At the start of the 20th Century there were but seven Craft Lodges meeting in Leicester and no Lodge catering for Initiates had been founded since 1885. Despite the overcrowding already experienced in the old Freemasons' Hall in Halford Street, there was therefore a real need for a new Lodge to provide for the expansion of the Craft in a rapidly growing town.

Although information about the conception of a new Lodge is incomplete, we know that St John's Lodge was the sponsor and that thirty-two masons, 21 of them Past Masters, agreed to be founders. Herbert Marshall, soon to be knighted, a distinguished Mason and deeply involved in civic and business affairs in Leicester was chosen as the first Master. Among the founders were the then Mayor of Leicester, Stephen Hilton; the Chief Constable, Edward Holmes, later to become Provincial Grand Master; Frederick Oliver, later Sir Frederick to succeed Edward Holmes as head of the Province; Enoch Mawbey, the Borough Engineer, and other civic and Local Government dignitaries. With so close an association with the town, its motto, Semper Eadem was chosen as the Lodge's name.

A warrant for the Lodge was granted on 5th February 1905 and the Consecration, attended by 147 Brethren was held 80 days later on 26th April 1905, the fourth Wednesday in the month, an arrangement that still continues although April meetings were abandoned in 1966.

The Lodge's first working year started on the fourth Wednesday of September 1905. And what a year! In September three candidates were initiated together. In October they were all passed to the Second Degree. They were then raised to the Third Degree in November. December and January each saw double Initiations, with a quadruple passing in February. March saw three of these raised to the Third Degree with the fourth enjoying a similar ceremony on his own in April. In its first year the Lodge had thus initiated, passed and raised seven newcomers to Masonry.

In those days multiple ceremonies were neither uncommon nor frowned upon and if not with quite the same frenzy as in the Lodge's first year membership rose steadily and despite inevitable deaths and resignations, after five years the starting membership of 32 had risen to 50. The festive board, then called supper but substantial nevertheless, was served at Halford Street at a cost of 3 shillings (15p) per head.

Further honours came the Lodge's way when in 1906 Edward Holmes was appointed Deputy Provincial Grand Master and in 1909 W.Bro. George Chitham became the second member of the Lodge to be made Mayor of Leicester.

Meanwhile, moves had been made towards obtaining a new and more spacious Freemasons' Hall culminating in the purchase of the present premises at 80 London Road. After adaptation the new hall was opened at a ceremony of dedication on Monday 25th April 1910. Just two days later, Lodge Semper Eadem became the first Craft Lodge to meet in the new Freemasons' Hall in what is now known as the Holmes Suite.

Before the next meeting of the Lodge, King Edward VII died and the more austere reign of George V began. Although the growing might of Germany was threatening war, Semper Eadem's growth in numbers and in reputation contained. In 1913 with the membership topping 60, Edward Holmes was formally installed as Provincial Grand Master, a post he was to fill with distinction for the next 15 years.

Then on 4th August 1914 the Great War, that most murderous of all human conflicts, began. To start with this had little effect on Lodge Semper Eadem's fortunes. By 1915 membership had reached 70 and attendances remained high with numerous visitors. But as the realities of war struck home, attendance fell and multiple ceremonies were no more. In the 1916/17 session only two ceremonies were held. Shortly after, dinner was replaced first by a snack and then abandoned altogether. Evening dress, up to then de rigueur was no longer required. Then in the Summer of 1918, the Lodge mourned the death of Sir Herbert Marshall, the Lodge's first Master.

But the tide of war had now turned, Germany and her allies were in retreat and only a few weeks into the 1918/19 session, on 11th November 1918 the Armistice was signed. Although times would remain hard for a while, the Lodge could now look forward with optimism. Membership rose again and soon reached 80.

The next twenty years saw the Lodge maintaining a mature and prosperous course. Throughout the twenties membership remained well up in the 80s, at one point briefly touching 90. Meanwhile more Lodges were being formed to enjoy the greater facilities of the new Freemasons' Hall and in this expansion Semper Eadem gave birth to a daughter Lodge, Holmes Lodge, named after the Lodge's most distinguished member. Close relations between Mother and Daughter have been maintained ever since with annual visits one to the other in turn.

March 1926 witnessed the initiation of one Cecil Bernard Simpson Morley later of course to become the Lodge's home grown Provincial Grand Master and affectionately known as ``The Brig``.

On a sad note, in September 1928 the Lodge mourned the death of Edward Holmes. He was succeeded by his Deputy, yet another founder member of Semper Eadem, Frederick Oliver, later to become Sir Frederick Oliver until his death in August 1939.

The Lodge entered the thirties with a membership still in the 80s and a steady if no longer generous supply of candidates. Multiple ceremonies were now rare, but there was always work to be done. But with competition from so many other new Lodges, and at a time of worldwide depression, so high a membership was no longer tenable and by the end of the decade membership had stabilised in the upper sixties.

Again though, more Lodges were taxing the capacity of Freemasons' Hall and so the late thirties saw the construction of what is now the Oliver Suite. Semper Eadem contributed towards the cost, but continued to prefer the Edwardian splendour of the Holmes Temple.

Meanwhile the clouds of war were gathering yet again. The Sudeten crisis in 1938 coincided with the Installation meeting that year and Bro. Bernard Morley, who was to be installed as Master, had been called up for military duties and was unavailable. In the event Neville Chamberlain's return from Munich with his scrap of paper postponed the inevitable and W.Bro. Morley was duly installed in October.

When war finally broke out on 3rd September 1939 all Masonic meetings were suspended. It was not until January 1940 that regular meetings were resumed but when the phoney war was succeeded by the blitzkrieg, the defeat of France and the evacuation from Dunkirk a further suspension of meetings seemed inevitable. However, victory in the Battle of Britain saved the day and meetings were able to continue albeit on a much more austere scale. November of that year saw heavy raids on Leicester with bombs falling close to Freemasons' Hall, but mercifully the building suffered no serious damage.

Throughout the remainder of the war, except for Installations, ceremonies were timed for midday followed by a frugal lunch. Evening dress was again abandoned in favour of morning dress or uniform. Absence of members on active service created numerous problems; at the 1941 Installation meeting seven of those appointed to Office could not be invested because of their war-related absence.

But despite the grim times, Semper Eadem continued to operate and a trickle of Initiates and Joining Members kept up the numbers. By 1943, however, Germany and Japan were in retreat and in the Lodge W.Bro. John Foister was installed as Master and W.Bro. Bernard Morley was appointed Director of Ceremonies, an Office he was to hold for 11 years. Bro. Charles Worthington became Lord Mayor of Leicester, the first Initiate of the Lodge to receive that honour.

With the end of the war in 1945 normality slowly returned but for some years austerity still reigned and it was not until 1954 that evening dress again became the sartorial requirement. While during the war membership had fallen to 61, by the fifties Semper Eadem's importance had reasserted itself and membership steadily rose to the middle seventies. W.Bro. Geoffrey Barnett became the second home grown Lord Mayor and was subsequently knighted, and the Brig, W.Bro. Bernard Morley, was appointed Deputy Provincial Grand Master in 1954. So the Lodge was able to celebrate its Golden Jubilee in a healthy state, and the biennial visit of Holmes Lodge in March 1955 was chosen to mark the event. An attendance of 93 brethren made it a great occasion.

Honours continued to come the Lodge's way. In 1956, W.Bro. John Foister was appointed Provincial Grand Secretary. In 1958, W.Bro. Sidney Brown became the third fully home grown member of the Lodge to become Lord Mayor. Then in 1959, R.W.Bro. Sir John Corah, who had followed Sir Frederick Oliver as the head of the Province stepped down and was succeeded by his Deputy, the Brig, now R.W.Bro. Brigadier C.B.S. Morley. Yet more was to follow; later that year W.Bro. Sidney Brown was appointed Provincial Grand Treasurer. Lodge Semper Eadem could now regard itself as the Establishment in Leicestershire and Rutland Masonic circles.

Although in 1959 Semper Eadem's membership stood at 73, this was in relative terms modest, for some Lodges still had over 100 members. This made it difficult to reach the Chair in a reasonable time. R.W.Bro. Morley's solution was to encourage the formation of new Lodges. Between 1960 and 1973 fifteen new Lodges meeting at London Road were formed as well as others in the County. Semper Eadem sponsored two of these : Rothley Temple in 1962 and Morley Lodge in 1970.

The proliferation of new Lodges necessitated the appointment of an Assistant Provincial Grand Master. The choice was Semper Eadem's own W.Bro. John Foister, who was installed in that Office in 1962. A further honour came W.Bro. Foister's way in 1966 when he was appointed Provincial Grand Master in the Mark Degree.

More accomodation was now required to accomodate the new Lodges. W.Bro. Tom Haird, a well known Leicester Architect, who had been Master in 1952 and succeeded the Brig as the Lodge's Director of Ceremonies, was commissioned to design the extensions, now known as the Morley Suite. They were completed and the Morley Temple's dedication was held on 6th September 1968. This year also saw W.Bro. Kenneth Bowder become the fourth home grown member of the Lodge to become Lord Mayor. Another honour followed when in 1974, W.Bro. Gerald Aspell received the unusually high Grand Rank of Grand Treasurer. There were now six Grand Officers in the Lodge.

In 1976 the Brig celebrated 50 years as a member of the Lodge but in the following year he decided to retire as Provincial Grand Master, after more than 18 years in that Office. W.Bro. John Foister also stood down as Assistant P.G.M., though he continued as head of the Mark Province for many years.

And so in 1980 Lodge Semper Eadem attained its 75th anniversary and chose the occasion of Holmes Lodge's biennial visit in February to celebrate it. The Brig, still an active member, gave a short but stimulating address on the Lodge's history and his own reminiscences. `{`Attach a link to reproduction of this address`}`

But all this was too good to last. In the popular and uninstructed world distrust of Masonry was growing. It was increasingly seen as a secret society favouring its members to the detriment of others. Nowhere was this distrust more apparent than in the public services, the police and local government. To Lodge Semper Eadem, which had been almost spawned from local government and had hitherto enjoyed such good relations with all public services, this was a serious matter. One of its principal sources of membership had dried up. Of more immediate concern, however, was the death in October 1981 of the Brig. At the Lodge meeting that month, R.W.Bro. Morley's chair in the Lodge on the side of the Worshipful Master was left vacant.

Nothing, however, could disguise the problems that the popular distrust of Masonry was creating. Lodge Semper Eadem entered a period of severe decline. Between September 1985 and March 1994, throughout nine complete sessions only 10 new candidates were initiated. Membership, which had already fallen to 63 in 1985, plunged further to 48. Despite a brief respite, in the four sessions from 1996 to 2000, only 3 initiations were held and two were without any incoming member. Three Past Masters of the Lodge, W.Bros. Christopher Packham, Gordon Smith and David Hair all volunteered to go through the Chair for a second time. To add to the gloom the rising costs of maintenace of Freemasons' Hall sent subscriptions spiralling above the £100 mark.

Radical measures were called for. It was decided with the approval of Provincial Grand Lodge to hold an Open Evening to which non-Masons could be invited. The Open Evening, held on the last meeting of the session in March 2000, the first ever to be held in the Province, was a great success. Brethren were encouraged to bring their non-Masonic friends; in all ten came. The Lodge having been formally closed but the Brethren still in their regalia and seated, the guests were admitted, given a short talk on the origins and meaning of Freemasonry, and then taken downstairs to share the pleasures of the festive board.

Such was the interest to join that in the following year four new members were initiated, and a steadt supply has continued since. For the first time for 50 years double ceremonies have had to be held. In membership terms the corner has been turned and with a welcoming improvement in the popular view of Masonry, the prospects are good.

And in honours, after a gap of 20 years, two members received Grand Honours, W.Bro. Peter Smith as P.G.Std.B in 1994 and W.Bro. John Knew as P.A.G.D.C. in 1999. Then with W.Bro. Christopher Packham being appointed Provincial Grand Treasurer in 2003 and W.Bro. Tim Aspell achieving Grand Rank as P.A.G.D.C. in 2004, the Lodge's continuing progress has been assured.

Truly a case of Semper Eadem reviviscit.

`{` This a potted version of the History of Lodge Semper Eadem written by W.Bro. Peter Smith for the Centenary of the Lodge in 2005 and specially produced for incorporation in the menu for the Centenary Festival Festive Board held on Friday 29th April 2005. A full history of the Lodge in a 64 page hard back de-luxe edition with appendices and illustration is available from the Secretary`}`.