Breeches and brotherhood … the secret world of freemasonry is something largely obscure and unknown to the uninitiated. After spending some time among the brethren of Apollo University Lodge, this is what Cherwell found.
What is Freemasonry and what is Apollo University Lodge?
Freemasonry is one of the world’s largest non-religious, non-political, and charitable organisations. Its roots can be traced back to medieval stonemasons and Cathedral builders. It is founded upon the three principles of “Brotherly love”, “Relief” and “Truth”. Today, there are approximately 250,000 members under the United Grand Lodge of England and 6 million around the world.
Apollo University Lodge – a “Lodge” being a local group of freemasons – represents the freemasons who have matriculated at the University of Oxford. It held its first meeting on 10th February 1819. Now, meetings are held six times a year, with two ceremonies typically performed at each meeting.
At Apollo, the traditional attire of white or black tie is commonly worn at meetings and dinners. At the dinners, charitable collections are made in support of University and local charities. Additionally, Apollo funds seven grants of £1,100 each which are then awarded by the University.
Like any Masonic Lodge, the process for becoming a full member at Apollo University Lodge incorporates three distinct “degrees” relating to the values of Freemasonry. Symbolically, these degrees, namely Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason encompass the development of the three stages of life: youth, manhood, and maturity.
History
“A medal be cast to be worn by each member suspended by a piece of blue riband, and be stamped on one side with an Apollo,” ran the resolution of a meeting of freemasons in Brasenose College in 1818, with a view to founding Apollo University Lodge.
From the outset, charity work was a constituent of lodge life. Records show an agreement of the first Apollo members to give a guinea annually to “the Charity for Female Children and the Institution for Clothing, as well as the Sons of Ingredient and Deceased Masons.”
It is possible that members of Apollo were mainly concerned with activities other than charitable aid. The Lodge records show that a short lecture was given to members of the Apollo by the elder statesman of Oxford masonry concerning “behaviour outside the Lodge” and “warning the Brethren to be particularly cautious in all their conduct.”
Conflict between Apollo and the Grand Lodge was not uncommon in the early years. The Grand Secretaries of English Freemasonry took issue with the too rapid initiation of members into Apollo, which they considered to contravene the Masonic constitution. Apollo was forced to “petition the Grand Lodge for their forgiveness”, expressing their “regret at having, as inexperienced freemasons, acted improperly”, further pleading that “the Book of Constitutions was being revised and therefore they had no copy”, when the Lodge had been constituted. Eventually, Apollo petitioned the Grand Master to permit the initiation of “gentlemen under 21 years of age”, promising that those proposed for initiation would be selected as eligible according to their “character and rank”.
The Lodge grew steadily through the 19th century and enjoyed a period of social extravagance in the latter part of the 19th century. Royal affiliations were strong, with the Lodge organising a ball in celebration of the wedding of Edward Prince of Wales in 1863. Queen Victoria’s youngest son Leopold was installed as master of Apollo in 1876.
The records suggest that the 20th Century and the war years were more testing for Apollo. Aside from an influx of ex-servicemen after the first world war, annual initiations declined to on average below 20. The government requested that the Lodge’s meetings be suspended following the outbreak of war in 1939. Whilst Lodge activity resumed in 1945, these years were more mundane than the pre-war heyday.
Joining Apollo
In Cherwell’s conversations with Apollo members, we were intrigued to uncover the variety of routes that led people to join the organisation. Whilst the secretive nature is intriguing for some, others are drawn in because they have close friends who are part of Apollo, or even have freemasonry running in the family.
Chris Noon, Apollo University Lodge Secretary, told Cherwell about his path: “I knew about freemasonry because my dad joined when I was about twelve. He didn’t tell me much about it at the time, but he took my family to a couple of open guest dinners, and we met some really great people. I had thought I’d join his Lodge when I turned 21, but then I had a chance encounter with someone who turned out to be a member of Apollo, who told me that I could join it younger because it’s a University Lodge (I was 19 at the time). I asked my dad whether he thought I should do this, or wait to join his Lodge, and he said he thought I’d get more out of it if I joined at University, where there would be more young people (and people who lived near me). And he was right!”
Currently, the qualifying age to join freemasonry is 18. Apollo’s current membership is around 300 and is made up of roughly 100 members of the University and its departments, as well as alumni.
Like most lodges, Apollo does not recruit its members. Instead, it operates through a three-tiered application process. This begins with those who are interested in contacting the Lodge through its website. Once someone has got in touch, a two-stage interview process follows; the first being an informal chat with one of the Officers of Apollo University Lodge, with no preparation or detailed knowledge of freemasonry being expected. The second interview is more formal, and candidates are expected to have dived into Freemasonry and reflected on the initial meeting.
The current Master, Alexander Yen, gave Cherwell insight into the specific questions asked in the interviews. In essence, interviewers want to know what the appeal of freemasonry is to the applicants. Yen told Cherwell: “We ask for an understanding of the three grand principles, what brotherly love means, what relief means, what truth means. Often, we try and ask them to link to personal experience; is there something that in their life that they have done? Have they been involved in charity before?”
Yen highlighted that the Lodge takes into account the different personal circumstances of prospective members. He stressed that the interviewers are keen to expose any of the applicant’s political ambitions. This is particularly crucial as discussion of politics and religion is forbidden among members. He said that an applicant might be asked: “Are you planning to be politically involved, and likely to cause political controversies for the Lodge?” Yen added that they “try and ensure people who are politically involved join after any ambitions are extinguished.”
It is a condition of membership that an applicant has belief in a Supreme Being or “Grand Architect of the Universe”. Crucially, this does not mean a subscription to religion.
Whilst a freemason’s commitment to brotherly loyalty may appear to have the potential for scheming and corruption in professional spheres, Noon emphasised that applicants should not wish to join Apollo University Lodge as a networking society: “Anyone who is thinking about joining to make business connections would be told that this isn’t what Freemasonry is about and that there are other societies one could join for this purpose, like Rotary… or, well, LinkedIn!”
Data suggests that the total number of initiates in 2023 will be roughly between 20-25. Over the last decade (2012 – 2022), Apollo University Lodge averaged about 19 Initiates a year. Figures include the pandemic but exclude members initiated at other lodges.
Graph showing annual intake of Apollo University Lodge between 2012-2022
Image problems
If any at all, the image Freemasonry has come to cultivate is a slightly blurry, non-transparent one. Secretive, male-only Oxford dining societies tend to court bad press. The perception that Oxford freemasonry represents something elitist and outdated came to the forefront in Michaelmas 2022. Timetabling issues at the Oxford Union led to Freemason drinks clashing with a state school-oriented access social event. Cherwell reported that the Freemasons’ “appearance in white tie caused particular upset” among attendees at the Union event.
Chris Noon suggested that perceptions of Freemasonry as exclusive and elitist were misguided. He himself attended a state school and felt that it was patronising to suggest that aspects of Masonic convention such as a dress code consisting of white tie and breeches might alienate those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. When asked about the intake for this year, he admitted that the Lodge does not collect demographic data, but said that “these people are of a number of different nationalities and socioeconomic backgrounds.”
It is notable that accusations pertaining to the potentially exclusive and collusive nature of freemasonry have courted press attention beyond Oxford in recent years. In 2017, the outgoing chair of the Policing Federation Steven White alleged that progressive policing reforms intending to support women and officers from black and ethnic minority backgrounds were being blocked by freemasons within the police.
David Staples, erstwhile Chief Executive of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), responded in a letter to the press saying that “the idea that reform within the Police Federation or anywhere else is being thwarted by an organised body of freemasons is laughable”, and underlining the “organisational values of integrity and service to the community” shared by police officers and freemasons.
When interviewed, some members of Apollo University Lodge expressed irritation at what they viewed as unfair publicity in a press that largely disregards their charity work. One member, who was initiated into Apollo in 1968 and has since been active in various London Masonic lodges, mentioned the 210-foot ladder which freemason donations had funded for the London Fire Brigade, as well as the £3 million pledge made to the London Air Ambulance charity to help towards a fleet of two new helicopters costing £15 million in total.
The member complained that there was little news coverage of these activities. When asked about the secretive Masonic image, he referred to the war years, suggesting that Freemasonry “became more sensitive to what people thought of it because of Nazi persecution.” There is little doubt that Freemasonry became the target of Nazi propaganda linking Jews and Freemasons, particularly before the war.
Others have suggested that secrecy is an integral part of Freemasonry. Guardian journalist Iain Cobain wrote in 2018: “Freemasonry could not abandon its last vestiges of secrecy, even if individual masons wished to, because it is key to the future of the brotherhood. Men continue to join in order to discover what is being hidden from them.”
Moving Forward
Staples, who was Chief Executive Officer of UGLE for five years. He told Cherwell that the position of CEO was created with him at the helm as part of a broader effort to modernise and open up the Masonic community.
In 2018, the Guardian reported that Staples said that the perception of freemasonry as a secretive organisation is changing. He added: “We have a greater resolve to put forward a case – and it is a positive argument – to highlight that we are driven by integrity, by a desire to help those less fortunate than us, and to stem the flow of negative perceptions which has unfairly dominated public perception.”
Notable recent developments include the 2007 establishment of the Universities Scheme. This programme intends to broaden the appeal of freemasonry to a younger audience beyond Oxbridge. Noon said: “The Universities’ Scheme was set up to give students at more universities the opportunity to learn about and join freemasonry while they are still students.” He noted the success and popularity of Apollo and the Isaac Newton Lodge at Cambridge, suggesting that the lower age of 18 at which one can become initiated into University lodges “gives it a chance to become a part of your life before you have career or family commitments.”
Whilst Apollo University Lodge remains a lodge exclusively for men, other lodges accept women. This follows in a tradition of women’s freemasonry beginning with the exclusion of men from the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Masonry in the early 1920s. In Cherwell’s discussions with Apollo members, there were whisperings about the potential for an Oxford University women’s lodge. In the meantime, Noon told Cherwell that women who enquire about Apollo in Oxford are referred to the two women’s grand lodges in England, Freemasonry for Women and Order of Women Freemasons. Indeed, Noon was quick to reassure that “there are a few of these a year, too!”
