Dress Codes

Our Dress Code

Sir Bevis Lodge’s usual dress code on their Summons is:
Dress: Dark, Dinner Suit or Morning Suit, Craft, Black or Provincial Tie, White Collar & White Gloves.

Most Lodges in the area have the same code.

Masonic Dress Codes – A Short History

Most people know that Masonic Lodges have dress codes. The First World War contributed to these in at least two ways.

First, Freemasons in the armed forces, moving between postings — sometimes to the front in France — did not always have space within their kit for the civilian clothing expected in Lodges.

Lodges with armed services connections had always allowed uniforms within the Lodge. Other Lodges picked this up and started to allow armed service members to attend in uniform.

After the War, Lodges simply continued this practice.

It is a little rarity these days, but Lodges with no direct connection to the armed services — yet located near military camps, naval bases, or air force bases — may still allow uniforms.

The writer has attended:

• A Lodge in Fareham (near Portsmouth) with naval personnel in uniform
• A Lodge in Winchester with an Army Medic in uniform

Talking of uniforms reminds one of a Master Mason of a Hampshire Lodge who, while serving in the Royal Navy, was assigned to the Royal Yacht Britannia.

This meant he travelled wherever Her Majesty the Queen went.

He explained that there were five Freemasons serving on the Yacht. When they knew how long they would be in a foreign port, and who was off duty, they would:

1. Contact the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) in London
2. Ask whether a Lodge meeting would be held locally
3. Request permission to attend

If approved, they would attend in their “dress” uniforms, prove themselves Freemasons, and join the meeting.

They were warmly welcomed — except on two occasions:

• In South America, where language barriers prevented verification
• In California, where they were refused entry for not wearing tuxedos

The second effect of the First World War was more symbolic.

After the war, UK Masonic bodies declared that Freemasonry should be in mourning for those who had died. Lodges were instructed to wear mourning dress, consisting of:

• Black suit
• Black tie, socks, and shoes
• White shirt (compulsory)

This standard continued for many years.

It was later suggested that Grand Lodge might remove the mourning requirement — but the Second World War delayed this decision.

It remained unchanged until the late 1980s, when Grand Lodge finally:

• Cancelled the mourning dress requirement
• Allowed Lodges to adopt their own dress codes

At first, little changed — members were used to the tradition.

Over time, however, variations appeared:

• Some Lodges adopted old school ties
• Visitors were sometimes allowed to wear their own school ties
• Provinces introduced their own distinctive ties

Today, it is common to see a variety of ties in Lodge, although the dark suit standard still prevails.

One notable example occurred at Southampton University Lodge, where a visitor from an Oxford University Lodge wore blue socks with otherwise standard attire.

When asked, he explained:
“In our Lodge, we wear Oxford blue socks.”

There have also been occasions where brethren arrived not properly dressed.

At a Woolston-based Lodge, during a meeting featuring a Provincial Lecture Team, a visiting brother arrived in casual clothing, mistakenly believing it was only a lecture.

Rather than turn him away:

• One brother lent a spare white shirt
• Another provided a spare tie

The visitor was admitted and sat at the back, with his borrowed attire visible to all.

In the true spirit of Freemasonry, he was not turned away.

Summary

Sir Bevis Lodge’s dress code remains:

Dark suit, dinner suit or morning suit, Craft, black or Provincial tie, white collar & white gloves.

Most Lodges in the area follow a similar standard.

If your Lodge’s dress code is different, please let us know — and how strictly is it enforced?

Thanks to W. Bro. Gerard W Cavalier for transcribing.