Masonic Province of Hertfordshire
Chronicle and Banners
Banners of Craft Lodges in Hertfordshire (Continued)
Cecil Lodge No: 449
Cecil Lodge was consecrated at the Sun Hotel, Hitchin. It was the second lodge to be named after the then Provincial Grand Master, RW Bro James Gascoyne-Cecil, the second Marquess of Salisbury. The family name of Cecil was used for the new Lodge, as there was at that time already a Salisbury Lodge in Hertfordshire, No. 435, which had been consecrated two years earlier at Waltham Cross, but closed quite soon thereafter. This lodge is not the same as the later Salisbury Lodge No: 3228. The coat of arms of the Marquess was adopted and used by Cecil Lodge, and in 1863 the Lodge was renumbered to 449 from 657 at the closing up of lodge numbers.
The photo on the left is of the first banner, presented by W.Bro Robert Hood Baker following his year as master on January 30th 1896. It does not appear to have been dedicated.
The current banner which was presented to the lodge by the Past Masters was dedicated in 1988 by the then PGM RW Bro Godfrey Kent and rededicated on 9th May 2013. The lodge “badge” shows the Latin motto “Sero Sed Serio” meaning “Late but in earnest” which was the motto of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury. However, this motto does not appear on the lodge banner.