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'This page has been approved by the United Grand
Lodge of England’
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About the District Grand Lodge of Madras
The District Grand Lodge of Madras is the administrative and controlling body of Freemasons' lodges functioning in the States of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala collectively referred to as the District of Madras for
Masonic purposes.
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| Freemason's Hall - Chennai (Upstairs) |
Freemasonry has existed in the Coromandel Coast for more than 250 years - the first Lodge having been consecrated in Madras in 1752.
The oldest Lodge of this Masonic District still working here is the
Lodge of Perfect Unanimity No.150 which was consecrated in 1786 and celebrated its bicentenary in 1986.
| The District
Grand Lodge of Madras, (DGL)
is a body created by the
UNITED GRAND LODGE OF
ENGLAND (UGLE) under the authority of its Book of Constitutions.
The head of the DGL is called the DISTRICT GRAND MASTER
and is appointed under the authority of the Grand Master of the UGLE in London.
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| He is assisted by a Deputy and an Assistant who have his authority in his
absence. |
Coat of arms of the United Grand Lodge of England
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There are other Officers of the DGL some of
whom are the District Grand Registrar, District Grand Treasurer,
District Grand Secretary, President of the Board of General
Purposes, District Grand Superintendent of Works Works each of
whom discharges a specific duty in the Masonic Districts'
administration. The head of the District Grand Lodge is the
District Grand Master. Some past District Grand Masters have included such dignitaries as Governors of the Province, Senior Civil Servants etc.
Currently, the District of Madras has 18 lodges distributed as under:
| Tamilnadu |
11 |
| Kerala |
4 |
| Andhra Pradesh |
2 |
| Karnataka |
1 |
The total membership is of the order of 1200 with a few dual memberships. They are drawn from educated, responsible and well-informed men with a dispensation for knowledge and charity.
The District Grand Charity of Madras has total funds of about Rs.100 lakhs collected principally from within its membership and dispenses charity in the form of support and relief to indigent masons, indigent widows of masons, scholarships to students to pursue higher education etc. Reaching outside its own membership for funds is not normally known to masonry. Exceptions would be members' own charitable trusts or from their close family, business establishments run by them etc.
Some lodges have medical clinics operated by them and others aid and assist specific divisions or functions in public hospitals.
The Lodges presently functioning in the District are:
Lodge of Perfect Unanimity No. 150, Chennai founded in 1765
Lodge of Rock, No. 260, Trichy founded in 1816
Lodge Universal Charity, No. 273 Chennai founded in 1847
St. John's Lodge No. 434, Secunderabad, founded in 1822
The Anchor of Hope Lodge No. 1093, Wellington founded in 1886
The Pitt Macdonald Lodge No. 1198, Chennai founded in 1867
The Lodge of Faith, Hope and Charity No. 1285, Ootacamund founded in 1896
John Miller Lodge No 1906, Chennai founded in 1881
Kerala Lodge No 2188, Calicut founded in 1886
The Lodge St. George No 2532, Chennai founded in 1894
The Lodge Minchin No 2710, Trivandrum founded in 1897
The Golconda Lodge No 3249, Secunderabad founded in 1907
The Lodge of Southern Brotherhood No. 3211, Bangalore founded in 1908
The Lodge Ampthill No 3682, Coimbatore founded in1913
The Lodge Cauvery No 3848, Thanjavur founded in 1918
The Lodge Cochin No 4359, Cochin founded in 1921
The Archibald Campbell Lodge No 4998, Chennai founded in 1928
The Lodge Quilon No 5839, Quilon founded in 1944
Lodge meetings are invariably held at the local Freemasons' Halls which have the infrastructure and the designated furniture for such meetings.
In Chennai the lodges meet in spacious premises at Ethiraj Salai (formerly Commander-in-Chief Road), Egmore in buildings
constructed in 1928 specifically to house the Temples for meetings. The headquarters of the District Grand
Lodge of Madras with its offices are also located in the same premises. One of our early headquarters is the grand edifice in the Madras Marina
now occupied by the Tamil Nadu Police.
Members of Lodges can visit the site of each lodge and leave their comments in the Guest Book and also post messages on the Message Board.
Those interested in further information about the Order and wishing to access more details of meetings etc. can get in touch with:
W Bro S. Sampath
District Grand Secretary,
District Grand Lodge of Madras,
Freemasons' Hall, 87, Ethiraj Salai (formerly Commander-in-Chief Road),
Chennai 600 008
W Bro J. M. I. Sait,
District Assistant Grand Secretary at the above address and at Telephone Nos 044 -
28271250/ 28265800
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