Plymouth to Spen ValleyThe Warrant of No. 258 Lodge was granted to a number of Marine officers at Stonehouse, near Plymouth who formed a Lodge at the Marine Barracks situated there. The Lodge was named Amphibious, a name derived from the fact that the membership largely consisted of brethren in the Naval & Military Services.
The late 1700's were hard times for all military Lodges and by the end of the 17th year of the Lodge, the Napoleonic Wars and Royal Marine deployments, across the known globe at that time, had dealt a heavy blow to Lodge membership, many members having laid down their lives for King and Country in the call of duty in various theatres of war. The Lodge membership so depleted, In 1803 the warrant for Amphibious Lodge travelled north. On the 2nd of May, at The Shears Inn, Hightown, Amphibious Lodge rose from the ashes of a long a costly conflict to be reborn amongst the mills of the lush Spen Valley. Worshipful Brother Robert Sutcliffe, Master of Fidelity Lodge (Leeds) conducted a ceremony of consecration and a new chapter in this long Lodge history was written. Amphibious Lodge has had a number of meeting places since Stonehouse Barracks, Plymouth namely: Stonehouse, Plymouth 1786 The Shears Inn, Hightown 1803 The Bull's Head, Little Gomersal 1813 The White Hart, Hightown 1816 The Globe Inn, Millbridge 1824 Heckmondwike Masonic Hall 1850 - Present Day |