The Lodge History

Two Lodges, Salisbury Lodge No.3228 and Union Lodge No.767, each with over 100 years of history, were formally amalgamated to form Salisbury Union Lodge No.767 in January 2012 and later in the same year was accepted as a Universities’ Scheme Lodge in the Masonic Province of Hertfordshire.  

Salisbury Lodge No.3228 was consecrated within the Masonic Province of Hertfordshire in March 1907 and is named after the Lord Salisbury by kind permission of the 5th Marquess of Salisbury, Lord Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil – KG, PC; in recognition of his considerable gifts and work for charity.  

Union Lodge No.767 was consecrated No.1068 in Karachi within the District of Punjab in June 1859, and in 1865 became No.767 by the general closing up of Lodges.  The Lodge experienced difficulties during its first 8 years and actually closed in 1866, to re-open in 1868 from which its anniversaries are calculated.  In 1967 the District was renamed to District of Pakistan and in 1972, Freemasonry was deemed to be illegal in Pakistan; the United Grand Lodge of England confirming the closure of all Lodges in 1973. Union Lodge moved to the United Kingdom in 1974 holding meetings at Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ, under dispensation whilst seeking a permanent home. This search proved fruitful when, in 1978, Union Lodge was welcomed into the Masonic Province of Hertfordshire.