On 6 August around twenty Connaught Club Members and friends gathered on a sunny Saturday afternoon to on a Masonic Mystery Tour of London. We saddled up on Tally Ho!’s distinctive retro bicycles and set off around the quiet and warm streets of the City, discovering some hidden and less hidden Masonic gems. For a while it felt like our bicycles had turned into time machines as we explored the history of the Knights Templars at Temple Church; the London Medieval Corporations of the City and Guildhall; to the foundation of English Freemasonry at the Goose and Gridiron pub at St Pauls; and eventually to those places that we practice the Craft and other orders in London today.
The convoy was skilfully led by Bro. Jack Harris who conducted us with ease through the alleys and backstreets of London and imparted much of his extensive knowledge on historic London landmarks with verbal aplomb. As well as Jack, the Club Chairman, WBro. Lewis Clement, also helped to narrate the tour by presenting stories and facts of the Masonic places we visited and the history behind them.
The tour ended with a non-masonic twist as we explored the underground world of Leake Street – “the Bansky tunnel”. This is a unique location in London where painting graffiti on the wall is encouraged, so we left our mark.
The usual banter followed in few local pubs, where our Members shared some food, a drink[s], and a spontaneous tournament of Victorian pub billiards.
The Club must thank Tally Ho! Cycle Tours for helping us organise the event, and to those Club members who attended. As ever, without you the event would not have been a success!
Andrea Di Lena