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2012 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 327
Commending Manchester Lodge No. 14, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 10, 2012
Agreed to by the Senate, February 16, 2012

 

WHEREAS, on November 20, 1786, Edmund Randolph, Grandmaster of Masons in Virginia and Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, presented Manchester Lodge’s first Worshipful Master, James Lyle, with its inaugural charter to become the 14th Lodge formed under the Grand Lodge of Virginia Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; and

WHEREAS, John Marshall, Grand Master of Masons in Virginia and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, presided at the cornerstone laying of Manchester Lodge’s first Masonic Temple at Fifth and Bainbridge Streets in the current City of Richmond; and

WHEREAS, this Masonic Temple, under the tutelage of John Braidwood, served as the first school for the deaf and dumb in the United States in 1818, and was the precursor of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind; and

WHEREAS, this Masonic Temple served the community of the City of Manchester as a school and meeting place for various community groups, including the early Baptist Community, to further the fruition of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom; and

WHEREAS, Manchester Lodge moved to the corner of Cowardin Avenue and Hull Street in 1893 and to its current location at the corner of Forest Hill Avenue and Melbourne Avenue in 1963; and

WHEREAS, over all these years, it has served its community with cornerstone-laying ceremonies for many of its public and community buildings; provided the community with leaders such as armed services personnel, statesmen, lawyers, clergymen, medical professionals, and government officials and employees with the aim of always improving the community it served; and

WHEREAS, November 20, 2011, marked the 225th anniversary of the chartering of Manchester Lodge No. 14 A.F.&A.M. of Virginia, and it is fitting to recognize its members who have been renowned for their charitable giving to many philanthropic endeavors, including many youth organizations such as the Order of Demolay, Job’s Daughters, Rainbow Girls, and Boy Scouts of America, and that the members of Manchester Lodge No. 14 look forward to another 225 years of service; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Manchester Lodge No. 14, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons on the occasion of its 225th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Manchester Lodge No. 14, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and respect for its centuries of fraternal, charitable, and philanthropic activities.