Leicestershire was constituted as a province in 1858, making it one of the oldest Provinces falling under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales and its Districts and Lodges Overseas which itself had come into being in 1856. Under its first Provincial Grand Master, William Kelly, who held office from 1858 until his death in 1894, the Province was expanded by being given responsibility for Lodges in Northamptonshire and Derbyshire. The establishment of a Lodge in Rutland led to that County as well being added. On Kelly’s death, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire became independent Provinces.

The first two Mark Lodges in this Province were consecrated in 1858, with another Mark Lodge having Time Immemorial status registering with Grand Lodge in 1870. We have 16 Mark Lodges, and 10 Royal Ark Mariner Lodges, operating under the overall leadership of a Provincial Grand Master and his Deputy, who are supported by a team of Provincial Executive Officers comprising a Treasurer, Registrar, Secretary, Director of Ceremonies, Almoner, Charity Steward and Deputy Secretary.

A fuller account of the Mark and Royal Ark Mariner Degrees in the Province and of their individual Lodges can be found in “Freemasonry in Leicestershire and Rutland: The ‘Other’ Orders and Degrees” by Aubrey Newman, David Hughes and Don Peacock, published by Anchorprint, Leicester, 2012 for The Provincial Grand Lodge of Leicestershire and Rutland.