Welcome to OMTMasons.org, the online home for Sir Thomas White Lodge No 1820 & Sir Thomas White Chapter No 1820 and for Old Merchant Taylors’ Freemasons.
June 2022 sees Sir Thomas White Chapter No 1820 celebrate its centenary.
About the Lodge
Sir Thomas White Lodge No 1820 is a Freemasons’ Lodge for Old Boys, Masters and Governors past and present of Old Merchant Taylors’ School.
We operate under our warrant issued by the United Grand Lodge of England, and are a founding lodge of the Metropolitan Grand Lodge of London. We are also part of the Public Schools’ Lodges Council, the group of Lodges that represent the great public schools of England.
Under the constitution of UGLE we remain an organisation for men but highlight the work of our sister organisation the The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons for those interested in Ladies Freemasonry.
If you are interested in the Lodge, whether you are a Freemason or not, please contact the Secretary.
We meet at Mark Masons Hall in St Jame’s Street.
About the Chapter
The Sir Thomas White Chapter No 1820 was originally founded by and attached to Sir Thomas White Lodge No 1820, as a Holy Royal Arch Chapter for Old Merchant Taylors’ brethren under the auspices of Supreme Grand Chapter.
Today the Chapter welcomes membership from all those with an interest in Merchant Taylors School whether or not they have a formal connection with the School.
If you are interested in the Chapter please contact the Scribe E.
Please note that if you are not already a mason, your best starting point is the Lodge as the Chapter draws its membership from those that are already Freemasons.
We meet at Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street.
Sir Thomas White
The Lodge and Chapter are named after Sir Thomas White, a member of the Company. He was believed to have been involved in the founding of the School, but time has proved this not to be the case.
Thomas White was the son of William White, a clothier of Reading and his wife Mary, the daughter of John Kibblewhite of South Fawley. He was brought up in London.
Sir Thomas was twice married, to Avicia (died 1558) and to Joan. A principal member of the guild of Merchant Taylors, he served as Sheriff of London in 1547, and was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1553. He was knighted in the same year by Queen Mary I. He was a member of the commission for the trial of Lady Jane Grey.
In 1555, inspired by the example of Thomas Pope, founder of Trinity College, Oxford, White obtained a royal licence for the foundation of St John’s College, Oxford, dedicated to the patron saint of the Merchant Taylors and established in the buildings of the dissolved Cistercian College of St Bernard.
He was involved in the foundation of Merchant Taylors’ School, and made provision that scholars of the college should be nominated from pupils of the school. He also established scholarships at St John’s College, tenable by pupils of Tonbridge School, Bristol Grammar School, Reading School and King Henry VIII School, Coventry where one of the school’s four houses bears his name. He purchased Gloucester Hall and set it up in 1560 as a hall of residence for scholars; this became the basis of the later foundation of Worcester College. As a result of his philanthropy, he was listed in Richard Johnson’s Nine Worthies of London in 1592.
Links
Useful downloads:
Online booklet – “Are you thinking of becoming a Freemason?“
Useful Links:
The United Grand Lodge of England
The Library & Museum of Freemasonry
The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons
Affinity Lodge Organisations:
Public School Lodges’ Council (PSLC)
Federation of Schools Lodges (FSL)
Anglo Foreign Lodges Association (AFLA)
Association of Medical University & Legal Lodges (AMULL)
The Kindred Lodges Association
Other Masonic Links:
Quatuor Coronati Lodge No 2076
Masonic Charities:
The Masonic Charitable Foundation
The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution
Some of the Public School Lodges’ Council member websites…
Old Bedfordian 4732
Charterhouse Deo Dante Dedi 2885
Cholmeley 1731 (Highgate School)
Old Lancing 4660
Old Shirburnian 3304
Please contact us if your PSLC website is not listed here.
We do not guarantee that Web sites accessed via links on this page are either Masonic in nature or have been approved or endorsed by the United Grand Lodge of England. We specifically do not warrant that any other Web sites accessible from their pages are recognised by, or have the approval of, the United Grand Lodge of England.