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The history of the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons in particular cannot be described without reference to the history of the Women’s movement in Masonry in general. We cannot do better than to quote from a pamphlet published in 1988 by Enid Scott, a former Assistant Grand Master of our Order, entitled "Women in Freemasonry". "It was in 1902 that the first lodge of Co-Masons was formed in London and that importation from France soon snowballed. But within a few years some of its members became uneasy regarding the course being taken by the governing body in Paris. They felt that their ancient forms were in jeopardy and a departure from their traditional style was taking place; history was being repeated, for it was a similar state that had arisen in regular Freemasonry in the mid-18th century. Various members resigned from the Order and formed themselves into a Society from which was to emerge the Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry, but still as an association for men and women. On 5 June 1908 a Grand Lodge was formed with a Reverend Brother as Grand Master. He was the first and only male Grand Master and held that office for four years before retiring through ill health. His successor commenced the continuing line of female Grand Masters. Approximately ten years later it was decided to restrict admission to women only but to allow existing male members to remain. Within a very short period the title was changed to the Order of Women Freemasons but the form of address as ‘Brother’ remained, the term ‘Sister’ having been discontinued soon after the formation in 1908 as it was deemed unfitting for members of a universal Brotherhood of Freemasons. It is also of some interest to note that history was repeated again , in that the Royal Arch became the subject of a division in their ranks, rather on the lines of the Antients and Moderns years before the Union in 1813. A group of its members wished to include the Royal Arch in the system but failed to obtain authority from their Grand Lodge , which caused them to secede and form the first Lodge of yet another Order - The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, two Grand Lodges running in parallel was almost a carbon copy performance, but in this case the time for a Union, similar to that which took place in 1813, is yet to come." The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons was founded in 1913 and the first Grand Master was Mrs Elizabeth Boswell-Reid who held that Office from 1913 to 1933 ; she was succeeded by her daughter Mrs Seton Challen. The first three Lodges to be consecrated were ;
In 1916 the dream of establishing the Higher Degrees was realised with the consecration of the Chapter of Hidden Splendour no 1 of the Holy Royal Arch. In 1932 the Mark Degree was established when the Keystone Mark Lodge no 1 was consecrated, followed by the Rose Croix 18th Degree Rose of Sharon Chapter no 1 in 1935. Our first masonic home was Caxton Hall,Westminster, followed by St Ermins, Westminster. In 1947 the Fraternity moved to Clive Court, Kensington, in 1955 to 68 Great Cumberland Place and now in 2005 we have moved to 402 Finchley Road, NW2. The women's movement in France continued along the lines of Adoptive Masonry until 1959 when the Grand Loge Féminine de France decided to work the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. This led to the consecration of further national Grand Lodges in Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Turkey, Germany, Canada and the Americas.
Operative Masons - it wasn't just men in those early days Some background to HFAF What is the main difference between men Freemasons and women Freemasons? Well ...... apart from some very obvious ones, there is not a lot of difference. Our Lodges are very similar to any you might visit in the UK if you were already a mason. At the head of the Lodge presides the Worshipful Master, who is elected to that Office by the members of the Lodge. The Worshipful Master has a team of Officers, each Officer with a specific duty. Many of the Offices are progressive, meaning that members work their way towards them. Lodge meetings can be held up to eight times a year. Apart from their Lodge meetings our members also enjoy social gatherings, where they can get to know each other on a more informal basis, and incidentally where a great deal of our fund-raising for charity is carried out. If you would like to find out more about HFAF and women in Freemasonry, please write to us at:
Child's Hill London NW2 2HR
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This website has been created and maintained by Bro Chris Chapman, Grand Librarian
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