Nepos Lodge 6570.
Consecrated, 30 January 1948.
Meeting at Falmouth House, Hexham Road, Throckley.
Commencing at 7:00 pm
Third Thursday. Except February, June, July, August, December.
All the information contained on this page, has been provided by the members of Nepos Lodge.
The Lodge takes its name
from Aulus Platorius Nepos who was Governor of Britain from AD 122-125. Hadrian became Emperor of the Roman
Empire in AD 117 and visited Britain in AD 122. Nepos was his friend and he sent
for him to Lower Germany where he was Governor. He was chosen by Emperor Hadrian
to build the wall to solve the problem of the British frontier. Nepos has the
distinction of being the only Governor to be named after Hadrian on inscriptions
from the Wall and appears on mile castles in the central section.
The first recorded Committee Meeting took place at the Go-operative Hall, Hexham Road, Walbottle, on Wednesday, 2nd July 1947. In the Chair was W.Bro. Robert Steel, Master Designate. There were thirteen Brethren present and they decided that Tynedale Lodge No. 3067 was to be adopted as the "Mother Lodge". The list of Officers was agreed. The third Thursday was suggested as the day of meeting, but the decision was postponed until the next meeting on 8th July. Also the decision to name the Lodge 'Nepos' was postponed, but it was pencilled in the Minute Book. The Minutes of the meeting on 8th July are unrecorded and there are no further references to any decisions being made regarding those two important matters.
Initiation fee £15.00,
Annual subscription £ 2.00,
Founder’s fee £ 3.00,
Joining fee £ 3.00
Rejoining fee £ 3.00.
"Bro. Gair Allsop Musgrove, of Tynedale Lodge 3067, generously presented the gift of an organ, to the new Lodge."
At the following meeting on 14th January 1948, the Committee examined the applications of 24 Candidates, and 2 joining members, and decided the first initiate should be Edward Ridley Dobson, to fill the Organist's vacancy. It was also agreed the second Candidate should be George N. Hope, proposed by W.Bro. Richard King (S.W. designate). The rest of the Candidates names were then put into the hat and drawn for initiation. The first ten were interviewed on 22nd January 1948 and accepted for initiation in the first year.
EXTRACT
"as a tribute to W.Bro
King's, unceasing work and energy that he had put in, since the idea forming a
New Lodge was mooted. He had worked day and night to bring this Lodge into
being."
The Consecration
Nepos Lodge was consecrated at the Co-operative Hall on Friday, 30th January 1948 by W. Bro S. I. Wilson, PGD Deputy Provincial Grand Master. The Master designate, was W Bro. Robert Steel, PProvGSwBr, a Past Master of Tynedale Lodge No. 3067. The senior warden designate was W Bro. Richard King, a Past Master of Bedlington Lodge No.6240 and St. Cuthbert Lodge No. 1902. The Junior Warden designate was Bro. Dr. Alfred Swindale, a Master Mason of Prudence Lodge No. 3424. The Worshipful Master was duly installed and appointed and invested his Officers. Eleven of the Founders were members of the Mother Lodge (fig. 2). The first regular meeting was held on Thursday, 19th February 1948 at 7-00 and the first two Candidates initiated. There were 17 Officers, 4 Past Masters, 12 Members and 27 visiting Brethren in attendance,
The Lodge enjoyed more than 20 years in the Go-operative Hall, and during that time inspected various buildings at Newburn, Lemington and Walbottle, with a view to converting them into a permanent meeting place. After numerous premises were rejected for various reasons, (mainly unsuitable and expensive to adapt), the Buildings Sub-committee was asked by the Finance and General Purposes Committee in December 1958 to explore the possibility of building a Temple in the field at the rear of Walbottle Stores which was used as a car park. After meeting the Owner's (the Duke of Northumberland) Agent and agreeing preliminary terms for a lease, a planning application was submitted to Northumberland County Council. It was reported in Open Lodge on the 21st February 1963 that following a Public Enquiry in Newburn Urban District Council Offices on the 17th October 1962 regrettably the appeal had been lost.
In March 1967, the opportunity arose to invest in a new Company, called The Newcastle upon Tyne West Masonic Buildings Limited, and become a shareholder with several other Craft Lodges and R.A. Chapters in a new venture to build a Temple and Banqueting Suite in Ferguson’s Lane, Benwell. A proposal to move to the new premises was passed in Open Lodge on the 18th May 1967 when the result of a postal ballot was announced as 111 votes in favour, 4 against and 22 Brethren abstaining. A decision to invest a substantial part of the Building Fund in the new venture was approved in Open Lodge on the 20th July 1967. The first Lodge representative to sit on the Board of Directors of the new Company was W.Bro. John Wilkin, the Lodge Treasurer. After 227 meetings in temporary accommodation at the Cooperative Hall the Lodge moved to a permanent home and held it's first meeting in the west Masonic Temple on the 19th September, 1968, under the Master ship of W.Bro. Donald Smith. The first initiates were Mr. Ian Laybourn (a Lewis) and Mr. Ralph Hunter.
In 1984 it became apparent that attendances were falling and expenses were rising. It was agreed by the Finance and General Purposes Committee to explore the possibility of joining our daughter Lodge, Severus, No. 7864, in their premises at Falmouth House, Hexham Road, Throckley. A sub-committee was appointed to investigate and after favourably reporting back to the Committee and following a General Meeting of the Brethren on the 7th June 1984 it was agreed to proceed. A proposal to move was passed in Open Lodge on the 15th November 1984 and the first meeting took place on the 17th January 1985, with the installation of Bro. Alan Taylor.