History of the Province

At the Meeting of the Provincial Priory of East Anglia held on April 28th 1979 at the Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth, the Provincial Prior, Right Eminent Knight, Flt. Lieut. Peter William Racey mentioned that he had discovered the “old provincial minute book” and that it was his intention to write the history of the province to form part of the centenary celebrations being planned for 1982. Those who knew Rt.Em.Kt. Peter at that time, whilst applauding his enthusiasm and ambition for such an undertaking could have been forgiven for whispering amongst themselves, “When is he going to find the time?”. As a figure within the history of the Province of East Anglia, Rt.Em.Kt. Peter William Racey, GCT, will stand forever as an outstanding Freemason in general and a great Masonic Templar in particular. To read P.W.R’s Masonic C.V. is to take the ‘grand tour’ of Freemasonry in its fullest splendour. Not only is it a tour of great breadth but also a tour of some of the highest ranks, the most demanding duties and inspirational innovations within East Anglia (and beyond). However, in relation to producing the documented history of the Province even P.W.R realised that it was a massive undertaking and perhaps a re-think of his initial rush of enthusiasm was in order. The following two quotes describe the coming together of two outstanding Masonic minds, who just happened to be in East Anglia in 1979 and who just happened to share a passion for Masonic research;

” A few years ago I began to give some thought to a history of this Province [ East Anglia]…At that time I made the acquaintance of a Mason who had retired to Aylsham in Norfolk and who shared with two of Masonry’s great pleasures, namely Knight Templary and Masonic research. He gave me a copy of a book he had written, “An Historical Account of Jamaican Freemasonry”, which I considered a production such as only a professional writer could have brought into being…” P.W.R 1982.

The Masonic author to whom P.W.R refers is Em.Kt. Lt.Col.Frederic William Seal-Coon, Past Great Deputy Sword Bearer. On the subject of researching and writing the history of the Province, Em.Kt. ‘Freddie’ writes;

“…first and foremost, thanks are due to our Provincial Prior…who initiated the work and thereafter maintained his constant interest and encouragement, mobilising co-operation and injecting the inspiration without which it might never have been started and could certainly not have been finished…He [P.W.R] had the thought, amid his innumerable other important Masonic commitments, of writing the history himself, but in the end ceded that grateful task to me” F.W.S-C, 1982

The outcome of this collaboration was ‘The History of the Templar Province of East Anglia’ (1982, published by the Province of East Anglia. Mann & Son Ltd, Ely, printers),

A book covering not only Provincial history but also the history of the original Orders and the development of the Masonic Templary in England.

What follows is a dip into Em.Kt.Freddie Seal-Coon’s work.

Thanks are due to Em.Kt. Mark Seal Coon for his permission to access his father’s work, summarize sections, add in ‘extras’ and present it on this web-site in a series of instalments.

M.Richard Beardall, P.Gt.Registrar, Past Provincial Sub-Prior

Templary in East Anglia Prior to 1882

Given the different guises of early Templary in this country, the struggle to assimilate and regularise the various and varying units, its virtual dormancy from the second into the fourth decade of the 19th century, and – perhaps above all – the loss of all central records in 1820 (due to the fire which destroyed the home of Robert Gill and all the records he kept there), it is hardly surprising that the task of bringing to light its early days in East Anglia should be difficult. Such traces as there are are fragmentary, serving to confirm its existence but not to reveal its extent and organisation. Taking the four counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire that comprise, or have comprised, the Province of East Anglia, we have:

Norfolk

According to Le Strange’s history, the first known trace of Templary in Norfolk is a letter (in the Library of Grand Lodge) dated 11 January 1788 from James Bullivant Jnr., Provincial Grand Secretary, to the Grand Secretary reading in part: “Several gentlemen wishing to form a Grand Chapter of Knights Templar have desir’d me to make enquiry if a grant can be given from the Grand Lodge for that purpose, and at the same time to note what expense it will be attended with”. The Grand Secretary’s reply is not extant”.

On 24 December 1795 the Antients’ Grand Lodge issued a warrant to a lodge meeting at the Turkey Cock Inn, Elm Hill. Norwich (now Perseverance No.213) which made Knights Templar from an early date. This lodge was in possession of a Templar seal.

Stevenson and Matchett’s “Norwich Pocket Book” for 1806 shows Joseph Taylor, a leading citizen of Lynn Regis (Kings Lynn), as “Superintendent of R.A. Masons and Knights Templar for the County of Norfolk and City of Norwich”.

Berry’s “Norwich Directory for 1811” lists after Masonic lodges “Royal Arch Masons, Knight, Templars, and Grand Chapter of Harodim, Gate House, Tombland” – Le Strange says presumably working under the warrant of Union lodge No.192. The minutes of this lodge for 23 January 1820 (then No.68) record a motion, carried on the proposition of Jeremiah Ives, Deputy Provincial Grand Plaster, that: “All the expenses necessary for the providing proper dresses and other preparations for the various degrees of masonry, such as Royal Arch, Knight Templar, Ark and Mark, be borne by Lodge 68, that Lodge taking the fees for conferring any of the above.”, while at the next meeting on 29 February 1820 the minutes state that Ives held a “K.T. Conclave” in the adjoining room during lodge hours.

In August 1821 the “Norfolk and Norwich Remembrancer” recorded that: “Mr. Belzoni, the celebrated traveller and discoverer of Egyptian antiquities, visited Norwich; he stayed with Jeremiah Ives, Esq’ , of St. Catherine’s Hill; previous to his departure he received the high Masonic degree of Knight Templar.”.

A list of the members of the Lodge of Eleusinian Mysteries No.103 (no longer extant) printed in 1823 shows the letters “K.T.” after ten out of 23 names, but Le Strange says that the working of this degree must already have fallen into desuetude in Norwich, as no further mention of it is made in lodge minutes and when a new preceptory, Cabbell, was consecrated in 1863 the degree was said to have been in abeyance for “upwards of forty years” . However, the first statement may have been an error and the second an exaggeration, as the minutes of Union Lodge dated 4 May 1824 record that “The W.M. held a Chapter this evening at 6 o’clock and the lodge was opened at 8.30”. The work in the chapter is not stated but it could have been both Royal Arch and Templar, as at the close of the minutes of the December 1825 meeting, notice was given that “a Royal Arch Chapter and a Knight Templar’s Chapter would be held on the 9th. January 1826” . Evidently, this lodge still had a sufficient number of keen knights!

We come now to the matter of a Norfolk Templar Province and it is a fact that notwithstanding the absence by then of any Templar body in the county, Grand Conclave appointed the 4th. Baron Suffield to be Provincial Grand Commander in 1846 and he remained as such until his death on 22 August 1853. It is not given to us, at a distance of nearly a century and a half, to read the collective mind of Grand Conclave, but at a conjecture the appointment was made either in anticipation of the imminent foundation of a Templar commandary, or to encourage such an event. However, nothing happened and after his death Lord Suffield was not replaced and the county lost Provincial status.

The Cabbell Encampment No.69 was warranted on 3 March 1862 and held its first meeting ten days later. On 10 April the Hon. Frederick Walpole was proclaimed Eminent Commander and a resolution was passed thanking the knight Henry John Mason for his efforts “in the restitution of the first Encampment of Knights Templar in Norfolk after held in abeyance for upwards of forty years”. At the same meeting a letter dated 8 April from the Grand Vice Chancellor announced the appointment of Benjamin Bond Cabbell as Provincial Grand Commander for Norfolk: he is shown as such in Grand Conclave’s minutes of 9 May 1862. He was then 81 and by 1869 had resigned, though he lived to 93, dying in the year 1874. Grand Conclave minutes of 14 May 1869 show the Province of Norfolk as “vacant”.
Cabbell Encampment declined and no meeting was held after 1870 except an abortive one on 31 May 1872. Grand Conclave minutes of 13 Play 1870 show the Hon. Frederick Walpole, M.P., as Provincial Grand Commander for Norfolk. Cabbell Encampment was in abeyance until early in 1882, when only four members remained. Their arrears and dues were paid up, however, and on 9 March 1882 an emergency meeting was held at which several joining members were elected or proposed and a petition was drawn up praying that the County of Norfolk be joined to the existing Province of Suffolk and Cambridge under the title of the Province of East Anglia.

Suffolk

It is difficult to trace Templary in Suffolk prior to the year 1780 and though some lodge or chapter now lost to sight might have been making knights, it seems unlikely in the known circumstances. Be this as it may, the Grand Royal Arch Chapter considered on 12 May 1780 a report by Thomas Dunckerley, then Grand Superintendent of Wiltshire, that he had granted a dispensation to some Companions in the 1st. Regiment of Dragoon Guards, then stationed at Salisbury, who had been exalting brethren on a Scottish authority, probably from the lodge Scoon and Perth No.3. The same Companions may also have been holding Templar meetings then or soon after, as when the Regiment had moved to Ipswich In or earlier than 1784, the Grand Chapter granted on 12 November 1784 to several members of the British Union Lodge, Ipswich, permission to hold a Royal Arch chapter, to be named Prudence, whose Scribe was to be a Bro. Dixon, Trumpet Major of the 1st. Dragoon Guards. The application was made through Dunckerley, who two years later was appointed Grand Superintendent for Suffolk.

Soon after the warranting of Prudence Chapter, its members, influenced by the Fortitude Encampment already working in the Regiment, began to install knights as a regular thing under the authority of their Royal Arch warrant. In 1810 the knights sought regularity and the knight Curtis Plumb wrote to Robert Gill asking for a warrant. He replied requesting further particulars and Plumb’s rejoinder mentioned that Comp. John Gooding, then MEZ of the Prudence Royal Arch Chapter No.41, had installed Waller Rodwell Wright as a Knight Templar therein.

The petition was approved on 21 February 1811 and the first recorded meeting of the Prudence Encampment No.35 was held on 12 April 1811.

It would seem that knights were also being made in the Royal York Royal Arch Chapter at Woodbridge in Suffolk, for in the year 1825, the Prudence Encampment having presumably declined, the Woodbridge knights purchased its warrant and furniture, and thus founded a “new” encampment. However, they made the error of rechristening it the “Royal York”, without reference to the Grand Conclave and this brought a reprimand and an order to revert to the name “Prudence” , so that what had really occurred was a change of personnel and venue, but not a hiatus in the existence of the Prudence Encampment, which stayed at Woodbridge for 14 years, making 30 new knights in that time; apparently under a single commander, one George Thompson, though the prime mover seems to have been Benjamin Gall, First Captain, Registrar and Treasurer, who had been installed in Prudence Encampment and at one time crossed swords with Burckhardt.

In 1840 the Master of the British Union Lodge was James Ruddock, who had been installed a Knight Templar at Woodbridge two years previously, and he persuaded his lodge to buy back the furniture, regalia, etc. and repatriate the Prudence Encampment to Ipswich. Burckhardt was present at the revival meetings as Grand Sub Prior and from then on commanders were installed annually.

From that time the Encampment (later Preceptory) had its ups and downs, but has survived to the present time. However, in the year 1864 differences arose over the rejection of candidates, some knights resigned and towards the end of that year the Plantagenet (later Royal Plantagenet) Encampment was founded and first met in Ipswich on 14 November, though it was not consecrated until 25 May 1825. (Later, in 1889, it removed to Yarmouth in Norfolk, where it still meets.
Captain Nathaniel George Philips, who had been advanced to Past Grand Hospitaller in 1864 for his services to Templary in the Colonies and to Grand Sub Prior in 1865, and was elected a member of the Grand Conclave Committee the following year, was appointed Provincial Grand Commander for Suffolk in 1867. 

The circumstances of the establishment of a Provincial Grand Encampment for Suffolk are turbid and the only clue lies in Capt. Philips’ address at his installation as Provincial Grand Commander, when the minutes of the Provincial Grand Encampment of 24 July 1867 record that he said that the Province had “for some time been governed in a most excellent manner by the Grand Chancellor”. It would seem, then, that Suffolk was established as a Province in the same notional, anticipatory way as Norfolk may have been.

Cambridgeshire

The existence of early Templary in the County of Cambridgeshire is similarly shrouded in the mists of time, though it probably did exist under the same conditions as elsewhere in contemporary England. There is no firm evidence prior to the warranting of the Tancred Encampment in the University of Cambridge, though it may be that some at least of the founders were already members of the Order who had been installed in a lodge or chapter in the county. Sadly, its records prior to 1951 have been lost, and all efforts to trace this preceptory’s history up to that year have in the main proved futile.

The earliest reference found to a Province of Cambridgeshire is in the minutes of the Provincial Grand Conclave of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire dated 14 July 1869, which read: “The Province of Cambridgeshire has been united to the Province of Suffolk by a patent bearing the date the 1st. day of June 1869 and the Province will henceforth until further orders be known as the Province of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire”. No Provincial Grand Commander for Cambridgeshire has been traced, either, and of course the united Province continued under Capt. Philips as such, so it must be assumed that Cambridgeshire prior to the amalgamation was indeed a notional body dating approximately from the warranting of Tancred Encampment in December 1868. 

The minutes of Grand Conclave for 13 May 1870 state that, a warrant having been issued to the Tancred Encampment in Cambridge, its members had by resolution requested that their Province M should be amalgamated with that of Suffolk, which request was granted and Capt. Philips appointed Provincial Grand Commander of the joint Province.

Lincolnshire

Important as this county was in the annals of the original Orders, it does not seem to have been so in relation to early Masonic Templary. It is possible that, as in the other counties, knights were made in lodges and chapters, but if so the writer has been unable to trace them or any early encampments. A brief reference to Templary in William Dixon’s history of Freemasonry in Lincolnshire, written soon after the turn of this century, states that early returns (unfortunately, no dates are given) to the Provincial Grand Registrar contained the names of several Knights Templar (presumably indicated by “K.T.” after their names). He went on: “In the year 1848 some idea existed of forming a Preceptory or Encampment for the county, and a letter was forwarded to the Master of the Witham Lodge No.297 by Bro. Ed. Farr Broadbent, P.M., stating that he and other brethren K. Templars contemplated forming an encampment in the City and were desirous of knowing on what conditions the Lodge would grant the use of their room, etc. So far as the Witham lodge records show, no further steps appear to have been taken in the matter”.

It is noteworthy, however, that when the first known encampment, Temple Bruer No.143, was warranted in 1879, all seven founders had been installed in the Time Immemorial “Ancient York Conclave of Redemption”, “which Grand Conclave says was originally at York and later moved to Hull, and came under the banner of the Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Master” in 1863.

It would seem, therefore, that if there had been earlier knights in Lincolnshire they or their enthusiasm had died out. It was not until 1889 that the Temple Bruer Preceptory petitioned to be received under the wing of the Provincial Priory of East Anglia, where it remained Until 1910, when a second preceptory was founded and a Province of Lincolnshire established.

The Early Provinces

The Liber Ordinis cites the year 1857 as that from which the seniority of the Province of East Anglia dates. We have seen that Norfolk had Provincial status between 1846 and 1853, but lost it and a Province of Norfolk proper dated only from 1862. That of Suffolk began in reality in 1867 , to be joined in 1869 by that of Cambridgeshire resulting from the foundation of Tancred Encampment. The date 1857 would appear to be anomalous. Certainly a table of precedence in the Bridge Collection’ cites the same year, but Bridge himself disputes this and in a note dated 26 March 1957 (possibly in relation to a claim for, or at least an exploratory inquiry regarding, a Centenary warrant, though nothing to this effect appears in the file) says that the date 1857 in the Liber “may be an error”. In a letter to the Provincial Vice Chancellor dated 10 April 1957 he sets out the sequence of events leading to the formation of the Province of East Anglia and states categorically that the dates of the four Provinces concerned were “without doubt” Norfolk 1862, Suffolk 1867, Cambridgeshire 1868 and Lincolnshire 1869, going on to say that “The Province as amalgamated at present takes the Norfolk date, 1862”. On the back of the copy, however, a note dated 16 May 1957 says in part: “Without the risk of raising controversy, I don’t think it is possible to give any precedence to Provincial Priories other than that of the Priors already adopted”.

It seems, therefore, that whilst the date 1857 may have been anticipatory of an appointment that was never made and therefore had no validity, the Province of East Anglia might have had a claim to precedence from 1862, but no such claim has been made and it is the centenary of the Province by its current title that we have just celebrated.

Meanwhile, we are fortunate in having available the minutes of the separate and conjoint Provinces from July 1867, which are of great interest and worthy of quotation in this chapter up to 1882: 24 July 1867. Members of the Prudence and Royal Plantagenet Encampments met at the Masonic Hall, Ipswich. Grand Officers were received, and Sir Patrick McC. de Colquhoun, Grand Chancellor, assisted by the Provincial Grand Commanders of Kent, Lancashire and Dorsetshire, with other distinguished knights, installed Capt. Nathaniel George Philips, Past Grand. Sub-Prior, as Provincial Grand Master for Suffolk. The first part of the Grand Chancellor’s speech is quoted hereafter in full, as it is as true today as it was over a century ago: “Sir Knights, It is my constant practice when called upon to induct into. high and important offices of trust gentlemen distinguished by their career in social life, be it civil or military, as well as in that which brings us here together this day among those who can fully appreciate the intrinsic value of their fellowmen, to give the Province such information as to enable it to appreciate justly the Grand Master’s choice. That choice emanates from his own unbiased judgment, and it is well that the supreme head always relied on that judgment. We are far more monarchical in our institutions than the Craft: such has ever been from the first institution of Templary of the essence, and ever should be so in a religious and military Order in which the soldier’s greatest virtue is obedience”.

The Grand Chancellor then expressed the Grand Master’s regret at being unable, through age and infirmity, to preside in person; outlined Capt. Philip’s personal and Masonic career, congratulated him, gave him his warrant, invested and enthroned him. The new Provincial Grand Commander returned thanks and later appointed the following Officers:

• Deputy Provincial Grand Commander: R.N.Sanderson
• Prelate: John Head
• First Captain: John Pitcher
• Second Captain: Edw. Dorling
• Registrar: F.B.Jennings
• Director of Ceremonies: W.T.Westgate
• Almoner: J.A.Pettit Snr.
• First Captain of Lines: ?? Whitbread
• Second Captain of Lines: H.Thomas
• First Herald: J.H.Townsend
• Second Herald: J.T.Helms
• First Standard Bearer: W.Cuckow
• Second Standard Bearer: ?? Wilmshurst
• Sword Bearer: ?? Chinnock
• Banner Bearer: ?? Rands
• Organist: ?? Barber
• Chancellor: C.T.Townsend

Why the Chancellor should have listed himself last is not clear. John Alloway was elected Treasurer and Kt. Henderson (interim) Equerry. A committee was appointed to draft By-Laws. The alms amounted to 18/4d.

A meeting of the Province of Suffolk was held at the same venue, under the banner of Royal Plantegenet Encampment, on 26 August 1868, when the draft By Laws were passed seriatim and ordered to be printed.

The next meeting was similarly held on 14 July 1869. The Province then had 48 knights on roll. Frater George Spalding was elected Equerry. The Provincial Chancellor announced that the Province of Cambridgeshire had been united to that of Suffolk by patent dated 1 June 1869: this was read out . A Committee of Management was appointed.

The Provincial Grand Conclave of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire met at the same venue, under the banner of Prudence Encampment, on 25 May 1870. As this was the first time it had met under Prudence’s banner, the Provincial Grand Commander conferred the rank of Past Provincial Grand Captain on the Eminent Commander, Charles Davy, and on the Provincial Grand Chancellor, C.T. Townsend.

The meeting on 25 May 1871 was held at 291 Green Street, Cambridge, under the banner of Tancred Encampment. The Province then counted 59 knights. After the Templar meeting a Provincial Grand Priory of Malta was held and several knights were installed.

The next meeting, on 14 May 1872, was held at the Masonic Hall, Ipswich, under the banner of Royal Plantagenet Encampment, when it was decided to print the report of the Committee of Management and send a copy to every knight on roll. It is to be noted that the minutes of the Priory of Malta held in 1971 were read out at this meeting after those of the Conclave.

At the meeting of the Provincial Priory (so called for the first time) on 25 April 1873, held at Ipswich (under the banner of Prudence Preceptory also so called for the first time), necessary changes in the By Laws were passed and the installation fee raised from 5/ d. to 7/6d. A book to record the Muster Roll was to be provided (and is still extant, though fully used; it was called the “Presence Book” and the pages are all headed “Royal Religious and Military Order of Knights Templar, Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta)”. A habit was to be provided for the Equerry. The Provincial Prior (likewise so called for the first time) said that as Tancred Preceptory had sent no returns in, he could not appoint any Officers from that part of his Province. The Chancellor (Em. Kt. C.T. Towns end) nominated four members to the Committee of Management, the influential John Emra Holmes a different four, but as these were not seconded, the Chancellor’s nominees were elected. It was agreed to appoint a committee to draw up a suitable Address to the Prince of Wales.

The next meeting of the Provincial Priory was held at Ipswich under the banner of Royal Plantagenet Preceptory on 23 September 1874. A brown habit for the Equerry was again agreed to, but a cope for the Prelate was deemed too expensive at four guineas, The Provincial Sub Prior read an Address relative to the death of the “late Grand Master, Sir Kt. Stewart” to be forwarded to his widow.

The following meeting was again held at Ipswich under Royal Plantagenets banner on 23 August 1875, when no representative of Tancred Preceptory was present. Apparently some Officers were tardy with their fees of honour and the Chancellor was directed to apply for them, warning that if not paid within a month the appointments would be cancelled. The Provincial Prior said that as the question of “past ranks” was under consideration, he would make no new appointments and asked the present Officers to carry on.

No minutes are recorded for the years 1876 to 1878, but at a meeting held at Ipswich on 15 December 1879 under the banner of Prudence Preceptory, a committee was appointed to draft new By Laws, each member of the Province to have a rough proof before the next meeting. Tancred was again not represented, and no reference was made in the minutes to the missing years. No minutes are recorded, either, for the years 1880 and 1881, though a good deal of activity must have been going on behind the scenes, as the next chapter will show.

Meanwhile, In Norfolk, Benjamin Bond Cabbell had resigned on account of age in or before 1869. Though Grand Conclave minutes of May in that year show the Province as “vacant”, those of 13 May 1870 show the Hon. Frederick Walpole, M.P., as Provincial Grand Commander, but as Cabbell Preceptory was virtually dormant from that year, the post must have been nominal thereafter and in any case have lapsed at his death on 1 April 1876. The Province, too, must have lapsed then or earlier, and Cabbell’s petition in 1882 to Grand Conclave seeking the creation of a Provincial Priory of East Anglia makes no mention of a Provincial Priory of Norfolk, only of itself as a Preceptory

The Provincial Priory in East Anglia, 1882 – 1981

The Province of East Anglia arose out of a petition by the newly-revived Cabbell Preceptory No.69 asking Great Priory to constitute such a Provincial Priory consisting of itself and any future Norfolk preceptories together with the existing Provincial Priory of Suffolk and Cambridge under the banner of the latter’s Provincial Prior, the V.E. Kt. Captain Nathaniel George Philips. The petition was granted by Great Priory, as reported at the meeting of its Council on 12 May 1882, and the new Province sprang into being.

Exactly why Cabbell Priory elected to make this petition is not revealed in any of the documents available, but it is not hard to guess that, having emerged from a long dormancy and seeing the Province of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire already established but evidently somewhat in decline, its members believed its future would be better assured by such a move; while for its part the Province of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, which had apparently not met for two years, no doubt thought it could only gain by the accession of Norfolk. The two years in between 1879 and 1882 must have seen much, if unrecorded, coming and going, all leading to the peace and harmony which reigned when the Provincial Priory of East Anglia first opened on Friday, 29 September 1882.

Notwithstanding the omission of “ordinary business” limitations of space still demand as much abbreviation as possible and the preliminaries will therefore be disposed of by stating the date of meeting, the venue, and the name of the preceptory under whose banner each meeting of the Provincial Priory of East Anglia was held up to and including 1981, followed by the relevant particulars. It is to be noted that owing to wartime exigencies no meetings were held in the years 1916, 1918, 1941 and 1942: in respect of the two latter years the English Masonic authorities issued an order on 4 September 1939 suspending all masonic meetings, but this was later modified under certain conditions.

The Meetings

29 September 1882

Masonic Rooms, 23 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
Cabbell, Prudence and Tancred Preceptories were represented, but not Royal Plantagenet as it was then in suspension. The following Officers, the first of the Province, were appointed:

• R.N. Sanderson Sub-Prior
• Rev. S. Creswell Prelate
• N. Tracy Chancellor
• C.J. Martyn Constable
• R.T. Caldwell Marshal
• G.W.G. Barnard Registrar
• H. le Strange Sub-Marshal
• W.P. Mills Treasurer
• J. Shepherd Herald
• T.C. Wace Standard Bearer {B)
• C.E. Peek Standard Bearer (V.B.)
• Lt.Col. E.C. Bignold Banner Bearer
• W. Armstrong Aide-de-Camp
• J.B. Pearce Captain of Guard
• Geo. Baxter Sword Bearer

The Provincial Prior addressed the knights, saying in part:

“As regards our own Province, I congratulate it on its recent extension and on its receiving the historic designation of ‘East Anglia’. I regret the suspension of Royal Plantagenet, but trust it may be resuscitated at Yarmouth or Bury St. Edmunds. I am greatly pleased to find that the Norwich preceptory named after my predecessor, Sir Kt. Cabbell, one of our most illustrious members of former days, has prospered so well since its resuscitation. Sir Kt. C. Townsend has resigned the office of Grand Chancellor held since the formation of the Province (of Suffolk) and I regret to lose his valued services. I have again to acknowledge the great assistance received by me from Sir Kt. Sanderson, who is the mainstay of the Province and keeps everything and everybody together. I am pleased to find the state of the funds satisfactory and in conclusion hope the Committee will be prompt in issuing a draft of the new By-Laws.”

A Managing Committee was appointed. It was agreed to donate the alms collected to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

24 January 1883

Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

The dispensation to hold this Special meeting to confirm the By-Laws was read by the Sub-Prior. The By-Laws as recommended by the Committee (presumably that a pointed in 1879 by the Provincial Priory of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire) were with slight verbal alterations received and adopted.

29 November 1883

The Red Lion hotel, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No. 102.

Prudence, Cabbell and Tancred were represented, but Royal Plantagenet was still suspended. The life of the Committee of Management was extended to the end of the year, when By-Law XI would come into force. The alms collected were voted to Addenbrooks Hospital.

11 November 1884

Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

All preceptories were represented except Royal Plantagent, still suspended. The Provincial Prior said that he would bring the question of compounding the subscriptions of military knights before Great Priory. He regretted the continued suspension of Royal Plantagenet Preceptory and hoped it would move elsewhere in the Province and flourish. The alms were made up to ten guineas and voted to the Masonic Aged Benevolent Institution, Female Branch, to make the Provincial Prior a Life Subscriber.

11 November 1885

Masonic Rooms, 23 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

Prudence and Cabbell were represented, but not Tancred or Royal Plantagenet; the latter still suspended. Alms collected were supplemented to ten guineas and voted to the Masonic Institution for Girls via the representative Norfolk Steward.
(It was about this time that the buildings in St. Giles Street must have been renumbered, as the Masonic Association appears in Jarrold’s Street. Directory for 1886 as being at No.47).

7 December 1886

The Red Lion Hotel, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No. 102.

Prudence, Cabbell and Tancred were represented, but Royal Plantagenet was still suspended. The Sub-Prior, Kt. R.N. Sanderson, was absent through illness. The alms were made up to ten guineas and voted to the Masonic Benevolent Institution.

2 December 1887

Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

Prudence, Cabbell and Tancred were represented, but not Royal Plantagenet. The Provincial Prior expressed satisfaction with the work done to resuscitate the latter. He regretted that on the recommendation of the Committee of Management support must be withheld from the charities on this occasion, but agreed that it was necessary to be prudent. It was agreed that the alms collected should be saved up.

28 November 1888

Victoria Hotel, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet No.80.

Prudence, Cabbell and Royal Plantagenet Preceptories were represented, but not Tancred. The Sub-Prior in Command presided in the absence of the Provincial Prior in India. The Chancellor was directed to call on the Preceptor of Tancred to show cause why a fine should not be enforced. Two books, a “Provincial Book of Achievements” and a “Provincial Roll of Honour”, were ordered to be instituted dating from 1867, the first to record the holders of Great Priory rank and the occupants of the chairs of preceptories, the second to record distinctions gained in the Province. The first is extant and appears to have served the first rather than the second purpose. The entries are not explicit, and ceased in 1909. The second book, if it was brought into existence, appears not to be extant).

2 December 1889

Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

All previous preceptories plus Temple Bruer preceptory No.143, Lincoln, were represented. The Provincial Prior welcomed the accession of Temple Bruer Preceptory, and hence of the county of Lincolnshire, to the Province. Kt. H.C. Cousins, representing that preceptory, thanked the Provincial Prior for receiving it into the Province of East Anglia. It was then about 12 years old, having been founded in 1877. The Provincial Prior agreed with the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor and with the opening of a separate account for alms. It was voted that those collected at the meeting should be placed to this account.

26 November 1890

Guildhall, Lincoln. Temple Bruer Preceptory No.143.

All preceptories were represented except Tancred, from which a satisfactory excuse was received. The Sub-Prior presided in the absence abroad of the Provincial Prior. He mentioned the possibility of a new preceptory being founded at Bury St. Edmunds, when a meeting of the – Provincial Priory might be held there. The sum of ten guineas was voted to the Masonic Institution for Boys.

3 December 1891

Red Lion Hotel, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.

All the preceptories were represented. A Priory of Malta was held and two knights received into that Order.

17 November 1892

Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

All preceptories were represented. The Registrar, Kt. G.W.G. Barnard, resigned on account of ill-health and was given the past rank of Provincial Constable. Kt. H. Harvey-George was appointed Registrar in his place.

22 November 1893

The Star Hotel, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.

The Sub-Prior presided in the absence of the Provincial Prior. All preceptories were represented. It was announced that three Great Priory honours had been given to knights of the Province.

22 November 1894

Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

All preceptories were represented.

14 November 1895

Masonic Rooms, Mint Street, Lincoln. Temple Bruer Preceptory No.143.

All preceptories were represented.

27 November 1896

New Isaac Newton University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.

All preceptories were represented. It was agreed that the By-Laws should be altered to conform with the Statutes of Great Priory. £20 was granted to the widow of the late Sub-Prior, V.L.Kt. R.N. Sanderson. The V.E. Kt. Sir Francis G.M. Boileau, Bart., was installed as Sub-Prior.

28 October 1897

Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Masonic Institute for Boys’ school on the list of Em.Kt. G. Abbott.

9 November 1898

The Star Hotel, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80. 

All preceptories were represented. It was agreed that the next meeting should be held as near to the first week in June as possible.

9 June 1899

Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

All preceptories were represented. The Sub-Prior presided in the absence of the Provincial Prior. He was congratulated on the conferment of K.C.T. It was agreed that the alms collected should go towards a stone over the grave of the late Sub-Prior. The question was raised as to the propriety of meeting under the banner of the receiving preceptory and any business connected with it being done on that occasion, and it was agreed to inquire as to the correct course. The Sub-Prior agreed to raise with the Provincial Prior a proposal that Officers not attending and failing to offer a valid excuse should be fined.

14 June 1900

Lincoln (venue not stated). Temple Bruer Preceptory No.143.

All preceptories were represented. It was agreed that future meetings should be held during the last part of October. Ten guineas were voted to the South African Masonic Relief Fund. The alms collected were to be placed to the General Fund.

24 October 1901

Isaac Newton University Masonic Hall. Tancred Preceptory No.102.

All preceptories were represented. Alms collected were to be placed to the General Fund.

29 October 1902

Ipswich (venue not stated). Prudence Preceptory No.16.

The Em. Kt. W. Rainforth presided as the senior knight present in the absence of the Provincial Prior, ill, and Sub Prior, who had a previous engagement. (An Arch of Steel is mentioned for the first time). All preceptories were represented. The Management Committee recommended that the Provincial Priory should become a Life Governor of all the Charities. A motion of regret was passed at the death of the Chancellor, Em. Kt. Nathaniel Tracy, and the new Chancellor, Em.Kt. H. Harvey George, proposed that each member of the Province (then 103) should be asked to subscribe 2/6d. so that the Provincial Priory could become a Life Governor of a Charity in his memory: he was requested to carry this out. The acting Prior asked for a subscription to the restoration fund of Egle Church and the alms, made up to five guineas, were voted to that purpose. It was agreed that a telegram should be sent to the Provincial Prior wishing him a speedy recovery.

24 November 1903

The Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.

(A printed summons designed by the Chancellor was used and included in the minutes for the first time. The opening of the Priory “in ancient form” and the saluting of the Provincial Prior with seven and the Sub-Prior with three are mentioned for the first time). The Registrar called the Muster Roll instead of the Herald as previously. All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the R.M.B.I. (Women). It was agreed that the Priory’s banking business should be transferred from Barclays Bank, Ipswich, to its head office in London. It was decreed that the summons form with heading designed by the Chancellor should be used by all preceptories in the Province. Officers invested each received a warrant. A sword presented to the Provincial Priory by the Et.Kt. W. Pattrick was handed to the Provincial Prior by the Sub-Prior in the absence of the donor. (The alms were voted to the Tracy memorial Fund, to which 51 members had already subscribed 2/6d. as asked, and the amount was made up to ten guineas by the Provincial Prior and disposed of as above to secure a Life Governorship for the Provincial Priory).

9 November 1904

Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

The Em. Kt. G.W.G. Barnard presided as the senior knight present in the absence of the Provincial Prior, ill, and of the Sub-Prior, who missed his train. All preceptories were represented, including Holy Rood No.179 for the first time. Alms collected were voted to the General Fund.

26 October 1905

Masonic Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

All preceptories were represented. In the absence of the Provincial Prior, the V.E. Kt. Capt. N.G. Philips, G.C.T., through illness, this Special Meeting of the Provincial Priory was opened by the Sub-Prior, Em. Kt. Hamon le Strange. The Management Committee reported 150 knights on roll. Owing to the difficulty its members encountered in attending a meeting seven days prior to the annual meeting of Provincial Priory, it was agreed that it should meet on the morning of the same day.

The M.E. and S. Grand Master, the Earl of Euston, G.C.T., entered with his retinue and installed the Em. Kt. Hamon le Strange as Provincial Prior and he in turn installed the Em. Kt. Col. R. Townley Caldwell as his Sub-Prior. After the business of Provincial Priory was concluded, the Grand Master left under the Arch of Steel. The alms collected were placed to the General Fund. (A Guard is mentioned for the first time instead of an Equerry).

On the following day the new Provincial Prior and two other eminent knights called at 85 Eccleston Square, London, the residence of Capt. N.G. Philips, and ‘presented him with a silver bowl subscribed for by the knights of the Province in token of their esteem and their appreciation of his 38 years’ service as their Provincial Prior.

13 November 1906

Masonic Rooms, Mint Street, Lincoln. Temple Bruer Preceptory No.143.

All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution. The Provincial Prior expressed his deepest regret at the death of Capt. N.G. Philips and a motion to that effect was duly carried. He said that on calling on Philips during the previous year he had seemed in good health and thanked the knights for their gift. He expressed deep regret at having had to retire owing to old age and increasing deafness.

6 November 1907

Masonic Hall, Cambridge (presumably the Isaac Newton University Hall in Corn Exchange Street). Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.

All preceptories were represented, though one was said to be “shaky”. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Benevolent institution and the alms to the General Fund.

16 September 1908

Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

All preceptories were represented and the Provincial Prior said that the unnamed shaky one had made a fresh start. Ten guineas were voted to the Benevolent Institution and the alms to the General Fund. (The Guard was referred to as a Janitor for the only time).

11 June 1909

Royal Assembly Rooms, Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.

All preceptories except Temple Bruer were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution. The Provincial Prior congratulated the Province on having turned the corner and entered on a new lease of prosperity. Distance excused the absence of a Temple Bruer representative. He regretted the departure of the Chancellor, Em.Kt.H. Harvey-George, for the Antipodes on account of ill-health, and he appointed Dr. William. Briggs, with headquarters at Cambridge, in his place. The outgoing Chancellor was presented with a silver salver.

27 October 1910

Masonic Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

Prudence, Cabbell, Royal Plantagenet, Tancred and Holy Rood Preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to masonic charities. The Provincial Prior explained that as a new preceptory was proposed at Grimsby, Great Priory had formed a new Province of Lincolnshire to which Temple Bruer had removed; thus Lincolnshire had been separated from East Anglia. He regretted that Prudence Preceptory had been refused a Centenary warrant, and lamented the death of Em.Kt. Harvey-George. (No reference is made in the minutes to the death of King Edward VII, a Past Grand Master of the Craft, but a toast was drunk to King George V at the subsequent banquet).

23 October 1911

Masonic Hall, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.

The Sub-Prior presided in the absence of the Provincial Prior, who was ill. All preceptories were represented except Royal Plantagenet, a member of which present related its difficulties. The Sub-Prior proposed that a motion of sympathy with the Provincial Prior be moved. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls.

24 October 1912

Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls. The Provincial Prior thanked the knights for the resolution passed in respect of his illness. He said the Province of Lincolnshire had come into operation since the 1910 meeting at Ipswich. He was glad to see that Royal Plantagenet Preceptory, which had been inactive, had taken a new lease on life.

18 June 1913

Royal Assembly Rooms, Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.

The Sub-Prior was absent through illness after having attended a Grand Lodge deputation to the United Grand Lodges of Germany. All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys.

15 June 1914

Masonic Hall (Isaac Newton University, Corn Exchange Street), Cambridge. Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.

All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys. Pursuant to notice of motion given at the last meeting, By-Law 4 (concerning fees of honour) was approved as amended and By-Law 5 cancelled. The death of Em.Kt. Green was mourned.

10 June 1915

Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys. It was agreed that nominations for the post of Treasurer should be sent to the Chancellor by a fixed date. A committee was appointed to revise the By-Laws. The Provincial Prior lamented the death of the Sub-Prior, EM. Kt. Col. R.T. Caldwell, and appointed the V.E. Kt. William Briggs, Chancellor, as Sub-Prior in his place. Em. Kt. R.H. Adie was appointed Chancellor. The Provincial Prior said that it was the duty of older Masons to see that the masonic interests of younger ones on military duty did not suffer.

There was no meeting of the Provincial Priory in 1916.

14 June 1917

Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.

All preceptories were represented except Royal Plantagenet. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls. The deaths of three knights were mourned. By-Laws amended in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee appointed for the purpose were adopted. The Provincial Prior hoped that Royal Plantagenet would revive with the recovery of Great Yarmouth after the war.

There was no meeting of the Provincial Priory in 1918.

23 October 1919

Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

The Sub-Prior presided. All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys. The Sub-Prior spoke of the death of the Provincial Prior, and said that despite many deaths, the Province’s membership had increased to 120. Royal Plantagenet had suffered misfortune, but was now showing signs of renewed activity. (The former illuminated summons had been replaced by a simpler one).

17 June 1920

Great Yarmouth (no venue mentioned). Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.

The Sub-Prior presided in the absence of the Earl of Stradbroke, Provincial Prior-nominate. All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys. The Sub-Prior said that Royal Plantagenet Preceptory had entered on a new lease of life, but Tancred and Holy Rood were still feeling the effects of the war and the former had not yet recovered its meeting place from a Government Ministry. The Rev. Austin le Strange, son of the late Provincial Prior, had presented his father’s baton to the Provincial Priory.

29 November 1920

Freemasons’ Hall. Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

This was a Special Meeting to install a new Provincial Prior. The M.E. and S. Pro-Grand Master, Major-General T.C.G. Galley and his retinue entered and he assumed the throne to install the Earl of Stradbroke as Provincial Prior, he in turn appointing the V.E. Kt. William Briggs Sub-Prior and confirming the Officers appointed the previous June.

20 June 1921

University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Tancred No.102 and Holy Rood No.179 jointly.

All the preceptories were represented and the attendance was good despite the coal strike. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls After an interval for lunch, the Provincial Priory was resumed at 3 p.m. and the Pro-Grand Master entered with his retinue and was enthroned. He then, installed the V.E. Kt. William. Briggs as Provincial Prior vice the Earl of Stradbroke who had left for Australia. The Provincial Prior then appointed and invested the Em. Kt. Henry Campin Monteith as Sub-Prior.

16 June 1922

Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

(No summons appears in the Minute Book). All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys. The Provincial Prior said that the Sub-Prior had resigned and he had appointed the Em. Kt. F.M. Rushmore in his place. He was pleased to announce that the Earl of Stradbroke, former Provincial Prior, had recently been installed as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Victoria, Australia.

14 June 1923

Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Freemasons’ Hospital and Nursing Home. The deaths of two knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior referred to the Special Meeting of Great Priory held at Durham in October 1922. A vote of sympathy with the Provincial Registrar in his long illness was passed.

11 June 1921

Cambridge (venue not stated). Tancred Preceptory No.102.

All preceptories were represented. A committee was appointed to consider the allocation of the Province’s charity funds. A telegram of sympathy was to be sent to the Sub-Prior in his illness.

11 June 1925

Royal Assembly Rooms, Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.

All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Masonic Peace Memorial Fund, and the alms collected to the Yarmouth Hospital. The committee appointed to consider the allocation of charity funds suggested that they be distributed to local charities. The Em. Kt. Monteith’s illness and resignation as Sub Prior were regretted and the Em. Kt. Dr. P. Graham Gilmour was appointed in his place.

17 June 1926

Cambridge (venue not stated). Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.

(All preceptories were presumably represented, though it is not specifically stated). The knights stood in mourning for the Em. Kt. Monteith, late Sub-Prior. The alms collected, plus £10 from the charity funds, were voted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.

22 June 1927

Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.

All preceptories were represented. For the first time, all knights in the Province who had received honours in Great Priory and other masonic Orders, and in civil life, were named, congratulated and saluted (a regular feature hereafter). Ten guineas were voted to the Freemasons’ Hospital and Nursing Home and the alms collected to the Bowers Memorial Fund.

14 June 1928

University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.

All preceptories were represented. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution and the alms to the Nursing Institution, Newmarket Road, Cambridge. The Provincial Prior mentioned the loss of some members of Holy Rood Preceptory who had left to join the newly-created Province of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire, but said the Province of East Anglia still had more knights than ever before. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory was now flourishing. He referred to the laying by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales of the foundation stone of the new Masonic Temple in Norwich. A motion to congratulate the Provincial Prior on the conferment of the G.C.T. was passed. Knights who had been honoured were saluted.

13 June 1929

Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.

All preceptories were represented. The deaths of several knights were mourned. It was agreed to send a telegram of sympathy to the Chancellor, who was ill. A telegram of fraternal greetings from the Sub Prior and knights of the Province of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire was read out. The Provincial Prior announced that, Dr. Gilmour having resigned as Sub-Prior, he had appointed the Em. Kt. F.M. Rushmore in his place and the Em. Kt. E.F. Rose as Chancellor. Knights who had been honoured were saluted. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls and the alms collected to the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital.

12 June 1930

Royal Assembly Rooms, Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.

All the preceptories were represented. (For the first time, no mention of the host preceptory’s preliminary business is made and it is to be presumed that the Provincial Priory was opened directly). The deaths of three knights were mourned. Knights who had been honoured were congratulated. The Provincial Prior remarked that the work he had seen in the preceptories was of the highest standard ever. Ten guineas each were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls and the New Premises Building Fund, and the alms collected to the Great Yarmouth Hospital.

11 June 1931

University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.

All preceptories were represented. The death of one knight was mourned. A motion of sympathy with the Sub-Prior in his illness was passed, and Dr. P. Graham Gilmour was reappointed in his stead. In his address, the Provincial Prior said that all the preceptories were flourishing, with several keen members ill each: all but one had increased their membership despite the Depression. However, the ceremonial revealed a lack of rehearsing. Knights honoured were congratulated, as was the Provincial Grand Master of Norfolk on a successful R.M.I.G. Festival, of which the Em. Kt. Col. R.F. Boileau had been Chairman. Twenty guineas were voted to the (Mark) New Premises Building Fund, and the alms collected to Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

9 June 1932
(Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street), Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths were mourned of the Pro-Grand Master, Major-General Calley, the Great Seneschal, Col. Napier Clavering, and six knights of the Province. The Provincial Prior referred to the effect on their numbers of the Depression. He said the work was still below standard, particularly the signs. He welcomed the Sub-Prior back after his illness. Knights honoured were congratulated. Ten guineas were voted to the Freemasons’ Nursing Home and the alms collected to the Order of St. John.

19 January 1933
Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
This was a Special Meeting, consequent on the death of the Provincial Prior, V.E. Kt. Dr. William Briggs, G.C.T., to install his successor. (Presumably all preceptories were represented, but this is not mentioned in the minutes). The E. and S. Pro-Grand Master, the Earl of Harewood, entered with his retinue and was enthroned; then installed the Em. Kt. Lt.Col. Raymond Frederic Boileau as Provincial Prior. He in turn reappointed Dr. Gilmour as Sub-Prior and confirmed the remaining Officers with the exception of the First Constable, to which office he appointed the Em. Kt. J.E.A. Sorrell. The alms collected were voted to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. A committee was formed to revise the By-Laws. The Provincial Prior in his address, stressed the great loss suffered by the Province through the death of his predecessor.

8 June 1933
University Masonic Hall, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.
All preceptories were represented. The strength of the Province was reported as 183. The By-Law Committee reported and it was agreed to print the revised By-Laws. It was also agreed to purchase a cope and mitre for the Provincial Prelate. The deaths of two knights were mourned. Ten guineas were voted to the Freemasons’ Hospital and the alms to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.

14 June 1934
Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of three knights were mourned. The new By-Laws had been circulated. The Provincial Chancellor having resigned, the Em. Kt. B.A. Foyle was appointed in his stead. Twenty guineas were voted to the New Premises Fund and the alms to the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital.

27 June 1935
(Royal Assembly Rooms, Marine Parade), Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.
All preceptories were well represented. The Sub-Prior was absent, ill. The Provincial Prior spoke of the Silver Jubilee of King George V. He said that he was not against a Priory of Malta being held at the next meeting, but thought it better that the individual priories should work the degree. He welcomed the sanction by Great Priory of a Deputy Marshal for Provinces with less than 12 preceptories. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys and the alms to Gorleston Cottage Hospital.

4 June 1936.
University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.
A chapter of the Order of Malta was opened and the Mediterranean Pass and Malta degree imparted to 12 candidates. The chapter was closed and the Provincial Priory opened. The Provincial Prior explained that the chapter of Malta had been held mainly for the benefit of the Cambridge preceptories, which had been unable to work the degrees. Dr. Gilmour having resigned as Sub-Prior due to ill health, the V.E. Kt. Sir William Bagge, P.Gt.Const., was appointed in his stead. All preceptories were represented. The knights mourned the death of King George V. The Provincial Prior complimented all concerned in the work and arrangements, and recommended the 1935 K.T. Ritual to all the preceptories. He appointed a Deputy Marshal for the first time. Ten guineas each were voted to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution and the New Premises Fund, and the alms to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.

10 June 1937
Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were strongly represented. The Prov. Prior pledged loyalty to the new King and Queen (George VI and Elizabeth). The knights stood in silent mourning for Dr. Gilmour, Past Sub Prior, E.F. Rose, Past Chancellor, A.E. Coe, Treasurer, and two other knights. Ten guineas were voted to the New Premises Fund and five to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys’ 1941 Festival; the alms to the Hospital of St. John and the British Red Cross Society.

9 June 1938.
Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.
All preceptories were represented. (The V.E. Prior is referred to as Sir Raymond Frederic Boileau, Bart., for the first time). The deaths of five knights, including three clergymen, were mourned. The Prov. Prior noted that Tancred Preceptory was having difficulty in securing candidates, but Holy Rood Priory was working the Malta degree very well. Five guineas were voted to the R.M.I.B.’s 1941 Festival, and the alms to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.

8 June 1939.
Masonic Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. The death was mourned of Sir A.W.F. Bagge, Bart., P.Gt.Const., Sub-Prior, and Em. Kt. Bertram. Foyle was appointed in his place, while Em. Kt. Capt. J.V. Jacklin was appointed Chancellor in succession to the Em. Kt. Foyle. The Provincial Prior referred to the death of the M.E. and S. Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught, and the Installation of the Earl of Harewood, G.C.T., to whom he pledged loyalty. Ten guineas were voted to the R.M.I.B. and five to the R.M.B.I., the alms to the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital.

There were no meetings of the Provincial Priory in 1940 and 1941. The foregoing minutes were signed by the current Sub-Prior, Dr. S.C. Hounsfield on 25 June 1942. Nevertheless, a full roster of Officers was appointed during the interval, most appointed in 1940, but the Chancellor, Treasurer and Vice-Chancellor in October 1941.

25 June 1942.
Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented. The Sub-Prior presided and lamented the death of the Provincial Prior, Sir R.F. Boileau. He explained that the 1940 meeting had fallen through owing to his illness and wartime difficulties, as had that for 1941, but that, himself and the three other Officers had been appointed at a meeting of Prudence Preceptory the previous October, the previous Sub-Prior and Chancellor having resigned in the interval. Tancred Preceptory was in suspension, except for “token” meetings, as the majority of its members were on war service. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory was homeless as its premises had been commandeered, but was meeting again. The Chancellor was invested, not having been present at the meeting in October. Ten guineas each were voted to the R.M.B.I. and Royal Masonic Hospital, and the alms to the Gorleston Hospital.

25 May 1943.
A combined Special and Regular meeting at the Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented, though Tancred was still dormant. The M.E. and S. Grand Master, the Earl of Harewood, entered with his retinue, assumed the throne and installed David Landale Johnston as Provincial Prior; he in turn installed Dr. S.C. Hounsfield as Sub-Prior and confirmed the By-Laws. Ten guineas each were voted to the R.M.I.B. and Royal Masonic Hospital, and the alms to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

11 May 1944.
Lion Hotel, Cambridge Tancred Preceptory No.102 (though still dormant) and Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.
The SubPrior presided and referred to the death of the Provincial Prior’s wife, a message of sympathy being sent. A letter from the Provincial Prior was read in which he referred to the death of Sir Kynaston Studd, K.C.T. All stood with swords reversed (first mentioned in the 1939 minutes) in tribute to the memory of this Cambridge knight and three other knights of the Province. Twenty guineas were voted to the R.M.B.I., to be placed on the personal list of the Earl of Stradbroke, Chairman of the 1945 Festival; and the alms to Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

24 May 1945.
Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of five knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior said that he had been unable to visit his preceptories on account of ill-health, but he hoped to do so and if he could not, he would resign. He announced that a reduced scale of Provincial officers had been introduced and consequently East Anglia had lost its Vice-Chancellor, two Aides de Camp, the Warden of Regalia, Chamberlain, Organist and Second Captain of Guards. However, Provincial Priors had been granted the power to confer past ranks. He said that Royal Plantagenet Preceptory had been revived and for two years had been working in a Southtown hotel, but Tancred was inactive as its members were largely dispersed on war work: he was hopeful that it would soon be revived. He spoke of war damage to the main cities of the Province and reviewed the many gallantries of the war. Five guineas were voted to the Kynaston Studd Memorial Fund of the Royal Masonic Hospital, and the alms to the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital.

13 June 1946
The Bridge Hotel, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.
All preceptories were represented. The Sub-Prior presided in the absence of the Provincial Prior, who was recovering from a severe illness. A letter of sympathy was to be sent. The knights mourned the death of the Chancellor, and the Em.Kt. C.C. Mason, O.B.E., was appointed in his place. Five guineas were voted to the R.M.I.B. and the alms to the Gorleston Cottage Hospital.

19 June 1947.
Masonic Rooms, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented. The death of the Earl of Harewood, M.E. and S. Grand Master, was mourned; also the deaths of five knights of the Province. The Provincial Prior said that Tancred Preceptory had been revived and Royal Plantagenet’s temple had been recovered. The alms were voted to the Royal Norfolk Regiment Memorial Cottage Fund.

27 May 1948.
Lion Hotel, Cambridge. Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.
All preceptories were represented. This was a special meeting to install a new Provincial Prior in place of the V.E. Kt. Landale Johnston who had resigned on account of ill health. The M.E. and S. Grand Master, Lord Harris, and his retinue entered: he was enthroned and installed the V.E. Kt. Dr. S.C. Hounsfield, K.C.T., as Provincial Prior, and he in turn installed the Em. Kt. C.C. Mason as Sub-Prior and Em. Kt. L.J. Bussey as Chancellor, confirming the remaining Officers and the By-Laws. Five guineas were earmarked for a future donation and the alms were voted to the Royal Masonic Hospital.

2 June 1949.
(Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street), Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of seven knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior thanked the Em. Kt. B.W.F. Armitage for the gift of a Banner Bearer’s mantle badge. The alms were voted to the Royal Masonic Hospital.

1 June 1950.
University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Tancred No.102.
All represented. The knights mourned the death of V.E. Kt. Dr. Landale Johnston, K.C.T., who had been Provincial Prior of India from 1918 to 1932 and of East Anglia from 1943 to 1947. Knights who had been honoured were congratulated. The Provincial Prior announced that he would be consecrating Lynn Regis Preceptory No.330 in Norwich on 23 September next. The alms were voted to the Repair Fund of the (Round) Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge.

31 May 1951.
Masonic Royal Assembly Rooms, Albert Square, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of nine knights were mourned. Knights. who had been honoured were congratulated. The Provincial Prior mentioned his failing eyesight. Ten guineas were voted to the 1954 R.M.B.I. Festival, and the alms to the Hospital of St. John.

22 May 1952.
Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented, including Lynn Regis. The Priory was in mourning for the death of King George, Past Grand Master, and also mourned the deaths of three knights. Knights honoured were congratulated. The Provincial Prior again referred to his failing sight. The alms were voted to the Restoration Fund of the Round Church, Cambridge.

28 May 1953.
University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of six knights were mourned. Knights honoured were congratulated. Ten guineas were voted to the 1956 R.M.I.B. Festival, two to the Hospital of St. John, and one each to the Craft and the Province of East Anglia towards Yearbooks. The alms were voted to the Restoration Fund of the Round Church, Cambridge.

3 June 1954.
Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of two knights were mourned. Honoured knights were congratulated. Tancred Preceptory was congratulated on its Jubilee: the Provincial Prior regretted that he would be unable to attend the celebratory meeting and the dedication of its banner. Thanks were minuted to the Em. Kt. H.A. Sadd for having served 18 years as Provincial Marshall. The alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John.

7 December 1954.
Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.
A Special Chapter to install a new Provincial Prior. The M.E. and S. Grand Master, Lord Harris, and his retinue entered; he assumed the throne and installed the Em. Kt. Cecil Charles Mason O.B.E., M.A., as Provincial Prior, who in turn installed the Em.Kt. Arthur Griffiths, O.B.E., as Sub Prior and confirmed the By-laws and the Officers installed the previous June. The Grand Master congratulated the retiring Provincial Prior, Dr. Hounsfield, on his 82nd. birthday next day. A sub-committee was appointed to revise the By-Laws. The new Provincial Prior paid tribute to his Sub-Prior and mentioned the publication of Em. Kt. Griffiths’ essay on his visit to the Holy Land. He announced the institution of a Bodyguard formed of two knights from each preceptory, who would be the nuclei of the Arch of Steel in their own preceptories. A Provincial Prior’s collarette and jewel were to be purchased out of funds and remain the property of the Provincial Priory.

19 May 1955.
Masonic Rooms, Duke’s Head Hotel, Kings Lynn. Lynn Regis Preceptory No.330.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of nine knights were mourned. Those honoured were congratulated. The recommendations of the By Laws sub committee were adopted. The Provincial Prior was thanked for giving badges to the Bodyguard. Ten guineas were voted to the 1956 R.M.I.B. Festival, and the alms to the Royal Masonic Hospital’s Samaritan Fund.

17 May 1956.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of four knights were mourned, and those honoured congratulated. The alms were voted to the R.M.H.’s Samaritan Fund.

16 May 1957.
Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of six knights, including Dr. Hounsfield, previous Provincial Prior, were mourned. Knights honoured were congratulated. The Vice Chancellor reported that correspondence with the historian of the Order regarding the date of constitution of the Provincial Priory had produced nothing definite. (This concerned its possible Centenary). Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Hospital, five to the R.M.I.G. and two to the Hospital of St. John, with the alms to the Great Hospital, Norwich.

15 May 1958.
University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.
All preceptories were represented. The death of one knight was mourned, and those honoured congratulated. The Provincial Prior expressed satisfaction that four of the preceptories now worked the degree of Malta. He called on the knights to rededicate themselves to fight against the powers of evil. Twenty guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Hospital and two to the Hospital of St. John, with the alms to the Restoration Fund of the Round Church, Cambridge.

17 April 1959
Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
A Special Chapter to install a new Provincial Prior consequent on the death of the V.E. Kt. C.C. Mason. The M.E. and S. Grand Master, lord Harris, entered with his retinue and assumed the throne. After paying tribute to the late Prior, he installed the Em. Kt. Arthur Griffiths, O.B.E., P.Gt.Her., as Provincial Prior and he in turn installed the Em. Kt. Sidney T. Miller, L.L.B., P.Gt. A. de C., as Sub-Prior, then confirmed the Officers previously appointed and the By-Laws. The alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John, Jerusalem.

11 May 1959.
Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of four knights, including the late Provincial Prior, were mourned. No congratulations were mentioned. The alms were voted to the R.M. Hospital’s Samaritan Fund.

18 May 1960.
Masonic Rooms, Duke’s Head Hotel, Kings Lynn. Lynn Regis Preceptory No.330.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of five knights were mourned. Ten guineas each were voted to the R.M.I.G. and the Royal Masonic Hospital, and the alms to the Hospital of St. John.

17 May 1961.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of two knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior congratulated Lynn Regis Preceptory on having founded a Priory of Malta. He also said that it would probably be necessary to install more than one candidate at a meeting. Ten guineas were voted to the R.M.I.G., and the alms to the Hospital of St. John.

16 May 1962.
Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of three knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior mentioned his pleasure at having presented a Centenary Warrant to the host preceptory, and commended the Em. Kt. H. Cropp for the investigative work he had done. The Vice-Chancellor drew attention to the Provincial Prior’s forthcoming 87th. birthday on 22 May and was instructed to recognise the occasion suitably. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Hospital, but the disposal of the alms is not recorded.

15 May 1963.
University Masonic Hall, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. Tancred Preceptory No.102.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of three knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior expressed his regret at the impending demolition of the University Masonic Hall, and said that the Preceptory’s position had always been difficult because of the annual dispersal of undergraduates. He was congratulated on his forthcoming 88th. birthday. Ten guineas were voted to the R.M.I.G. The disposal of the alms is not recorded.

20 May 1964.
Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. The Sub-Prior presided in the absence through illness of the Provincial Prior. The Vice-Chancellor was instructed to write to the Prior in sympathy in his illness and to congratulate him on his 89th. birthday. The Sub-Prior announced his resignation owing to pressure of business and the Lt. Kt. G.M.J. Lowther, P.Gt.Her., was installed in his stead and congratulated. Ten guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Hospital.

30 September 1964.
Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
Special meeting to install a new Provincial Prior. All preceptories were represented. The M.E. and S. Grand Master and his retinue entered and he was enthroned, installing the Em. Kt. Gilbert M.J. Lowther, P.Gt. Her., as Provincial Prior in place of the V.E. Kt. Arthur Griffiths, K.C.T., who had resigned at almost age 90. The new Provincial Prior installed the Em. Kt. Col. Walter John Short as Sub-Prior and confirmed the Officers appointed at the last meeting and the By-Laws. He praised the V.E. Kt. L.J. Bussey for his more than 50 years of service to the Order: he had been Chancellor since 1948 and also administrative officer for the first six years. The alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John.

19 May 1965.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of four knights were mourned. The V.E. Kt. Arthur Griffiths, late Provincial Prior, was congratulated on his impending 90th. birthday. Ten guineas were voted to the R.M.I.G., and the alms to the Hospital of St. John, Jerusalem.

19 May 1966.
Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
The Sub-Prior presided owing to the death of the Provincial Prior, which was mourned along with those of six other knights. The Sub-Prior said that he had visited all the preceptories during the year and found the Province in a flourishing state. He had been offered, and had accepted, the office of Provincial Prior. The alms were voted to the Mark Benevolent Fund.

28 September 1966
Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented. Special meeting to install a new Provincial Prior. The M.E. and S. Grand Master, Lord Harris, entered with his retinue and assumed the throne to install the Em.Kt. Lt.Col. Walter John Short, P.Gt.Her., as Provincial Prior, In his address the Grand Master suggested that the Province needed more preceptories. The new Provincial Prior installed the Em. Kt. Jack Nelson Baldry,P.Gt.Her., as Sub-Prior, and confirmed the Officers and By-Laws. The alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John.

7 June 1967.
Dorothy Restaurant, Sidney Street, Cambridge. Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of 12 knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior said there was need of another preceptory in Suffolk, and announced an increase in the annual dues from 1/-d. to 2/6d. There would be no grants to charity owing to the expense of two Installations in succession, but the alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John.

5 June 1968.
Masonic Rooms, Duke’s Head Hotel, Kings Lynn. Lynn Regis Preceptory No.330.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of seven knights were mourned. Among knights congratulated on receiving honours was the Sub-Prior, whose promotion to P.Gt. Const. ‘was the highest honour in the Province for over 30 years. For the first time, the members of the Bodyguard were presented and thanked. No charity grants were made, but the alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John.

4 June 1969.
The Athenaeum, Bury St. Edmunds. Tancred Preceptory No.102 (which had removed from Cambridge).
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of ten knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior made pleased mention of the new Preceptory of St. John No.418 being founded at Diss. Dues and fees had had to be increased again. There were no grants to charity, but the alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John.

11 June 1970.
Freemasons Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of ten knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior referred to the new Preceptory of St. John at Diss, and to the first annual church service, held on the initiative of the Sub-Prior, at the Cathedral Church of St. James, Bury St. Edmunds. No grants were made to charity, but the alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John.

26 May 1971.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of ten knights were mourned. A personal banner for the Provincial Prior, subscribed for by the knights of the Province, was consecrated and presented to him by the Sub Prior. The Prior thanked him and the Em. Kt. W.H.E. Carr for designing it. No grants were made to charity, but the alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John. The annual church service was held this year at Norwich Cathedral.

24 May 1972.
Masonic Hall, 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich. Cabbell Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of ten knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior referred to the annual church service recently held at Ely Cathedral. There were no grants to charity, but the alms were voted to the Hospital of St. John.

22 May 1973.
University Arms Hotel, Regent Street, Cambridge. Holy Rood Preceptory No.179.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of the Sub-Prior, V.E. Kt. J.N. Baldry, and eight other knights were mourned. The Em. Kt. Peter W. Racey was installed as Sub-Prior. The Provincial Prior welcomed the new Preceptory, Hereward the Wake No.439, founded at March earlier in the year. No grants were made to charity, but the alms were made up and voted to the Hospital of St. John. The annual church service had again been held at Norwich Cathedral.

22 May 1974.
The Town Hall, Kings Lynn. Lynn Regis Preceptory No.69.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of six knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior announced an increase in the annual fee for each knight, and referred to the forthcoming consecration in the autumn of the Walter Short Preceptory No.451; also to the annual church service to be held on 2 June at St. Nicholas’ Church, Great Yarmouth. £35 was voted to the Hospital of St. John.

28 May 1975.
The Athenaeum, Bury St. Edmunds. Tancred Preceptory No.102.
All preceptories were represented. The deaths of ten knights were mourned.
The Sub Prior announced the following decisions:
(a) A Provincial Priory of Malta was to be held each year, but no candidates were to be installed;
(b) On the same day, namely the third Saturday in May, a Provincial Priory of the Temple was to be held for a trial two-year period at Great Yarmouth, preceded by an unofficial luncheon at which ladies could be present;
(c) The Provincial Priory was to be held under the banner of a different preceptory each year;
(d) Each preceptory in the Province would pay annually the sum of £5 to a special fund to meet the expenses of such meeting;
(e) A Permanent Sub-Committee consisting of the Provincial Prior, Sub-Prior, Vice-Chancellor and Marshall was to be formed, to meet as necessary and report to the Provincial Prior’s Council;
(f) The annual church service would if possible be held on the first Sunday in June, the final decision to be made by the Sub-Committee.
The service this year would be held on 1 June at St. Margaret’s Church, Kings Lynn. The sum of £35 was voted to the Hospital of St. John.

15 May 1976.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
All preceptories were represented. A Provincial Priory of Malta was opened, the first since 1936, by the Sub-Prior and addressed by the Provincial Prior, who welcomed nearly 100 knights, included nine distinguished knights from other Provinces. The first Officers appointed were:
Peter W. Racey Sub-Prior
W.L. Dominy Captain General
C.T.A. Beevor Lieutenant General
R.W. Elliott First Lieutenant
C.A.H. Brady Second Lieutenant
Rev. W.F.A. Stone Chaplain
Leslie F. Edwards Mareschal
W.N. Farrar Deputy Mareschal
A.W. Ecelestone Hospitaller
E.C. Landamore Admiral
J.E. Ballam Conservator
E.W. Crowe Baillie
B.C. Culey Turcopolier
J.A.S. Seabert Chancellor
B. Bland Treasurer
D.J. Baldry Captain of Outposts
C.B. Hewitt Organist
W.P. Platten Guard

The Sub-Prior, reporting, paid glowing tribute to the late V.E. Kt. J.N. Baldry, who was appointed Sub Prior of the Temple in 1968 and made every effort to persuade knights to enter the Order of Malta and the preceptories to dedicate a special evening to the working of its degrees. Lynn Regis was the first to do so, “bribing” knights to attend with a nine-course meal and a different wine with each course! The new Provincial Priory of Malta would not install knights as each preceptory had its own priory, its Prior normally taking office after vacating that of Preceptor. Tribute was also paid to the Provincial Prior who, at 87, was the most active in the Order. The knights were reminded that the annual church service was to be held at St. Margaret’s Church, Kings Lynn.
The Provincial Priory of Knights Templar was opened with an attendance of 97. The deaths of eight knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior announced with regret the resignation after 12 years’ service of the Vice-Chancellor, the Em. Kt. W.L. Dominy. A presentation was made to him and he was promoted to Chancellor. £35 was voted to the Hosp. of St. John.

14 May 1977.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80.
After holding a Provincial Priory of Malta, at which the Sub-Prior reported good progress, a Provincial Priory of the Temple was opened with an attendance of 92, 16 of them distinguished visitors. The deaths of six knights were mourned. On a motion of the Sub-Prior, it was agreed that future meetings of the Provincial Priory should be held at Great Yarmouth and future church services at the Cathedral Church of St. James, Bury St. Edmunds. By-Law 8 was amended to provide for an annual return to the Provincial Priory by each preceptory. The annual fee for each knight was again increased. The sum of £50 was voted to the Hospital of St. John.

13 May 1978.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Preceptory of St.John No.418.
After a meeting of the Provincial Priory of Malta, at which the Sub-Prior, in reporting progress, referred to the impending retirement of the Provincial Prior, a Provincial Priory of the Temple was opened with an attendance of 90, including six distinguished visitors. The death of a knight was mourned. The Provincial Prior said that after the church service on 11 June he would retire, having reached his 90th. year. The Sub-Prior thanked him for his 12 years of service as Provincial Prior, during which the Priory had expanded 50 percent in the form of three new preceptories, and asked him to accept an address and the presentation of a colour television, which he was pleased to receive and thanked the knights. The sum of £50 was voted to the Hospital of St. John.

14 July 1978.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Lynn Regis Preceptory No.330.
This was a Special Chapter to install a new Provincial Prior. The M.E. and S. Grand Master, Harold Devereux Still, and his retinue entered and he assumed the throne to install the Em. Kt. Peter William Racey, P.Gt.Her., as Provincial Prior. He appointed the Em. Kt. L.F. Edwards as Sub-Prior, confirmed the Officers elected in May and the By-Laws, and invested the Em. Kt. E.W. Crowe, P.Gt.Her., as Marshal.

28 April 1979.
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Hereward the Wake Preceptory No.439.
A Provincial Priory of Malta was opened by the Sub Prior, who reported it to be flourishing. The Provincial Prior referred to a former such meeting in 1936 under the V.E. Kt. Lt.Col. Raymond F. Boileau, when the degree was worked and 12 knights installed.
A Provincial Priory of the Temple was then opened in the presence of 135 knights, including 12 distinguished visitors. The deaths of the late Provincial Prior, Lt.Col. W.J. Short, and six other knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior paid tribute to Col. Short’s great work. He was glad that most preceptories were using the 1974 ritual. The standard of work was good, but sword drill could be better. He planned that the Bodyguard should be an ‘elite’ body which would accompany him on occasion and demonstrate the drill. He mentioned the finding of the old Minute Book and said it was his intention to write the history of the Province. The annual church service would be held on 10 June. £50 was voted to the Hospital of St. John and £10 to the Royal Masonic Hospital.

26 April 1980
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Walter Short Preceptory No.451.
The Sub-Prior opened a Provincial Priory of Malta and reported that 20 new knights had been installed, making up for a number of deaths.
A Provincial Priory of the Temple was opened with an attendance of 142 knights, including 17 distinguished visitors. The deaths of 11 knights, including four Great Officers, were mourned. The Provincial Prior referred in his address to the good working and harmony prevailing in the preceptories. He was glad to know that the majority present were good churchmen and he looked forward to the annual service at Bury St. Edmunds on 8 June; also to the forthcoming consecration of the Walsingham Preceptory No.497. £50 was voted to the Hospital of St. John and £100 to the Le Strange Fund for the Cornwallis Home.

25 April 1981
Royal Assembly Rooms, Great Yarmouth. Prudence Preceptory No.16.
The Sub-Prior opened a Provincial Priory of Malta and reported on the work of the priories, which had installed 23 knights of Malta. He looked forward to welcoming the new Walsingham Priory later in the year.

A Provincial Priory of Knights Templar was opened in the presence of 152 knights, including six distinguished visitors. The deaths of four knights were mourned. The Provincial Prior congratulated his Bodyguard on its good work and thanked the members. He wished the Walsingham Preceptory success and thanked the organisers and founders for their efforts. He looked forward to the annual church service on 7 June. The following sums were voted to charity: £100 to the R.M.B.I. on the list of the Provincial Grand Master of Suffolk; £30 to the Hospital of St. John; £20 to the Friends of Cornwallis Court; and £50 to the Royal Masonic Hospital in memory of the late V.E. Kt. Walter John Short.

The Centenary Meeting of the Province of East Anglia, 10 June 1982

The Centenary Meeting of the Provincial Priory of East Anglia on 10 June 1982 was preceded by a Festal Evensong on 6 June at the Cathedral Church of St. James, Bury St. Edmunds, by permission of the Provost, the Very Reverend Raymond Furnell, who took part in the Service and gave the Blessing. This was conducted by the Em. Kt. Rev. W.C. Spooner, P.Dep.Gt.Alm. and Provincial Prelate, assisted by the Em. Kts. Rev. Ronald Thompson, D.F.C., P.Gt.Alm., and Rev. Frank B. Evans P.Prov.Alm., while the stirring Address was given by the V.E. Kt. Rev. Canon R. Tydeman, M.A., Great Prelate. The V.S.L. was opened and closed by the Provincial Prior, R.E. Kt. Peter W. Racey, and the First and Second Lessons, taken from passages of Scripture familiar to all knights, were read by the Provincial Sub-Prior, the V.E. Kt. Leslie F. Edwards, P.Gt.Reg., and the Provincial Prior respectively. Among others, the Templar and Malta hymns were sung, and the banners of the ten constituent preceptories were blessed. The Service ended with the singing of the National Anthem. Approximately 120 knights, including a Malta delegation, took part in the presence of a large congregation of relatives, friends and other worshippers.

The Centenary Meeting of the Provincial Priory took place In the Masonic Temple at 47 St. Giles Street, Norwich, at 2.30 p.m. following a morning spent in rehearsal and a luncheon on the same premises at 1 p.m. at which the M.E. and S. Grand Master was guest of honour, together with his accompanying Officers and other distinguished visitors. The Sub-Prior, the V.E.Kt. Leslie F. Edwards, gave them a noteworthy welcome.

At 2.45 p.m. 104 knights assembled in the Bishop Bowers Temple.
The Procession of the Provincial Prelate, Em.Kt. Rev. W.C. Spooner, P.Dep.Gt. Almoner, entered the Temple led by the acting Deputy Commander of the Bodyguard, Em.Kt. Col.W.F. Page, M.C., T.D., P.P.First Const., EM.Kt.S.C. Banns, P.P.Capt. of Gds., Em.Kt. S.H. Billett, P.P.Dep.Mar., and two Prov. Aides-de-Camp, and accompanied by the Provincial Capt. of Gds., Em.Kt. A. L. Waller, the Provincial Warden of Regalia, Em.Kt. E.G. Bardwell, the Provincial Herald, Em.Kt. J.E. Ames, and the Provincial Almoner, Em.Kt. E.E. Swain.

There followed the Malta Procession, similarly led and comprising the Em.Kt. Lt.Col. C.T.A. Beevor, P.Gt.Adml., Em.Kt. Rev. R. Thompson. D.F.C., P.Gt.Hosp., Em.Kt. J.E. Ballam, T.D., P.Gt.Adml., Em.Kt. B.C. Culey, P.Gt.Adml., Em.Kt. R.W. Chitty, P.Gt.Baillie, and EM.Kt. J.Morris, P.Gt. Baillie.

There entered next the Provincial Sub-Prior’s Procession, similarly led. The V.E. Sub-Prior was accompanied by V.E.Kt. L.M. Froude, P.Gt.Reg., Sub-Prior for Surrey, V.E.Kt. L.F. Blackman, P.Gt.Reg., Sub-Prior for Hertfordshire, Em.Kt. J.C. Bennett, P.Gt.Her., Sub-Prior for Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire and Bedfordshire, V.E.Kt. K.S. Buck, P.Gt.Reg., Past Sub-Prior for Essex, V.E.Kt. R.F. Jones, P.Gt.Reg., Provincial Vice-Chancellor for Kent , Em.Kt. K.E. Elder, P.Gt.A.de C., Prov. Vice-Chancellor for Hertfordshire, Em.Kt. R.F. Needs, P.Gt.A.de C. Prov. Vice-Chancellor for Surrey, Em.Kt. J.F. Peaty, Prov. Vice-Chancellor for Essex, V.E.Kt. Sir J.R. Hodges, Bart., M.B.E., P.Gt.Reg., Em.Kt. E.S. South, P.Gt.Her., Em.Kt. E.E. White, P.Gt.Her., Em.Kt. J.C. Hounsfield, P.Gt.A.de C.. Em. Kt. A.J. Morris, P.Gt.A.de C., Em.Kt. A.E. Clarke, P.Gt.A.de C., Em.Kt. Lt.Col. A. Parkin, O.B.E.. P.Gt.A.de C., Em.Kt. F.R. Churchyard, P.Gt. A.de C., Em.Kt. R.B. Skippen, P.Gt.A.de C., Em.Kt. R. Barton, Gt.W.of R., Em.Kt. J.A. Porter, Gt.Capt.of Gds., and Em.Kt. A.E. Trott, Gt.Gd.

The last Provincial Procession to pass under the Arch of Steel was the Provincial Prior’s, similarly led and in the following order: Em.Kt. J.A.S.. Seabert, P.Gt.Her., Prov. Vice-Chancellor, Em.Kt. L. King, P.Prov. Sec.Const., acting Treasurer, Em.Kt. K.A. George, Prov.Sec.Const., EM.Kt. K..G. Armstrong, Prov.First Const., Em.Kt. Col. G.S.H. Dicker, C.B.E., T.D. D.L. P.Gt.Swd.B., Prov. Chancellor, Em.Kt. Lt.Comdr. A.G.R. Butler, R.N.R., Prov.Std.B.(B), acting Prov. Sword Bearer, R.E.Kt. Peter W. Racey, Prov. Prior, Em.Kt. A.W. West, Prov. Banner Bearer, and Em.Kt. R.C. Crighton, Gt.Std.B.(B), acting Marshal.

The Roll of Provincial Officers was called, and the R.E. Provincial Prior was saluted with “seven”.

The Great Marshal, R.E.Kt. Brig. G.L. Galloway, G.C.T., entered and announced that the Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Master was without and demanded admission. An Escort was formed of the Deputy Commander of the Bodyguard. Em.Kt. Col. W.F. Page, two members of the Bodyguard and the two Provincial Aides de Camp, which led in the Grand Master’s Procession in the following order: the R.E.Kt. W.J. Leake, G.C.T., Great Vice-Chancellor, R.E.Kt. D.N. Foister, K.C.T., Provincial Prior for Leicestershire, R.E.Kt. A.M.W. Bales, K.C.T., Provincial Prior for Warwickshire, R.E.Kt. R.L. Ringrose, Provincial Prior for Lincolnshire, R.E.Kt. C.D. Anderson, Prov. Prior for Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, R.E.Kt. Rev. G.L. North, Provincial Prior for Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire and Bedfordshire, R.E.Kt. T.R. Chatfield, Provincial Prior for Surrey, R.E.Kt. U.A.D. Padmore, Provincial Prior for Middlesex, R.E.Kt. Dr. A.J. Owen, Provincial Prior for Hertfordshire, V.E.Kt. Rev.Canon R. Tydeman, Great Prelate, V.E. Kt. F.C. Hughes, P.Gt.Reg., Provincial Prior-designate for Essex, Et.Kt. Dr. R.J. Edney, P.Dep.Gt. Marshal, Provincial Prior-designate for Kent, Em. Kt. Lt.Col.F.W. Seal-Coon, P.Dep.Gt.Swd.B., as Great Sword Bearer, the M.E. and S. Grand Master. Harold Devereux Still, G.C.T., Em.Kt. Major A.H.M. Middleton, M.C.,T.D., Prov. Treas., as Grand Master’s Banner Bearer, and the R.E.Kt. Brig. G.L. Galloway, D.S.O.,O.B.E., G.M., G.C.T., Great Marshal.

The Grand Master was received by the Provincial Prior. who tendered his baton: this was received with thanks and returned with the request that the Provincial Prior continue in charge of the proceedings. The Provincial Prior welcomed the Grand Master, who was saluted with “eleven,, under the direction of the Great Marshal. The Grand Master acknowledged the salutation.

The Provincial Vice-Chancellor called the roll of the following knights who had “heard and obeyed the Great Captain’s call and departed for the Holy City” since the Province’s last meeting;
Em.Kt. N. Tetlow, P.P.Const. (Cheshire). Cabbell Preceptory No.69;
Bro.Kt. F.J. Turner, Cabbell Preceptory No.69;
Em.Kt. J.A. Smith, P.P.Const., Tancred Preceptory No.102;
Bro.Kt. J. Betchener, Preceptory of the Holy Rood No.179;
Bro.Kt. H. Robinson, Lynn Regis Preceptory No.330;
Bro.Kt. R.S. Peatfield, Preceptory of St. John No.418.

The knights stood with reversed swords as the Provincial Prelate offered prayers and the Dead March was played.

The minutes of the meeting held at Great Yarmouth on 25 April 1981, having been circulated to all members, were confirmed and signed.

The annual reports of the ten constituent Preceptories were presented to the Provincial Prior by their Preceptors, who were accompanied by their banners.

The Provincial Vice-Chancellor reported that many apologies for their inability to attend had been received from members of the Province, and apologies and best wishes from the following:
R.E.Kt. Major General Sir Ralph Hone, K.C.M.G., K.B.E., M.C., T.D., Q.C., G.C.T., Great Chancellor;
R.E.Kt. Dr.G.L.C. Colenso-Jones, G.C.M., Great Prior (of Malta);
R.E.Kt. H.B. Raylor, K.C.T., Provincial Prior for North and East Yorkshire;
R.E.Kt. C.H.V. Elliott, T.D., N.A., K.C.T., Provincial Prior for Nottinghamshire;
R.E.Kt. L.F. Cheney, O.B.E., K.C.T., Provincial Prior for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire;
R.E.Kt. Rev.A.V. Calver, T.D., M.A., Provincial Prior for Sussex;
V.E.Kt. Rev.J.H. Arbuckle, P.Gt.Prel., Provincial Sub-Prior for Lincolnshire;
Em.Kt. G.B. Bence, P.Gt.Her., Sub-Prior for Gloucestershire and Herefordshire;
V.E.Kt. R.J. Weatherhead, P.Gt.Reg., Provincial Vice-Chancellor for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire;
Em.Kt. F.W. Warburton, P.Gt.Std.B.(V.B.), Provincial Sub-Prior for Leicestershire and Rutland;
Em.Kt. H.W. Tassell, P.Gt.A.de C., Provincial Vice-Chancellor for Leicestershire and Rutland;
Em.Kt. F.C.J. Smith, P.Gt.A.de C., Provincial Vice-Chancellor for Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire and Bedfordshire;
Em.Kt. J. Holmes, Provincial Vice-Chancellor for Lincolnshire;
Em.Kt. A.A. Carter, Provincial Vice-Chancellor for Nottinghamshire;
Em.Kt. J.W.A. Webster, Provincial Vice-Chancellor for Sussex;
Em.Kt. Sqn.Ldr. R.T.W. Jones, Provincial Vice-Chancellor for Gloucestershire and Herefordshire;
V.E.Kt. A. Craddock, P.Gt.Reg.;
Em.Kt. G.B.W. Kent, T.D., Asst. Provincial Grand Master for Hertfordshire.

The adoption of the accounts for the year ending 31 March 1982, which had been approved by the Provincial Prior’s Council and circulated to all members, was put by the Provincial Prior and carried, with thanks to the Auditor.

Donations of £200.00 to the Hospital of St. John at Jerusalem and of £20.00 to Friends of Cornwallis Court were proposed by Em.Kt. B.O. Culey, P.Gt.Std.B.(V.B.), seconded by Em.Kt. G.M. Dupont, Prov.Sec.Const., put to the meeting and carried.

In accordance with a notice of motion given at the previous meeting, the Provincial Vice-Chancellor proposed an amendment to By-law 8 increasing the annual fee for each knight to £1.00. This was seconded by the Em.Kt. R.C. Crighton, Gt.Std.B. (B.), put to the meeting and carried.

Em.Kt. D.E. Harvey, Preceptor of Walsingham Preceptory No.497, proposed that Bro.Kt. H.A. Evans be elected Guard for the ensuing year. This was seconded by Em.Kt. T.G. Hiscock, Preceptor of Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80, put to the meeting and carried.

The Provincial Prior then appointed and invested his Officers. The members of the Bodyguard were presented to the Provincial Prior, who thanked them for their loyal support and congratulated them on the manner in which they had performed their duties.

The Provincial Prior announced that he had received an invitation from the Royal Plantagenet Preceptory No.80 to hold the next meeting of Provincial Priory under its banner at Great Yarmouth on 30 April 1983, and he accepted with pleasure.

The Provincial Sub-Prior, V.E.Kt. Leslie F. Edwards, P.Gt.Reg., read a copy of a letter from Great Priory to the Preceptor of Cabbell Preceptory No.69, Norwich, dated 3 June 1882, as follows:

To: Eminent Sir Knight G.W.G. Barnard, Great Priory
Preceptor, England and Wales
Cabbell Preceptory, 22 Chancery Lane, London, W.C.
Norwich. 3rd. June, 1882

Eminent Sir Knight,

I beg leave to inform you that the Very High &.Eminent Great Prior has been pleased, with the concurrence of the Provincial Prior of Suffolk and Cambridge, V.E. Sir Knight Capn. N.G. Philips, and of the Preceptories in that Province, as also of your Preceptory, to constitute the Province of East Anglia, to comprise the Province of Suffolk and Cambridge, and your Preceptory, with any other Preceptory which may hereafter be founded in the County of Norfolk, and his Lordship has placed it under the command of the V.E. Sir Knight Captain N.G. Philips.

I remain,
Eminent Sir Knight,
Yours fraternally,
WM. TINKLER, V.C.

and another as follows:
WJL/JEP Chancery of the Orders,
Ref: KT/PP/7 86, St. James’s Street,
R.E.K.t. P.W. Racey, London, SW1A 1PL.
Provincial Prior for East Anglia, 9th November, 1981

Dear and R.E.Kt. Racey,

Thank you for your letter of 2nd November, 1981.

I confirm that the Province of East Anglia came into being on 3rd June, 1882, superseding and incorporating the Province of Suffolk and Cambridge, and I note that you propose, to celebrate the Centenary at a meeting of Provincial Priory on Thursday, 10th June, 1982, at Norwich, preceded by a luncheon.

I am glad to tell you that the M.E. and S. Grand Master has been pleased to accept your invitation to attend this Centenary Meeting; I shall write to you again, nearer the date, concerning detailed arrangements for his visit. Provinces are, of course, constituted by the Grand Master for the time being, but are not warranted; therefore there can be no question of a Centenary Warrant.
The M.E. and S. Grand Master has signified that, to mark the Centenary of the Province, he will be prepared to award one additional Great Rank in 1982.

Yours sincerely and fraternally,
W.J. LEAKE
Great Vice-Chancellor

The Provincial Prelate, Em.Kt. Rev.W.C. Spooner, P.Dep.Gt.Alm., gave an Oration in celebration of the Centenary and illuminating the aims and objects of the Order and of this Province.

The M.E. and S. Grand Master then addressed the gathering, giving a brief history of the Province and congratulating it on the expansion that had taken place since 1882, when Cabbell Preceptory was the only representative of Norfolk, whereas there were now six preceptories in the County. he asked the members to continue to work for the Order and to look forward to the next hundred years. The address was received with acclamation. The Provincial Prior thanked the Grand Master for his Address and for his kindness in honouring the assembly by his presence.

Alms were collected while the Templars’ Hymn was sung, and amounted to £111.15.

The Great Marshal called the knights to order and the Grand Master and his retinue retired in recessional order.

The Provincial Prior then addressed the knights, thanking them for their attendance. He thanked all those who had worked to make the occasion such a great success, particularly the Em.Kt. J.A.S. Seabert, P.Gt.Her., Vice-Chancellor; the Em.Kt. R.C. Crighton, Gt.Std.B.(B.), (who had stepped in at very short notice to take over the duties of Marshal); Em.Kt. G.R. Deller, Prov. First Const., of Cabbell Preceptory, who had been of enormous help; and Bro.Kt. A.S.G. Saville, Curator of the Library and Museum, who had arranged the display of items from the various preceptories of the Province, which was much admired and appreciated.

He mentioned the absence through illness of the Provincial Marshal, Em.Kt. E.W. Crowe, P.Gt.Her., and of other knights prevented from attending for the same reason, and he wished them all a speedy recovery.

He thanked the ladies – Mrs. Racey, Mrs. Seabert and Mrs.Deller for arranging the delightful displays of flowers on the Altar and on the luncheon tables. He also referred to the church service at Bury St. Edmunds the previous Sunday, and thanked the knights and their ladies for their support and the Great Prelate, Em.Kt. Rev. Canon Richard Tydeman, M.A.. for his very informative Address.

The Provincial Priory was closed at 4.45 p.m. and after the singing of the National Anthem the Provincial Prior, accompanied by his principal Officers, retired in recessional order under the Arch of Steel, followed by the Provincial Sub-Prior and his retinue, the Malta Delegation, and the Provincial Prelate with his retinue.

The number of knights of the Province in the Temple was 139 out of a total of 410, plus 30 visitors.

The Provincial Priory of Malta,
14th July 1982

This Meeting of the Provincial Priory of East Anglia, part of the Centenary celebrations, opened at 4.30 p.m. in the Masonic Hall, Wroxham, under the banner of Cabbell Priory No.69. It was opened by the V.E. Sub-Prior by command of the R.E. Provincial Prior. The Officers appointed on 25 April 1981 and therefore serving at this meeting were:

V.E.Kt. L.F. Edwards, P.Gt.1st.Lieut. Sub-Prior
Em.Kt. Col. G.S.H. Dicker, C.B.E., T.D., D.L., P.Gt.Swd.B. Captain General
Em.Kt. Lt.Col. F.W. Seal-Coon., P.Gt.Swd.B. Lieutenant General
Em. Kt. A. Norris, P.Gt. Baillie First Lieutenant
Em.Kt. D.T. Mortimer Second Lieutenant
Em.Kt. Rev. R. Thompson, D.F.C., P.Gt.Hosp. Chaplain
Em.Kt. E.W. Crowe, P.Gt.2nd.Lieut. Mareschal
Em.Kt. W.N. Farrar. P.Gt.Hosp. Deputy Mareschal
Em.Kt. Col. W.F. Page Hospitaller
Em.Kt. W.W.H. Butler Admiral
Em.Kt. L.C. Christensen Conservator
R.J. Wall Baillie
Em.Kt. S.C. Banns Turcopolier
Em.Kt. J.A.S. Seabert, P.Gt.2nd.Lieut. Chancellor
Em.Kt. J.E. Ames Treasurer
Em.Kt. A.W. Harvey Captain of Outposts
Em.Kt. G.R. Linley Organist
Bro.Kt. G. Hewitt Guard

After the confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting, the Provincial Prior addressed the gathering (see Addresses following), after which he appointed his Officers for 1982/83.

The Sub-Prior then reported on the state of the several Priories as follows:
“Right Eminent Provincial Prior, Cabbell Priory, in which we have the pleasure of meeting today, played an important part in the formation of the Province of East Anglia, so it is appropriate that in this, our Centenary Year, the Provincial Priory meeting should be held under their banner.
“Last year I extended a warm welcome to the new Walsingham Priory, with the hope that they would soon undertake their first Malta ceremony. Right Eminent Provincial Prior, that hope was realised in February of this year.
“I am very pleased to report that throughout the Province it has been my privilege and pleasure to witness ceremonies of good masonic craftsmanship when visiting Priories.
In this respect we welcome and tender our good wishes to the new Knights of Malta who were installed by the following Priors:
Em.Kt. S.G. Elmes Prudence Priory installed 3 knights
Em.Kt. J.H. Smellie Cabbell Priory ” 2 “
Em.Kt. W.P. Platten Royal Plantagenet Priory ” 2 “
Em.Kt. A.G. Butler Tancred Priory ” 2 “
Em.Kt. B. Johnson Holy Rood Priory ” 1 “
Em.Kt. S.H. Billett Lynn Regis Priory ” 2 “
Em.Kt. E.G. Bardwell Priory of St. John ” 3 “
Em.Kt. G. Clayton-Smith Hereward the Wake Priory ” 3 “
Em.Kt. Lt.Col. F.W. Seal-Coon Walsingham Priory ” 3 “

May these 21 knights continue to progress and play their part in furthering the reputation of Christian brotherhood in the everyday world in which we live.
“To you, Right Eminent Provincial Prior, we express our warmest appreciation for your guidance, for the justice with which you rule over us, and for the kindly manner in which you grace our proceedings.
“Right Eminent Provincial Prior, I submit my report for your acceptance.

Leslie F. Edwards”

Alms were collected during the singing of the Malta Hymn, and the V.E. Provincial Sub-Prior closed the Provincial Priory at the request of the R.E. Provincial Prior.

This meeting was followed by one of the Cabbell Priory No.69 at which two knights were installed and the Em.Kt. Deller installed his successor as Prior. Afterwards the knights present repaired to an excellent dinner prepared and served by the Ladies of Wroxham.

VERBATIM ADDRESSES

At the Provincial Priory of Knights Templar on 10 June 1982

Provincial Prior’s welcome to the M.E. & S. Grand Master:
“Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Master, on behalf of the Knights Templar of the Province of East Anglia, I welcome you and your retinue to our meeting of Provincial Priory and our Centenary celebration. We are highly honoured that you should grace our historic meeting, and we are awaiting your Address with much pleasure.”

Oration by the Provincial Prelate:

“Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Master, Right Eminent Provincial Prior, Right Eminent Knights, Very Eminent and Eminent Knights, Brother Knights: Since it will be more adequately dealt with in another context, it is no part of my duty or purpose to recite the history of this Province, but rather to recapitulate the original purpose of its Founders and to seek to express, at least in part, our own aspirations.

“We celebrate today not only one hundred years of the existence of this Province, but also a century of impact and influence upon the wider body of Freemasonry, upon Knight Templary in general and upon this Province in particular. It is merely a statement of the obvious that for reasons of human frailty none of the original members can physically participate in today’s celebration, but it is clear from this very assembly that the work they began then was built upon a sure foundation. We who do share in the events of this day must, inevitably, see the occasion not only as a celebration, significant as that is, but also as a challenge. It must be part of our dedication of ourselves today that the next century shall be as fruitful as the one we now celebrate.

“In that century the Order has made tremendous progress. Ritual has crystallised and been made subject to approval. Statutes and by-laws are now positive and comprehensive. We are aware that the numbers of Provinces and preceptories have increased throughout the world and that, because of this, greater understanding exists in this context between country and country. The careful selection of men to guide the Provinces and preceptories has further enhanced the reputation of the Order.

“Even modest research convinces us that these influences for good which emanate from Knight Templary have deeply permeated many areas of human activity. Thus one might be tempted to ask: What room now remains for foward movement in our Order, with its practices and procedures so well established, approved and appreciated?

“We may look back with pride to the Founders of the Province. That is our joy. The responsibility which accompanies that joy is to ensure that we and those who come after us are equipped to continue this work. Nostalgia must never be allowed to stifle our enterprise! What, then, is our task today? Many of you will have read Michael Baigent’s ‘Holy Blood and Holy Grail’, and will have assessed its literary and historical value for yourselves. Quoting William of Tyre, he tells us that the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Jerusalem was founded by Hugues de Payens in 1118. He and his eight comrades dedicated themselves to keeping safe the highways to Jerusalem for the pilgrims. If that be true, then our purpose must obviously differ from the original. But it must always be right to assist in cultivating that kind of society where care and courtesy continue to be significant; where all men may walk safely; wherein a man may develope those qualities which shall constrain him to dedicate his powers to the service of his brother.

“As Knights of this Order we are, ideally, engaged in great things. We deal with human lives; the weapons in our armoury are those principles embodied in any acceptably defined thesis of Christian Pilgrimage and human welfare. It would be incredible if Knight Templary had nothing to teach concerning those fundamentals upon which human life, at its best, is based. It does contain a philogeny of life and guidance towards those better relationships which can and should exist between man and man. ‘I draw my sword in-defence of ‘ is as appropriate a declaration now as at any time in human history.

“Suffice it now to say that Knight Templary enables us to build our bridges over many boundaries, that men of different thought may cross over and meet one another as members of one family under the one Universal Father.

“So, Brethren, we celebrate today the founding of this Province and we may pray that, while giving thanks for the labours of the past, we may maintain the enthusiasms and purposes of Knight Templary here in our own day, continuing the idealism and dedication they exhibited a century ago.
The ambitions of great men,the suspicions of little men, and the misunderstanding of many men may undermine the structure of any ideal in any generation, but if the foundation is sure, nothing can finally destroy that which is good.
The Chinese (but who else?) have this saying among so many others:
‘To plant for a year, sow grain.
To plant for a lifetime, plant trees.
To plant for eternity, plant men!’

This Order demands that we entrust our present – and our future – to men, to men of honour.”

The Grand Master’s Address:
“My Brother Knights, may I first remind you that this is a very special occasion in the history of this Province of East Anglia? I am sure that it is well known to most of you that as long ago as 1867 there was constituted the Templar Province of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire., which grew by 1882 to consist of three Preceptories: Prudence No.16, Royal Plantagenet No.80, and Tancred No.102. Also, since 1862 there had been stationed in Norwich Cabbell Preceptory No.69, and it was in that year of 1882 that these four preceptories were brought together and formed into the Province of East Anglia, with Captain Nathaniel G. Philips as its first Provincial Prior.

“That, very briefly, is the history of those early years, but let us now pass on to the time when, 50 years having passed, this Province of East Anglia, now with Holy Rood Preceptory No.179 added to it, reached the year of its Jubilee. Jubilee takes its name from the Hebrew ‘jobil’, a ram’s horn or trumpet, and it is written: ‘Six years shalt thou sow thy field and prune thy vineyard then shalt thou cause the Trumpet of the Jubilee to sound and ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, it shall be a Jubilee unto you ye shall not sow nor reap.’ So, the Jubilee was a time for rest, celebration and thanksgiving for the past, and a moment to look forward to renewed good work in the future.

“And today another seven sabbaths of years have passed, during which another five preceptories have been added to you (Lynn Regis No.330, St. John No.418, Hereward the Wake No.439, Walter Short No.451 and Walsingham No.497);a centenary of existence and also the celebration of your double jubilee; again a time of rejoicing for the success of the past and, above all, a moment when you can look forward with confidence to the future, with even more opportunity to follow in the footsteps of your predecessors in the Province and of those even more remote knights from whom we derive the principles which we are so often enjoined to observe.

“There is no Centenary Warrant or other document which I can hand over on the occasion of the Centenary of a Province, but I do bring to you my own very best wishes, with those of Great Priory, for the continued happiness and prosperity of the Province of East Anglia. I hope that this may be recorded in the minutes of this meeting, and that those minutes may be read out when, in due course, you attain your Bi-centenary. I may not be able to be present on that occasion, but I shall be there in spirit.

“It was at Great Yarmouth in July 1978 that I had the pleasure of investing your present Provincial Prior, Right Eminent Knight Peter Racey, in the charge of the Province. Under his leadership you have greatly prospered and with now ten preceptories, the newest Walsingham No.497 which he consecrated, I know that you will go on from strength to strength.”

Thanks to the M.E. & S. Grand Master after his Address.

The Provincial Prior said: “When I welcomed you, I said we were looking forward to your Address with much pleasure and we have not been disappointed. In September the history of the Province will be published and I hope you will agree to a copy of your Address being included. We are most fortunate to have Eminent Knight Freddie Seal-Coon as a knight in this Province. He is a member of Quatuor Coronati Lodge and has written a most excellent history of Freemasonry in Jamaica: he volunteered to write the history of this Province and we will send you a copy as soon as It is published.

“Once again I must thank you for gracing our proceedings. I realise how full your diary is and that this week has been a particularly strenuous one for you. Normally, our Provincial meetings are held on a Saturday as many of our knights cannot attend afternoon meetings on weekdays. All present have greatly appreciated your presence and your words.”

Provincial Prior’s Address to Provincial Priory:

“Brother Knights, I cannot let this afternoon pass without expressing my thanks to you all for your support on this historic occasion. I know that several have been unable to attend because of their work in their professions and businesses: I can particularly think of schoolmasters who have sent me special messages; even my own son through business priority. They all have my sympathy, but I am pleased that they have their priorities right!

“Eminent Knight Seabert, the Vice-Chancellor, deserves the greatest acclamation you can give him! Jimmy, you have been a wonder! The work you have done for today has been tremendous and I thank you sincerely. Your dear wife, Cissie, has given you immense help. Please give her our grateful thanks. I realise that without her co-operation we could not have enjoyed this success. I will have more to say to her at the Ladies’ Summer Party. Next I must thank Eminent Knight Roland Crighton, who at seven days’ notice took on the job of Marshal today – as well as the church service last Sunday at even shorter notice! He, too, deserves your applause.

“Finally, I must thank my Sub-Prior for his loyalty, advice and assistance. Leslie, I do appreciate having you by my side and the many hours of work you do for the Order. I couple all the other Provincial Officers with these thanks. They have helped to make the day such a success, especially Geoffrey Deller and Sidney Saville: the latter organised the splendid display.

“Brother Knights, let us go forward with confidence into the next century, inspired by that beautiful Oration given by our Provincial Prelate, the Rev. W.C. Spooner.”

At the Provincial Priory of Knights of Malta on 14 July 1982: Address by the Provincial Prior:

“As this meeting is part of our Centenary celebrations, I am pleased that we have taken the opportunity of stressing the importance of this Order by holding its meeting on a separate day for the first time in our history. To be realistic, enthusiasm for this Order in East Anglia has only sprung up in recent years. Though Cabbell Priory worked the degrees, very few others did so and there was no Provincial Priory of Malta as there is today.

“I feel I can do no better than to repeat part of my report, when I was Sub-Prior, at the Provincial Priory of Malta on 15 May 1976, as this will remind us all of recent history.

“In 1968 the late V.E. Kt. Jack Nelson Baldry was appointed by the Provincial Prior as Sub-Prior of the Temple for the Province of East Anglia. We have never had a more enthusiastic or hardworking knight in our Province. He particularly directed his energies to the Malta Order. Each Preceptory was cajoled, encouraged and assisted by him to ‘work’ the Malta Degree and gradually his efforts bore fruit. I was among the first knights he ‘convinced* in his ‘crusade’, and my own Lynn Regis Preceptory was the first to have a special evening for its Priory meeting. I remember that we ‘bribed’ the knights to attend by putting on a nine-course meal which included two suckling pigs and a different wine with each course! These days, no such ‘bribes’ are required; the Order is very popular and most Priories have copied Lynn Regis’s example. For this reason it was decided in 1976 to have a separate Provincial Priory of Malta with its own Officers, so that the special work of knights in this Order might be rewarded. At the same time, it was the special duty of the Sub-Prior to ‘keep his eye on’ the work of the Priories and make a report at the annual meeting.

“I am pleased to note that our visitors from other Provinces have been greatly impressed by the work of our individual Priories, and have gone back to their own and encouraged their knights to work the Degree in their individual Priories.

“No doubt Jack Baldry would be highly delighted to see how the Malta has prospered. It is a fine memorial to him and long may it remain so. He would have particularly praised the great enthusiasm, loyalty and hard work of my Provincial Officers. I know that he would agree with me that one of our greatest workers is Geoffrey Deller, and without doubt this is ‘Geoffrey Deller Day’: on that we must all agree. I wish to thank Cabbell Priory for two things: firstly for installing me into this Malta Order some quarter of a century ago, and secondly for organising, under our Chancellor, Jimmy Seabert, the holding of this meeting under their banner. After this meeting we shall proceed to a meeting of Cabbell Priory and I am sure we shall witness a first class ceremony by the Prior of Cabbell, Geoffrey Deller. I congratulate all those who have received Provincial rank today, and I thank you all for your attendance.”