On the 4th May 1930 a meeting was held at Overstrand Mansions, Battersea, S.W.11 under the Chairmanship of W. Bro. S. G. Norris, a P.M. of the St. Thomas a Becket Lodge, to discuss the forming of a new Lodge which was to be sponsored by the Thomas a Becket Lodge No. 2754.
The name suggested for the new Lodge was St. Thomas of Acon.
Grand Lodge was duly petitioned on the 20th October 1930. On the 29th October 1930 a letter was received from the Grand Secretary confirming that the petition had been accepted and the new Lodge, numbered 5233, had been born.
The Lodge was consecrated on Wednesday, 17th December 1930 at 5 pm in the Grand Temple at Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, London.
The Consecrating officers were elected Honorary members of the Lodge. V.W.Bro. Sir Colville Smith, CVO., Grand Secretary, responded on behalf of the consecrating officers and wished the Lodge every success.
The Worshipful Master presented the consecrating officers with a Founders Jewel, also a souvenir in the form of a perpetual calendar to mark the occasion.
Saint Thomas of Acon or Acres is the same person as Saint Thomas a Becket or Saint Thomas of Canterbury. He is an interesting historical figure and was at one time the most popular saint in England. We are all familiar with the fact that Saint Thomas was born in 1118. He was educated in London, but also studied in Paris and in Bologna in Italy. He became Archdeacon to Archbishop Theobold of Canterbury. It was then, when Henry II met him and got on so well with him, that Thomas was made Chancellor. The two men were great friends until Thomas became Archbishop in 1162. He gave up the high life he had lived with Henry and became a true servant of the church.
He wore a hair shirt under his robes and did penance for his sins.
When Henry tried to establish a voice in church affairs he set out his claims in a document known as the Constitution of Clarendon. Becket refused to accept them and was forced to flee into exile in France.
In 1170 the dispute was settled and Thomas returned but continued to quarrel with the King. In 1171 after one of these upsets the King was reputed to have said ‘Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?’.
The name St. Thomas of Acon – its derivation is explained in the address given by the Consecrating Chaplain, V.W.Bro. Rev. Preb. G. H. Perry M.A. T.D. P.G. Chaplain on 17th December 1930 and is herewith printed – unabridged:
BRETHREN,
It is my duty to speak to you about the nature and principles of the Institution of Free Masonry. But on this occasion I propose to defer to the end of my remarks any reference to those principles, and, lest I should detain you unduly, such reference as I may then make must be very brief, for the name of your Lodge is so very suggestive and interesting, that I cannot refrain from saying something about it, and as what I shall say is greatly compressed, and to a considerable extent based upon various authorities, you will I hope excuse my using a MSS.
Your Lodge, I am told, is an offshoot of the Thomas a Becket Lodge, hence its name; for Saint Thomas of Acon or Acres is the same person as St. Thomas a Becket or St. Thomas of Canterbury.
