Thank you for visiting our Lodge website

The internet provides us with a wonderful opportunity
to get to know Masonic Brethren around the world.
Please leave a message in our guestbook, telling us about your Lodge,
where it is, and a little of its history.
We are very proud of the fact that our Lodge has been in existence
for 140 years, meeting in the same Masonic hall, in Old Elvet,
Durham City, Co. Durham, England.
A city which can trace its history back more than a thousand years,
to the arrival of a religious community seeking a permanent resting
place for the body of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne.
As a shrine for their saint, they built first a wooden, then a
stone church, on top of a rocky hill, protected on three sides
by the River Wear.
Following the Norman conquest of 1066, King William also found
this site appealing and realised it offered an ideal strategic
location from which to rule Northumbria and defend the region
against the Scots. The community of Cuthbert gave way to Benedictine
Monks and a Bishop appointed by the king. They began the building
of the Cathedral, to provide a monumental shrine for St Cuthbert,
and the Castle, to act as protection for the Cathedral and to
provide a palace for the Bishop.
The result was one of the most impressive construction
projects ever undertaken. The panoramic view of the Cathedral
and Castle has been described as ‘one of the finest architectural
experiences of Europe’ and together they are now designated a World
Heritage Site.
As Worshipful Master of Norman Lodge for 2009 I hope to continue
the good works of my many distinguished predecessors. Our Lodge
meets 10 times a year, on the third Wednesday of the month except
July and August. We welcome visitors from Lodges around the world
working under constitutions approved by the United Grand Lodge of
England (UGLE).
Please contact our Lodge
Secretary for information if you wish to attend our Lodge meeting.
Sincere and fraternal greetings
W. Bro David John Atkinson
Worshipful Master
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