W. Bro Gary H. Chapman

Gary H. Chapman

01622-715160

Date of Warrant, 13th February 1951

The Lodge meets:
Fourth Wednesday in January, February, April, October (Installation) and November  

Lodge of Instruction: 7.30pm Mondays.
Ritual: Belvidere Ritual

History of the Allington Lodge 7086

The Lodge was consecrated in 1951, coinciding with the Festival of Britain. Several names for the Lodge were considered which were derivations of the word Maidstone or the Saxon word for Great or Grand Stone. However,
Allington was the final choice.

The Lodge was so named because of its association with Maidstone. History records that the present castle at Allington has been used as a stronghold at least since the time when a wooden castle was erected in the days of
William the Conqueror. Later, in the time of King Stephen, a stone castle was built, but this in turn was overthrown by Henry 11.

The present castle was built by Stephen of Pencester during the reign of Edward 1, since when many alterations have been made by such well-known persons recorded in History as Sir Henry Wyatt and his son, Thomas. Sir
Thomas was famed for leading the revolt at Maidstone against the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to Phillip of Spain. The revolt proved unsuccessful and Sir Thomas Wyatt was ultimately beheaded in the Tower of London in 1554.

More recent occupants were Lord Bossom, a Maidstone Member of Parliament and finally, the Carmelite Friars.

Nearby stands the small but ancient church of St. Laurence, the daughter church of St. Nicholas, the origin of which is lost in antiquity but it is known that a church has occupied this site since 1192. The church is now
occupied as a private residence.

Both the church and the castle are now within the Borough of Maidstone, the county town of Kent, so that when the crest of the Lodge was designed these features were taken into account.

The crest was designed and executed by W.Bro. F.J. Thompson, P.Pr.G.Reg., a Founder Member and first Lodge Secretary. W.Bro. Thompson presented to the Lodge the Secretary's Jewel, worn in Lodge by subsequent Secretaries. The design was submitted to Grand Lodge for approval and agreed, subject to the elimination of buckles around the circumference

The Signification of the Lodge Crest

The Lodge having adopted the name of Allington, it was thought appropriate to depict the principal building of the district, namely the castle, in the crest and this occupies the top left-hand quarter on a background of silver.
The small, but attractive, parish-church of Allington is named after St. Laurence who was the Archdeacon of Rome in the third century A.D. He is heraldically represented in the top right-hand quarter by a symbolic black grid iron on a background of red. This emblem is associated with St. Laurence and was the Instrument of torture upon which the Saint suffered a martyr's death because of his steadfast "Fidelity to the Word" The lower left-hand quarter depicts the famous white horse of Kent. Rampant on a background of red. It is of Saxon origin, the emblem of the county of Kent and part of the crest of Provincial Grand Lodge, of which Allington Lodge is an integral part. The lower right-hand quarter contains a portion of the Maidstone Coat-of-Arms showing the river Medway, represented by a wavy fess surrounded by three red roundels on a background of gold. Although history is somewhat obscure, it is thought that the three roundels depict the three principal places of worship to God situated on either side of the river.

Briefly, the crest depicts Allington Castle, the Patron Saint of which was St. Laurence, on the banks of the Medway, in the town of Maidstone, within the province of Kent...