Lodge History

The Forest of Arden Lodge No 3826 was formed in 1918, when a group of Freemasons, tired of poor public transport links between Birmingham & Solihull, opted to start a new Lodge in Solihull.

The Brethren of St Paul's Lodge No 43 were pleased to sponsor the new Lodge.

The Forest of Arden had in mediaeval times, covered a large part of Central England, and this was chosen as the name of the New Lodge.

The Lodge met for a number of years at the George Hotel in Solihull. However, in 1993, the Hotel's new management did not renew our lease, so a new home was found at Linwood House in Knowle.

In the early 1990's a lean period for membership came to an end with the Mastership of the late W. Bro. Harry Sutton, who brought a new Initiate into the Lodge on the same night that he received a Certificate for 50 years service to Freemasonry from the then Provincial Grand Master, R. W.Bro. Stanley A Lates. Without Harry's efforts in bringing in 3 new members in his year in the Chair, the Lodge would not be anywhere near as strong as it is.

The last few years of the Lodge have seen an era of unprecedented growth, sadly followed by several losses. We are a strong and very happy Lodge, and are proud to have put the first web site in the province of Warwickshire on the Internet. in 2006, we were hosts to the Combined Lodges of Instruction Festival, bringing together Freemasons from across the Province in a celebration of excellent Ritual.

In 2018, the Lodge celebrated its centenary, with a special meeting on April 18th.

We are growing fast - in the next Masonic season, we have 4 new Candidates to bring in.