Tuesday 9th June 2026 - By Anthony James ProvGStdB

The Chapter was opened in due form at 6.30pm prompt, with the usual sense of order and ceremony. The minutes of the previous Chapter meeting were then presented and duly confirmed.

The MEZ, M.E. Rob Atkinson, then called for a ballot for Bro. John Hemingway to become a member of Technical Chapter No. 5666. The ballot proved to be in favour, and it was confirmed that Bro. John Hemingway will be exalted at our July meeting. This was very pleasing news and will no doubt be a memorable evening for both Bro. John and the Chapter.

The MEZ then invited the Provincial Prior’s Bodyguard Team to retire from the Chapter in order to prepare for their presentation, entitled Knights Templar Meets Chapter. After a short interval, the team were readmitted, this time dressed in their Knights Templar regalia.

It has to be said, they made a very impressive entrance. The regalia brought a real sense of colour, dignity and tradition to the room, and immediately gave the evening a different atmosphere. There is always something striking about seeing another Order represented in full dress, particularly when it is presented with such pride and respect.

Unfortunately, due to having to attend to a medical issue outside the Lodge, I missed much of the presentation itself. However, from what I did see, it was clear that a great deal of effort had gone into it, and the appearance of the Bodyguard Team certainly left a strong impression.

For the purposes of this blog, and to support the theme of the evening, I have prepared the following piece on the Knights Templar. I hope it gives some useful background to the Order, its history, its symbolism, and its continuing place within Masonic life today.

The year is 1099, and on 15 July, the walls of Jerusalem finally fell.

For weeks, the city had endured fear, fire, hunger and prayer. Beyond its defences stood the army of the First Crusade, exhausted, bloodied, and driven by a belief that God Himself had led them there. When the walls were breached and the gates fell, Jerusalem was no longer a distant dream whispered across Europe. It was a prize, a battlefield, and a Holy City about to be drowned in history.

Yet from the violence of that day would come something even more enduring than conquest. It would give rise to a brotherhood of warrior monks, sworn to poverty, faith and the sword. They would become known to the world as the Knights Templar.

In 1118, nine knights, led by Hugues de Payens, made the decision to dedicate their lives to the protection and service of the Holy Land. They approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who granted them quarters on the Temple Mount, within part of the al-Aqsa Mosque complex. This site was traditionally believed to stand on the ground once occupied by the Temple of Solomon.

It was from this association that the knights took their name. In Latin, they were known as Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici, meaning the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. In time, they became more commonly known as the Knights of the Temple, and later simply as the Knights Templar.

Today, the full title of the Order is The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta in England and Wales and its Provinces Overseas. It is widely regarded as the longest title of any Masonic Order, and it reflects the Order’s historic connection with the Temple, the Holy Land, and the later traditions associated with St John, Rhodes and Malta.

The earliest references to Templar activity in the British Isles can be traced to Ireland. In England, the first recorded Masonic references appear at Portsmouth in 1777, where the Knights Templar degree was worked under the authority of Royal Arch Chapters as an appendant degree.

By 1791, a Grand Conclave had been formed. It consisted of seven appendant Encampments, with Thomas Dunckerley as Grand Master. Yorkshire has a particularly strong link with this history. The oldest Knight Templar unit in the county is now based in Hull, although its origins lie in York. It can show a continuous existence from 1778, and today works under a warrant granted in 1791, following the establishment of the Grand Conclave. This is the Ancient York Conclave of Redemption “B” Time Immemorial.

At that time, Freemasonry still had a clear Christian foundation and was worked in five degrees under one Lodge warrant. The first three degrees were those we now recognise as Craft Masonry. The fourth was connected with the Chapter, and the fifth with the Knights Templar.

Over the years, Craft Masonry and the Royal Arch moved away from that original Christian basis. Even so, traces of the old relationship between the degrees can still be seen in parts of the present-day Knights Templar ceremonies. These links give the Order a strong sense of continuity and help to preserve its connection with earlier Masonic practice.

Membership of the Knights Templar is more specific than membership of Craft Freemasonry. In standard Freemasonry, a candidate is required to profess a belief in a Supreme Being. For the Knights Templar, however, the requirements go further. A candidate must already be a Master Mason, must have been exalted into the Holy Royal Arch, and must profess a Trinitarian Christian faith.

In the Province of North and East Yorkshire, there are now thirteen Preceptories and several hundred members. These members are known as Sir Knights and Brother Knights.

What makes the story of the Knights Templar so enduring is the unusual nature of the original medieval Order. They were not simply knights in armour. They were men bound by religious vows, living under rule and discipline, while also taking the field as soldiers of the Crusades. Few institutions in history have combined such different worlds so completely. They were part monastery, part army, and part international brotherhood, created to protect pilgrims and serve the Holy Land.

That mixture of faith, service, sacrifice and military duty is what gave the Knights Templar their lasting fascination. It is also why their name still carries such power today, many centuries after the fall of Jerusalem and the disappearance of the original medieval Order.

The fascination of the Knights Templar lies not only in what they were, but in what they became: warrior monks, bankers, builders, symbols of Christian chivalry, victims of politics, and, centuries later, an enduring inspiration within Masonic tradition.

By the time I was able to re-enter the Chapter, the presentation had unfortunately come to an end. From the comments made afterwards, it was clear that it had been very well received by the Companions present, and that the Provincial Prior’s Bodyguard Team had delivered an interesting and worthwhile presentation.

Bro. Ken Wright was due to receive his Chapter Certificate during the evening, but sadly he was unable to attend. It is hoped that this will now be presented to him at our next meeting, when he can receive it properly and with the recognition it deserves.

The usual reports were then given, along with any other business. Greetings were received from visiting Companions, and the Chapter was closed in due form with the usual ceremony and dignity.

We then retired to the Festive Board, where the evening continued in a warm and relaxed atmosphere. As always, it was good to enjoy good food, good company and plenty of friendly conversation after the formal business of the Chapter had concluded.

Although I missed much of the presentation itself, the evening still proved to be both enjoyable and memorable. It was pleasing to see the Chapter well supported, to welcome the presence of the Provincial Prior’s Bodyguard Team, and to look ahead to Bro. John Hemingway’s exaltation at our July meeting.

All in all, it was another successful evening for Technical Chapter No. 5666, combining ceremony, companionship, Masonic interest and the fellowship that makes these meetings so worthwhile.