Phoenix Lodge

Coordinates: 54°54′32″N 1°22′08″W / 54.909°N 1.369°W / 54.909; -1.369

Part of a series on
Freemasonry
Overview Grand Lodge Masonic lodge Masonic lodge officers Grand Master Prince Hall Freemasonry Regular Masonic jurisdiction Continental Freemasonry
History History of Freemasonry Liberté chérie Masonic manuscripts
Masonic bodies Masonic Masonic bodies York Rite Order of Mark Master Masons Holy Royal Arch Royal Arch Masonry Cryptic Masonry Knights Templar Red Cross of Constantine Scottish Rite Knight Kadosh Societas Rosicruciana Order of Royal and Select Masters Grand College of Rites Swedish Rite Order of St. Thomas of Acon Royal Order of Scotland Order of Knight Masons Research Lodge Corks Side degrees The Shrine Royal Order of Jesters Tall Cedars of Lebanon The Grotto Masonic groups for women Women and Freemasonry Order of the Amaranth Order of the Eastern Star Co-Freemasonry Masonic youth organizations DeMolay A.J.E.F. Job's Daughters International Order of the Rainbow for Girls
Views of Masonry Anti-Masonry Anti-Masonic Party Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition Masonic conspiracy theories Opposition to Freemasonry within Christianity Papal ban of Freemasonry Suppression of Freemasonry Taxil hoax
People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston Thomas Smith Webb Albert Mackey Albert Pike John the Evangelist John the Baptist William Schaw Elizabeth Aldworth List of Freemasons Lodge Mother Kilwinning Freemasons' Hall, London Mark Masons' Hall, London House of the Temple Solomon's Temple Detroit Masonic Temple List of Masonic buildings
Other related articles Masonic ritual and symbolism Great Architect of the Universe Square and Compasses Pigpen cipher Eye of Providence Hiram Abiff Sprig of Acacia Masonic Landmarks Pike's Morals and Dogma Propaganda Due Dermott's Ahiman Rezon
By country Barbados Belgium Canada Croatia Denmark France Finland Germany Indonesia Italy Lebanon Luxembourg Malta Mexico Portugal Romania Russia Scotland Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Philippines Turkey Ukraine Venezuela

Phoenix Lodge No. 94 is a Craft Lodge in Freemasonry under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England.^[1] Members of Phoenix Lodge built the Freemasons' Hall in Queen Street East, Sunderland, in 1785; it is considered to be the oldest purpose-built Masonic Temple in the world that has been in continuous use from its foundation and is still used as such today.^[2] The Hall is a Grade I listed building.^[3][4] Phoenix is also the oldest Lodge in the city of Sunderland^[5] and the second oldest in the Province of Durham.

History

The Lodge was constituted on 7 October 1755 and is one of the 50 oldest craft lodges in the UK. Phoenix originally met in local inns and taverns before moving to the Masonic Hall in Vine Street, which was dedicated on 16 July 1778 but was destroyed by fire on 20 November 1783. It has met at its present Masonic Hall in Queen Street East since 1785. In April 1785, noting the celebrations for the dedication of this new hall, a local newspaper announced that Handel’s Messiah would be:

"Performed [at St John's Chapel] by the whole Choir of Durham Cathedral, assisted by all the principal Musical Gentlemen of Durham, Newcastle, and Sunderland, under the Direction of Brother Ebdon, who will perform the full accompanyments [sic] on the Organ."^[6]

The original Institution Warrant was lost, believed to be destroyed by the fire that destroyed the Masonic Temple in Vine Street. The Lodge still has the Confirmation Warrant, dated 29 September 1821. It received the Bi-Centenary Warrant on 5 October 1955 and celebrated its 250th Anniversary on 7 October 2005.

The lodge building contains a pipe organ by the north-east organ builder John Donaldson (died 1807), the only extant example of Donaldson's work in its original position; here high up on its own purpose-built gallery.^[7]

Meeting Places

Although Phoenix Lodge has the longest continuous usage of a Masonic meeting place in the world today, the Lodge has in fact met at various locations throughout its history.

Lodge Number

Phoenix is numbered 94 on the register of the United Grand Lodge of England, a roll that totals nearly 10,000 lodges. Although there are 93 lodges with a lower number than Phoenix, some of them are of later date. This is because at the Union of the Grand Lodges in 1813, some were allocated new numbers by criteria other than that of "ancient rights". At the foundation of the Lodge, the number was 207, which changed at various points, finally to 94 in the year 1863.

Ritual

Before the unification of the Grand Lodges to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813, Phoenix Lodge was a member of the Premier Grand Lodge (the Moderns) which pre-dated the Antient Grand Lodge (the Antients) by 34 years. In keeping with these traditional roots, the Lodge works Old Working of the Craft ritual, as opposed to the more modern Emulation Working, which has become common in Craft lodges throughout the English-speaking world. A unique feature of the Lodge's ritual is that the ceremonial contains singing and music accompaniment throughout.

Masters of Phoenix Lodge

The records extant detail the Masters of the Lodge from 1775 to the present day - records from 1755 to 1774 have been lost.
The first recorded Master of Phoenix Lodge was John Thornhill, a local merchant in Sunderland. Phoenix Lodge has produced one Provincial Grand Master of Durham, George Thompson in 1778.

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Confirmation Warrant of Phoenix Lodge