Berkshire Masonic Centre
Mole Road
Sindlesham
RG41 5EA

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Email – s5894@berkspgl.org.uk
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The History of Prince Arthur of Connaught Whiteknights Lodge 5894

On the Thursday 9th October 2025 Prince Arthur of Connaught Lodge number 5261and Whiteknights Lodge number 5894 amalgamated to become one lodge, Prince Arthur of Connaught Whiteknights Lodge 5894, a first for the masonic province of Berkshire.

We are a general interest East Berkshire Lodge based at Sindlesham meeting five times a year during the winter on the 2nd Thursday of the month in October (Installation), November, December, February, & March.

Beginning with the history of these two illustrious lodges, Prince Arthur of Connaught Lodge was the first of the two to be consecrated. To fully appreciate the background, we need to go back to 1904. At that time there were only three lodges in Reading.

The Boer War had ended and several of the brothers who had served in the army were stationed at Aldermaston and became members of the Albert Edward Lodge number 1714, meeting at Camberley.
Upon their return to civilian life, they travelled to their lodge by the old Southeastern and Chatham Railway, and it was on this journey, they in turn conceived the idea of forming a new lodge in their own town. The Reading Lodge of Union number 414 agreed to sponsor the new lodge which was named after the highly respected Provincial Grand Master. This new lodge – Morland Lodge number 3066 prospered and in 1931 they in turn sponsored the formation of the Prince Arthur of Connaught Lodge.

This new lodge flourished and by 1954 they had more than 80 members. The pressure with so many members had to be addressed so they in turn sponsored a new lodge – the Charles Nicholl lodge number 7318. The significance of this event cannot go unmentioned. That lodge – Charles Nicholl lodge was the 50th lodge to be consecrated in Berkshire – an event which enabled the province to appoint an Assistant Grand Master for the first time. For a period, the lodge exercised unique practises in the province involving each candidate receiving a series of four informal talks entitled ‘Before Initiation’, ‘After Initiation’ , ‘After Passing’, and ‘After Raising’. This unique practise was begun in 1979 by W. Bro. HG Purver PAGDC.

The lodge was named after Prince Arthur of Connaught KG KT GCMG GCVO GCStJ CB PC (Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert; 13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938)

On 17th March 1923, the Province of Berkshire had suffered a great loss through the death of its Provincial Grand Master, R.W. Bro. John Thornhill Morland, M.A., P.G.D., in his eighty¬ fifth year. In July 1924 it was announced that he was to be succeeded by H. R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught, son of the Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught.

The Whiteknights Lodge 5894 was sponsored by Aldermaston Lodge number 2670 and was consecrated in 1943. It is interesting to note that the name Nicholl is also associated with Whiteknights – as it was Right Worshipful Bro. Charles Nicholl who presided over the ritual of their consecration. Again, we see the influence of the military with soldiers seeking the fellowship outside of the military, as they had experienced within it – the first Master being Captain Leonard Charles Miller.

Whiteknights and its association with Reading are something of a Legend in itself. The Lands to south of the Thames in Berkshire district of Reading, now Whiteknights Park, was the medieval manor of Earley St. Nicholas or Earley Regis, as it was variously called, and was held by the De Erlegh (or D’Earley) family for around two hundred years. The most famous of them was Sir John De Erlegh, the great friend of the Earl Marshal. He served with King Richard I in France and brought the news of his death back to England in 1199. Since around 1160, his family had taken their name from their home; and, in the late 13th century, the compliment was returned, when another John De Erlegh the “White Knight”, who had served with King Edward I in Scotland, gave his nickname to the manor as Earley Whiteknights. It is worthy of note that, in this man’s youth, the manor had been temporarily appropriated by the Chancellor of England, St. Thomas of Hereford, who needed a residence near the Royal Court at Windsor and in London. The De Erleghs sold up in 1365 (though cousins remained in Maiden Earley until 1502).

In 1606 the estate was purchased by Sir Francis Englefield, the first baronet, as a substitute Berkshire home; the family having had their vast Englefield estates confiscated for recusancy in 1585. The Englefield’s moved over from Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire and Whiteknights remained their main family residence until they sold it to the Marquis of Blandford in 1798.

The Marquis of Blandford (later the 5th Duke of Marlborough), who became resident after the Englefield’s, is the estate’s most famous owner. Between 1798 and 1819, Whiteknights was the scene of vast extravagance and wild entertainments, all at the Marquis’ expense. It became the most celebrated estate in the Country: magnificently furnished, displaying many great masters, with a wonderful wine cellar and an unrivalled library. The splendid gardens, beautifully laid out with the rarest of plants, were its greatest attraction, however. It was the envy of kings. The duke went bankrupt in 1819 and had to retire to Blenheim. The Whiteknights Estate was sold off, and the house was demolished in 1840, erroneously said to have been at the hands of a mob of the duke’s angry creditors. The land was broken up into six leasehold units in 1867 and a few of the new houses were designed by Alfred Waterhouse, who lived at Foxhill while his father resided at the new and smaller Whiteknights House. Later united as a public park, Whiteknights has been the home of the University of Reading since 1947. Some of the 19th century leasehold properties remain, among them Park House which stands on the site of the old 18th century mansion. Traces of the Park’s past splendour can still be found though: the lake, the grotto, the Wilderness, and numerous beautiful trees.

Whiteknights Lodge also had some interesting practises including, for example, a toast to ‘The Rulers of the Craft, Supreme and Subordinate’ and a second example being the Tyler entering the lodge at openings and reciting his own duties. Some of which remain to this day.

A history to be proud of and that is why both banners and warrants are displayed at the meetings along with the amalgamation certificate.

Amalgamating our two lodges allowed us a much larger membership than either of the two individual lodges. This provides for a greater security going forward and greater vibrancy.