A Record of Consequence

Lodge of Amity No. 171 warranted. Through Maybury Lodge No. 969 (warranted 1863) and Lodge of Progress No. 1768 (warranted 1878), this lodge becomes the verified constitutional ancestor of Empire Lodge No. 2108 — placing the Lodge’s lineage within one of the older established chains of London Freemasonry. Source: UGLE Chart 171, compiled 2018.

Warranted and consecrated at Freemasons' Hall, London. Ten Founding Members. Consecrated by Very Worshipful Brother Colonel Shadwell H. Clerke, Grand Secretary. Sponsored by the Royal Colonial Lodge.

Empire Chapter No. 2108 warranted 2 May 1888 and consecrated 9 January 1889 — three years after the Lodge. From the outset, Lodge and Chapter share the same name, the same number, and the same banner: a matched pair, as they were always intended to be.

At the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, H.R.H. The Prince of Wales (then Grand Master) conferred a uniquely illuminated Diploma for Masonic Hospitality — the only such award of its kind.

Hampstead Lodge No. 2408 warranted 8 July 1891 and consecrated 27 October 1891 — the first of four lodges to receive constitutional descent from Empire Lodge. Iris Lodge No. 2545 followed in 1895, Loyal Heath Lodge No. 4716 in 1925, and White Stone Lodge No. 7098 in 1951.

Premiers of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, New Zealand, Natal, and South Africa; Indian Maharajas; Grand Masters of Scotland and Ireland. Few lodges in history have assembled such authority under one roof.

Word arrived mid-meeting that Her Majesty had died. The announcement was made before the close of proceedings. A Special Meeting followed, attended by representatives of Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United States, Scotland, and Ireland.

Cart de Lafontaine — Sheriff of the City of London, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, expert on Dante, founder of the Grand Loge Nationale de France, and future Worshipful Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge — joined Empire Lodge No. 2108. He later became Past Master and joined Empire Chapter in 1904. In 1930 he delivered the Prestonian Lecture at the Albert Hall before the Pro-Grand Master, Lord Ampthill.

The Japanese Minister to the Court of St James's was Initiated, Passed, Raised and installed as Worshipful Master of Empire Lodge in January 1904. His Raising was attended by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, Grand Master of UGLE. The Russo-Japanese War broke out during his year of office.

The Sultan of Johore was initiated — among the first Malay rulers received into English Freemasonry. His son followed as a member fifteen years later.

The Lodge Secretary, Walter Hobbs, personally travelled 65,000 miles around the world to deliver invitations to visit Empire Lodge. The journey — spanning the Empire and beyond — stands as the most vivid expression of the Lodge's founding purpose: to be the Masonic home of the world in London.

Sir Maurice Jenks became simultaneously Lord Mayor and Worshipful Master. By dispensation, the Installation was held at the Mansion House before a galaxy of Grand Lodge Officers. The Master then initiated his son.

Henry Thomas Cart de Lafontaine — Past Master of Empire Lodge, Master of eleven Livery Companies, and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature — served as Sheriff of the City of London. In 1929 he served as Worshipful Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, the premier lodge of Masonic research, and in 1930 delivered the Prestonian Lecture at the Royal Albert Hall.

Empire Lodge was explicitly listed for suppression in the Sonderfahndungsliste G.B. The Lodge continued through the war — midday meetings, wartime dress — performing ceremonies for serving Masons from the Empire.

The Right Honourable Lord Baillieu KBE CMG served as Worshipful Master of Empire Lodge three times — a distinction held by very few. He presided at the 75th Anniversary Meeting in 1960, attended by the Grand Master and 39 Grand Officers, with letters of congratulation from 10 Dominion Grand Lodges and 27 District Grand Lodges across the Commonwealth. Father of the Hon. Edward Latham Baillieu, Deputy Grand Master 1982–1989.

Algernon Barnett, the last surviving Founding Member of Empire Lodge, died in 1955 after seventy years of continuous membership. His Founder's Jewel — struck in 1885 and bearing the Lodge arms — passed into the custody of the Lodge. It has been worn by every Worshipful Master at every Installation since: an unbroken physical link across 140 years, from the reign of Queen Victoria to the reign of King Charles III.

Lord Baillieu and his two sons presented to Empire Lodge a silver loving cup — a gift that combined generosity with a deep understanding of what the Lodge meant. The cup remains in the Lodge's possession and is used at the Festive Board.

The Commonwealth Lodges' Association was formed to link UGLE Lodges with a connection to the Commonwealth, promoting inter-lodge visitation and charitable work. Empire Lodge — founded in 1885 precisely to strengthen the bonds between the Mother Country and the Dominions — was a natural member from the outset.

Major-General Denis Arthur Beckett C.B. O.B.E. D.S.O. — initiated in Empire Lodge in 1946, Worshipful Master in 1956 and 1977, First Principal of Empire Chapter in 1970 and 1988 — was appointed Junior Grand Warden of UGLE in 1988 and served on the Board of General Purposes for fourteen years.

The Hon. Edward Latham Baillieu, P.M. of Empire Lodge, was installed as Deputy Grand Master of UGLE — the most senior executive office beneath the Grand Master himself.

The Grand Master was present. Members donated £20,000 to establish The Empire Lodge Travelling Fellowship. The Founder's Jewel of Algernon Barnett — member for 70 years — continues to be worn by each Worshipful Master at Installation.

On 1 October 2003, H.R.H. The Duke of Kent inaugurated the Metropolitan Grand Lodge of London at the Royal Albert Hall — the first metropolitan Masonic body of its kind under UGLE. Empire Lodge No. 2108 was a founding lodge of the new body, bringing 118 years of continuous London Masonic history to it from day one.

Empire Chapter No. 2108, warranted 2 May 1888, was saved from closure by the recruitment of ten new Companions against a formal condition set by the Metropolitan Grand Chapter. Since the revival, five further Companions have been Exalted — including a double exaltation — confirming it as the beginning of genuine, sustained growth. All ceremony is now carried out independently by the Chapter's own officers, working Aldersgate ritual, to a high standard.

Empire Lodge entered a period of deliberate renewal under a team of experienced Freemasons with a proven record. A ten-year plan was established — focused on officer succession, sustainable membership growth, and continued Emulation ritual excellence — with the Lodge’s 150th anniversary in 2035 as its horizon. Eight new members joined at the May 2026 Installation, with a full officer line-up in place from day one. Together with the revival of Empire Chapter No. 2108 in 2023, the period 2023–26 represents the full restoration of both Lodge and paired Chapter to working order. The matched pair that Empire Lodge No. 2108 and Empire Chapter No. 2108 were always intended to be is once again complete.