It was on a beautiful September morning that the Curator of Newark Masonic Hall museum, Bro Chas Black, and assistants, WBro Geoff Tindall and myself, attended the September meeting of the Masonic Libraries and Museums Group at Great Queen Street, London.

Approximately 30 strong, with attendees from the length and breadth of the country, the meeting began with the formal aspects of the Annual General Meeting, which included an address by the Director of the Library & Museum of Freemasonry, Diane Clements, reporting to those present the achievements of her team over the past year. This was followed by a very informative presentation by Alison Royle, one of the museum staff, entitled Documentation, which emphasised the importance of a comprehensive cataloging policy, advising best practice procedures and the benefits of the implementation of such an initiative.

Alison’s delivery was followed by a guided tour of the Museum’s latest exhibition “Freemasonry and the French Revolution”, the centrepiece of which were the imposing and vastly oversized Master and Warden’s chairs made for King George IV, elected Grand Master of the Moderns in 1790. Not a man of small stature, his 18 stone frame must have been dwarfed by this furniture, as WBro Geoff Tindall, himself in excess of 6 feet tall, can testify.

The exhibition, featuring period artefacts ranging from certificates, war art, hand painted aprons, Napoleonic lithographs and busts is due to run until 18th December 2009 and is well worth a visit.

After lunch the floor was opened to the membership and various obscure items were passed amongst those present in the hope of identification. During the Chairman’s closing address the date of the next meeting was set as Saturday 27th March 2010.

Anyone interested in knowing more about the Masonic Libraries and Museums Group, now in it's 11th year, should contact myself through this site. Annual membership is £5.

Picture: WBro Geoff Tindall stands beside George IV's Master's Chair