Palladian Chapter 120 Celebrate 1000th Meeting

Monday 28th September 2026 saw Palladain Chapter No. 120 celebrate their 1000th meeting. The Chapter was honoured with the presence of the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent, E. Comp. Michael Holland, accompanied by the 2nd Provincial Grand Principal, E. Comp. Charles Perkins and the newly appointed 3rd Provincial Grand Principal, E. Comp. Dave Hedley who opened the Chapter.

Every Chapter possesses a history, few possess a memory. The Palladian Chapter is one of those rare exceptions, our story begins on 12 August 1791, when Thomas Dunkerley, one of the great architects of English Royal Arch Masonry, warranted what has become the Palladian Chapter.

For over two centuries, generations of Companions have gathered under the same banner, pursuing the same ideals of friendship, charity and truth. During those years Britain changed beyond recognition, Kings and Queens came and went, the Napoleonic Wars were fought, the Industrial Revolution transformed society and two World Wars engulfed the nation.

Yet throughout every age the Palladian Chapter continued to meet. Its minute books tell a remarkable story, not merely of elections and accounts, but of people.

They tell of Companions who quietly repaired worn-out minute books so that future generations could know their history, of generous members who bought banners, jewels and furniture for the Chapter, of loans, given without interest, to purchase a suitable Masonic Hall in Hereford, of support for Hereford Cathedral and for local charities and of loyalty to the Province and Supreme Grand Chapter.

During the First World War they recorded the safe return of Companion Percy Hull, who had spent four years as a civilian prisoner in Germany. When he finally returned home, the minutes do not simply note his attendance; they record the joy of his Companions in welcoming him back.

It is one of the most moving entries in the entire history of the Chapter.

During the Second World War the Chapter adapted once again, meetings moved to the Cathedral Cloisters, regalia became difficult to obtain. Even the Masonic Hall itself was placed at the service of the community. Still the Chapter endured.

Looking back across more than two centuries, one theme appears again and again.

Each generation inherited the Chapter from those who came before, each generation accepted responsibility for preserving it and each generation handed it on.

That, perhaps, is the greatest lesson of the Royal Arch, the Royal Arch teaches us that we are engaged in a continual search. Traditionally we speak of the recovery of that which was lost.

Yet the history of the Palladian Chapter suggests another truth. The treasures we recover are not only those concealed beneath the ruins of the Temple.

They are also the virtues preserved by those who came before us:

• Integrity
• Service
• Humility
• Brotherly Love
• Hope

Those Companions whose names fill our minute books could never have imagined that we would speak of them today. Yet because of their quiet fidelity, we are able to meet as the Palladian Chapter over two centuries after Thomas Dunkerley first opened it.

Their inheritance has become ours, one day, ours will become someone else’s. May we preserve it with the same care that they showed to us. History is not simply about remembering the past, it is about understanding the responsibility we carry into the future.I

It is fair to say that we do not inherit the Chapter from our predecessors; rather we borrow it from our successors.