On the 22nd February 1872 the Lodge of Equity No 1384 was consecrated, the meeting being held at the Simms Cross Hotel. This remained until 1st May 1877 when it was resolved those regular meetings should be altered to 2nd Thursday of the month. Today we have nine meetings within the year and meet on the first Thursday in the month, the exceptions being the months of June, July and August. In the h
istory of the Lodge there have been many distinguished gentlemen of the town, some rising to distinction. At the second meeting Mr James Raven Headmaster of Farnworth Grammar School and Mr Ludwig Mond (a chemist and founder of the Brunner - Mond Works in Northwich) were proposed. Mr Raven was later initiated but there is no record of a ballot for Ludwig Mond. On the 7th April 1887 a respected citizen of Widnes was initiated, Dr. Creighton Hutchinson. Here was a man who carried his Freemasonry into his practice, tending the sick and forgetting to send in his bill to the poor and needy. The minutes of 1903 recorded that W. W. Copeland had been awarded a Knighthood; he was installed as Worshipful Master of the Lodge in 1885. For many years it was the practice within the lodge to perform more than one ceremony during the evening, in the minutes of the 6th August 1892 it was recorded that there was one candidate initiated, two passed to the Second degree and two more raised to the Third degree. Today we have around 55 members and are considered to be one of the largest lodges within the Group. During its lifetime, daughter lodges and even granddaughter lodges have been formed from the Lodge of Equity. On the 3rd May 1900 a petition for the formation of a second Craft Lodge in Widnes was proposed, which was the beginning of Widnes Lodge No 2819. It was on the 3rd January 1901 that a meeting was held to propose the formation of a Royal Arch Chapter within the town. As a result of this meeting Widnes Chapter No 2819 was formed. Records show that the number of subscribing members in the Lodge had reached 95 in 1917 and a proposal was passed to form a third lodge within the Group which was the Lodge of Fellowship 3799. In 1919 Goodwill Lodge No 3896 was formed. This family of lodges was to be followed on 9th June 1948 with the consecration of Appleton Lodge No 6468. Following an approach by our daughter, Appleton Lodge No 6468, meetings were held during 2006 to consider an amalgamation. It was subsequently agreed that an amalgamation of both lodges would be beneficial and this took place on 3rd April 2008 with the ceremony being conducted by Brian Gillbanks Deputy Provincial Grand Master, accompanied by members of the Provincial team. It is clear to see we are the oldest lodge within the Widnes group; however we believe that we have introduced a modern approach to our freemasonry whilst maintaining traditions. This can be seen within the lodge were there is a mixed age range and whose membership embraces a wide range of occupations from general work to professional. The membership subscription to freemasonry is much less than that of a Golf Club and we welcome any approach from gentlemen who wish to join with us. We strive to enjoy ourselves whilst never forgetting our common objective is to raise funds for charitable causes with monies being donated to both local and national good causes.
