Worlebury Preceptory of St Dunstan No. 121

Installation Meeting

 First Wednesday in October

Regular Meetings 

First Wednesday in December (Malta)

First Wednesday in February

First Wednesday in May

All Meetings start at 6.30 p.m

Before 1872, meetings of Provincial Grand Conclave were held either in Bath or in Taunton, but on the 5th July 1872 the venue was changed to Weston-super-Mare. The occasion was the consecration of the new encampment, Worlebury Encampment of St. Dunston, with the ceremony being performed by the Provincial Grand Commander R.E.Kt.Capt. The Honourable Arthur Wellington Alexander Nelson Hood. The seven petitioners included five members of the Camp of Baldwyn, one of whom, Sir Kt. Gore Boland Mumbee, became the first commander. Another of the petitioners was Sir Kt. General H. E. Doherty, whose subsequent appointments included that of Provincial Grand Master in the Mark Degree. It is of interest to note that three other members of the Preceptory have succeeded to that office, namely Kt.R.C.Else, Kt. T.W.R.Proctor, and R.E.Kt.David Palmer.

The Preceptory's name is a combination of saint and place name, being derived, in part, from Worlebury hill-camp, an iron-age fort sited at the western end of Worle Hill which overlooks Weston-super-Mare. The name also commemorates St. Dunstan, although he does not seem to have had any special connection with the town. Sources consulted indicate that he was born in or near Glastonbury in either 909, 910, 924 or 925, and that he was buried there in 988. St Dunstan was a great Churchman and, like so many of those in high office in the Church, he was a great statesman as well. He served as adviser to some on the Kings of Wessex, and his appointments also included that of Abbot of Glastonbury in 945 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 959 until his death. With Oswald, Archbishop of York, he crowned Edgar at Bath in 973, and the ritual followed then became the basis for all future coronations.

The considerable influence exercised by members of the Camp of Baldwyn at the time of the consecration has already been indicated, and that fraternal relationship has continued, most notably during the Second World War when Knights found a temporary home in Weston-Super-Mare following extensive war damage to the masonic premises in Bristol.

The Preceptory celebrated its Centenary  at a meeting on 3rd October 1973, which was attended by the Provincial Prior, V.E.Kt.W.B.Clatworthy, who was supported on that occasion by the Provincial Prior of Bristol.. During the meeting a brief history of the Preceptory was given, and the centenary warrant presented by the Provincial Prior.