Blue and red links with silver chain. Teamwork concept
You might be forgiven for thinking that an institution like Freemasonry, which has been around for over 300 years, would struggle to remain relevant in today’s fast paced and technological society.
However, many people, especially those in demanding careers, find that Freemasonry offers a sanctuary from daily pressures.
Its timeless values , Integrity, Friendship, Respect, and Service anchor choices, restore balance and provide perspective.
London Freemasons have produced this short film. It shows how Freemasonry’s long history and traditions provide a framework for individual growth and self-improvement. It also highlights the opportunity to form real friendships that can last a lifetime.
Learn more about our Lodge here in South Molton
If you would like to know more about Freemasonry here in North Devon, or if you are interested in joining our growing and vibrant Lodge…
Several local Community Groups and Charities were recipients of the first ever South Molton Community Support Awards this week, in a ceremony held at Freemasons’ Hall in South Molton, Devon on Wednesday 18th March 2026.
David King (L) and Peter Kyle (2nd from Right) with award recipients
Organised by members of South Molton’s three masonic Lodges, these monetary awards are worth £500 each and recognise the work done by Charities and local Community Groups in making lives better for groups and individuals in the North Devon Community. Five organisations were represented and each gave a short talk on their work and on the effect that these awards would have on future plans and projects.
Recipients were…
South West Blood Bikes: A group of unpaid volunteer Motorcyclists who deliver vital supplies of Blood, Breast Milk, Tissue Samples and Drugs in support of the NHS across the county. The Blood Bikes’ award was received by Malcolm Huxtable their local organiser.
Malcolm Huxtable receiving the award on behalf of Devon Freewheelers
Brayford Community Playground: A group raising money for the reopening of the Children’s Playground in the village of Brayford which was closed in April 2025 following a safety inspection. Suzie Topping explained the importance of safe play spaces for children.
Suzy Topping with Lodge Master David King.
1st Chulmleigh Girl Guides: Mandy Blacker has been involved in Guiding since she was a Brownie herself. Having returned to Chulmleigh some years ago, she is now the organiser of one of the most successful Girl Guide branches in the county who are raising money to replace their 40 year old tents.
Mandy Blacker from 1st Chulmleigh Girl Guides
The Masonic Fishing Charity: A group of local Fishermen who take disadvantaged children, their parents and supporters on Fishing days out at venues across Devon. Local Secretary Mike Latham gave a moving account of the ways in which disadvantaged youngsters responded to fun days out in the open air.
Lodge member Mike Latham receives the award for The Masonic Fishing Charity
Mid Devon Messenger: This is a talking Newspaper for the visually impaired based in Tiverton, which brings News, and Local Information to people who are no longer able to read due to blindness or sight impairment. Helen McIntosh gave a brief history of the Charity from its early beginnings to the vitally important service it now provides.
Helen Mackintosh was representing The Mid Devon Messenger.
Following the Awards Ceremony, the recipients and their hosts retired to the Masonic Hall’s Dining Room for a few celebratory drinks and a light supper.
Dr. Peter Kyle, the Administrator of the South Molton Masonic Charity Association said…
We are delighted to support and to celebrate the vital and frankly inspiring work being carried out in our local communities by these wonderful volunteers. Their passion and dedication is clear to see, and their willingness to dedicate their time and energy to helping others is truly humbling. These awards will now made twice a year. We invite other groups and individuals to apply for future awards by visiting our website at https://moltonmasons.org.uk/
Blue and red links with silver chain. Teamwork concept
Freemasons are well known for Charitable giving, it goes to the very heart of what we do; it’s in our DNA you might say.
Yet many people are unaware of the sheer scale of the impact we are making in Communities across England and Wales.
In 2024/5 alone our central Charity the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) made grants totalling £27, 387,558 to Charities, Community Groups and Individuals across England and Wales.
Here in Devonshire£36,517 was given to local Charities including Deaf Choices UK (Devon), Dementia Friendly Parishes around the Yealm and Hospicecare Exeter. In addition 59 Families and Individuals were awarded grants totalling £285,613.
A more detailed breakdown of our local impact is given below..
If you would like to enquire about becoming a Freemason, or if you would like to apply for charitable support
The Haggis is Piped in carried by Worshipful Master David King
The refurbishment of Freemasons’ Hall in New Road, South Molton continues, with the latest project being the redesign and redecoration of the main ground Floor Dining Room.
40 members and Guests enjoyed a sumptuous meal
The newly upgraded facility was relaunched on Friday 23rd January 2026 with 40 members and their guests attending a Burns Night Supper.
The Haggis is Piped in carried by Worshipful Master David King
As is Traditional on such occasions, the Haggis was piped in to the skirl of the Bagpipes, played with gusto by Exeter Piper and Freemason Glen Bishop. Guests were then treated to a magnificent rendition of Robert Burns’ Poem “The Address to a Haggis” by Jim Ferguson.
Jim Ferguson doing “The Address to a Haggis”
Following the meal, our own resident Scotsman, Ray McIntosh treated everyone, with a fine rendition of “My Love is like a red red Rose”. another Burns Poem set to a traditional Scottish tune.
The refurbishment of the main dining room is part of a long term renovation project to protect this unique Grade II Listed Building and to make it more suitable for Community use. As well as redecoration; the project included replacement of the old fixed Furniture, new Curtains and new energy efficient Lighting.
Mike Latham installing the new Curtains
A team of Lodge members pitched in to ensure that the room was ready for the event. It was a close run thing, but in true “Changing Rooms” style the project was completed just in time for its official launch.
Peter Kyle – painter extraordinaire!
Lodge Members Richard and Pip trying to avoid a “Del Boy” moment!
The next phase of the refurbishment project will be to improve disabled access to the first floor with the installation of a Stairlift and to make the historical museum displays more available to local Historians and Students for study and research.
Freemasons’ Hall is now available for use by local Groups and Organisations. If you would like to hold a meeting here please get in touch using the button below
So how many of you South Moltonians knew that there has been a Masonic Lodge in the Town for almost 200 years?
Before this Summer’s series of Community Open Days, the probable answer is very few. Freemasons’ Hall has stood at the junction of New Road and East Street since 1846, yet its plain and unassuming fascia belies the ornate and historic interior to be found behind the big Blue Door.
Freemasons’ Hall South Molton
The first Masonic Lodge in South Molton was formed in 1834. For the first year of its existence it met in a pub called the Ring O’ Bells in Duke Street. The pub is long gone but the building remains. In 1842 the Lodge moved to The George where it remained until it relocated to our present building in 1847.
The cost of building the new Masonic Hall was £450 (£73,700 in today’s money).
This year’s series of three Community Open Days attracted around 150 visitors who were able to view the interior of the beautiful, atmospheric Lodge Room as well as to search through the Honours boards in the dining room which list every Master of the Lodge since 1834. Many prominent people in the town have been members over the years including several Town Mayors, there are many distinctly “South Molton” names among them
Searching for family members.
One visitor had travelled all the way from Pontypridd in South Wales to visit us. Having seen our promotional posts on social media, Worshipful Brother Martin Tapp PPrJGD, a member of St Catherine’s Lodge No 9503 drove down the M5 especially to visit us.
Having family in South Molton, Martin has often driven past the our Hall and wondered what it was like inside. He was not disappointed, “It is magnificent” said Martin “…and well worth the journey”. We hope to receive Martin and other members of his Lodge as visitors to one of our meetings in the New Year.
Martin Tapp (L) with Lodge member Peter Kyle
We have also received several kind comments from members of the South Molton Community.
“Was good to see inside, walked past so many times and often wondered”
Carol Norrish
“Thanks for making us welcome…it was very informative. Definitely glad we went”
Mary Bragg
“Its fascinating inside”
Stella Levy
“A fascinating visit to the Freemasons’ Hall today. Such a beautiful interior hidden in an unassuming building. A hidden gem of South Molton. Lots of history to discover and lots of local names amongst past members. Well worth a visit on one of the future dates and you never know, you may discover an ancestor on the boards of names”
Lisa Chanter
” Huge thanks to everyone we spoke to today. You made us feel so welcome. The Temple is beautiful and it was such a pleasure to learn a little about the Masons. True Gentlemen.”
Gina Ambridge
” Thank you to Brian in explaining and showing me around the Lodge. Everyone I spoke to was helpful and knowledgeable.”
Alan Ingleton
This series of Open Days was the brainchild of Lodge member John Burridge, supported by a team of enthusiastic volunteers.
” We are enormously proud of Freemasons’ Hall and of the restoration work which has been recently undertaken. We hope that by opening it up and sharing it with the members of our community we have been able to highlight Freemasonry’s role in the Town over the last 190 years“
John Burridge
Freemasons’ Hall will be open again next year, so if you missed out this time, be sure to watch our social media for dates and times.
In the meantime if you want to know more about Freemasonry in South Molton or think you might like to join our Lodge, why not visit our website at…
In recent weeks, following news that The Garrick Club had voted to allow female members; an article was published in The Guardian, critical of the fact that Freemasonry in this country is practiced on a single-sex basis.
The United Grand Lodge of England, together with the two Women only Grand Lodges, The Order of Women Freemasons and Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (Freemasonry4Women) have issued the following joint statement in response.
“Some 300 years ago the Grand Lodge of England published the Constitutions of the Free Masons which was adapted into the Constitutions of the new United Grand Lodge of England (“UGLE”) in 1815.
These same Constitutions were adopted in 1908 by the Honourable Order of Ancient Masonry, which decided in 1920 to restrict admission to women only, and by 1935 was an exclusively female Grand Lodge. In 1958 the name was changed to The Order of Women Freemasons’ (“OWF”). In addition in 1913 the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (“HFAF”) was formed, also, exclusively for women and it remains so today one hundred and eleven years later.
Both organisations still operate today and, together with UGLE, follow the same rules and regulations and promote integrity, friendship, respect, and service. UGLE is the largest and the oldest of the orders of Freemasonry in England and Wales and fully collaborates and shares premises with both the female Grand Lodges. All three Grand Lodges have been involved in Open House London at Freemasons’ Hall in recent years to showcase both male and female Freemasonry as well as taking part in joint activities up and down the country, for example as part of the Universities Scheme or attending major meetings. There is much local cooperation throughout the country.
Neither OWF nor HFAF has any desire or intention to change their exclusively female membership, and their members value the practising of Freemasonry in a safe and single sex environment. This is supported by UGLE. Both Women’s Orders are entirely supportive of the UGLE remaining an exclusively male organisation. Such an approach is not uncommon in other aspects of life, for example sports teams, and is entirely consistent with the principles of freedom of association so fundamental to the way of life in this country.
All three Grand Lodges will continue to work together to remove misconceptions and myths, as well as tackling prejudice, about Freemasonry which is a secular, inclusive and law-abiding activity in the United Kingdom. Its members are strongly encouraged to play an active and positive role in the communities where they live, through service by giving their time, skills and expertise to local organisations, as well as supporting local charities with donations.”
South Molton Freemasons were recently invited to sponsor the Granddaughter of one of our members as she, along with her fiancé, attempted the London Marathon to raise funds for the Sue Ryder Foundation
Lizzie and George finally crossed the famous finishing line hand in hand after a gruelling 7 hours on the road. Their hard earned success was made even better by the knowledge that they had smashed their £2000 fundraising Target bringing home the magnificent sum of
£2738.00
The money raised will be donated to the Sue Ryder Foundation in memory of Lizzie’s late uncle Steve, whose picture she carried around the course on her backpack
We were delighted this week to receive the following from Lizzie and George…
We, Lizzie (Ann & Rod’s youngest Granddaughter) & George (Lizzie’s newly titled Fiancé) would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those at South Molton Freemasons for their unwavering support and kind donations to sponsor us to complete the London Marathon 2024.
You’ll be over the moon to know we both crossed the infamous finish line in front of Buckingham Palace, hand in hand, after running for 7 hours whilst taking in the sights of London! We are proud to also announce we surpassed our fundraising goal of £2,000 by raising an incredible £2,181 for Sue Ryder in memory of Lizzie’s Uncle Steve.
Thank you once again for all of your kind words of encouragement, memory sharing and cheers from afar, we certainly felt them all on the big day!
It is with great sadness that we record the death of our long serving former Secretary
Frank Handscombe BEM
who passed away peacefully on 14th December 2023 after a short illness.
Background
Frank was born in Waltham Forest on 4th January 1933. At some point during the Blitz he was evacuated to Rotherham in Yorkshire. On leaving school he qualified as a Toolmaker before joining the Merchant Navy. A man of considerable ability he continued his studies in Engineering, eventually qualifying as a Chartered Marine Engineer with the rank of Chief Engineer.
At this time Frank met and married his wife Judy and together they spent the next 4 years travelling the world’s oceans and visiting every continent. However the seagoing life was not conducive to raising a family and so they eventually settled in South Molton where Frank was employed as Production Manager at the local Chipboard Factory.
Community Work
Frank was always involved in community work. He ran the South Molton Judo Club for over 40 years, and in 2019 was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to Judo and the local Community in South Molton.
On retirement from full time employment, Frank volunteered as a Red Cross driver running people to hospital appointments throughout the local area.
Frank’s other interests included Oil Painting and Gardening.
Freemasonry
Frank became a Freemason at the age of 28 when he joined the Temple Bar Lodge No 5962 in Cheshunt, Herts on 1st March 1961. However on moving to South Molton he became a joining member of the Loyal Lodge of Industry No 421 on 5th September 1978, becoming its Worshipful Master in 1990.
In October 1995 he was appointed as Lodge Secretary, a post he served in continuously for a period of 28 Years until he finally stepped down at the age of 90 in September 2023.
Frank’s first provincial appointment came in 1999 when he was appointed to the rank of Provincial Senior Grand Deacon. Promotion followed in 2005 when he was appointed Provincial Junior Grand Warden. Further honours came in 2009 with appointment to the Grand Rank of Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies. He was further promoted to the rank of Past Junior Grand Deacon in 2021.
Frank was highly respected throughout Devonshire Freemasonry, evidenced by the fact that in March 2022, the then Deputy Provincial Grand Master VW Bro Nicholas Ball personally travelled from his home in Plymouth to South Molton to present Frank with his 60 Year service certificate.
Frank with Nicholas Ball on receiving his 60 year Service award
Frank did not restrict himself to Craft Freemasonry being an active member of 4 other orders namely Royal Arch, Mark Master Masons, Royal Ark Mariners and the Royal Order of Scotland
Masonic Charity
Frank’s biggest contribution to Freemasonry must be considered to be his long-time association with the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devonshire Benevolent Fund. Frank had been elected to be a Committee member of the Fund in 2000 and in 2004 was appointed as the Honorary Secretary. Frank remained in this role as Benevolent Fund Secretary until he resigned in October 2023, 19 years of valued service to this Committee.
Frank Handscombe BEM
In January 2007 the Devonshire Provincial Grand Lodge Festival for the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls & Boys (RMTGB) was launched with the Provincial Grand Charity Steward, W Bro. Conrad Donaldson as Festival Secretary and W Bro. Frank Handscombe as Assistant Festival Secretary. Conrad & Frank planned and organised the Appeal, working as a team throughout, talking weekly and sometimes more frequently. The result in 2012 was the magnificent total of £3.8m being raised by Devonshire and the appeal was considered as a model for future delivery of all Masonic Charity Appeals.
…and finally
May his other pilgrimage be aided by those who have gone before and now meet to conduct him to that seat not made by hands, Eternal in the Heavens, to rest in peace.
This article is based on the Eulogy presented in open Lodge by Frank’s great friend WBro. T.B. White PAGDC on 9th January 2024
One of South Molton’s historical Landmarks has recently undergone extensive refurbishment and restoration. Freemasons’ Hall in New Road is a grade II listed building erected in 1846, which has been the home of the Town’s three Masonic Lodges for almost 180 years.
Renovating a building of this age is not without its challenges. Every aspect of the refurbishment had to be carefully considered, and Listed Building Consent obtained before the work could begin.
The building had been showing its age in recent years and had acquired a layer of grime caused by atmospheric pollution. This had to be carefully removed without damage to the render beneath.
Cleaning revealed some damage to the surface which had to be sympathetically restored to match the existing finish.
The most expensive part of the restoration was the replacement of the beautiful arched windows on the fascia of the building.
These were custom built by local South Molton firm M.J. Latham Joinery from sustainable hardwood. Installation proved to be tricky as the methods adopted by builders in the 19th Century were not the same as those of today.
Installation complete, the new windows and the surrounding mouldings and pediments have been repainted to provide protection from the elements for many years to come.
One feature of the building which had become somewhat forgotten over time is the Cornice running along the roofline. It features a shield bearing a pair of Compasses and the title FREEMASONS’ HALL.
This had become badly weathered over the years and it’s original paintwork had largely disappeared.
This has now been repaired and repainted to restore it to its former glory.
The completion of the external works marks the end of an extensive period of renovation which has seen both the exterior and the interior of this magnificent old building preserved and protected for generations to come.
It can be visited by prior arrangement and is open to all. The Hall contains a wealth of original features which make it unique both as an historical landmark and as a long standing part of the social fabric of the town of South Molton.
Keith Rodulson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Building said…
“Freemasonry has been a part of South Molton life for almost 200 years. We believe that this unique and fascinating building should be preserved and cherished as a memorial to the hundreds of local residents who have met within its walls to provide support and benefit to those in need throughout North Devon.
We hope that by undertaking this work now, future generations of South Molton Freemasons will continue to support local good causes and that this building will stand as a tangible symbol of our core values of Integrity, Friendship, Respect and Service to the Community”
Keith Rodulson
For more information on Freemasonry in South Molton, or to arrange a conducted tour of the Building
Life took a further step back to post Covid normality this week, when over 50 of South Molton’s Freemasons and their guests joined our Worshipful Master Ray McIntosh and his wife Helen to celebrate our first Ladies Festival in 4 years.
Helen and Ray McIntosh
Held once again at Bishops Nympton Village Hall, the event featured Comedy from Rose Chanon and Music by The Hummingbirds, (thehummingbirdstrio.co.uk) a close harmony trio who performed classic songs from the 1940’s and 50’s.
Before the entertainment began, everyone sat down to a sumptuous dinner of Canapes, followed by Chicken Supreme in a Cider Apple Sauce and finished off by a delicious trio of desserts; Pavlova, Cheesecake and Lemon Posset.
No Masonic event would be complete without a Raffle in aid of Charity. With prizes donated by the Lodge members, ticket sales amounted to over £285 which will be donated to The Calvert Trust, Helen’s nominated Charity for this year.
A wonderful evening with good food, great entertainment and the company of Friends! What more could you ask for?
We look forward to doing it all over again in 2024…
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