What Freemasonry is - Grand Lodge of England

Contents

How Grand Lodge works
Grand Lodge meets quarterly in March, June, September and December, with an extra meeting in April at which Grand Officers are invested. All Grand Officers, Masters and Wardens of lodges, and Past Masters (who are subscribing members of a lodge) are members of Grand Lodge and are entitled to attend.

The authority to set up new lodges, appoint Provincial and District Grand Masters and other Grand Officers, is part of the prerogative of the Grand Master who is also Grand Lodge's chairman.

Grand Lodge is an incorporated association. Its organisation is in some respects like a limited company. Its policy is set by a board of non-executive directors, known as the Board of General Purposes, and carried out by a chief executive called the Grand Secretary. Major matters of policy, changes to the rules and so on, have to be put to what corresponds to the shareholders - members of Grand Lodge.

The Board of General Purposes controls Grand Lodge's finances and administers the property of Grand Lodge. It also regulates Grand Lodge's other affairs and to this end it may recommend or report to Grand Lodge. If a recommendation or report of the Board is adopted by Grand Lodge it is treated as an edict, and is as binding on the Craft as a rule in the Book of Constitutions.

There are six committees which help the Board with its work. They are finance, external relations (dealing with relations with other Grand Lodges), procedure, premises (dealing with the running of Freemasons' Hall in London), staff (dealing with Grand Lodge's employees), and the library, art and publications committee. There is also an information committee which deals with public relations (for example this web site) and education and training programmes.