THE HONOURABLE FRATERNITY OF ANTIENT MASONRY 
Headquarters 
27 Pembridge Gardens, 
London W2 4EF 
Email: enquiries@owf.org.uk 
Members of Lodge St Mary's Priory in Bridlington recently presented a cheque for over £800 to the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust Washington in support of their work to protect and develop the wetland area in Washington. The money was raised over the past year by the charitable endeavours lodge members. 
 
Charity is a founding principle of Freemasonry and members of the Order of Women Freemasons make it part of their daily lives to support local and national charities. Click here to read more about the charitable work by the Order of Women Freemasons. 
On the first weekend in February 2024, many Brethren from the UK travelled to Los Boliches in Southern Spain to help Lodge La Rama Primera No. 355 and Lodge Marco en Espana No. 60 celebrate their Installation meetings. 
 
Members and visitors were honoured and delighted to welcome the Grand Master, Most Worshipful Brother Zuzanka Penn to the installation ceremonies. 
 
Visiting Brethren flew in from all parts of the United Kingdom, with a large group (below) representing many of the Order of Women Freemason's Yorkshire Lodges. 
 
Charity is one of the founding principals of Freemasonry. Through their fundraising endeavours last year today members of Lodge Joyous Light No 311 in Gravesend were able to make donations to two local charities - the Gravesend branch of UK Guide Dogs for the Blind and Hypo Hounds, a charity which trains dogs to detect and alert children with Type 1 Diabetes to any dangerous changes in their blood sugars, enabling them to gain independence and freedom. 
Members of the Order of Women Freemasons once again joined with members of the United Grand Lodge of England London Freemasons to parade through the streets of the City of London in the 2023 Lord Mayor's Parade when around 150 groups and floats take part in a three mile-long procession to mark the Lord Mayor’s first full day in office. 
 
The UGLE London Freemasons have committed to raising £3 million for London’s Air Ambulance Charity and London’s Air Ambulance Charity is proud to announce that the London Freemasons, long-term supporters of the charity, have pledged to make the largest single donation of their helicopter fundraising appeal . The Freemasons have had a long-standing relationship with the charity and their support over the years has enabled the service to be there for approximately 11,000 Londoners since 2016. 

“To see our Temple almost full to capacity with such a mixed and colourful attendance was actually quite breathtaking”  

Order of Women Freemasons (OWF) Brethren and MW Bro Christine Chapman, Grand Master of the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, were recently invited to attend an event organised by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) Leeds and District Installed Masters Lodge at which MW Bro Chapman gave her talk ‘Women’s Freemasonry – Fact not Fiction’. 
 
After the men’s formal lodge meeting was closed and their guests were brought into the lodge room the three OWF Grand Inspectors from the Yorkshire Areas, OWF Grand Lodge brethren and MW Bro Chapman were escorted in full regalia into the lodge by the men. Approximately 80 UGLE members and their guests warmly welcomed the sight of women freemasons in full regalia and enjoyed learning about our history and how we work along the same principles of male freemasonry. The organisers of the event have said “To see our Temple almost full to capacity with such a mixed and colourful attendance was actually quite breathtaking”. 
Very Worshipful Brother Langdon-Bassett, the Order of Women Freemasons' Grand Inspector for East Kent who looks after the Order's Lodges and members in that area, was recently honoured to represent the Order at the Kent Museum of Freemasonry during the day of Canterbury's 8th Medieval Pageant. 
Very Worshipful Brother Langdon-Bassett explaining women's freemasonry. 
This fascinating museum was part of 'Ye Old Trail through medieval Canterbury'. The Mayor and Mayoress were invited to look around the museum which was followed by lunch when they were presented with a firing glass to commemorate the occasion. 
 
The museum is extremely interesting and well worth a visit. Click here to find about the museum. 
Order of Women Freemasons' Lodges around the country have recently been having fun whilst raising money for their chosen charities. Each year the Master of each Lodge can choose a charity of her choice to raise money for – quite often this is a charity close to her heart or a local charity in her area. Members of all ages and backgrounds, often along with friends and family, attend these events which also provide opportunities to strength and make long-life friendships. Just some of the fundraising events in June have included: 
Members of the Isle of Wight Lodge were busy arranging a number of charity fundraising events. They, along with family and friends, enjoyed fun and friendship at a ploughman’s lunch and coffee morning. Both events raised fabulous amounts for charity. 
 
Further north in Luton members of the Order’s Luton lodge had a great time with friends old and new at a barbeque organised by the Master of the Lodge and her husband. They turned their garden into happy memories of the Jubilee and Coronation. Through the generosity of everyone who attended a wonderful amount was raised for charity. 
 
To raise money for their chosen charity Faversham Abbey Lodge in Kent hosted an afternoon cream tea - scones, strawberry jam, cream and cakes were in abundance whilst members of all the OWF Norfolk and Suffolk Lodges joined together to raise money for their charities at a joint Sunday luncheon. Again - all raising money for charity. 
 
Click here to see the list of charities supported by lodges in 2022/23. 
 
Members of The Order of Women Freemasons were proud, honoured and priviledged to be invited to march in the London Gay Pride Parade on 1st July representing The Order of Women Freemasons, United Grand Lodge of England and Freemasons around the world. It was the first pride parade where they marched together and what a celebration it was!  
 
Our members said of the day "The fellow Freemasons we met were admirable in their respect and unity over common values. It was truly an honour to participate – we are pround to be LGBTQ+ and even more so proud to be freemasons". 
Over 300 members of the Order of Women Freemasons recently gathered in Cardiff for the annual Enthronement Meeting of the Most Worshipful Grand Master Zuzanka Daniella Penn. 
Despite the national train strike members from all over United Kingdom attended and some flew in from South Africa. The weekend, as always, was a happy occasion where members met up with old friends and made new ones. 
 
The Order of Women Freemasons is the oldest and largest Masonic organisation for women in the country with over 300 Lodges and works on the lines of regular male Freemasonry. It was born as the Honourable Order of Antient Masonry in 1908 and on 5th June at a meeting in Notting Hill Gate eleven men and women constituted themselves into a Grand Lodge with Dr Reverend Cobb as the first Grand Master.  
 
The Order’s first Grand Master, William Cobb, was the Rector of St Ethelburga-the-Virgin within Bishopsgate for over 40 years. He was an Anglo-Catholic and had a deep interest in the principles of natural law and equality. A controversial figure, he held services based on the revised 1928 prayer book and conducted marriages which omitted the words ‘obey’ and ‘serve’ and was willing to marry divorced people provided they were the innocent party. He worked on behalf of the women’s sufferage movement and in the field of marriage and divorce law reform. He became a co-mason in 1905 and was also a member of United Grand Lodge of England. 
 
William Cobb served as Grand master for four years and was succeeded by Marion Halsey since which time all of our Grand Masters have been women.  
 
Now in her 12th year as Grand Master, Most Worshipful Bro Penn continues to successfully guide the Order through the challenges of the 21st century. 
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