NEWSLETTER 36 Repro - Masonic Province of Yorkshire, West Riding

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NEWSLETTER 36 Repro 11/5/07 11:45 AM Page 20 DUCHESS AT NEW LIFEBOAT STATION A PLAQUE is to be erected in a new Lifeboat Station at Whitby to acknowledge the many contributions from Lodges in our Province in support of Whitby Lifeboat Service. In September this year, The Duchess of Kent attended the Naming ceremony and Service of Dedication of the new lifeboat station and the IB 1 Boat OEM Stone 111. The new lifeboat was donated to the RNLI by Mrs Margaret Gadsby, niece of Miss Olive Stone, whose legacy had provided the boat, her third such presentation to the Lifeboat Institution. W Bro Alan Hurdley, of the Rugby Football Lodge No 9811, who gives talks on the history and valuable work undertaken by lifeboats and their crew, said it was a hot, sunny day for the occasion. "The Duchess arrived by the ‘all weather’ lifeboat the George and Mary Webb at the new station on the Fish Pier and the officiating clergy were the Rev Robert S Ladds, Bishop of Whitby, the Rev Canon David Smith, Rector, and the Rev Terence Leadley, Chaplain to the Lifeboats. "During the service, the Bishop blessed the Boathouse, the new Inshore Lifeboat and the new bronze bust of Henry Freeman, sole survivor of the 1861 lifeboat disaster," said W Bro Hurdley. Whitby is one of the busiest stations in the country and the most decorated for bravery by the RNLI, having been awarded five gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze medals. W Bro Hurdley says he is “proud of the Brethren and Lodges in our Province who have contributed so readily to this very worthy charity.” 18 The Duchess of Kent is pictured at the Naming ceremony and also with W Bro Hurdley. THE WOODHALL CARPET & FLOORING COMPANY TEL 01274 532764 FAX 01274 593998 For the Home: Traditional Axminster Carpets, Plain Velours, Berbers and Twists. For the Office or Business Carpets and Flooring, Lino, etc., Bespoke ranges for Masonic Halls and Rooms Lodge Motifs, Brass Stair rods, Borders & Squares. AIREDALE HOUSE, 15-17 NORTHGATE,BAILDON, SHIPLEY, WEST YORKSHIRE BD17 6JZ E.mail: info@woodhall-carpets.co.uk Website: www.woodhall-carpets.co.uk Mobile: 07831 215215 STOCKS B L O C K S Main Manufacturers of all types of BUILDING BLOCKS and PAVING SLABS Stocks Bros. Ltd. Ninelands Lane, Garforth, Leeds LS25 1NT Tel: 0113 232 0022 / 286 8011 BBA BRITISH BOARD OF AGREMENT HI THERMAL BLOCKS STOCKS BROS POLYBLOX BSI R E GISTE R E D F I RM FM 1773 FM 1774
NEWSLETTER 36 Repro 11/5/07 11:45 AM Page 21 TRAIN TRAVEL IN THE 19th CENTURY Freemasons travelling from the West Riding to London in earlier Victorian times. By W Bro John Goodchild, M Univ IN the April of 1875 a new Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England was to be Installed: he was the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria’s eldest son, himself to come to the throne in 1901 as Edward Vll, holding office as Grand Master until 1901. To enable large numbers of Brethren from the West Riding to travel to the Installation, the Great Northern Railway Company, which owned the shortest route between the Leeds area and London, put on what it described in a leaflet as “a Special Fast Express” train, at ordinary fares, the train apparently, originating as four sets of carriages which joined up at Wakefield (Westgate) Station. The first of these left Bradford at 3pm, the second Dewsbury at 3.20, stopping at Batley and Ossett, a third leaving Leeds at 3.20 and the fourth from Wakefield Kirgate, where it picked up passengers travelling the Calder Valley main line of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The united train left Wakefield Westgate at 3.45pm and then called at Doncaster, Grantham and Peterborough. The time of the train’s arrival at King’s Cross is not stated, but the ordinary express at 3.30 from Leeds took 4 hr 40 min to reach London, and a slow train 6 hr and 5 min – times in marked contrast with today’s. But in fact the times taken to reach London from the Leeds area changed rdaically in Victorian times. In 1836, the year before the young Victoria’s accession, the fastest horsedrawn Royal Mail coaches had taken some 20 and a half hours to travel from Wakefield to London, at an average speed of some 10mph, while other through coaches averaged seven and eight mph, taking (via Sheffield) 25 and a half hours and (via Doncaster) 23 hours. One could travel too from Leeds by coach to Castleford – where the embarkation steps are still to be seen adjoining the river bridge there – and on by express passenger boat to Goole, then by paddle steamer to Hull, and on by sea to London. In contrast, the first railway to connect the West Riding with London, the Noth Midland from Derby to Leeds, opened in 1840, provided a (sparse) service by rail which took from Wakefield to London between some eight and ten hours, averaging between 19 and 24mph. These speeds were soon increased, and by 1850 the fastest train between London and Wakefield took seven hours, averaging some 30mph, but it had only first and second class accommodation; the stopping trains, with third class passenger accommodation too, took 13 hours to London and averaged less than 17mph. Fares by rail were decreasing too: a single fare to London had come down from 52s to 35s.8d for the first class and from 25s to 16s.9d third, but when a working man was well paid at £1 a week, these were still heavy sums. When the Great Northern Railway offered an (earlier) excursion to view the lying in state and funeral of the Duke of QUALITY STEEL STOCKHOLDERS COMPETITIVE PRICES ON REQUEST 24 HOUR DELIVERY OR COLLECTION SERVICE AVAILABLE Head Office: Low Moor Steel Works, New Works Road, Low Moor, Bradford BD12 0QN Telephone: (01274) 607070 Fax: (01274) 672979 e-mail: enquiries@dentsteel.demon.co.uk North East Office & Works: Wagonway Road, Hebburn on Tyne, Tyne & Wear NE31 1SP Telephone: (0191) 428 5111 Fax: (0191) 428 5333 e-mail: hebburn@dentsteel.demon.co.uk Scottish Office: Unit 77 Fountain Business Centre, Ellis Street, Coatbridge ML5 3AA Telephone: (01236) 710977 Fax: (01236) 710908 e-mail: scot@dentsteel.demon.co.uk suppliers of dent steel services (Yorkshire) Ltd. strength Wellington, the Military hero and sometime Prime Minister, in 1852, third class returns were down to 18s.6d, a sum which still represented for many the best part of a week’s wage. We can only hope that our Masonic Brethren duly reached London on their way to the Installation in 1875 of the new Grand Master. • Editor’s note: Earlier this year GNER provided an extra 12 services between Leeds and London, giving West Yorkshire its best-ever service to the capital. It is now possible, for example, to travel from Wakefield, Westgate to London King’s Cross in a little over two hours. North West Office: 1 Reynard Street, Hyde, Cheshire SK14 2HW Telephone: (0161) 366 7070 Fax: (0161) 366 9375 e-mail: hyde@dentsteel.demon.co.uk Approval No. 860362 19
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NEWSLETTER 36 Repro - Masonic Province of Yorkshire, West Riding

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