ULSTER · IRELAND · LONDON
Ulster & Irish Freemasonry in London
Ulster Lodge belongs to the English Constitution, but its story begins with Ulster men in London. That gives us a distinctive place from which to explore the long relationship between Irish Freemasonry and the capital.
A London Lodge with an Irish story
Ulster Lodge No. 2972 is warranted by the United Grand Lodge of England. We are not a Lodge under the Grand Lodge of Ireland. Yet Ireland — and Ulster in particular — is written through our history.
The idea for the Lodge grew among members of the Ulster Association in London. During an excursion on the Thames, John B. Crowe is remembered as suggesting the creation of a Lodge that could bring Ulster Freemasons in the capital together. That idea became Ulster Lodge, consecrated at the Hotel Cecil on the Strand on 13 November 1903.
From the beginning, the Lodge looked in two directions at once: towards its home in London and towards the people, Lodges and traditions of Ireland. That relationship is one of the most interesting parts of our story.
The English Constitution
Ulster Lodge is part of the United Grand Lodge of England and meets at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street. Our Masonic life is therefore firmly rooted in London and the English Constitution.
The Irish tradition
The Grand Lodge of Ireland was formed by 1725 and describes itself as the second most senior Grand Lodge in the world. Its headquarters have been at Freemasons’ Hall in Molesworth Street, Dublin, since 1869.
Why this matters to Ulster Lodge
For much of our history, members maintained personal, family and Masonic connections with Ireland. Visitors travelled between Lodges. Men who had begun their Masonic lives in Ireland settled in London. Others joined Ulster Lodge because its identity gave them a familiar point of connection in a much larger city.
The Lodge therefore offers more than its own institutional history. Its records can help tell a wider story about Irish people in London, Masonic networks across the Irish Sea, and the way friendship and fraternity travelled with people as they moved.
Building a research hub
This website is being developed as a home for research into Ulster Lodge and, more widely, Ulster and Irish Freemasonry in London. We will publish biographies, Lodge histories, original documents, connections between Irish and London Lodges, and stories recovered from our archives.
Explore further
For official information about Irish Freemasonry, visit the Grand Lodge of Ireland. For Freemasonry in England and Wales, visit the United Grand Lodge of England.