OUR LODGE HISTORY
The Lodge of Aveland 9060
The Mother Lodge of The Lodge of Aveland is Hereward Lodge 1232.
In the late 1970’s it became clear that the membership and meeting attendance
numbers at Hereward Lodge was making the then Masonic Hall in Wherry’s Lane
Bourne uncomfortable, cramped and to some extent a safety issue.
So it was that 25 Freemasons drawn from the Hereward Lodge and other Lodges of
this and other Provinces came together as petitioners to seek Grand Lodge approval
for the formation of a new Lodge in Bourne.
At this early stage the new Lodge name was undecided, but as the group of Founders
met to bring together their divergent views and thoughts, soon the framework of the
daughter Lodge began to take shape. Decisions were made about the name, meeting
dates and times, ritual to be used, proposed officers, “new” traditions and much more.
The name decided upon was The Lodge of Aveland, nothing less (so not Aveland
Lodge). The use of the Universal Ritual was agreed as it represented a common
starting point for the diverse membership of the group.
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The old Wherry's Lane site
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So where does the name Aveland come from?
Aveland is a Wapentake of the Thirding (Riding) of Kesteven of Lincolnshire. It is
Anglo Saxon in origin and extends from Osbournby in the North to Bourne in the
South, Kirkby Underwood in the West to Sempringham in the East. Basically the now
A15 and a couple of miles to its East and West. A Wapentake is said to have derived
from an ancient Anglo Saxon word meaning Weapon Touch – which was the custom
of touching the local Lord’s sword blade as a token of fealty.
It is closely linked with the term Hundred which was an area that could provide a
local Lord with 100 swords should they be needed for battle.
One of the Founder Members, the late W Bro E W Challands (the first Chaplain of the
Lodge) designed the Banner of the Lodge and to indicate its Anglo Saxon origins we
have an Anglo Saxon crown and sword on the badge and it is decorated with acorns
and oak leaves – these being emblematic of the ancient woodland that used to cover
this area.
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The Lodge of Aveland Banner
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On Saturday 12 th February 1983 the Lodge of Aveland was consecrated at the
Grammar School in South Road Bourne by the PGM at the time Rt W Bro G. M.
Cooper. There were a total of 152 Freemasons present consisting of 57 members from
Hereward Lodge, 25 Founders, 12 Consecrating Officers, 4 Officers of Grand Lodge
and 71 visitors.
Of the 25 Founders, 6 are still members today with W Bro A L Blake PProvSGW
who is 101 years young the senior Brother.
On Monday 5th September 2011 the Lodge of Aveland, together with it’s Mother
Lodge, Hereward, moved to the new Masonic Centre in Roman Bank, Bourne which
was dedicated by The Provincial Grand Master, Rt W Bro G Ives and was attended by
over 100 Freemasons.
