Secret rituals and symbols on lattes: Metro goes inside the Freemasons Grand Lodge

It is a building famed for its secrecy and hidden rituals, but I walked straight inside. And so did my photographer.

In fact, anyone can saunter in and buy one of the cheapest pints in London, or a coffee with latte art resembling the infamous square and compass.

Metro was invited into the United Grand Lodge of England, home to the country’s 170,000 Freemasons, who have been at the centre of wild conspiracies for centuries.

We saw inside the rooms and corridors where members practice ‘play-like’ ceremonies and form lifelong bonds, while raising millions for charity.

Our guides were two Freemasons at the centre of the United Grand Lodge (UGLE)’s efforts to attract young members to their ranks.

Just a walk away from Covent Garden, the headquarters of the Freemasons is stunning: boasting marble lobbies, sweeping staircases and mosaic floors.

The ornate building and its many, many rooms feel both majestic and eerie.

Perhaps that is why it has been has the set for secretive locations in blockbuster films like Sherlock Holmes and James Bond.

Inside, men in black ties from all walks of life are gathered.

One of them is Nando Caicedo, a director at a national charity, who came to the UK from Colombia when he was 8.

After struggling with belonging and identity, he has now found a home in the Freemasons.

Nando, who has been a member for six years, said: ‘London is one of the loneliest cities in the world to live in.

‘But I am not alone because of the Masons. That is something I had not found in any other walk of life. That social connection.’

The high-level executive joined his lodge in West Kent some six years ago.

There are more than 7,000 lodges across the UK. While most of these are geographic, some are hobbies-based, such as a Formula One or a Rock Music lodge.

These lodges are where new members can meet fellow masons – and enjoy meals and drinks.

‘More people are masons than you think’

Our other host, Mitch Bryan, 36, said that when he first became a Freemason 14 years ago he would spend five nights a week at a different lodge.

He told Metro: ‘More people are masons than you think.

‘A friend of mine was a member and after I kept asking questions he eventually said, “Just come up and meet the guys”.’

When people like Mitch and Nando go along to the Freemasons for the first time, they take part in an initiation ceremony, they tell me.

Newbies experience the ‘show that has been prepared for you’ by the established members in the Lodge.

If you want to come back, you’ll likely start taking part in these ceremonies yourself.

The most secretive part of Freemasonry, these ‘rituals’ are described to me as more like little amateur dramatic shows.

Nando explained: ‘It’s like almost like a play. People learn their parts and you need to know your part in order to deliver something well.

‘Each one of those parts has a different teaching within it, like morality and values.’

These plays are serious business. Mitch said he rehearsed his parts while walking the dog and going to work on the bus.

As we walked around the UGLE, we saw members dressed in gowns in ante-rooms, where everyday belongings are left outside before the performances begin inside.

We didn’t see any of these ceremonies first-hand, but we did stumble across some halls ready for lodges to meet in.

What the candles, books, hammers and blocks of stone mean in the ceremony, they won’t tell me, although they insist that the curious can find out online with a quick Google search.

The same goes for the infamous handshake.

Nando and Mitch appear almost exasperated when you ask about it.

‘The secret handshake is one of the dullest things in Freemasonry,’ Mitch, who works for a renewable energy company, said.

‘Back in the day, it was a way of just communicating your skill and ability in medieval stonemasonry.

‘There’s more than one handshake, but it’s really boring, really dull.’

Nando continued: ‘You can just look it up online.

‘But if you want to become a Freemason – don’t – because it’s like skipping to the end of the movie, and that would be boring.’

More than 300 Metropolitan Police officers were forced to declare their involvement in the Freemasons or other ‘hierarchical associations’ at the beginning of this year after the force required them to do so.

The UGLE said the decision stigmatised Freemasons, but the Met said their officers and staff thought it would improve public trust.

Despite the frustrations at the constant conspiracies and funny looks, it is clear the secrecy surrounding the Freemasons is part of the allure.

Mitch said the hush-hush is ‘half the appeal’.

He added: ‘People just constantly take the mick out because they think it’s weird.

‘We get ripped apart all the time for like being involved in this, that, and the other, but it’s just untrue. ‘

‘It’s nice to be a part of something bigger, something that you can always learn from.

‘But more importantly, we’re carrying on what our forebears started.’

New Freemasons are also joining the ranks of Winston Churchill, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and numerous royals, including the Freemason’s Grand Master the Duke of Kent.

When you join, you are handed gloves, papers and a plain white apron, to indicate you are at the bottom of the ladder.

But slowly you work your way through three levels, known as ‘degrees’ – Enter Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason – acquiring rosettes, squares and other ornaments to signify your growing rank.

If you’re as eager as Mitch and Nando, you can then start taking on different roles in your lodge, such as Master, wardens, assistants.

There is no end of other levels you can reach, such as joining side orders or move up the ranks on a regional or provincial level.

The cost of being a mason stretches in hundreds of pounds.

A membership fee costs around £200, but dining at the Grand Lodge costs £50, something you might fork out for at least four times a year.

Charity fundraising

The lodge meetings – which for Mitch and Nando happen as much as seven times a year – are also fundraising machines for charities.

In 2020 alone, the Freemasons contributed £51.1m to charitable causes, often through raffles and other events.

‘We also do curry nights or beers nights, or we have like barbecues with our families,’ Nando added.

There is one rule at these gatherings: no politics or religion.

No one is quite sure if it’s an actual ban or an unspoken one, but it is taken very seriously nonetheless.

It may be surprising because to join the Masons you need to believe in a higher power, but that is not necessarily a Christian god.

While Nando and Mitch are fresh-faced model members, it is not hard to miss that they are the exception. The building is busy with older members.

We were told that the Freemasons are now running adverts on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram in an attempt to attract younger sign-ups.

Their membership drive appears to be working.

‘There has been a huge revival on younger masons,’ Mitch explains.

‘They are coming together and going bowling, and the cinema, and pub crawls and all those things.

‘Everyone says it is full of old people, but they were 25 once.’

The UGLE are also benefiting from the Gen Z loneliness crisis.

The organisation’s Grand Secretary Adrian March told Metro: ‘There’s quite an issue at the moment with loneliness or lack of social interaction.

‘People join because they want to do something and be involved in something.’

From the gowns to the bar and the briefcases, there does appear to be plenty to get involved in as a Freemason.

What exactly it all entails is still only for the initiated to find out.

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