Brant Lodge No.45
Visit the Brant Lodge Web site at www.brant45.ca
A brief history of Brant Lodge No.45
Prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge of Canada in
1855, Brant Lodge operated as No. 323, under the jurisdiction
of the Grand Lodge of Ireland.
The charter granted by the
grand Lodge of Ireland was dated June 6th, 1853, and was
signed by Augustus Frederick, Duke of Leinster, Grand Master;
George Hoyte, D. G. M.; Richard, Earl of Donoughmore, G.
S. W.; Sir John McNeil, G. J. W. of the Grand Lodge of
Ireland. It was granted to Arunah Huntington as Worshipful
Master; Charles H. Waterous as Senior Warden and Charles
R. Wilkes as Junior Warden.
Brant Lodge has supplied the
nucleus for the formation of other Lodges in this district,
including Doric Lodge No. 121; Ozias Lodge No. 508; Burford
Lodge No. 106; and St. George Lodge No.243. Brant Lodge
became a grandmother lodge, when Doric Lodge No. 121 supplied
the nucleus of members for the formation of Reba Lodge
No. 515 and when Burford Lodge No. 106 supplied members
for the formation of Scotland Lodge No. 193.
During the
150 years, Brant Lodge met at Roy’s Hall,
Colborne and Market Sts. After the fire on June 24, 1869
the Lodge moved to Tisdale Hall on Colborne Street over
the Duncan Store and it bears the date “1869".
In
1896 we moved to the Stratford Building at the corner of
King and Dalhousie Sts. This building bore the legend “Masonic
Temple 1896, until it was razed to provide for the Imperial
Gas Station. In 1910 the lodges moved to larger quarters
in the Temple Building, 76-78 Dalhousie Street next to
the Post Office. In 1953 moved to the new building at 192
Greenwich Street.
A special night was held on December 9, 2003 to honour W. Bro. David L. Ritchie an active Past Master of the Lodge (1966) who has been on many Committees and delivers the final charge at Installation. V. W. Bro. William L. Foster was made an honourary life member of Brant Lodge on April 12, 2005.
In May 2005, the Masonic Temple at 192 Greenwich St. was sold as the two Lodges meeting there (Reba No. 515 and Brant No.45) could not afford the upkeep of the beautiful large building. A committee was formed and an agreement with the Shriner's Club of Brantford at 525 Colborne St. East was signed. The Shrine allowed us to renovate their main hall creating a Masonic Lodge inside their building. During the renovations and acceptance by the Grand Lodge committee on Lodge buildings we met at Onondaga Lodge No. 519 in Onondaga. Our first official meeting in the new Lodge Room was a District Wardens night in October of 2005.
The first Worshipful Master to be installed in the new room was W. Bro. Harry R. Y. McClelland in June of 2006. The lodge room was dedicated on October 24, 2006 by M. W. Bro. Gary L. Atkinson, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of A.F & A.M of Canada in the Province of Ontario. Many masons from near and far attended this special occasion. A reception was held at Sherwood Restaurant (799 Colborne Street East) following the Dedication. A special night was held on November 14, 2006 to present an honourary life membership in Brant Lodge to R. W. Bro. Allen J. Petrisor, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M of Canada in the Province of Ontario. A reception following was also held at the Sherwood Restaurant.
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