Hope Chapter 2153
Hope Chapter History
The members of the “Hope” Chapter present this history of their chapter not only as a tribute to the founders for their wisdom in founding the chapter but also for the high standards they set from the very beginning.
Circa 1753…. The Antients considered the Royal Arch an integral part of the Craft and when a Lodge warrant was issued by the “Grand Lodge of the Antients” it was sufficient authority to work not only the Craft degrees but the Mark and the Holy Royal Arch
Royal Arch Regulations, 45 – Every Chapter should be attached to some regular Lodge.
The Lodge of Hope, No 2153, which was founded in Gosport in 1886, moved to the Masonic Hall, Highbury Street, Portsmouth in 1910.
At the end of the year 1920, having established themselves in Portsmouth, many of the brethren who were members of the Holy Royal Arch, most of whom belonged to the Gosport chapter, No 903, or to the Royal Sussex Chapter, No 342, e74xpressed a desire to form a Chapter attached to their own Lodge. Approval for this step is recorded in the minutes of the Lodge of Hope for December 1920, and Tangible support was given by a vote of £60 towards the initial expenses of the chapter.
The first actual meeting of the founders, after establishment, took place on the 7th of January 1921. The Principals and Officers were then elected. The fees were decided upon and these, except for the Annual Subscriptions remained the same until being altered for decimalisation. The annual subscription was then Eight Shillings.
The convocations were fixed for the first Monday in the even months of the year. In April 1927, this was altered to the first Tuesday because it conflicted with the meeting of another degree to which a number of the Members belonged. It remained like this until October 1955 when it was decided to omit the August convocation and some years later it was altered to the present programme.
Approval was given to purchase Robes, Sceptres and Collars and arrangements were made for the remainder of the furniture to be loaned from the Portsmouth Temperance Chapter No 2068.
In deciding the name “HOPE CHAPTER” the founders were mindful of the already apparent difficulty in maintaining the Lodge title at its full value.
Presentations of various items of Regalia were made by a number of the companions, the most notable was the First Principles Robe and Sceptre had a cost of £10 presented by Companion C. H. Holloway.
The cost of the consecration banquet was limited to 15 shillings per member or visitor.
The consecration of Hope Chapter took place on the 26th of May 1921.
After the Consecration and during the ordinary business of the chapter, 6 Companions were proposed as joining members and 12 (Lodge of Hope) brethren proposed for exaltation which then made a total of 60 members. This total was further increased at the 2nd regular Convocation by 4 (2 joining and 2 exaltation’s). By the end of the first year there was a membership of 78. Then followed a period of steady progress and by 1930 the membership of the chapter was 145.
In October 1956 the meeting place for Hope Chapter was changed to the Masonic Hall Lake Road. The first meeting in the new premises was on the 2nd of October 1956
In March 2021 Hope Chapter celebrated its 100th anniversary meeting. Unfortunately, the companions of Hope Chapter had to wait until March 2022 to celebrate the anniversary due to the suspension of all Masonic activity because of COVID.
Hope Chapter now meets at the Horndean Masonic centre and there’s a membership of around 30 companions from several Lodges within the Hampshire & Isle of Wight province.
Hope Chapter meets four times a year on the fourth Tuesday in March, May, September (Installation Meeting) and November.
To those of the “past” we salute and thank you.
To the “present and the future” may the chapter continue to prosper.
