower number means an older lodge; ours dates to the years before the First World War, when the town was growing fast.
Dorset by address, Hampshire by tradition
Our postal address says Dorset – quite correct, as Bournemouth moved into the county in 1974. Freemasonry keeps to the older county lines, and by those Bournemouth has always belonged to the Province of Hampshire & Isle of Wight, the largest Province in the country.
A small lodge, well kept
We are a settled lodge of around thirty members. We are in no hurry to grow large. We would rather know one another well, take proper care of the men who join us, and keep both the ceremonies and the friendships in good order.
"We would rather know one another well than grow large. Thirty men, well kept."
The SecretaryOur home at The Knole is one of the loveliest Victorian mansions in Bournemouth – a Grade II listed house that has been ours since the 1950s.
Oak panelling, stone fireplaces, fine plaster ceilings – kept much as they always were.