About Us
England’s Centre Lodge No. 2555 was consecrated on Tuesday 9th July 1895, at the Horseshoe Inn in Weedon (Now the site of an antiques shop on the High Street). The Landlord was a member and meetings were held there until 1947, when the Lodge moved to Northampton. We are a daughter Lodge of Beneventa Lodge No. 2380, which still meets in Daventry.
The Lodge originated from the Officers and NCOs of the military garrison at Weedon, which was the largest Ordnance Depot in the UK. The name England’s Centre is derived from the barracks built there in King George III’s reign, during the Napoleonic wars. It being claimed to be the Centre of England and the farthest point from the coast but having good railway and canal links.
At the time one of the the main reasons given for wanting a Lodge in Weedon was the difficulty in travelling between Daventry and Weedon, a distance of around four miles, now our members are active across the Province and further afield.
Although the founding Lodge members mostly came from the garrison the Lodge soon included local businessmen and notable figures based in and around Weedon. Today members are from many and varied professions but the Lodge is proud that it continues to have several military members.
The Lodge has endeavoured to acknowledge and maintain its Military heritage while expanding our membership and trying to reflect the diverse modern community of which we are a part. Over our 130+ years of working – we have met in Weedon then at Princes Street, St. George’s Avenue and now the Griggs Centre in Northampton – our membership has continued to work diligently to support local and Masonic Charities and to be engaged with our community.
Today England’s Centre Lodge meets seven times a year – on the third Thursday of the month from October to April. It is our commitment and aim to be happy and to communicate happiness. We are a welcoming and friendly Lodge, where friendship, companionship, and brotherly love is our ethos.
If you want to know more about us and what we do, please get in touch.
The original Consecration Summons for the Lodge, from 1895.